Why not a national realignment of college football by region?

[Old and In the Way]

Seems like a lot of poaching going on these days and teams joining conferences that don't really make sense. Why wouldn't the NCAA just divide the country into 8 equal regions and have the top teams in each region play a BCS type round robin? Maybe smaller schools (Div 2 and 3) would need more sub-regions as there are more schools in these categories, but the basic structure of the conferences would remain the same..

With 8 regions, it would take 3 rounds to figure a championship...wouldn't that make more sense? The intraregional rivalries would be better for all schools...less travel and costs for the teams. Seems like a pretty reasonable approach. What am I missing here?

[trotsky]

1. Bowl games make lots of money.

Playoffs, not so much.

There is your answer.

[Old and In the Way]

2. March madness seems to do pretty well in NCAA basketball.

Though the basketball "regionals" are not really representative of the teams in the region they are slotted into.

8 regions would create 15 games - not sure what the total # of Div. 1 bowl games are, but I suppose you could still get corporations to underwrite the broadcasts. personally, I think it would be more meaningful then having a select group of people determine who gets what bid to a bowl game.

[trotsky]

3. Compare what March Madness brings in for the schools involved...

versus bowl games. They are genuine moneymakers - and let's face it, if a playoff system were at least as, or especially MORE profitable, don't you think they'd be all over that?

[Old and In the Way]

4. Money aside, because it's pretty hard to debate that hypothetically

I just think a more consistent, geographically based conference system would promote more regional rivalries and interest, provide a more equitable opportunity for other schools to get to participate for a national championship, and create the same buzz that March Madness has done for NCAA basketball.

[trotsky]

5. Ah, but that's the thing. You can't put money aside.

Money drives the entire system. All of what you say may be true, however the NCAA and the schools involved make shitpiles of money under the status quo, which is why I don't expect to see anything change. Only if the powers that be can be convinced they'll make MORE money will it change.

[Old and In the Way]

6. I think a case could be made that there's more money to be had

by regional realignment and a championship system that is created via a bracketed tournament. It just might not be as lucrative to the semi-permanent franchises that seem to appear year after year in the present system.

I suppose the only way to test that is to run such a system for a few years and compare results. So nothing will probably change as long as those that benefit from the status quo can influence what should be an NCAA decision as to how college football can be organized and sanctioned under their terms.

[Old and In the Way]

8. To clarify, the 8 regions could have a play off to determine the regional champ

between the top 2 teams.

[Angleae]

7. You can use the BCS bowls for the first round of playoffs.

The other schools get the 2nd/3rd tier bowls that don't count toward the playoffs. 2nd round of playoffs would be Rose + Fiesta and Sugar + Orange.