Going back to the era before the CFB Playoff and before the BCS, what made college football great was the tradition - the historical rivalries, the character of each conference (and independents), and the (relatively) limited number of bowls and conference-bowl affiliations, However, people complained about a lack of definitive way to determine a national champion.
Fast forward to today. The current 4-team CFB Playoff has been a success in terms of viewership, money, and being a better way to determine the national champion. However, people complain about the following:
Inter-Collegiate Football Association
The Inter-Collegiate Football Association (ICFA) is the administrative body of collegiate football in the United States. ICFA consists of eight conferences and, as of 2016, 704 schools. ICFA runs a number of competitions, including the ICFA Champions Cup, the ICFA Collegiate Cup, and the ICFA Bowl Challenge Cup, as well as multiple lower-tier champions cups. In addition, IFCA is the primary rule-making body, approves any realignment (with the consent of the team(s) and conferences involved), and grants official rivalry status.
Alignment
Top Tier
Alignment is based upon the classic era of college football (1968-71) plus the original Big East (1991-2004). Each conference is adjusted to consist of ten teams, with an attempt to maximize successful programs (both in terms of winning and attendance) The changes are as follows:
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
North Carolina
NC State
South Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest
Big 8/Missouri Valley
Colorado
Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Tulsa
Big East
Boston College
Louisville
Miami
Navy
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Big Ten
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin
WAC/MWC
Air Force
Arizona
Arizona St
Boise St
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
Utah
UTEP
Wyoming
Pac-10
California
Fresno State
Oregon
Oregon State
San Diego State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State
SEC
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
SWC
Arkansas
Arkansas State
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Pyramids
Within the geographic footprint of each conference as defined above, every other college football program, down to the current Division III, is assigned to one of the eight conferences. Within each conference, there are as many tiers as necessary to accommodate every team. Each tier within a conference defines a league. A conference may have multiple divisions at a particular level or tier. Each league or division must contain a minimum of six and maximum or 12 teams, with the restriction that leagues of the top two tiers must contain ten and only ten teams.
Promotion & Relegation
The various tiers, or leagues, within a conference are tied together by a system of promotion and relegation. The top-placed team at the end of the season is promoted to the next higher tier or league for the next season (excluding the top-placed team in the top tier league), and the bottom-placed team at the end of the season is relegated to the lower tier or league for the next season (excluding the bottom-placed team in the lowest tier league).
Scheduling
The season consists of a four-week inter-league season; a nine-week league season; and a 22- to 30-day bowl season, which includes the eight-team, three-week, Champions Cup tournament, culminating in the National Final.
The 13-week regular season runs from the first Saturday in September to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. With the exception of the Friday after Thanksgiving, all regular season matches on played on Saturdays.
The bowl season runs from December 22-24 through January 14-20, depending on the calendar. A part of the bowl season, the Champions Cup competition begins on New Year’s Day.
Inter-League
Each team plays four inter-league matches beginning the first Saturday in September (typically Labor Day Weekend). There are a number of protected inter-league rivalries, including some three-way cup competitions. Otherwise, each team is free to schedule its inter-league opponents. With the exception of the protected rivalries, teams are limited to one match against a lower-tier opponent.
League
A team’s league schedule takes place Weeks 5-13. It typically begins the first Saturday in October, culminating the team’s main rivalry match on the Saturday (or Friday) after Thanksgiving. As there are ten teams in each league, during the course of the league season, each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system, alternating home and away each year), for a total of nine games. Teams are ranked by winning percentage (with ties counting for a half win in the numerator and a full game in the denominator), then points differential, then points allowed, then head-to-head result. The lowest team is relegated to the tier two league, and top team from the tier two league is promoted in its place, for the following season.
Rivalry games (Week 13)
While most teams have more than one rival, the final week of the regular season (Week 13, the weekend after Thanksgiving) is reserved for the major intra-league rivalries. Games may be played on either Friday or Saturday.
