🏈 Rebuilding Balance: The Case for a New Power 5 Structure
The latest wave of college football realignment revealed something many fans suspected: parity is alive and well. In 2024, four newcomers—Oregon, Texas, SMU, and Arizona State—earned spots in their respective conference championship games, proving that fresh faces can thrive in new leagues when given the chance.
But realignment wasn’t all triumph. It also exposed deep flaws:
- Awkward scheduling, with some teams playing as few as 3 or 4 regional rivals.
- Excessive travel for athletes, fans, and staff—often across multiple time zones.
- Lost traditions and cherished rivalries, shelved in favor of short-term gain.
- Disjointed TV windows that left fans with lopsided viewing experiences.
This shift from a Power 5 to a Power 4 model wasn’t designed to enhance the sport. It was about greed, desperation, and survival in the chase for media money and brand leverage. The soul of the sport got lost in the shuffle.
🔄 Time to Restore the Game
College football was better, healthier, and more regional with a balanced Power 5. The rivalries made sense. The conference titles meant more. Travel was reasonable. The postseason was clear.
To bring that spirit back, I’m proposing a new-look Power 5 structure—one that:
- Preserves tradition
- Prioritizes competitive balance
- Reduces travel stress
- And most importantly, keeps the essence of college football alive
New Regional Conferences
ACC – A natural Eastern conference merger, blending original ACC members with schools from the proposed but unrealized Joe Paterno–backed East Coast conference. This alignment emphasizes traditional rivalries and regional continuity.
B1G – Now a true Midwestern conference, the Big Ten spans 10 states and 16 teams, making the logo both meaningful and accurate. Impressively, 13 of its 16 members are current or former AAU institutions (Iowa State and Nebraska are former members), reinforcing its academic prestige.
PAC – Rebranded simply as “The PAC,” dropping the number for simplicity and style. This new version unites the top programs from the Mountain West with the core of the former Pac-10, forming a strong, regionally coherent West Coast power conference.
SEC – The SEC welcomes back two of its original members, Tulane and Georgia Tech, restoring historical ties. It also brings in some in-state rivals that might stir controversy—particularly among Florida fans—but add intensity and tradition to the mix.
SWC – The rebirth of the Southwest Conference, replacing the Big 12 name with a nod to its historical roots. All original SWC schools return, joined by a few regional additions to complete the 16-team model—an ideal fit for the modern NIL era, where the SWC would likely thrive.
🗓️ Standardized Power 5 Scheduling Structure
📌 Conference Format
- Each Power 5 conference contains 16 teams.
- Teams play a 9-game conference schedule:
- 3 protected rivals (played every year).
- 6 rotating opponents from the other 12 teams.
- Ensures every team plays all others at least twice every 4 years.
- Ensures every team plays all others at least twice every 4 years.
- 3 protected rivals (played every year).
🧾 Non-Conference Requirements
- 3 non-conference games per team each season.
- At least one must be against another Power 5 opponent.
- Designed to maintain strong out-of-conference matchups and playoff-worthy résumés.
🦃 Rivalry Week – Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition
- The final week of the regular season is Rivalry Week, where:
- Each team faces its designated permanent rival.
- Promotes regional identity and historic rivalries.
- Each team faces its designated permanent rival.
- Example adjustments:
- USC vs. UCLA becomes a locked-in Rivalry Week game.
- Notre Dame vs. USC moves to the penultimate week of the season to accommodate this.
- USC vs. UCLA becomes a locked-in Rivalry Week game.
🎯 Why This Works
- Preserves and highlights traditional rivalries.
- Guarantees rotational equity across large conferences.
- Keeps non-conference scheduling competitive.
- Builds an exciting and meaningful season-ending slate every year.
Proposed 8-Team College Football Playoff
Why 8 Teams?
- Preserves the value of the regular season and conference championship games.
- Avoids the dilution of a 12, 14, or 16-team field where too many teams with multiple losses are rewarded.
- More compelling matchups than what recent larger playoff formats have delivered.
