10 game conference schedule?

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This to me makes scheduling 16 with no divisions much easier

Lock 5 opponents yearly.
Play the other 10 home and home every 4 years.

Really easy schedule
Really easy to create pools or round robins to avoid 3 way ties with no natural tiebreakers.
 

Some guy said:


This to me makes scheduling 16 with no divisions much easier

Lock 5 opponents yearly.
Play the other 10 home and home every 4 years.

Really easy schedule
Really easy to create pools or round robins to avoid 3 way ties with no natural tiebreakers.
Click to expand...

Meanwhile, the SEC continues to play 4 cupcakes plus 8 conference games, boasts about their great records, and then places more teams in the expanded CFP.
 

Will be interesting if this is a 2024 or 2026 change. Keep contracts with P5 teams and drop FCS teams. Wonder what that would cost schools.
 


Ski U Mah Gopher said:
If we go to a 10-game (out of 12) game conference schedule, there will never be a P-5 out of conference game again.

For $$$$ purposes, teams want 7 home games. P-5 teams want home & homes
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There are examples of schools who have played 6 home games in the big ten.
In fact, it might be a strategy as it’s easier to sell tickets to 6 games

Gate is becoming a smaller and smaller % of football revenue
 


somewhat off-topic, but to point out how the college FB scene is changing, saw this online: FCS schools planning to move up to FBS to form new conference. If more FCS schools move up to FBS, that will impact scheduling for FBS teams looking for an FCS opponent - but also create new FBS "guarantee game" opponents for scheduling purposes.

There will be a new FBS football conference soon if a cadre of schools based mostly in the South and Southwest get their way according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Nine members of the Atlantic Sun and Western Athletic Conferences will merge to form a football league, with the goal to play at the higher level “at the earliest practicable date.”

The schools involved are Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State), Southern Utah and Tarleton State from the WAC, and Atlantic Sun football members Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas and North Alabama of the Sun Belt. UT Rio Grande Valley would also be be projected to join the league in 2025.
 

Some guy said:


This to me makes scheduling 16 with no divisions much easier

Lock 5 opponents yearly.
Play the other 10 home and home every 4 years.

Really easy schedule
Really easy to create pools or round robins to avoid 3 way ties with no natural tiebreakers.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I'm all for it.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
If we go to a 10-game (out of 12) game conference schedule, there will never be a P-5 out of conference game again.

For $$$$ purposes, teams want 7 home games. P-5 teams want home & homes
Click to expand...
This would make it especially tough on Iowa who is obligated to play home & homes with Iowa State.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
somewhat off-topic, but to point out how the college FB scene is changing, saw this online: FCS schools planning to move up to FBS to form new conference. If more FCS schools move up to FBS, that will impact scheduling for FBS teams looking for an FCS opponent - but also create new FBS "guarantee game" opponents for scheduling purposes.

There will be a new FBS football conference soon if a cadre of schools based mostly in the South and Southwest get their way according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Nine members of the Atlantic Sun and Western Athletic Conferences will merge to form a football league, with the goal to play at the higher level “at the earliest practicable date.”

The schools involved are Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State), Southern Utah and Tarleton State from the WAC, and Atlantic Sun football members Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas and North Alabama of the Sun Belt. UT Rio Grande Valley would also be be projected to join the league in 2025.
Click to expand...

Interesting tidbit. I believe Abilene Christian would be one of the smallest schools in FBS. Plus, Tarleton State was D2 just a couple years ago (and maybe Southern Utah?). It sounds like FCS is becoming the redheaded stepchild that D2 has been since the 2000s with schools wanting to move up.
 



noamfromm said:
This would make it especially tough on Iowa who is obligated to play home & homes with Iowa State.
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The current agreement to play annually goes through 2027. After that, a ten-game Big Ten season would likely spell the end of the annual Cy-Hawk game.
 

Some guy said:
There are examples of schools who have played 6 home games in the big ten.
In fact, it might be a strategy as it’s easier to sell tickets to 6 games
Click to expand...
That’s not the direction the ball is headed. At all. In fact Michigan and Ohio State both played 8 home games this year.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
The current agreement to play annually goes through 2027. After that, a ten-game Big Ten season would likely spell the end of the annual Cy-Hawk game.
Click to expand...
Also, no further games against Notre Dame, including vs. USC.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Will be interesting if this is a 2024 or 2026 change. Keep contracts with P5 teams and drop FCS teams. Wonder what that would cost schools.
Click to expand...
If you move to 10 conference games, you aren’t dropping the FCS game. You’re likely looking at both of your OOC games being vs. FCS and all OOC games vs. P5s get cancelled. Math is simple on this one.
 



