Oct 16, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; The Cincinnati Bearcats mascot poses with a sign and a replica of the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy at the end of the game against the UCF Knights at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports — © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

UC Grouped With Ohio State, Michigan in Latest Reimagining of FBS

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde took a stab at a complete restructuring of college football.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Jul 1, 2022 12:27 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — Amidst the crazy realignment climate in college sports, Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde gave his take on what a completely reshaped college football structure could look like in his Forde Bowl Subdivision. In the radical system change, Forde places 120 schools in a ten-conference structure to limit travel costs/fatigue and maximize rivalries.

Cincinnati landed in the "Great Mideast Conference" with Akron, Ball State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Toledo, and Kent State. Read full details on the plan here.

"Along those lines," Forde wrote. "Think of the instant rivalries that would materialize: UCF and South Florida would get their shots at Florida, Florida State, and Miami. Marshall would finally get West Virginia on an annual basis, and Cincinnati would get Ohio State. