By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina in the SEC as part of a two-conference “Super League” in football?
That’s the scenario columnist Joe DePaulo proposed Tuesday in a Mediaite column, where he outlines a bold new structure for college football — one that places the Tar Heels in the SEC East as part of a “Super League” shared with the Big Ten.
While it’s just a speculative idea from one writer, it isn’t entirely outlandish.
The recent ACC settlement with Clemson and Florida State reportedly includes a “super league” escape clause that would allow at least six football programs to leave the conference for a Super League in dramatic realignment.
There’s plenty of nuance to the proposal, so you should read his column. But here are the top-level details:
The system mimics English soccer, with five competitive tiers and promotion/relegation between them. Teams would be promoted or relegated based on performance at the end of each season, introducing a merit-based hierarchy to college football.
The Tier 1 “Super League” would include the SEC and the Big Ten, with both having two 10-team divisions labeled East and West. His setup features an SEC East that includes UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami, with Notre Dame in the Big Ten West.
DePaulo seemed to only include Carolina in the Super League because of Bill Belichick, contending that the only current ACC football programs that should be locks are Clemson, Florida State and Miami.
The regular-season schedule only includes games against teams in your tier, and the top four teams in each Super League division play in a 16-team national championship. There are also playoffs among the bottom three teams, with two of them being relegated to Tier 2.
The best that teams in the other tiers can do in a season is win the championship in their tier.
The ACC and the Big 12 are Tier 2 as part of “The Elite League,” with each including two eight-team divisions. Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia are in the ACC North. The ACC South includes Central Florida, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Memphis, N.C. State, SMU and Wake Forest.
The top two teams from each division qualify for an eight-team playoff, and first-round winners get promoted to Tier 1.
Tier 3, which DePaulo calls “The Contender League,” includes the American Athletic Conference and the Pac-12, which each include 12 teams. Tier 4, “The Up and Comer League,” consists of the Sun Belt and the MAC (each with 13 teams). Tier 5, “The Starter League,” comprises Conference USA and the Mountain West, both of which have eight teams.
Get a complete listing in DePaulo’s column of how he would distribute schools in the realigned football leagues.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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