At some point in the future, the best programs in college football may choose to merge into multiple super conferences and create a championship format separate from the rest of the current Football Bowl Subdivision.
And even before that might happen, the existing postseason system finds the same handful of teams at the top of the FBS in any given year — Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Clemson have combined for seven of the past eight national titles and 14 of the 16 total appearances in the College Football Playoff championship game.
Why not cut to the chase? Rather than pay lip service to the concepts of parity and unpredictability, this upper crust of college football could jettison some dead weight and forge a new enterprise consisting only of the most successful and marketable programs in the country.
We don’t have to search far to find an example of how that split would unfold: If or when the step is taken, this top tier of college football could model the NFL. With only so many spots to go around for the current 131-team FBS, all that would be left to decide is the guest list and seating arrangements.
How would this work? Who would be included in a 32-team National College Football League? How would the regular season and playoffs be scheduled? Could you mirror the two-conference, eight-division layout of the NFL and still hold on to the rivalries that help define the sport?
TOUGH CUTS: The biggest names left out when reimagining college football
HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 0 in college football
MAKING GRADE: College football’s Week 0 report card focuses on Nebraska
Using the same factors at play in realignment — including historic success, financial and fan support, national reach, location and TV marketability — here are the programs who would make the cut for this hypothetical NCFL.
Divisional and conference setup
The NCFL conferences are named for two coaching innovators who played a vital role in college football’s creation and early evolution: Stagg, after Amos Alonzo Stagg, and Camp, for Walter Camp.
Stagg Conference
East Division: Central Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami
Adding Central Florida to Miami gives the NCFL a foothold in two of Florida’s largest markets. Georgia is the top program in the conference. While…