What NCAA Conference Realignment Should Look Like
Dec 13, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Army helicopters fly over the stadium prior to the 115th annual Army-Navy game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Independents
Now here is where we make things complicated, but not too much. The Independents would be made up of the three Service Academies, who are unique already as FBS schools and have earned the right to receive the benefits of Independent schools.
That means that they keep all of the revenue they make from bowl games, they get to schedule who they want and when they want, and they would all play each other every year for the Commander in Chief Trophy.
Outside of them, however, the Independents would be made up of temporary teams who want to join a conference. They do not get to make any TV deals, they would only keep a certain percentage of any revenue possibly generated from a bowl game while the rest goes to the NCAA, and they could be replaced by an FCS team looking to join FBS. This would take away the incentive from any team to be Independent, including Notre Dame and Texas.
Any FCS team joining would have to be Independent for the first year and wait for an invitation from a conference. They would then have to replace a team in that conference, which the conference would choose, but that team would have to have been bad enough to earn being replaced. If this were to happen next year, we would take the worst teams who are barely a step away from FCS anyway. That includes Idaho, who does not belong in the Sun Belt but is there out of desperation.
New Mexico State is one of the worst teams in the worst conference. And Texas San Antonio and Georgia State are both new to FBS and have not won anything yet, so they would not beat out anybody in these conferences.
Finally, UAB, whose football program will apparently come back, would have to start out as Independents. This keeps the Independents having something to play for while, unless they are the Service Academies, not wanting to be independent.
Next: Mid-American Conference