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How to Make Every Sport Better: College Sports Edition.
Oh the NCAA, a great organization that makes millions billions off exploiting young men and women in exchange for a school they don’t actually own giving them a reduction in cost on an education. So romantic.
But no, I’m not here to talk about the complete Idiocracy that is the NCAA, but instead on how to make their sports better. Because paying kids doesn’t make kids better at sports, nor does building Mecca-type training facilities off the inflated tuition rates of non-athletes. Instead we are here to explain one simple thing the NCAA should begin doing immediately to promote competition. it’s called Relegation.
Relegation – The act of taking the worst teams in a league and demoting them to lower leagues, in exchange for promoting the best teams those lower leagues.
Example: Kansas Football was the worst team in the Big-12, they would be relegated to a lower league. On the other hand, North Dakota State was one of the best teams in FBS, they would get promoted because of it.
Look, why should we in 2016 keep supporting mediocre teams having no business in their league when there are teams in lower leagues are running through competition? Why should teams who win titles practically every year keep winning titles on a lower league, when there are garbage teams are in better leagues and making more money and headlines for no reason?
If the NCAA is about the spirit of competition wouldn’t they focus on making the best teams play each other?
Also, think about how it makes bad teams relevant again. Imagine two or three teams potentially getting the boot from their league/ division. You don’t think all of a sudden near the end of the year that they wouldn’t be must watch TV to see what teams face relegation? It works in the English Premiere League.
And for all those who say it would never work because the top dogs would only stay on top and it would be a constant battle for bottom feeders probable do not realize that a team like Chelsea (a perennial powerhouse) is near relegation, and Leicester City (a perennial non-contender) sits on top of the English Premiere League. It is possible for teams to move up and down that you wouldn’t think would move up and down.
Also, isn’t that a great thing to make bad teams worth seeing? Who currently cares about the worst few teams in any conference? outside their loyal fans, no one. Now see two or three teams in a battle for the worst spot, you’d tune in to see what teams are out. Plus it’d even make lower levels like D-II worth watching on a grander scale so people could see what teams will be moved up. It’d be almost like March Madness but with every major sport in college.
There are many points to argue that the move to a relegation system would work. Speaking of, here is how it can work.
Football:
D-I – 120 teams – 10 conferences
D-II (formerly FBS) – 156 teams – 13 conferences
D-III (formerly D-II) – 192 teams – 16 conferences
D-IV (formerly D-III) – 192 teams – 16 conferences
*eight independent teams remain
How relegation would work:
D-I – Worst team in each conference (10) + 6 worst ranked teams
D-II – Promotion: Conference champions (13) + top 3 from playoffs
Relegation: Conference losers (13) + 6 worst ranked teams
D-III – Promotion: Conference champions (16) + top 3 teams from playoffs
Relegation: Conference losers (16) + 3 worst ranked teams
D-IV- Promotion: Conference champions (16) + top 3 teams from playoffs
No relegation for D-IV
Basketball:
Since there is no FBS system for Basketball, there will be a creation of D-IV and a relocation of teams based of rankings initially.
D-I – 240 teams – 20 conferences
D-II – 264 teams – 22 conferences
D-III – 288 teams – 24 conferences
D-IV – 300 teams – 25 conferences
How relegation would work:
DI – Relegation: 20 conference losers + 5 worst ranked teams
D-II – Promotion: 22 conference champions + top 3 in playoffs
Relegation: 22 conference losers + 5 worst ranked teams
D-III – Promotion: 24 conference champions + top 3 in playoffs
Relegation: 24 conference losers +4 worst
D-IV – Promotion: 25 conference championships + top 3 in playoffs
Curious who would be relegated in Football or Basketball? Saved you the trouble below!
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@scottcriscione
