It is pretty obvious it is broken. We all pretty much agree on that, but not on why it is broken. There are some things not able to change. NIL might be made uniform with a national law, but is not going away. Coaches salaries are not going to be realistic all of a sudden.
But, there are some things that can be done. Signing Date, Transfer Portal, Scholarship Limits, Expanded Playoff, Schedule Reform. These changes could level the playing field and take the edge off the monetary glut.
Scholarships: Reduce to 75 Full grants-in-aid, but everyone has 5 years to play 5. No Redshirting. 25 Preferred Walkons allowed, Food and housing allowance. No other Roster players. Can fill to 75 every year, but scholarships are are guaranteed for 5 years if athlete is in good standing. Possible 6th year with certified injury that prevents playing at least 3/4 of a season.
Signing date: Move early date to third Wednesday in August. Keep the late date in February. Keep the JC Date in December.
Transfer Portal: players get 1 free transfer after 2 years, for any reason. Exception is made ONLY if a head coach leaves. Then you could leave immediately. Any other transfer requires a sit-out season, costing, in essence, a year of eligibility. Transfer Portal open the month of May.
Schedule: All Conferences must play 9 Conference games minimum. After September 30, all games need to be Conference games. minimum of 2 Bye weeks need to occur after the 2nd game and before the 11th game.
Which leads to expanded Playoff..I think it needs to go to 16. Every team needs to be the same. So, to me, the number is 16, not 12. The 6 highest rated Conference Champions getting the 1-6 seeds and the next 2 highest ranked teams getting the 7 and 8 seeds, and 1-8 being home teams for the first round. Those games played the week after the Conference Championship games or, preferably, in lieu of them.
The field would be the 6 top-ranked Conference Champions, the 4 highest rated Conference Runner-ups minimally ranked 15 or higher, and the next 6 highest ranked teams. If Conference plays Championship game, the Conference Runner up is the championship game loser.
Quarter-finals would be realigned based on rankings of the winners. They would be played on January 1 in the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The semis would be played the 2nd Monday after in the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowls. The Championship one week later at a bid site.
This won't cure everything, but it will level the playing field and the winner will have earned it on the field.
And if you want bowl games for the rest, great.
But, there are some things that can be done. Signing Date, Transfer Portal, Scholarship Limits, Expanded Playoff, Schedule Reform. These changes could level the playing field and take the edge off the monetary glut.
Scholarships: Reduce to 75 Full grants-in-aid, but everyone has 5 years to play 5. No Redshirting. 25 Preferred Walkons allowed, Food and housing allowance. No other Roster players. Can fill to 75 every year, but scholarships are are guaranteed for 5 years if athlete is in good standing. Possible 6th year with certified injury that prevents playing at least 3/4 of a season.
Signing date: Move early date to third Wednesday in August. Keep the late date in February. Keep the JC Date in December.
Transfer Portal: players get 1 free transfer after 2 years, for any reason. Exception is made ONLY if a head coach leaves. Then you could leave immediately. Any other transfer requires a sit-out season, costing, in essence, a year of eligibility. Transfer Portal open the month of May.
Schedule: All Conferences must play 9 Conference games minimum. After September 30, all games need to be Conference games. minimum of 2 Bye weeks need to occur after the 2nd game and before the 11th game.
Which leads to expanded Playoff..I think it needs to go to 16. Every team needs to be the same. So, to me, the number is 16, not 12. The 6 highest rated Conference Champions getting the 1-6 seeds and the next 2 highest ranked teams getting the 7 and 8 seeds, and 1-8 being home teams for the first round. Those games played the week after the Conference Championship games or, preferably, in lieu of them.
The field would be the 6 top-ranked Conference Champions, the 4 highest rated Conference Runner-ups minimally ranked 15 or higher, and the next 6 highest ranked teams. If Conference plays Championship game, the Conference Runner up is the championship game loser.
Quarter-finals would be realigned based on rankings of the winners. They would be played on January 1 in the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The semis would be played the 2nd Monday after in the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowls. The Championship one week later at a bid site.
This won't cure everything, but it will level the playing field and the winner will have earned it on the field.
And if you want bowl games for the rest, great.
