College Football needs several changes to keep it entertaining to watch. Starting with all those changes, the NCAA needs to reconsider the postseason and make the selection process fairer for all conferences. Below are several issues to address, along with my suggestions on how to resolve them. It would look more like the NAIA structure and also like the NFL as well.

This article will cover postseason changes, offseason changes, to regular season changes. The postseason ones will cover bowl games, the playoffs, the committee, and also TV coverage. For the offseason ones that will cover conference changes, transfer portal rules, and NIL changes. Regular season ones will cover Coaching and Player contacting rules for other teams.

Postseason

CFP Changes

The College Football Playoffs have become a big deal, as they come with a chance to win a championship, big payouts for the schools. That being said, it is a mess, and it’s full of biases when it comes to selecting teams. Three major things could fix this.

The first thing is to expand it to a 24-team playoff. This will consist of 10 conference champions, and then the rest are at-large bids. Moving to 24 teams leaves room for errors on the at-large bids. Those 10 conference champions can be any seed, with no guarantee for the top 5 teams. The rest of the teams should have at least 10 wins and no losses to a school ineligible for bowl games. Also, if you’re not in the top three of your conference, you don’t get in either. Finally, those at large bids come from the conference runner-up and the third teams in the conference, if eligible.

The next one is that the committee is dissolved, and the seeding moves to computer metrics and preset stats from the season. The media members get to put their votes in on who should get those at-large bids. With that being said, no media member gets more say than another, also it doesn’t matter which crew you cover for either. These members will also be rotated every year to keep biases to a minimum.

TV Rights

The Final thing is that the CFP gets moved back to the NCAA so that ESPN gets TV rights and nothing more. This year’s selection is very controversial for many reasons. ESPN has shown us who they truly want in and who they want out. They have no respect for the Big 12 or the ACC, let alone the G5 schools. It’s time for them to be moved back to a TV station and join CBS and Fox in hosting the CFP every year. Also, the Championship will be hosted by a different TV station every year.

Bowl Game Changes

Bowl games have become irrelevant postseason rewards for the schools. This has come about because of the CFP and also with the NIL and transfer portal. Fans have stopped attending because their team didn’t get into the CFP or they didn’t get the bowl game that they thought they should have. To fix this would come alongside the fixing of the CFP.

The first fix will be if you opt out of a bowl game, you give up your next postseason. This means that if you get selected to go to a bowl game with 6 or more wins, you give up this season and next season’s CFP and bowl games. This has been a punishment, and it has to be upheld. Notre Dame set a standard this season that I hope doesn’t turn into a trend, all because they were left out of the CFP. You can’t have a team that is guaranteed a spot just because of their rank during the season if they aren’t playing during champ week, then they shouldn’t be considered as an automatic bid.

The other fix needs to be that if you don’t play a bowl game because you opted out, you need to be fined, and it needs to be a hefty fine. If you opt out more and more, that fine will increase. Postseason should be taken seriously, and opting out should be a big no. If you are eligible, then you need to play; if you forfeit, and have to pay the fine. That fine will go to the other school based on what they would have gotten if that game had been played.

Offseason

NIL and Transfer Portal Changes

The NIL and Transfer Portal have changed college football. Now, whether you think it’s a change for the good or the bad, that’s up to you. This is here to stay, whether you like it or not. To keep it fair and prevent it from ruining college football, here is what needs to happen.

A NIL contract needs to be treated like an NFL one; you spend two years with the team under that contract. That contract can be updated for stuff like pay, and also what the player needs to do to keep it. This two-year limit prevents contract hopping because some team claims they can get them more money. It also prevents looking for a better contract because they have to spend two years with that team.

The transfer portal doesn’t need to open until after national signing day, which happens in February. No need for players to leave before the season is over. This has caused problems for teams and also academically, as they have to move their credits and also their majors to another school. When you do transfer, the NCAA needs to approve it.

Conference Changes

Fixing the conferences and the whole G5 and Power 5 segregation is pretty simple. Starting with a whole conference realignment that will be done now by geography, no more traveling across the country for conference games. The next thing is no more G5 or Power 5 schools; there is no need for this separation. With this separation came the amount of NIL money a school has, and that has been shown in bowl games. Finally, no more independence. If you want to compete in the CFP, you have to join a conference.

Regular Season

Coaching Changes

These changes for the coaches will change how and when teams look for new coaches. The first is not contacting coaches during the season. This is a big distraction to both sides if you fire your coach mid-season; that’s on you. Waiting until after the National Championship to go looking for a new one is the best way to do this because then no one gets phone calls, disruptions, and distractions during the season. The next is that early signing is cancelled, no more signing players until after the postseason has ended. Finally, if you contact a coach during the season, you will be fined for tampering.

Player Changes

These player changes will also make the season flow more smoothly, and also these players’ careers. First is no transferring more than twice during your four years. Second, if you transfer, you sit no playing for one team this year and start for another the next. The exception is if you are a graduate student, then you can play your final year of eligibility because you transferred to the school. The Third thing is no contact from teams during the season, and also, if you do that, there will be a fine for that. The last thing is no NIL offers during the season. The player has to have their NIL signed before the start of week one to prevent distractions.