Super Conference Primer
The idea is simple, really, and it would cure what ails college football today. No more would a Utah or a Boise State vie for an undeserved BCS game just because they went undefeated in the regular season. And, with the increased level of competition the title game would not be in question. Teams in tougher conferences would have just as much opportunity as those in weaker conferences, and vice-versa. The Super Conference concept would ensure all SC team schedules are comparably difficult and would reward superiority and dominance.
The Super Conference idea works like this:
The 25 teams which comprise the Super Conference (SC) wouldn’t abandon their own conferences, but they would be the only teams eligible for the BCS national championship. The teams must play a minimum number of SC teams annually. Some conferences have more SC teams than others, however, so: if a team’s in-conference schedule consists of mostly non-SC teams, their out-of-conference schedule must be represented by SC teams. And vice-versa: If a team’s in-conference schedule consists of mostly SC teams, their out-of-conference schedule may include non-SC teams. A team must play at least five SC teams per year. Therefore, if Alabama’s in-conference schedule includes four SC teams and four non-SC teams, then they must schedule one non-conference SC opponent to qualify for the BCS championship. If West Virginia’s in-conference schedule (seven games) includes zero SC teams then they must schedule five non-conference SC opponents to qualify.
All SC teams are bowl eligible excluding only the bottom five ranked teams. All teams are ranked based on wins alone. Teams would be able to move up into the SC as well as drop out. Each year the top five rated teams of non-SC schools would move in, and the bottom five SC schools would drop out. If your team drops out this year, then their immediate goal for the following year (or years) should be to move back into the SC.
- Benefits of the Super Conference:
- Teams are ranked by wins alone. Schedule strength is not a factor because all schedules are (near to) equal.
- Surprise teams that have very good records play into the SC (such as Boise St in ’06 and TCU in ’05) and then test their merit against SC teams the following year, proving or disproving their actual worth.
These are the 25 teams of the inaugural Houndstooth-proposed Super Conference, listed Alphabetically. The first 20 have been selected based on their acknowledged status as “traditional” powerhouses. The remaining 5 are “play-ins” and are present due to recent performance.
- Alabama (SEC)
- Arkansas (SEC)
- Auburn (SEC)
- Florida (SEC)
- Florida State (ACC)
- Georgia (SEC)
- Georgia Tech (ACC)
- LSU (SEC)
- Miami (ACC)
- Michigan (Big Ten)
- Nebraska (Big 12)
- Notre Dame (Must join a conference)
- Ohio State (Big Ten)
- Oklahoma (Big 12)
- Penn State (Big Ten)
- Tennessee (SEC)
- Texas (Big 12)
- USC (PAC-10)
- Virginia Tech (ACC)
- Cal (Pac-10)
- Louisville (Big East)
- Clemson (ACC)
- Oregon (Pac-10)
- South Carolina (SEC)
- West Virginia (Big East)
Conference Breakdown:
SEC = 8
ACC = 5
Big Ten = 3
Big Twelve = 3
Pac-10 = 3
Big East = 2
FAQ:
Does the SC concept effect the AP Poll?
No. This would only affect the BCS title. A possible positive side effect of the Super Conference System would be to discredit the AP, which is merely a popularity contest and is beyond anyone’s control other than the (sometimes incompetent) AP voters. The AP will still award its champion based on its voter’s opinions, and seeing as most (if not all) SC teams will have at least one or two losses their NC will likely be a lossless non-SC team.
What about Conference Championships?
In short, conference championships don’t matter any more. If a conference has a championship game at the end of the year then the teams in that conference are all exempt one SC matchup through the year. Therefore, every team in the SEC would have to play at least 4 regular-season SC games, while every team in the Pac-10 would have to play the standard 5. This would have to be the rule at least until all teams are uniformly with or without a championship game.
What about a Playoff?
A playoff isn’t going to happen, no matter how favorable popular opinion shows it would be. But within the confines of the system we have now, the SC concept would prove beyond a doubt which team each year was the true champion. Using the SC system, a playoff would be unnecessary.
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