There's really no solution.

The NCAA basketball tourney still has problems every year.

agnerd said:

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No teams outside the top 6 DESERVE a chance to play for the national championship. Playoff is too big as it is.

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Crazy take. What if the committee puts us at #7 tonight? You think we shouldn't make the playoffs?

2012 Aggies w/ Johnny were ranked #10 before the Cotton Bowl against OU. You don't think A&M would've made a deep run in the playoffs? We beat the eventual National Champ Bama on the road that season. We were the hottest team in the nation.

aggiehawg said:

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TheBonifaceOption said:

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Two teams? Thats unfair. We need 4 teams.

Four teams? Thats unfair. We need 12 teams.

Twelve teams? Thats unfair. We need 16 teams.

Sixteen teams? Thats unfair. We need 32 teams.

Thirty-two teams? Thats unfair. We need 64 teams.

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Everybody gets a participation trophy, I guess. That's the only justification for it.

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Back when we had the BCS, the regular season WAS the playoff. Want the be the National Champion? Dont lose.

Wabs said:

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We went from 2 to 4 because teams 3,4 5 were "being screwed"

We went from 4 to 12 because teams 5,6,7,8 were "being screwed"

Now we want to go from 12 to 16? What about teams 17, 18, 19? They just won't complain?

Eventually we'll be the NCAA basketball tournament.

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This argument is faulty because you're not accounting for the free transfer and NIL that began to have a real impact on the sport at the same time the playoff expanded to 12. With the wider spread of talent and drastic increase in parity, there won't be a clear 2 teams or 4 teams anymore. There will be 12 or 16 teams in most years with a legitimate chance to go on a run and win the championship.

Keep it at 12 teams.
No byes for anyone.
1 versus 12
2 versus 11 and so on.

Top 6 teams host home field 1st round.
Use the bowl games for the remaining rounds.

aggieband 83 said:

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Keep it at 12 teams.
No byes for anyone.
1 versus 12
2 versus 11 and so on.

Top 6 teams host home field 1st round.
Use the bowl games for the remaining rounds.

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Who wants to tell him?

3 team round robin for the final round?

20 teams

Auto Bids:
5 SEC
5 B10
2 B12
2 ACC
2 G5
4 at large

Rank / Seed 1-20
Top 12 get 1st round bye
13-20 play with Seeds 13-16 home field advantage
Round 2 Seeds 1-8 home field advantage
Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Championship at Neutral Sites

Everything but the championship should be games on campus but the rose bowl will never allow that

I gave this answer to important people who could make changes, and was told to piss up a rope.

Here's what you do:

Eight 16 teams superconferences, each split into two 8 team divisions. Separate them geographically. That gives 132 teams a chance to win it all.

The playoff is 8 teams. Those 8 teams are the superconference winners. Seed them by ranking. Fine. Still, just the 8 teams. That said, EVERY division winner gets a chance to win it all because the conference title games are essentially the first round of a 16 team playoff.

1. It gives everyone a chance.
2. It makes a division title a big deal, and a conference title a HUGE deal, again.
3. It keeps the conference title games from being meaningless, if not punitive.
4. It keeps it regional in nature and eliminates bias.
5. It makes the playoffs legit games.

Here were my conferences:

1. Big South Conference

Southwest Division

Texas
Baylor
TCU
Texas Tech
Houston
SMU
Rice
North Texas

Big 8 Division

Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Tulsa
Kansas
Kansas State
UTEP
New Mexico
New Mexico State

2. Southeastern Conference

Rocky Mountain Division

Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Memphis
Middle Tennessee
Alabama
Auburn
Troy
UAB

Old South Division

Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Southern Mississippi
LSU
Tulane
Louisiana Monroe
Arkansas
Texas A&M

3. Atlantic Coast Conference

Citrus Division

Florida
Florida State
Miami
USF
FAU
UCF
Stetson
FIU

Palmetto Division

South Carolina
Clemson
South Carolina State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Georgia Southern
UL-Lafayette

4. East Coast Conference

Tobacco Road Division

North Carolina
Duke
NC State
Appalachian State
East Carolina
Wake Forest
West Virginia
Marshall

Capital Division

Virginia
Virginia Tech
Liberty
Maryland
Navy
Rutgers
Syracuse
Army

5. Northeast Conference

New England Division

Connecticut
Boston College
Boston University
Pitt
Penn State
Temple
Buffalo
Massachusetts

Midlands Division

Ohio
Ohio State
Toledo
Miami of Ohio
Cincinnatti
Akron
Kent State
Bowling Green

6. Heartland Conference

Great Lakes Division

Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame
Ball State
Michigan
Michigan State
Central Michigan
Western Michigan

Central Division

Illinois
Southern Illinois
Northwestern
Northern Illinois
Wisconsin
Missouri
Kansas
Kansas State

7. Big Sky Conference

Mountain Division

Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State
Nebraska
Montana
Air Force
Colorado
Colorado State

West Division (running out of names)

Utah
Utah State
BYU
Idaho
Boise State
Wyoming
Air Force
South Dakota State

8. West Coast Conference

Pacific Division

Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
UNLV
Nevada
Stanford
Cal-Berkley

Golden State Division

USC
UCLA
San Diego State
San Jose State
Fresno State
NAU
Arizona
Arizona State

There you go. Sixteen teams in the "playoff", which starts with the conference division winners. Then the "actual" playoff is the 8 conference winners, seeded the same way we seed now. Use 8 bowls, with the NYD bowls being the first round. Then you give two sites the semis on a rotating basis, and the same for one bowl site getting to be the title game also every four years.

Does that tighten up the number of teams with a chance? Maybe from 140+ to 132, but really, screw the rest of those teams. This gives everyone a shot, AND

it means you can schedule THREE kickass non-conference games because they in no way keep you from having a chance at the 16 (eight) team "playoff".

I was told to shove it.