Virtual Athletic Conference

[Go-UD-Go]

I'm tired of not being able to schedule good OOC opponents. So enter the Virtual Athletic Conference.


· It consists of two tiers of three teams each, for a total of six teams.
· In each tier a team plays both other teams, one home and one away
· The games are played on the first three Wednesdays of December.
o Each team gets a by-week where they have no VAC game.
· If a team wins both games in their tier they are awarded a banner that they can fly in their arena starting in January
· If a team from tier 1 loses both games and a team from tier 2 wins both games they switch places. The loser from tier 1 is relegated to tier 2 and the winner of tier 2 is promoted to tier 1.
· If a team loses both games in tier 2 they are relegated out of the league and a new team is admitted.
· Teams are admitted to the lowest tier by using Kenpom overall ranking. The highest Kenpom ranking at the end of the year, that is willing to join, is in. Even if it ends up being the team who was just relegated.
· The TV rights to the 6 games (3 Tier-1 and 3 Tier-2) are sold as a package by the VAC. A small amount is syphoned off to pay for a small office and the rest is split evenly in the league.
· If the idea becomes popular, more tiers can be added.

The purpose is to get Top 50 teams in lower leagues more chances to play each other. While there is no restriction on P5 teams from joining, they are not generally looking for a strength of schedule boost.

Potential first six: Wichita State 8, St. Mary’s 14, Cincinnati 22, Dayton 36, Middle Tennessee 48, Nevada 55 (rank is current Kenpom)

I arbitrarily had only one team per conference. After it got rolling, same conference teams would be able and likely to join.

[ClaytonFlyerFan]

and the academy award for Best at Thinking Outside the Box, goes to.......

Go-UD-Go

[springborofan]

I like the thinking. Are you looking to be the commish for the VAC? Cool $250-$350K per annum with the accompanying perks associated with such a prestigious position!

Wait...sorry, there are others who are the "Bowl Chairman" for all the college football bowls who have many more years experience getting ridiculously high salaries for part time work who will jump to the front of the line...

[hawkoooo]

Someone is going to do this now and you aren't going to get the money or the credit.

[MikeF]

Originally Posted by Go-UD-Go The purpose is to get Top 50 teams in lower leagues more chances to play each other. While there is no restriction on P5 teams from joining, they are not generally looking for a strength of schedule boost.

In another thread I mentioned my Atlantic 10 promotion/relegation thought, and in here you've touched on another thought the soccer fan in me has had before. I acknowledge it's a scheduling nightmare - especially for teams who steadfastly stick to a minimum number of home games - but I wonder if similar to your idea there's a chance for a "champions league"-style set-up where some of the top non-Power 5 conferences pledged to pit their top however many (one or two, probably) against the others' representatives in a specific setting. It could be a series of games over a time period - three consecutive Wednesdays, like you mentioned - or maybe similar to an exempt tournament format where you play three games in a weekend.

I like your thinking...if non-Power 5 teams are going to be continually dinged for their conference schedules, they need to be creative (beyond, in my opinion, a straight conference v. conference challenge) to increase their chances at quality wins.

[CE80]

A problem with a relegation concept is that college teams can change drastically from year to year. So the Flyers are in the top division next year because of this season's finish. Next year they don't fair so well because the new talent takes a little time to come together. So then the following year they are relegated but perform extraordinarily well but against the lower tier. What are their NCAA chances?

[BeckysTXA]

Originally Posted by CE80 A problem with a relegation concept is that college teams can change drastically from year to year. So the Flyers are in the top division next year because of this season's finish. Next year they don't fair so well because the new talent takes a little time to come together. So then the following year they are relegated but perform extraordinarily well but against the lower tier. What are their NCAA chances?

So start with a pool of 12 potential teams right after the season is over and final rankings are available and let the coaches vote and determine who the 6 are for the next year. The coaches know the players and who is coming and going.

[Go-UD-Go]

I believe that relegation is important. You don't want a team to sit on its laurels dragging the whole down. This is the problem with the bottom feeders in the A10. All were good in the past. Some no longer have the wherewithal to keep up. If you fall out, fight and get back in. What have you done for me lately must be the name of the game.

[Go-UD-Go]

Also, I want it objective not subjective. There should be no voting.