What will college football look like in 25 years?

[bleu]

The layout of college football is always changing, and college football is a ton different now than it was 25 years ago. In 1991, there were 107 division 1 teams, 18 bowl games, 18 independent teams, something called the Southwest Conference, and the BCS had never even been imagined. What will the landscape of college football look like in 2041?

[Old Man Game]

Four super conferences.

[bleu]

Four super conferences.

I'm somewhat under this impression as well. I imagine the Big 12 won't exist, but there will be four conferences with either 16 or 20 a piece.

[Old Man Game]

Four super conferences.

I'm somewhat under this impression as well. I imagine the Big 12 won't exist, but there will be four conferences with either 16 or 20 a piece.

Speaking to you from Big 12 Country I am 100% on board with flushing the Big 12 conference down the toilet.

Make it like 4 super conferences of 16 teams with two 8 team divisions each. Have an 8 team playoff. 4 conference champions get automatic bids to the playoff and leave 4 at large bids for voters/computers to select. At that point you've effectively got a sort of season long equivalent of March Madness for Football. It could be huge.

The bowls will still exist for everyone else just like they do now but they'll be viewed being of declining relevance since they'll be seen as consolation trophies for non-playoff teams (which, in my opinion we are sort of already beginning to see. The hype and excitement around the playoff is so big its hard to get excited about the Outback Bowl or the Cotton Bowl or whatever).

[bwgood77]

Personally I want it to get to where there are 16 playoff teams. Heck they have 64 in college basketball, and between 10 and 16 if pro leagues with around 30 teams.

With 16, you have SO many more fans vested for the entire year, whereas under current system the minute you get two losses, you are out of the playoffs.

Obviously they would expand to 8 first, but 16 makes the most sense. Or even 12 with 4 byes.

I would probably take top 2 from each power conference plus 2 out large, but it would make sense to get top 2 and 6 at large for 16.

Four super conferences would be fine too, but conferences with 16 teams doesn't totally make sense because you would never play every team...perhaps you could play the other 7 in your half and 4 in the other half and rotate to the other 4 the next year, for a total of 11 games which is kind of how the SEC works now, so I guess that could actually work.

[Cactus Jack]

Four super conferences.

I'm somewhat under this impression as well. I imagine the Big 12 won't exist, but there will be four conferences with either 16 or 20 a piece.

I would be okay with this. Its so hard to keep tabs on each school/conference today.

[Old Man Game]

Four super conferences would be fine too, but conferences with 16 teams doesn't totally make sense because you would never play every team...perhaps you could play the other 7 in your half and 4 in the other half and rotate to the other 4 the next year, for a total of 11 games which is kind of how the SEC works now, so I guess that could actually work.

That's essentially what the Big 12 did when it actually had 12 teams. Two divisions. You played everyone in your division and then half the other teams every other year. Even if you never played the other half though so long as the two division champions still met in a conference title game it would work for the purposes of what I'm trying to get accomplished here. Ensuring the conference championship matters and counts towards a playoff automatic berth.

[bwgood77]

Four super conferences would be fine too, but conferences with 16 teams doesn't totally make sense because you would never play every team...perhaps you could play the other 7 in your half and 4 in the other half and rotate to the other 4 the next year, for a total of 11 games which is kind of how the SEC works now, so I guess that could actually work.

That's essentially what the Big 12 did when it actually had 12 teams. Two divisions. You played everyone in your division and then half the other teams every other year. Even if you never played the other half though so long as the two division champions still met in a conference title game it would work for the purposes of what I'm trying to get accomplished here. Ensuring the conference championship matters and counts towards a playoff automatic berth.

That's exactly how the PAC12 works now.

[Goudelock]

I have to wonder if College football will even exist in 25 years.

[bleu]

I have to wonder if College football will even exist in 25 years.

I have to believe it will with how popular it is, however, I could see it existing as more of a minor league club sport where the athletes are paid rather than being sponsored by universities.

[El Turco]

i think in 25 years football wont look anything like football we know now, probably closer to flag football