Don’t overthink conference scheduling — Keep only the top rivalries: Dochterman

In development that took place at least 20 years late, the NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday Removed the requirement that meetings require splits or round robins Schedule for the performance of the championship game. — —

Think about the reorganization that happened because of the NCAA’s arbitrary stance on the league championship. If both leagues held championships, would ACC poach the best Big East program in the mid-2000s? Did Pac-10 become Pac-12, or did Big Ten stay in 11 programs if the title game could be scheduled without split or round-robin scheduling requirements?

Next, imagine a game we lost like in 2004 for the Big 12 South Division Champion. Oklahoma (8-0) Forced to play North Division Co-Champion Colorado (4-4) Instead of the runner-up in the south Texas (7-1).Or when Big Ten declared a co-champion after second place in 2002 Ohio (8-0) and No. 3 Iowa (8-0) I didn’t meet during the regular season.

Currently, at least these situations may be corrected in the way each league deems appropriate. The Pac-12 already breaks the split This year. ACC seems ready to follow in 2023. Big Ten may change in the coming years like SEC.. The format depends on the conference settings.

With the changes, I have additional questions, starting with scheduling. And everyone is thinking too much about it now. Every Big Ten team has 3 protected rivals and the rest of the team needs to be circulated 6 times in 10 years, or only 2 rivals games need to be protected and everyone circulated more often mosquito? Can the pod format absorb all of SEC’s historic rivals?

No, it’s all. If the league wants to discontinue the division, allow them. If the school wants to protect three or zero rivals, allow them. Unless all teams play the same number of league games and there is a division structure, that doesn’t matter. All meetings danced around this issue, making exceptions in hangnail situations for years.

The Pac-12 California school would not have voted for the 2011 North-South Alignment unless all four were guaranteed to play against each other each year. When Big Ten was geographically split in 2014 Indiana When Purdue Although separated, their rivalry was the only one secured across departmental boundaries.

No league has a better scheduling variety than the SEC or has dealt with a larger scheduling shock. Until 1991, the team played against rivals and set up individual games without league intervention. Before expanding AuburnThe biggest rival of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee When Alabama.. Three of those teams went east and Auburn was placed west with Alabama.

To mitigate some of the impact of the expansion, the SEC has increased the annual game from 7 to 8. Each team played 5 division enemies and 2 permanent cross-division opponents. The Tigers have arrived in Florida and Georgia. Auburn and Tennessee have fought for 36 consecutive years before the division play, have played 11 times in the last 30 years and have played twice in the SEC title game.

Along with its historic rival, Alabama, Tennessee connects with newcomer Arkansas each year. They played for 11 consecutive years until 2002, after which the SEC fell into an annual crossover.With volume Razor Bucks I’ve only competed four times in the last 20 years. On the contrary, Tennessee faced Georgia and Florida only 21 and 19 times, respectively, before becoming an eastern enemy. Since then, they have been playing for 30 consecutive years.

The only reason the SEC has a permanent non-split game is because of Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia. The Pac-12’s California Round Robin distorts true rotation. The Indiana-Purdue series forced the Big Ten to adopt six semi-permanent crossover rivals between departments that rotate evenly over 36 years.It’s been 6 years in a row Wisconsin– –Michigan When Illinois– –Rutgers..

The point is that splitting has made scheduling easier and more difficult. League officials can organize the game many years ago, but rarely adapt to sensual exceptions. The Iowa-Wisconsin series was tweaked when Big Ten hired a competitive equivalent Legend and Leader division in 2011.Both are in opposite divisions and both teams have historic rivals Minnesota.. Despite a fierce plea from Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez, the series featuring 84 meetings for schools located within three hours of each other was curbed. It was revived only when Big Ten renewed its department geographically in 2014.

With no need for split play, the SEC and Big Ten have the opportunity to protect history (rivals), protect their greatest assets (championship matches) and win the highest sports awards (College Football Playoff qualifications). I have. Instead of forcing a pod structure, requiring all schools to play three rivals, or pushing big rivals out of the annual rotation, protect the most important games and rotate the rest. Without split slate, you wouldn’t be able to balance your competitiveness with the jagged number of games that are played permanently.

Big Ten has nine top rivals, probably 10 to 15 rivals, and requires lively discussion. Iowa is Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska.. Maryland And Rutgers may consider their series critical … or not. There is no reason to make Indiana and Rutgers a permanent partner, as the trio of other rival spots have been robbed. And if Ohio Michigan isn’t protected, someone should be fired.

Similarly, the SEC has ancient clashes (Aurton-Georgia), new rivals (Texas-Texas A & M), and interesting possibilities worth preserving and investigating (Arkansas-Oklahoma). Perhaps Tennessee can maintain a historic date with Alabama, Kentucky When Vanderbilt While entertaining whether to rekindle Auburn’s rivalry or resume the once great series with Florida.On the other side, probably South Carolina It only requires you to play Georgia every year.

In any case, decision makers should not overthink these decisions. Arbitrarily cut off Big Ten, Iowa, Wisconsin, and don’t let each play Maryland 7 times in 11 years instead of 6 times over 10 years. Similarly, the SEC should not wear a shoehorn. Missouri-South Carolina has become a permanent position as the remaining chairs are full. Maintain important rivals and circulate the remaining inventory.But while we’re working on it, make sure you’re flexible enough to sneak into some starchy matchups such as: Alabama-Texas A & M Or Iowa-Pennsylvania State University straight away.

(Photo above: Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)