Qualification for bowl games and cup competitions
The top team in each of the eight top tier leagues qualifies for the ICFA Champions Cup, in one of four pre-assigned bowl games. The runner-up in each of the eight top tier leagues qualifies for the ICFA Collegiate Cup, in one of four pre-assigned bowl games.
The third- through seventh-placed team in each of the eight top tier leagues qualify for other bowl games, all with pre-determined matchups.
Prize Money
Each league sells its television rights on a collective basis. Typically, the money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally among the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting ten times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this.
Bowls
There are 32 total bowl games. For the big four bowl games, re-establish the classic conference tie-ins:
Champions Cup bowl games
First Round (January 1)
Neutral location, similar to the NFL Super Bowl
Collegiate Cup bowl games
First Round (approx 1 week before Jan 1; Dec 22-24)
Neutral location, similar to the NFL Super Bowl
Other bowls
Twenty (20) additional bowl games for teams placing 3-7 in respective conferences, played four per day (starting with 7th place matchups, then 6th place, etc.) between College Cup First Round and Semifinals, excluding Sundays and Christmas Day.
Bowl qualification by position
The top seventh placed teams in each league qualify for a bowl game, with the top-placed team qualifying for the ICFA Champions Cup, and the runner-up for the ICFA Collegiate Cup. The bottom-placed team is relegated to the tier two league in the conference.
Bowl matchups by conference
Each conference drawn against every other conference in one and only one bowl game, with the exceptions of the Fiesta, Peach, Independence, and Liberty bowls, which serve as the semifinals of the Champions and Collegiate Cup competitions.
Bowl Season Schedule
The bowl season begins with the first round of the Collegiate Cup, among the eight league runners-up. This is also what constitutes what is referred to as Bowl Week. Thereafter, four non-cup bowls are held every day, with the exceptions of Sundays and Christmas Day, beginning with the seventh-place matchups, followed by the sixth-place, until the bowls among third-place matchups. The four winners from Collegiate Cup first round advance to the two semifinal matchups, played early on New Year’s Eve (except when New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday, in which case, the semifinals take place on December 30). Bowl Week culminates with the four big bowls on New Year’s Day, which also constitute the first round of the Champions Cup.
The bowls that comprise the Champions Cup semifinals take place on the first Saturday that is at least six days after New Year’s Day (January 7-13). The Collegiate Cup Final (neutral location) takes place on the first Monday that is at least six days after the semifinals (January 6-12). The Champions Cup Final (neutral location) takes place on the Saturday after the semifinals (January 14-20).
On days with four bowls, games are held at 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm ET. The Collegiate Cup semifinal bowls are played at 11am and 2pm (to avoid conflicting with New Year’s Eve festivities). The Champions Cup semifinal bowls are played at 5pm and 8pm. Both the Collegiate Cup and Champions Cup finals are held at 8pm.
Non-Cup Prize Money
In addition, IFCA allocates $49m among the 40 non-cup bowl participants, based up a formula that captures tickets sold, value of the television market, and television viewers from the team’s region.
Cups
Champions Cup
The ICFA Champions Cup, known simply as the Champions Cup, is an annual college football competition organized by the Inter-Collegiate Football Association (ICFA) and contested by top-tier college teams. It is the most prestigious college football competition in the world, played by the regional league champion of each IFCA regional conference.
The competition is a straight knockout tournament open only to the champion team of each region. Teams that finish next-in-line in each region’s top level league, having not qualified for the ICFA Champions Cup competition, are eligible for the next level ICFA Collegiate Cup competition.
In its present format, the ICFA Champions Cup begins on New Year’s Day with a three round knockout tournament culminating in a final match on a Saturday in mid-January. The winner of the ICFA Champions Cup is considered college football’s national champion.