Playoff Structure
- 8 Teams Total
- 5 Automatic Bids: Conference Champions from the Power 5 (ACC, B1G, PAC, SEC, SWC).
- 3 At-Large Bids: Selected by the committee.
- Seeding: All eight teams are seeded 1 through 8 by the committee after championship weekend.
- 5 Automatic Bids: Conference Champions from the Power 5 (ACC, B1G, PAC, SEC, SWC).
Emphasis on Conference Championships
- Teams are rewarded for winning their conference title games.
- No more coaches angling to skip championship games to protect playoff chances — winning matters.
- The best path to the playoff is to earn it on the field.
Playoff Bowl Rotation
All games are played at New Year’s Six bowl sites.
Quarterfinals (4 Games)
- Played two weeks after the Conference Championships.
- Hosted at: Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton, and Peach Bowls
- Top 4 seeds choose their bowl destination (based on travel, tradition, or matchup preference).
Semifinals (2 Games)
- Played on New Year’s Day:
- Rose Bowl: Permanent semifinal every year, maintaining its tradition.
- Orange Bowl: Paired with the Rose to host the second semifinal.
- Rose Bowl: Permanent semifinal every year, maintaining its tradition.
National Championship
- Played the following Saturday night after the semifinals.
- Neutral site (rotating, like current CFP title game).
This format:
- Keeps conference championship weekend meaningful.
- Adds playoff intensity to New Year’s Day.
- Respects bowl traditions while modernizing the structure.
- Brings clarity and consistency to the postseason.
Simplified College Football Calendar
(With 1 Signing Day in December, 1 Transfer Portal Window after the title game, 8-Team Playoff, and NFL Draft declaration deadline)
Regular Season
- Start: Week 0 (late August)
- End: Thanksgiving weekend (late November)
Conference Championship Games
- First weekend of December
(e.g., Dec 6, 2025)
National Signing Day
- Second Wednesday in December
(e.g., Dec 10, 2025)
- Locks in high school recruiting before postseason begins.
- Players and coaches avoid conflicts with playoff prep.
- Locks in high school recruiting before postseason begins.
8-Team College Football Playoff
- Quarterfinals: Weekend before Christmas
(e.g., Dec 20–21, 2025) — Fiesta, Cotton, Sugar, & Peach Bowls - Semifinals: New Year’s Day
(Jan 1, 2026) — Rose & Orange Bowl - National Championship Game: Second Saturday in January
Saturday, Jan 10, 2026 — Neutral site
Seeding format: 5 auto-bids (top 5 conference champs) + 3 at-large teams
All teams play in quarterfinals (no byes)
NFL Draft Early Entry Deadline
- Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
- Players make informed choices after season ends
- Coaches get full picture on roster needs before portal window ramps up
- Players make informed choices after season ends
Transfer Portal Window
- Open: Jan 16, 2026 (day after the title game)
- Close:Jan 31, 2026(2-week window)
- Fully post-playoff/post-bowl
- Allows clean decision-making for players and better roster planning for coaches
- Fully post-playoff/post-bowl
Spring Football
- Practices: February to April
- Spring Games: March to May
This version clears the clutter from December and creates a logical, sequential calendar that respects the rhythm of the season and the decision-making process for players and coaches.
