On Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA Division I Council announced a change that has been in the works for some time. Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences will no longer be required to have divisions in order to stage a conference football championship game.
Conferences will now be able to scrap their divisions if they desire. East, West, North, South, Atlantic, Coastal, and Mountain could be terms of the past.
Shortly after the statement from the NCAA, the Pac-12 announced that they have modified their football conference championship game format for the 2022 season.
The Pac-12 Conference, which is split into North and South divisions, will now place the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage in the championship game beginning in 2022.
“Our goal is to place our two best teams in our Pac-12 Football Championship Game, which we believe will provide our conference with the best opportunity to optimize CFP invitations and ultimately win national championships,” said Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff. “Today’s decision is an important step towards that goal and immediately increases both fan interest in, and the media value of, our Football Championship Game.”
Based on a table included in the Pac-12 release, five of the 11 Pac-12 Championship games would have had a different matchup had division winners not been required. Most recently, the 2020 contest would have featured No. 13 USC vs. No. 25 Colorado instead of USC vs. Oregon (Oregon replaced Washington, who was unable to play).
The Pac-12 will keep its 2022 football schedule and division alignment for the 2022 season. However, the conference stated that “…scheduling scenarios for seasons beyond 2022 will continue to be reviewed.”
Pac-12 teams currently play a nine-game conference schedule with three non-conference opponents. That likely won’t change unless the Big Ten Conference also changes their format and moves back to an eight-game conference slate.
View Comments (19)
I'm pretty confused at the last sentence that says that the conference will keep the divisions this season, but it also says that the conference championship is gonna change instantly, so it means that the schedule that was released last year is gonna remain the same, that divisions won't matter for the record or if the old format won't be scrapped until 2023?
Also fingers crossed that the Pac-12 and Big Ten both reduce the number of conference games to 8
Please keep it at 9 games. An 8 game schedules would mean one more crappy non league game against the Big Sky or the Mountain West played in front of half empty stadiums.
I think the point is that the conference will not change any regular season scheduling for the upcoming (2022) season. However, being the "champion" of a division in 2022 will not necessarily send a team to the conference championship game.
Member's conference schedules are too complicated to adjust to on such short notice so they will keep their current 2-division version (5 intra-divisional and 4 inter-divisional conference games) but, the championship game will feature the two schools with the best conference records.
I feel like they are saying that this will be very similar to the 2020 NFL season. During the offseason they announced that playoffs would expand to 7 teams per conference and would add 1 additional regular season game with AFC and NFC rotating each year who plays who.
As for the reduction of conference games, I can see going both ways. Pro side is you get an extra non-conference game, on the other side you have schools complaining that they don't play everyone and the gap between games is almost 6 years apart. The ACC and SEC has this problem already (i.e. Auburn playing at Florida in 2019). Last time Auburn played Florida prior to that was in 2011 in Auburn and the last time Florida played Auburn in the Swamp was in 2007.
So, there will likely be three groups of teams that continue to play each other each season divided by what part of the West they are in:
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah
California, Stanford, UCLA, USC
Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
I see a reduction to 7 conference games. In addition to your protected regional rivals, you play one of the schools from each geographic pair. For example, USC would in addition to its year California battles, play one school each from Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and the Rocky Mountains, on a rotating 4-year schedule.
This opens up the door for the Pac-12 to schedule even more significant non-conference matchups. Utah could then start playing BYU and Utah State on an annual basis as non-conference opponents, with two of the open non-conference slots filled with other Power 5 teams and one more game against a non-Power 5 team (conference member or independent).
I don't see the Pac-12 going to 7 conference games, but it would open the doors to great non-con matchups like Oregon vs Alabama.
At best it would be reduced to 8.
No way they drop to 7 conference games. Fox & ESPN would never go for less conference matchups. The SEC will move to 9 when the Sooners and Horns join. B1G, p12 and XII stay at 9. ACC will probably move to 9 but might not due to Notre Dame playing 4/5 ACC schools each season. It would be really hard for the PAC 12 to schedule 5 outbid conference games if the other 4 are playing 9.
The removal of divisions by the Pac-12 opens the door for the possibility of all the P5 conferences removing divisions and adopting a conference schedule format that decreases the amount of conference games which would also allow more high-profile OOC match-ups. Kentucky is a school that could benefit from playing fewer conference games, they haven't played a P5 OOC opponent other than Louisville in decades.
Z
7 games conference game schedules were so 1988 when the conferences had 8 to 10 teams. They all have 12 to 16 now. I want to see Auburn play Florida, Alabama play Georgia. Tennessee play Texas A&M…. More, not less. I’m sure Oregon and Washington fans want more USC, UCLA..not less. Let’s come back to this in three years. I bet you anything, anything, the Pac12 has 9 conference games, 8 at the least. If they have 7 they are the west coast version of C-USA.
I like the idea, however I would keep it at 8 and do a similar structure to the basketball conference schedule format. (i.e. If Oregon played Arizona at home; Arizona State would host Oregon State*) I would also do it to where one pair wouldn't play another pair each season. (i.e-Oregon schools wouldn't play LA schools in 2022, Oregon schools wouldn't play Arizona schools in 2023, Oregon schools wouldn't play Bay Area schools in 2024, and Oregon schools wouldn't play Rocky Mountain schools in 2025. Then the cycle would repeat.)
In regards to non-conference Power 5 games, I believe that all 5 conferences have a deal to where they have to play at least one-Power 5 school per season. I know in the Big Ten they implemented a rule in 2016.
