With conferences growing has there been any talk of adding a 13th game to the schedule? Ten conference games seems to work better for 16 teqm leagues.
Conference Schedules Post Realignment
- Thread starter Allikat
- Start date
I think it’s more likely that they add a semifinal to CCG’s. Maybe let the rest of the conference play games based on their standings as well?
Biggest problem i see with that is balancing home games for the 12 also runs. If you add a game you need to know 5 of those conference games are at The Jack.
That's kinda lame in my book, but that's just me. I'd rather see 4 team regional pods for more variety.
This is a good model. I also like the protected rival's concept. My preferred model is a slight twist on both to ensure that a 4-year football player gets to play in every conference opponent's stadium at least once. Best 2 teams meet in the conference championship.
3 games against your divisions
2 games against teams from the other 3 divisions (6 games total) - I would rotate the 2 division opponents every year if feasible so you see every team every 2 years.
For basketball, the 4-division model would have you play each division opponent twice and every other opponent once for 18 total conference games (2 x 3; 1 x 12).
West Division: AZ/Az St/Utah/BYU
North Division: CU/KSU/KU/ISU
South Division: OSU/Tx Tech/TCU/Baylor
East Division: Houston/UCF/WVU/Cincy
Rather than divisions, the B12 could set up 5 protected rivals for each school. In addition, each team would play 4 of the remaining 10 teams on a rotating basis.
Someone want to take a shot at what this could look like? I'm sure it could be done in a way that minimizes travel.
Someone want to take a shot at what this could look like? I'm sure it could be done in a way that minimizes travel.
This is my #1 preference. It's simple. And it's fair.
If there have to be 2 divisions, you could combine the North/West and South/East.
The NFL scheduling model only works because it is backed up by a snake draft where the worst teams get the most valuable picks every year and every team plays under a salary cap, to balance team strength with schedule strength so that every franchise essentially operates on a level playing field.
This is simply not possible in college football, especially in the new era of transfers.
I hope they use a protected rival system to maximize games is interest to viewers and with 16 teams, a championship game between the top two contenders in the standings should be good enough.
This is simply not possible in college football, especially in the new era of transfers.
I hope they use a protected rival system to maximize games is interest to viewers and with 16 teams, a championship game between the top two contenders in the standings should be good enough.
Without going through the exercise of putting a schedule together, this is what I'd like to see:
- Play the old Big 8 schools as much as possible. Tradition and rivalry matters in college football.
- Play everyone in the conference at least once every four years. All players that stay four years get to play everyone. If you can't do this, why even call it a conference?
It's incredibly easy to play KU, KSU, and CU every year, and play the rest of the conference twice in a 4-year cycle. (see post #9 for details)
Last edited:
I just hope we don’t get lumped in with WV, Cinc, and Central Florida as our rivals or pod or whatever.
Let’s just be logical. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Four divisions; nine conference games. You’ll visit every opponent at least once within four years. Top two finishers play for title regardless of divisional finish.
Cincinnati
Houston
UCF
West Virginia
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Baylor
Oklahoma State
TCU
Texas Tech
Arizona
Arizona State
BYU
Utah
Cincinnati
Houston
UCF
West Virginia
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Baylor
Oklahoma State
TCU
Texas Tech
Arizona
Arizona State
BYU
Utah
Probably not there yet but once leagues blow past 20 teams, I think this will happen.
It'll be 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3, and then the league will make competitive pairings considering rematches, home games, etc. that look something close to 5 vs 6, 7 vs 8, etc. down to 21 vs 22. They'll all just hold that week open.
Precisely. (Several other posts in the thread presented the same idea, responding to yours because it’s most recent).
To expand a bit, here are sample schedules for Iowa State, 2024-27.
Exact sequence of games wouldn't be this way, of course … for simplicity, I placed ISU’s “zone” (opponents we’d play every season) at the top, followed by East/West/South couplings.
I use the word “zone,” since everyone despises “pod” and “division.” Even though it’s the same concept, regardless of nomenclature.
2024 (5 home, 4 away)
Colorado
at Kansas
Kansas State
UCF
at West Virginia
Arizona
at Utah
Texas Tech
at TCU
2025 (4 home, 5 away)
at Colorado
Kansas
at Kansas State
Cincinnati
at Houston
BYU
at Arizona State
Baylor
at Oklahoma State
2026
Colorado
at Kansas
Kansas State
West Virginia
at UCF
Utah
at Arizona
TCU
at Texas Tech
2027
at Colorado
Kansas
at Kansas State
Houston
at Cincinnati
Arizona State
at BYU
Oklahoma State
at Baylor
(One continuity adjustment required, have to skip an extra year at the start for one of the East teams - ISU doesn't play any of UH/UCF/WVU in '23.)
Id bet a lot of money they will do a protected rivalries setup just like the ACC and B1G have. No reason to do divisions or pods or anything
For hoops, I'd hope the Big12 moves to a 20 game conference season to get more games in (also helps the SOS). You could then face everyone at least one time and 5 teams twice.
It just makes so much sense to play the same three every year, then rotate the other 6. You play every school at least once every two years.
WVU doesn't recruit Texas. So WVU probably doesnt need Texas games on the regular. Cinn and UCF dont either.
I want arz state as a protected rival so that ******* Prez gets ample opportunities to travel to Morgantown!
I'm praying that WVU can come up with the 16 million to fire NB after this season, and they dont botch the hire
