Realignment via Promotion/Relegation
It's inevitable at this point. Realignment is happening. Texas and Oklahoma are expected to receive official invitations from the SEC later this week. So all of that said, what better time than to use your imagination and have some fun creating realignment scenarios! Here's your proposal for today: Realignment Using Promotion/Relegation.
The Layout
- 4 Conferences
- 2 Divisions
- 16 Teams per Conference/8 Teams per Division
- 9 Conference Games
- 7 versus Division Foes
- 2 versus Cross-Division Foes
- 3 Non-Conference Games
- 1st Place team in each division in UPPER DIVISION to Conference Championships
- 1st Place team in each division is automatically PROMOTED
- Last Place team in each division is automatically RELEGATED
- 2nd to Last Place team in each division to play 2nd Place team in Lower Division for final spot in Upper Division
- 4 Team Playoff between Conference Champions
- Bowl Games as seen fit
The Upper Division
The upper division would consist of mostly Power 5 teams in the first year of this operation. Here is how the upper division would look if this started in the 2020 season:
The Lower Division
The lower division would consist of mostly Group of 5 teams in the first year. Throughout time, both P5 teams would be relegated as well as now-FCS teams would be promoted from the next lower division. Here is how the lower division would look if this started in the 2020 season:
Let's Run a Simulation
I was curious to see how these divisions would look after a season of play. So, I simulated how I thought each division would finish after the 2020 season. Here's how it ended up:
Per the above rules, the last place teams are relegated while the 2nd to last place teams will have to battle for their spot in the division above! The 1st place teams automatically move up!
Here is how the tables would look following this season's results:
That's all for today's fun realignment proposal! Would you like to see something like this implemented in College Football? Drop some feedback!