P5 vs FCS games are bad football and they shouldn’t exist in my opinion. I’d much rather it is banned and all P5 schools are required to play at least one OOC P5 school.
 

Goldmember said:
That’s not the direction the ball is headed. At all. In fact Michigan and Ohio State both played 8 home games this year.
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I didn’t say 6 every year
I think the ball is headed towards
TV > gate

Do you disagree with that?
If the league expands to 20 or 24 I won’t be surprised to see a 12 game conference schedule and no non conference games by 2040 or so.
 

But I’m all for a 10 game B1G season. I really don’t care what the SEC does. They can sit on their self proclaimed best conference throne and play 8 games and 3 cupcakes. Eventually people will recognize that B1G schedules are tougher and much more competitive
 

Don't really like it. Fans like the diversity of different P5 teams coming through the schedule. I'm more supportive of "conference challenge" arrangements and other agreements that keep the number of cupcake games down, but don't create little lagoons from each of the conferences.
 

I am against this. I do like the non-conference games with the diversity in opponents we see. I personally preferred the 8 game conference schedule TBH although I know that may not be popular here. For the Gopher program, more non-conference games is ideal.
 

Some guy said:
I didn’t say 6 every year
I think the ball is headed towards
TV > gate

Do you disagree with that?
If the league expands to 20 or 24 I won’t be surprised to see a 12 game conference schedule and no non conference games by 2040 or so.
Click to expand...
TV is more important than gate. Yes. But the games must be home games in order for the TV rights to be owned by the B1G and its television partners. Otherwise they’re on AggieVision, or the ACC network, or whatever else. Either way, the B1G does not own the rights to those OOC away games.

G5 programs typically give B1G programs like MN 2 home games for 1away game. And in some cases, they just agree to play at a huge stadium like Michigan’s without a return trip.

So every game you replace an OOC game with a conference game, the league loses about 3-4 games it has the rights to broadcast.

This is also why the B1G and SEC have so much trouble eliminating the FCS games. That’s all 14 games the league controls the broadcast rights to that would become only about 9 of 14 if they are against G5 opponents instead.
 

Goldmember said:
TV is more important than gate. Yes. But the games must be home games in order for the TV rights to be owned by the B1G and its television partners. Otherwise they’re on AggieVision, or the ACC network, or whatever else. Either way, the B1G does not own the rights to those OOC away games.
Click to expand...
Correct

Goldmember said:
G5 programs typically give B1G programs like MN 2 home games for 1away game. And in some cases, they just agree to play at a huge stadium like Michigan’s without a return trip.

So every game you replace an OOC game with a conference game, the league loses about 3-4 games it has the rights to broadcast.
Click to expand...
Correct
Goldmember said:
This is also why the B1G and SEC have so much trouble eliminating the FCS games. That’s all 14 games the league controls the broadcast rights to that would become only about 9 of 14 if they are against G5 opponents instead.
Click to expand...
Correct

None of this really disputes anything I said.

If there was a 12 game conference schedule the league at 16 teams would own 96 conference games
With a 9 game conference schedule the league owns 112 games (average of 7 home per team) and 72 conference games.


Expand the conference to 24 teams and a 9 game conference schedule would be 168 games 108 conference games.
24 team conference with a 12 game conference schedule 144 conference games.

What is worth more, the extra 25% of quality games or the extra games (that the networks often don’t buy so they end up on BTN).


That’s what the discussion will revolve around. They’ve already had the discussion of 8 vs 9 and opted for 9 which cost the league home games.
 

I hope they do go to 10 conf games, with 16 members and 5 annual games per team. Cycle through the remaining 10 conf teams every 2 years with the remaining 5 conf games. Seems like a no brainer.

Also gets rid of lopsided 4/5 conf game home/away bi-annual balancing.

And provides more Big Ten conf game inventory to sell to TV partners.


Main downside is that we only have 2 non-conf games. If we want 7 home games, that means both have to be one-off yearly contracts, and likely then with MAC, Mountain West, or FCS teams. The days of home-and-home non-conf games with other P5's could be over.
 

Not sure how you'd do it totally, but at least for the most western schools it would be very simple and easy:

Minn, Wisc, Iowa, Neb, USC, and UCLA would each play each other every year. That's the "Quadrangle" games + USC & UCLA for us.

Each of those schools is out to SoCal every year, either in the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum. So we could try to recruit SoCal a bit harder.
 

