Changes Ahead for College Football Playoff

From my point of view, it was good to see the news just before Labor Day: The College Football Playoff Board of Managers, made up of 11 university presidents (one from each conference plus one representing the independent schools) and chaired by President Mark Keenum of Mississippi State met by video conference and unanimously agreed to expand the playoff from a "final four" to 12 schools. 

Even better news: The top six conference champions will be in the playoff, and the top four conference champions will receive first-round byes. Also good news: Six bowl games will play host to games beginning with the quarterfinal round. I imagine that the current New Year's Six lineup of bowls (Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, and Peach) will be the top candidates for these games. Currently, these six bowls rotate for the two playoff games, normally played right around New Year's Day. The national championship game is played at a neutral site, and this would continue.

Bowls have been a big part of college football for a long time now. These bowls will now take on additional importance. Also, the routine of players anticipating the NFL draft and "sitting out" the bowl game to avoid injury and to begin preparation for the scouting combine and evaluation by pro teams will be reduced. 

If a certain team is in the playoff, no player is likely to sit out with his team in the mix for a chance to play for the national title.

Another element of intrigue: With realignment happening at a rapid pace and the mere existence of certain conferences being in jeopardy, this announcement from a board having representation from all FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) conferences and independents too should provide a nice boost. It will be a challenge for conferences to determine exactly what direction to take, but I believe that all of them will survive. For the moment, the Sun Belt Conference seems to have picked up some momentum. Regarded previously as the lowest conference in the FBS, the Sun Belt has picked up members and now boasts 14 schools in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas. 

The Sun Belt schools are not exactly right next door to each other, but most are within a day's drive of each other and are considered to be in a unified geographic area, unlike some other leagues. An exciting brand of football and Olympic sports is being pitched.

What happens to the Pac-12, Conference USA, and other conferences that may lose members? Time will tell. 

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. And schools may think twice about jumping conferences when it will be much tougher to win a conference title and advance to the College Football Playoff.

The football conference lineup for 2022 is below. Here is a glance at the number of teams in each league:

ACC - 14 teams in two divisions

B1G - 14 teams in two divisions

Big XII - 10 teams

SEC - 14 teams in two divisions

Pac-12 - 12 teams

American Athletic - 11 teams

Conference USA - 11 teams

Mid-American - 12 teams in two divisions

Sun Belt - 14 teams in two divisions

Mountain West - 12 teams in two divisions

Independents - Notre Dame Fighting Irish, BYU Cougars, Liberty Flames, UMass Minutemen, UConn Huskies, Army Black Knights, and New Mexico State Aggies

POWER FIVE CONFERENCES

Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Division

Clemson Tigers

Syracuse Orange

Florida State Seminoles

N.C. State Wolfpack

Boston College Eagles

Louisville Cardinals

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Coastal Division

North Carolina Tar Heels

Duke Blue Devils

Miami Hurricanes 

Pittsburgh Panthers

Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia Tech Hokies

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Southeastern Conference

East Division

Georgia Bulldogs

Kentucky Wildcats

Tennessee Volunteers

Vanderbilt Commodores

Florida Gators

South Carolina Gamecocks

Missouri Tigers

West Division

Alabama Crimson Tide

Ole Miss Rebels

Arkansas Razorbacks

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Texas A&M Aggies

Auburn Tigers

LSU Tigers

Big Ten Conference

East Division

Indiana Hoosiers

Penn State Nittany Lions

Maryland Terrapins

Michigan Wolverines

Ohio State Buckeyes

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Michigan State Spartans

West Division

Northwestern Wildcats

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Iowa Hawkeyes

Minnesota Golden Gophers 

Purdue Boilermakers

Illinois Fighting Illini

Wisconsin Badgers

Big 12 Conference

Baylor Bears

Iowa State Cyclones

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas State Wildcats

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma State Cowboys

TCU Horned Frogs

Texas Longhorns

Texas Tech Red Raiders

West Virginia Mountaineers

Pac-12 Conference

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona State Sun Devils

California Golden Bears

Oregon Ducks

Oregon State Beavers

Utah Utes 

Stanford Cardinal

UCLA Bruins

USC Trojans 

Washington Huskies

Washington State Cougars

Colorado Buffaloes

GROUP OF FIVE (G5) CONFERENCES

American Athletic Conference

Memphis Tigers

Navy Midshipmen

Houston Cougars

SMU Mustangs

Tulane Green Wave

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

South Florida Bulls

Temple Owls

Cincinnati Bearcats

UCF Knights

East Carolina Pirates

Mid-American Conference

East Division

Akron Zips

Ohio Bobcats

Bowling Green Falcons

Buffalo Bulls

Kent State Golden Flashes

Miami RedHawks

West Division

Eastern Michigan Eagles

Northern Illinois Huskies

Ball State Cardinals

Central Michigan Chippewas

Western Michigan Broncos

Toledo Rockets

Conference USA

Florida Atlantic Owls

North Texas Mean Green

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

FIU Panthers

UAB Blazers

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

UTSA Roadrunners 

UTEP Miners

Charlotte 49ers

Rice Owls

Sun Belt Conference

East Division

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Georgia Southern Eagles

James Madison Dukes

Marshall Thundering Herd

Old Dominion Monarchs

Appalachian State Mountaineers 

Georgia State Panthers 

West Division

Arkansas State Red Wolves

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks

South Alabama Jaguars

Texas State Bobcats

Troy Trojans

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Mountain West Conference

Mountain Division

Air Force Falcons

New Mexico Lobos

Utah State Aggies

Wyoming Cowboys

Boise State Broncos

Colorado State Rams

West Division

Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors

Fresno State Bulldogs

San Jose State Spartans

UNLV Rebels

San Diego State Aztecs

Nevada Wolf Pack

James A. Rose

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