Proposal for a NCAA Division 1 Football Playoff System - Part 1

Here is my proposal for the cure-all to the current NCAA Division 1 Football fiasco that we all call the Bowl Championship Series (BCS):

• uniform scheduling system for all schools
• One (1) Division 1AA non-conference game (one (1) home; scheduled in the two (2) weeks before Labor Day);
• Two (2) weeks of Division 1 non-conference games (one (1) road, one (1) home);
• Nine (9) weeks of eight (8) conference games (one bye-week for all schools through this portion of schedule; four (4) home and four (4) games);
• One (1) week of Conference Championship games.

I know what you are all thinking: what about Notre Dame (and to a lesser extent, Army, Navy, and Temple)? Well, this problem is easily resolved. Notre Dame will go as one of the two non-conference games scheduled for any Division 1 team. However, instead of being played in the first two weeks of that school's schedule they instead get their bye week during the first two weeks. And during what would be their regularly scheduled bye week, they play Notre Dame. This would permit Notre Dame to play a full 11 game schedule as every other team, throughout the course of this 14 week schedule.

Why the game against Division 1AA opponents? Well, for the Division 1AA opponents. They make a lot of money off the current system, that usually involves up to 4 non-conference games for each Divison 1 school, who usually offer Division 1AA opponents wads of cash to play those games. They also would have to be played early in the season. This protects the integrity of the scheduling system, so that, say Florida, doesn't schedule a Divison 1AA school, say Western Carolina, in the twelfth week of the season.

Now here is the creme-de-la-creme of my proposal:

• Sixteen (16) team playoff;
• The playoff would only be used to determine the two (2) schools to play in the National Championship game (played in weeks 15, 16, and 17, to get from sixteen (16) to eight (8), eight (8) to four (4), and four (4) to two (2)).

But Justin, this would be way, way too long. 17 weeks? Possibly 15 games? And after that, a Bowl game? These kids are in school for a reason other than to play football.

Cough! Excuse me, I was choking on reality. But in responding to this criticism one need only point to the current system which runs 16 weeks for multiple schools. This system is only 17 weeks for four (4) schools, 16 weeks for eight (8) schools, 15 weeks for sixteen (16) schools, and 14 weeks for ten (10) schools (five (5) conferences currently with a Conference Championship game). Well, to be honest, this system only consists of 13 weekends of football for bulk of the 119 schools playing Division 1 NCAA Football. This system would give more time for school for more student athletes than the current system.