Format
The champion of each regional conference qualifies for the Champions Cup tournament. The competition is an eight-team, three round knockout tournament, beginning on New Year’s Day, and running through mid-January. Each team is assigned to one of four bowl games (Cotton, Orange, Rose, and Sugar) in the first round, based upon conference affiliation. The four winners of the first round advance to the semifinal, comprised of two pre-determined bowls (Fiesta, Peach). The final is held a neutral location chosen three years in advance by ICFA.
Prize money
ICFA awards $113m in performance money to the participating teams. ICFA pays teams making the tournament $8m, each semifinalist $5m, each finalist $8m, and a $13m bonus to the winner.
Collegiate Cup
The ICFA Collegiate Cup is an annual college football competition organized by ICFA for eligible college football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their regional league.
Format
The runner-up of each regional conference qualifies for the Collegiate Cup tournament. The competition is an eight-team, three round knockout tournament, beginning late December, and running through early January. Each team is assigned to one of four bowl games in the first round, based upon conference affiliation. The four winners of the first round advance to the semifinal, comprised of two pre-determined bowls (Independence, Liberty). The final is held a neutral location chosen three years in advance by ICFA.
Prize money
ICFA awards $70m in performance money to the participating teams. ICFA pays teams making the tournament $5m, each semifinalist $3m, each finalist $5m, and a $8m bonus to the winner.
Bowl Challenge Cup
The Bowl Challenge Cup is a competition among the conferences in the ICFA, to determine which conference performed the best in the college football bowl games that season. Each conference is represented in at least seven bowl games. A conference is awarded one point for each win in a bowl game, each win in a cup semifinal, and each win in a cup final, for a possible maximum of 11 points. In the event that the competition ends in a tie among two or more conferences, total points differential shall act as the tie-breaker, followed by points allowed, head-to-head results, head-to-head points differential, and head-to-points allowed.
Prize money
Each conference is free to determine how the prize money is allocated among its members.
Media coverage
Each league is free to negotiate broadcast rights or launch their own network. Inter-league matches may be broadcast on two networks, or the leagues involved may put those matches out for bid. ICFA retains the right to and sells broadcast rights to the seven Champions Cup games, seven Collegiate Cup games, and 20 other bowl games. Below is a suggest distribution of television broadcast rights.
Fast forward to today. The current 4-team CFB Playoff has been a success in terms of viewership, money, and being a better way to determine the national champion. However, people complain about the following:
- Realignment has killed traditional, historical rivalries
- There is no link between conference championships and CFB Playoff bids
- Four teams in the CFB Playoff is not enough and leaves out potentially "deserving teams"
- There are two many bowls that no one cares about
- A decrease in the strength and number of historical rivalries will sever ties between teams and students (who are the source of strongest fans in the future), due to:
- Non-geographic alignment, which makes it harder to travel to away games
- Not playing teams every year (familiarity breeds contempt)
- Conference championship games are a terrible way to determine the conference champion. They are too susceptible to fluky outcomes and as we have seen, are really only a chance to lose your spot in the CFB Playoff. And the connection with CFB Playoff berths is far too weak.
- The CFB Playoff is problematic as currently structured. Four spots are obviously not enough to allow every conference champ from the P5 conferences in. This diminishes the importance of winning your conference. Plus, the committee is charged with an impossible task - there is no way that people can accurately determine who the top four teams are without a pre-determined formula or at least comparable schedules (all of which would negate the need for a committee anyway).
Inter-Collegiate Football Association
The Inter-Collegiate Football Association (ICFA) is the administrative body of collegiate football in the United States. ICFA consists of eight conferences and, as of 2016, 704 schools. ICFA runs a number of competitions, including the ICFA Champions Cup, the ICFA Collegiate Cup, and the ICFA Bowl Challenge Cup, as well as multiple lower-tier champions cups. In addition, IFCA is the primary rule-making body, approves any realignment (with the consent of the team(s) and conferences involved), and grants official rivalry status.
Alignment
Top Tier
Alignment is based upon the classic era of college football (1968-71) plus the original Big East (1991-2004). Each conference is adjusted to consist of ten teams, with an attempt to maximize successful programs (both in terms of winning and attendance) The changes are as follows:
- ACC. Add Florida State and Georgia Tech, as the conference did eventually.
- Big 8. Renamed Missouri Valley Conference. Add Iowa (from the Big Ten) and Tulsa.
- Big East. Drop Temple. Add Louisville, Navy, and Penn State.
- Big Ten. Shift Iowa to the Big 8. Add Notre Dame.
- WAC. Renamed Mountain West. Add Air Force and Boise St.
- Pac-8. Renamed Pac-10. Add Fresno State and San Diego State.
- Southwest Conference. Add Houston (which they eventually added) and Arkansas State.
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
North Carolina
NC State
South Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest
Big 8/Missouri Valley
Colorado
Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Tulsa
Big East
Boston College
Louisville
Miami
Navy
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Big Ten
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Purdue
Wisconsin
WAC/MWC
Air Force
Arizona
Arizona St
Boise St
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
Utah
UTEP
Wyoming
Pac-10
California
Fresno State
Oregon
Oregon State
San Diego State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State
SEC
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
SWC
Arkansas
Arkansas State
Baylor
Houston
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Pyramids
Within the geographic footprint of each conference as defined above, every other college football program, down to the current Division III, is assigned to one of the eight conferences. Within each conference, there are as many tiers as necessary to accommodate every team. Each tier within a conference defines a league. A conference may have multiple divisions at a particular level or tier. Each league or division must contain a minimum of six and maximum or 12 teams, with the restriction that leagues of the top two tiers must contain ten and only ten teams.
Promotion & Relegation
The various tiers, or leagues, within a conference are tied together by a system of promotion and relegation. The top-placed team at the end of the season is promoted to the next higher tier or league for the next season (excluding the top-placed team in the top tier league), and the bottom-placed team at the end of the season is relegated to the lower tier or league for the next season (excluding the bottom-placed team in the lowest tier league).
Scheduling
The season consists of a four-week inter-league season; a nine-week league season; and a 22- to 30-day bowl season, which includes the eight-team, three-week, Champions Cup tournament, culminating in the National Final.
The 13-week regular season runs from the first Saturday in September to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. With the exception of the Friday after Thanksgiving, all regular season matches on played on Saturdays.
The bowl season runs from December 22-24 through January 14-20, depending on the calendar. A part of the bowl season, the Champions Cup competition begins on New Year’s Day.
Inter-League
Each team plays four inter-league matches beginning the first Saturday in September (typically Labor Day Weekend). There are a number of protected inter-league rivalries, including some three-way cup competitions. Otherwise, each team is free to schedule its inter-league opponents. With the exception of the protected rivalries, teams are limited to one match against a lower-tier opponent.
League
A team’s league schedule takes place Weeks 5-13. It typically begins the first Saturday in October, culminating the team’s main rivalry match on the Saturday (or Friday) after Thanksgiving. As there are ten teams in each league, during the course of the league season, each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system, alternating home and away each year), for a total of nine games. Teams are ranked by winning percentage (with ties counting for a half win in the numerator and a full game in the denominator), then points differential, then points allowed, then head-to-head result. The lowest team is relegated to the tier two league, and top team from the tier two league is promoted in its place, for the following season.
Rivalry games (Week 13)
While most teams have more than one rival, the final week of the regular season (Week 13, the weekend after Thanksgiving) is reserved for the major intra-league rivalries. Games may be played on either Friday or Saturday.
Qualification for bowl games and cup competitions
The top team in each of the eight top tier leagues qualifies for the ICFA Champions Cup, in one of four pre-assigned bowl games. The runner-up in each of the eight top tier leagues qualifies for the ICFA Collegiate Cup, in one of four pre-assigned bowl games.
The third- through seventh-placed team in each of the eight top tier leagues qualify for other bowl games, all with pre-determined matchups.