"In 2016, the Big Ten no longer allowed its members to play FCS teams and also requires at least one non-conference game against a school in the Power 5. Contracts for future games already scheduled against FCS teams would be honored. However, in 2017, the Big Ten started to allow teams to schedule an FCS opponent during years in which they only have four conference home games (odd-numbered years for East division teams, even-numbered years for West division teams). At the time this policy was first announced, games against FBS Independents Notre Dame and BYU would automatically count towards Power 5 requirements."
I hate this decision before you had to beat the teams in your division to get to the championship game now it all depends on the luck of the draw on your schedule The schedules will be so unbalanced the only way you get to the championship is if you have a weak schedule The best team could still be sitting at home because they played the two or three of the best teams in the conference or as a team that goes to the championship game they have played two three of the weakest teams in the conference which would give them an unfair advantage The NCAA has just screwed up a great situation and turned it into a scheduling crapshoot they will never leave a good thing alone
Well, good points, but if they play the two or three best teams in the conference then that likely means they’re not in the top two. Just saying
I would like to see the new 16 team SEC (with Texas and Oklahoma) go to four pods (see below). This would give each team 3 annual rival games and require games with 2 teams from each of the other pods each year for 9 conference games. This organization allows every team to play every team from other pods on a two year basis while keeping many of the annual rivalries. The 2 teams with the best records each season would meet in the championship game.
NORTH - Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SOUTH - Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia
CENTRAL - Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
WEST - Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M
The ACC, B1G, and Big XII might also go to pod scheduling with either 15 (3 or 5 pods) or 16 teams (4 pods) if they decide to expand to Super Conference size.
Please just call them divisions. "Pods" is such a terrible and unnecessary name lol
Flip Arkansas and A&M.
I think 7 conference games is plenty. You get your three pod rivals, one protected school from each other pod, and one rotating game. This would enable more significant OOC games to be scheduled by SEC schools.
Do not flip Ark & A&M. Texas & AM are big rivals or was, and you know will be again
Here is a grid of permanent opponents for the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Its not idea for every school but many big rivalries remain. ACC and Big Ten play 3 permanent opponents and then rotate the other 10 schools playing them every other year, so that in 4 years each school visits the other. Pac-12 plays 5 permanent opponents then rotates the other 6 schools every other year so that in 4 years each school visits the other. SEC plays 3 permanent opponents and rotates the other 12. ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 schools could form that alliance along with Notre Dame and agree to play 1-2 games within the alliance every year, with Notre Dame playing 7-8 alliance schools a year. Going without divisions is probably a good thing for college football
ACC
Boston College Pittsburgh Syracuse Miami
Clemson Georgia Tech Florida St. Virginia
Duke North Carolina North Carolina St. Wake Forest
Florida St. Miami Clemson Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Clemson Florida St. Louisville
Louisville Virginia Virginia Tech Georgia Tech
Miami Florida St. Boston College Syracuse
North Carolina Duke North Carolina St. Wake Forest
North Carolina St. Duke North Carolina Wake Forest
Pittsburgh Syracuse Boston College Virginia Tech
Syracuse Pittsburgh Boston College Miami
Wake Forest Duke North Carolina North Carolina St.
Virginia Virginia Tech Louisville Clemson
Virginia Tech Virginia Pittsburgh Louisville
Big Ten
Illinois Northwestern Maryland Rutgers
Indiana Purdue Rutgers Northwestern
Iowa Nebraska Minnesota Wisconsin
Maryland Rutgers Illinois Purdue
Michigan Ohio St. Michigan St. Penn St.
Michigan St. Michigan Penn St. Ohio St.
Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa Nebraska
Nebraska Iowa Wisconsin Minnesota
Northwestern Illinois Purdue Indiana
Ohio St. Michigan Penn St. Michigan St.
Penn St. Michigan St. Ohio St. Michigan
Purdue Indiana Maryland Northwestern
Rutgers Maryland Illinois Indiana
Wisconsin Minnesota Nebraska Iowa
Pac-12
Arizona Arizona St. Colorado Utah UCLA Washington
Arizona St. Arizona Colorado Utah USC Oregon
California Stanford USC UCLA Colorado. Oregon St.
Colorado Utah Arizona Arizona St. California. Oregon St.
Oregon Oregon St. Washington Washington St. USC Arizona St.
Oregon St. Oregon Washington Washington St. California. Colorado
Stanford California USC UCLA Utah Washington St.
UCLA USC California Stanford Arizona. Washington
USC UCLA California Stanford Arizona St. Oregon
Utah Colorado Arizona Arizona St. Stanford. Washington St.
Washington Washington St. Oregon Oregon St. UCLA Arizona
Washington St. Washington Oregon Oregon St. Stanford Utah
SEC
Alabama Auburn Tennessee LSU
Arkansas Texas LSU Missouri
Auburn Alabama Georgia Florida
Florida Georgia Oklahoma Auburn
Georgia Florida Auburn Oklahoma
Kentucky Tennessee. Vanderbilt South Carolina
LSU Arkansas Texas A&M Alabama
Mississippi Mississippi St. Vanderbilt Missouri
Mississippi St. Mississippi Texas A&M South Carolina
Missouri Arkansas South Carolina Mississippi
Oklahoma Texas Florida Georgia
South Carolina Kentucky Missouri Mississippi St.
Tennessee Vanderbilt Kentucky Alabama
Texas Oklahoma Texas A&M Arkansas
Texas A&M Texas LSU Mississippi St.
Vanderbilt Tennessee Kentucky Mississippi