📺 Power 5 Conference TV Revenue Comparison
| Conference | Key Brands (Top Tier) | Est. Annual TV Deal | Notes |
| B1G | Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Missouri | $1.3B – $1.4B | Big Ten brand power + ND; elite national draw and playoff equity |
| SEC | Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Tennessee | $1.2B – $1.3B | SEC dominance; huge fanbases, strong playoff presence |
| SWC | Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor | $900M – $1B | Top-heavy but rich rivalries; massive Texas market footprint |
| PAC | USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Utah | $750M – $850M | Premium late windows + solid football/hoops crossover brands |
| ACC | Clemson, Penn State UNC, Duke, South Carolina | $700M – $800M | High ratings ceiling w/ top teams; East Coast markets boost appeal |
Potential New Revshare model for conferences
A revenue-sharing model where 50% is evenly distributed and the other 50% is allocated based on TV ratings and winning bonuses would work as follows:
Hypothetical Scenario:
- Total ACC TV Revenue: $800 million
- Performance-Based Pool (50%): $400 million
- Equal Distribution Pool (50%): $400 million
Assuming the ACC has 16 full-member schools:
- Equal Share per School: $400 million / 16 ≈ $25 million
For the performance-based portion, schools with higher viewership would receive a larger share. For instance, if a top-performing school attracts 10% of the total viewership:
- Performance-Based Share: 10% of $400 million = $40 million
Thus, this school’s total distribution would be approximately:
- Total Payout: $25 million (equal share) + $40 million (performance-based) = $65 million
Athletic Performance Incentives:
The ACC’s model also rewards postseason success, particularly in football. Teams can earn additional revenue based on their progression in the College Football Playoff (CFP):
- CFP Appearance: $4 million
- Reaching Semifinals: Additional $6 million
- Playing in Championship Game: Additional $6 million
Example:
A team advancing to the national championship would earn:
- Total Postseason Earnings: $4 million (appearance) + $6 million (semifinals) + $6 million (championship game) = $16 million
These postseason earnings are in addition to the regular season revenue distributions.
This revenue-sharing approach aims to incentivize schools to enhance their athletic programs and increase viewership, aligning financial rewards with both competitive success and audience engagement.
New Rules
Targeting Penalty – Two-Phase System
- Incidental Targeting
- Definition: Contact that meets the targeting criteria but lacks clear intent or is marginal in severity.
- Penalty:
- 15-yard penalty
- Official warning, but no ejection
- 15-yard penalty
- Treated similarly to a personal foul, with the player allowed to continue playing.
- Definition: Contact that meets the targeting criteria but lacks clear intent or is marginal in severity.
- Egregious Targeting
- Definition: Clear and dangerous targeting, often with intent or excessive force (e.g., crown of helmet to helmet, launching into a defenseless player).
- Penalty:
- 15-yard penalty
- Automatic ejection
- 15-yard penalty
- Definition: Clear and dangerous targeting, often with intent or excessive force (e.g., crown of helmet to helmet, launching into a defenseless player).
This system replaces the “one-size-fits-all” targeting rule and introduces discretion for officials, similar to how flagrant fouls work in basketball.
“Josh Pate Overtime” Format
- Starting Field Position: Each possession starts at the 50-yard line.
- Clock Rules: Each team gets a 2-minute clock and 2 timeouts per possession.
- Scoring Rules:
- No PAT kicks — teams must go for 2 after a touchdown.
🌟 A New Era for the Group of 5
As the financial gap between the Power 5 and Group of 5 (G5) conferences continues to widen—particularly in terms of revenue sharing, NIL dynamics, and media exposure—it’s clear that a structural shift is not only inevitable but necessary.
🏆 A Separate Playoff, A Shared Goal
The G5 will establish its own:
- Ranking system
- Polls
- 8-team playoff structure
- National Championship Trophy
This new framework will allow G5 programs to compete on an even playing field—where their achievements are measured within a context that values their resources, challenges, and regional pride.
Rather than aiming for a near-impossible Power 5 national title, G5 schools will now have a realistic, meaningful postseason goal beyond their own conference championships. This model:
- Keeps the regular season important
- Offers broader representation
- Encourages investment and growth within the G5
- Honors champions with a title they can truly own
⚖️ Fairness Over Fantasy
While the occasional Cinderella story has captivated fans, the odds of a G5 team actually winning a national championship in the current system are slim to none. By creating a separate postseason, the G5 schools are no longer marginalized—they are re-centered, with a system tailored to their scale, budgets, and traditions.
To mirror the Power Five model, the Group of Five will expand to 80 teams by adding 24 schools from the FCS level. These teams will be organized into five 16-team conferences, each structured regionally to minimize travel, preserve rivalries, and maintain traditional matchups. In this new alignment, Army, Navy, UConn, Villanova, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State will participate as football-only members.
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