Prize Money
Each league sells its television rights on a collective basis. Typically, the money is divided into three parts: half is divided equally among the clubs; one quarter is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position, the top club getting ten times as much as the bottom club, and equal steps all the way down the table; the final quarter is paid out as facilities fees for games that are shown on television, with the top clubs generally receiving the largest shares of this.
Bowls
There are 32 total bowl games. For the big four bowl games, re-establish the classic conference tie-ins:
- Cotton Bowl. Southwest Conference
- Orange Bowl. Big 8
- Rose Bowl. Big Ten vs Pac-10
- Sugar Bowl. SEC
- Cotton Bowl. Mountain West
- Orange Bowl. ACC
- Sugar Bowl. Big East
Champions Cup bowl games
First Round (January 1)
- Orange Bowl. ACC champ vs. Big 8/Missouri Valley champ
- Sugar Bowl. Big East champ vs. SEC champ
- Cotton Bowl. SWC champ vs. WAC/MWC champ
- Rose Bowl. Big Ten champ vs. Pac-10 champ
- Peach Bowl. Orange winner vs. Sugar winner
- Fiesta Bowl. Cotton winner vs. Rose winner
Neutral location, similar to the NFL Super Bowl
Collegiate Cup bowl games
First Round (approx 1 week before Jan 1; Dec 22-24)
- Citrus Bowl. Big Ten runner-up vs. SEC runner-up
- Gator Bowl. ACC runner-up vs. Big East Runner-up
- Sun Bowl. Big 8/Missouri Valley runner-up vs. SWC runner-up
- Holiday Bowl. Pac-10 runner-up vs. WAC/MWC runner-up
- Liberty Bowl. Citrus winner vs. Gator winner
- Independence Bowl. Sun winner vs. Holiday winner
Neutral location, similar to the NFL Super Bowl
Other bowls
Twenty (20) additional bowl games for teams placing 3-7 in respective conferences, played four per day (starting with 7th place matchups, then 6th place, etc.) between College Cup First Round and Semifinals, excluding Sundays and Christmas Day.
Bowl qualification by position
The top seventh placed teams in each league qualify for a bowl game, with the top-placed team qualifying for the ICFA Champions Cup, and the runner-up for the ICFA Collegiate Cup. The bottom-placed team is relegated to the tier two league in the conference.
Bowl matchups by conference
Each conference drawn against every other conference in one and only one bowl game, with the exceptions of the Fiesta, Peach, Independence, and Liberty bowls, which serve as the semifinals of the Champions and Collegiate Cup competitions.
Bowl Season Schedule
The bowl season begins with the first round of the Collegiate Cup, among the eight league runners-up. This is also what constitutes what is referred to as Bowl Week. Thereafter, four non-cup bowls are held every day, with the exceptions of Sundays and Christmas Day, beginning with the seventh-place matchups, followed by the sixth-place, until the bowls among third-place matchups. The four winners from Collegiate Cup first round advance to the two semifinal matchups, played early on New Year’s Eve (except when New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday, in which case, the semifinals take place on December 30). Bowl Week culminates with the four big bowls on New Year’s Day, which also constitute the first round of the Champions Cup.
The bowls that comprise the Champions Cup semifinals take place on the first Saturday that is at least six days after New Year’s Day (January 7-13). The Collegiate Cup Final (neutral location) takes place on the first Monday that is at least six days after the semifinals (January 6-12). The Champions Cup Final (neutral location) takes place on the Saturday after the semifinals (January 14-20).
On days with four bowls, games are held at 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm ET. The Collegiate Cup semifinal bowls are played at 11am and 2pm (to avoid conflicting with New Year’s Eve festivities). The Champions Cup semifinal bowls are played at 5pm and 8pm. Both the Collegiate Cup and Champions Cup finals are held at 8pm.
Non-Cup Prize Money
In addition, IFCA allocates $49m among the 40 non-cup bowl participants, based up a formula that captures tickets sold, value of the television market, and television viewers from the team’s region.
