Huge horizontal bands from coast to coast are an illogical way to organize college football conferences. The United States is almost twice as wide as it is tall! Vertical strips split the country into more balanced conferences with shorter travel distances. Organizing this way also divides up the most prime, fertile recruiting grounds (California, Texas, Florida, Alabama and Georgia) in a fairly even way. Obviously the Big West still ends up being a very large conference in terms of landmass, but this is necessary for the correct number of teams.
THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE
The Big West Conference (BWC) contains the most states and the fertile recruiting grounds of California and Western Texas.
BIG WEST UPPER DIVISION
THE GOLD PLAINS CONFERNCE
The Gold Plains Conference (GPC) cuts from Minnesota down to the southern most tip of Texas. In 2021, GPC teams had the highest winning percentage (62.3%).
GOLD PLAINS UPPER DIVISION
THE MID-EAST CONFERENCE
The Mid-East Conference (MEC) spans from Michigan down to the Florida panhandle, including powerhouses Alabama and Ohio State.
MID-EAST UPPER DIVISION
THE EAST COAST CONFERENCE
The East Coast Conference (ECC) mimics much of the current Atlantic Coast Conference and welcomes consistently strong programs like Florida, Georgia and Penn State.
EAST COAST UPPER DIVISION
A Few Notes:
You may have noticed that each of these team logo grids is named "Upper Division". This is because these conference alignments also provide a seamless framework to split up the Group of 5 conference teams. Click the button below to see the Lower Divisions.
You may have also noticed that two conferences currently have seventeen teams (BWC and GPC) while two conferences have only sixteen teams (MEC and ECC).
The solution here is relegation. Over the next 3 years before reorganizing, we will track teams W-L performances on the field. After 3 years time, the two worst teams in the BWC and the GPC will play each other in a relegation bowl game to determine who remains in the Upper Division and who is relegated to the Lower Division.
For illustration purposes only, if Relegation Bowl Games had been played after the past season, the match ups would have been Illinois vs. Northwestern in the GPC and Arizona vs. Kansas in the BWC.
Just to keep things interesting, after three years time, the two highest performing Lower Division schools in the MEC and the ECC will earn the chance to play in relegation games against the lowest performing teams in the Upper Division.
For illustration purposes only, if Relegation Bowl Games had been played after last season, the match ups would have been Cincinnati vs. Vanderbilt in the MEC and UCF vs. Duke in the ECC.
To explore more about relegation click the button below: