WEEKLY WHINE

Let’s realign

As you know, recently we proposed introducing promotion and relegation into collegiate American football. Part of our plan was to organise each division into sixteen conferences of eight teams each.

Well, we received numerous questions from readers just like you, asking just how we would form these conferences. Most cared only about the First Division, to be formed by the current NCAA Division I-A plus the eight quarterfinalists in this year’s Division I-AA tournament. So, to give you an idea of how we will do this, we now present a few proposed conference structures from the GoobNet Special Projects Enhancement and Enforcement Division [SPEED].

Of course, this all depends on which Division I-AA teams earn promotion this year, but these proposals should give you a rough idea of how we will proceed. Only the 120 teams that are currently in Division I-A are shown, which means that eight conferences in each proposal will have only seven teams.

First, for your reference, here is the current conference structure for NCAA Division I-A.

STATE GROUP PROPOSAL

The primary goal of this proposal was to divide the 120 current DI-A schools along state lines. Under this proposal, all schools in the same state are placed in the same conference, with the exception of Texas, which has ten schools. Of these sixteen resulting conferences, four are made up entirely of schools from the same state: California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.

REGIONAL GROUP PROPOSAL

The primary goal of this proposal was to divide the 120 current DI-A schools in such a way as to make the most compact regional groupings. Under this proposal, nearby schools are kept in the same conference wherever possible. Many of the same conferences as in the state group proposal reappear, often with unchanged membership.

MINIMUM DISRUPTION PROPOSAL

The primary goal of this proposal was to place the 120 current DI-A schools into regionally sensible conferences of seven or eight teams each, in the fewest number of moves. In all, only fourteen teams, plus the three independents, change conferences. Here are the necessary moves.

• East Carolina moves from the C-USA East Division to the Coastal Conference [formerly the ACC Coastal Division].
• Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin move from the Big Ten to the Big North Conference [formerly the Big Twelve North Division].
• Missouri moves from the Big Twelve North Division to the Big South Conference [formerly the Big Twelve South Division].
• Tulsa moves from the C-USA West Division to the Big South Conference.
• Tulane moves from the C-USA West Division to the Gulf Conference [formerly the C-USA East Division].
• Louisiana Tech moves from the WAC to the Gulf Conference.
• Arizona and Arizona State move from the Pacific Ten to the Southwest Conference [formerly the C-USA West Division].
• New Mexico and Texas Christian move from the Mountain West to the Southwest Conference.
• Western Kentucky moves from the Sun Belt to the Southeast Conference [formerly the SEC East Division].
• Arkansas State moves from the Sun Belt to the South Central Conference [formerly the SEC West Division].
• Army joins the Mideast Conference [formerly the MAC East Division].
• Navy joins the Atlantic Conference [formerly the ACC Atlantic Division].
• Notre Dame joins the Midwest Conference [formerly the MAC West Division].
• The Big Ten becomes the Big Eight Conference.
• The Pacific Ten becomes the Pacific Eight Conference.