Another way it could be done is to maintain two divisions, for scheduling purposes only, so essentially 7 annual games. You would then play the remaining 8 conf teams each 3 times in 8 years. (instead of 4 times in 8 years)

It prevents there being 3 undefeated teams at the end of the year.


In that case, you add USC & UCLA to the existing West, and kick Purdue over to the existing East. Again, for scheduling purposes only. There are no longer division "winners".
 

Gophers_4life said:
Another way it could be done is to maintain two divisions, for scheduling purposes only, so essentially 7 annual games. You would then play the remaining 8 conf teams each 3 times in 8 years. (instead of 4 times in 8 years)

It prevents there being 3 undefeated teams at the end of the year.


In that case, you add USC & UCLA to the existing West, and kick Purdue over to the existing East. Again, for scheduling purposes only. There are no longer division "winners".
Click to expand...
I think that would be a good plan. Also limits travel for USC/UCLA to the Eastern Time Zone.

A detractor would be, not many USC games vs Mich, OSU or Penn St. Big 10 Power brokers and broadcast partners may not be thrilled, but something has to give somewhere.
 
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I guess the Bama series won't likely happen! I was really looking forward to reasserting our dominance over that second rate program!
 

here's a thought:

under the current CFP system, the 'helmet' schools know that if they lose more than one game, that probably knocks them out of playoff consideration.

but when the 12-game playoff system arrives, a team could have two losses and make the playoffs - possibly even three losses.

The question is whether the committee would make strength of schedule a key qualifier.

tell teams: "If you play a strong non-conf team and lose, that counts more than playing some FCS or G5 cupcake and winning."

make quality of wins - or quality of losses - more important than just winning games against lesser opposition. that, in turn, might encourage teams to schedule "better" non-conf games.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
here's a thought:

under the current CFP system, the 'helmet' schools know that if they lose more than one game, that probably knocks them out of playoff consideration.

but when the 12-game playoff system arrives, a team could have two losses and make the playoffs - possibly even three losses.

The question is whether the committee would make strength of schedule a key qualifier.

tell teams: "If you play a strong non-conf team and lose, that counts more than playing some FCS or G5 cupcake and winning."

make quality of wins - or quality of losses - more important than just winning games against lesser opposition. that, in turn, might encourage teams to schedule "better" non-conf games.
Click to expand...
Strength of schedule is always a factor and will continue. There are 6 Auto bids and 6 at-large. The best resumes will get in for those at large.

This year two 3 loss teams won their conferences and would be in KSU and Utah. Washington at 10-2 is out due to Tulane being highest G5.

Next in line, based on ranking, are Florida State, Oregon St. and Oregon. All 9-3. Are we moving them ahead of any of the bottom teams? Penn State, USC or Clemson?

Now if the Big 10 plays 10 conference games and two non-conference games, say 1 P5 and 1G5/FCS and SEC continues with 8 games and 4 non-conference 1 P5, 2 G5 and 1 FCS, we have a program.
 

Ope3 said:
I think that would be a good plan. Also limits travel for USC/UCLA to the Eastern Time Zone.

A detractor would be, not many USC games vs Mich, OSU or Penn St. Big 10 Power brokers and broadcast partners may not be thrilled, but it something has to give somewhere.
Click to expand...
I would think in this case, they could easily work it out so that USC plays at least one of those big 3 every year with the remaining 3 conference "crossover" games. The other "division" would have 8 teams, so in 3 years you're guaranteed to get through everyone +1 one more.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Strength of schedule is always a factor and will continue. There are 6 Auto bids and 6 at-large. The best resumes will get in for those at large.

This year two 3 loss teams won their conferences and would be in KSU and Utah. Washington at 10-2 is out due to Tulane being highest G5.

Next in line, based on ranking, are Florida State, Oregon St. and Oregon. All 9-3. Are we moving them ahead of any of the bottom teams? Penn State, USC or Clemson?

Now if the Big 10 plays 10 conference games and two non-conference games, say 1 P5 and 1G5/FCS and SEC continues with 8 games and 4 non-conference 1 P5, 2 G5 and 1 FCS, we have a program.
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Most P5 teams have and want to continuing having 7 home games per year (in a 12 game regular season). You can't do that if you're scheduling P5 home-and-home contracts.

Iowa is locked into playing Iowa State, though. Nothing they can do about that.
 

Similarly, the SEC and ACC have yearly games between Florida-FSU, Georgia-GT, SC-Clemson, and Kentucky-Louisville.

Which is why they've resisted going from 8 conf to 9 conf.
 

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