The NCAA and Relegation–Part II of II
In our last article, we discussed the pros and cons of NCAA relegation. In this article, we will explore it in a bit greater detail–how could the Conferences be aligned in a football-centric way to allow relegation?
The East
Division 1: Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Louisville, North Carolina State
Division 2: Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia, Syracuse, East Carolina, UConn
Division 3 (10): Temple, Marshall, Old Dominion, FIU, FAU, Appalachian State, UMass, Buffalo, Army, Navy
The Midwest
Division 1: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Maryland
Division 2: Minnesota, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Northern Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois
Division 3 (10): Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami, Akron, Kent State, Toledo, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan,
The Southeast:
Division 1: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas A&M
Division 2: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, UCF, USF
Division 3 (9): Middle Tennessee, UAB, Western Kentucky, South Alabama, Georgia Southern, Troy, Georgia State, Southern Mississippi
The Southwest:
Division 1: Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, West Virginia
Division 2: Kansas, Iowa State, Houston, Memphis, East Carolina, Tulsa, Tulane, SMU
Division 3 (9) : Rice, UTEP, Texas State, UTSA, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Louisiana Lafayette, Louisiana Monroe
The West:
Division 1: USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Oregon State
Division 2: Washington State, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Boise State, San Diego State, Utah State
Division 3 (10): Fresno State, San Jose State, Hawaii, Wyoming, Nevada, UNLV, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Air Force, Idaho
Total Schools: 80 in Division 1 and 2, 48 in Division 3, plus Notre Dame & BYU =120. Pretty sure no omissions, but you will let us know. And there is room for a few more schools to move into the mix from FCS.
Obviously, the last few schools in Division 1 can be tough choices. Arizona and Oregon State? Texas Tech? Excluding Missouri? Maryland over the rest of the Big 10? Pitt and North Carolina State?
But that is the beauty of the system–over time, relegation and promotion would fix itself. And nobody that gets beat up in Division 1 can complain about being dispatched to Division 2. And the same between Division 2 and Division 3.
What do you think?
The Confidential 