Cups
Champions Cup
The ICFA Champions Cup, known simply as the Champions Cup, is an annual college football competition organized by the Inter-Collegiate Football Association (ICFA) and contested by top-tier college teams. It is the most prestigious college football competition in the world, played by the regional league champion of each IFCA regional conference.
The competition is a straight knockout tournament open only to the champion team of each region. Teams that finish next-in-line in each region’s top level league, having not qualified for the ICFA Champions Cup competition, are eligible for the next level ICFA Collegiate Cup competition.
In its present format, the ICFA Champions Cup begins on New Year’s Day with a three round knockout tournament culminating in a final match on a Saturday in mid-January. The winner of the ICFA Champions Cup is considered college football’s national champion.
Format
The champion of each regional conference qualifies for the Champions Cup tournament. The competition is an eight-team, three round knockout tournament, beginning on New Year’s Day, and running through mid-January. Each team is assigned to one of four bowl games (Cotton, Orange, Rose, and Sugar) in the first round, based upon conference affiliation. The four winners of the first round advance to the semifinal, comprised of two pre-determined bowls (Fiesta, Peach). The final is held a neutral location chosen three years in advance by ICFA.
Prize money
ICFA awards $113m in performance money to the participating teams. ICFA pays teams making the tournament $8m, each semifinalist $5m, each finalist $8m, and a $13m bonus to the winner.
- First Round: $8,000,000 per team
- Semifinals: $5,000,000 per team
- Final: $8,000,000 per team
- Bonus for winning the Final: $13,000,000
Collegiate Cup
The ICFA Collegiate Cup is an annual college football competition organized by ICFA for eligible college football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their regional league.
Format
The runner-up of each regional conference qualifies for the Collegiate Cup tournament. The competition is an eight-team, three round knockout tournament, beginning late December, and running through early January. Each team is assigned to one of four bowl games in the first round, based upon conference affiliation. The four winners of the first round advance to the semifinal, comprised of two pre-determined bowls (Independence, Liberty). The final is held a neutral location chosen three years in advance by ICFA.
Prize money
ICFA awards $70m in performance money to the participating teams. ICFA pays teams making the tournament $5m, each semifinalist $3m, each finalist $5m, and a $8m bonus to the winner.
- First Round: $5,000,000 per team
- Semifinals: $3,000,000 per team
- Final: $5,000,000 per team
- Bonus for winning the Final: $8,000,000
Bowl Challenge Cup
The Bowl Challenge Cup is a competition among the conferences in the ICFA, to determine which conference performed the best in the college football bowl games that season. Each conference is represented in at least seven bowl games. A conference is awarded one point for each win in a bowl game, each win in a cup semifinal, and each win in a cup final, for a possible maximum of 11 points. In the event that the competition ends in a tie among two or more conferences, total points differential shall act as the tie-breaker, followed by points allowed, head-to-head results, head-to-head points differential, and head-to-points allowed.
Prize money
Each conference is free to determine how the prize money is allocated among its members.
- Winner: $6,000,000
- Runner-up: $5,250,000
- 3rd Place: $4,500,000
- 4th Place: $3,750,000
- 5th Place: $3,000,000
- 6th Place: $2,250,000
- 7th Place: $1,500,000
- 8th Place: $750,000
Media coverage
Each league is free to negotiate broadcast rights or launch their own network. Inter-league matches may be broadcast on two networks, or the leagues involved may put those matches out for bid. ICFA retains the right to and sells broadcast rights to the seven Champions Cup games, seven Collegiate Cup games, and 20 other bowl games. Below is a suggest distribution of television broadcast rights.
- ABC. Big Ten, Pac-10, and Rose Bowl
- CBS. Big East, SEC, and Sugar Bowl
- ESPN. Champions Cup Semifinals and Final, Collegiate Cup, all other bowl games
- Fox. WAC/MWC, Southwest Conference, and Cotton Bowl
- NBC. ACC, Big 8/Missouri Valley, and Orange Bowl
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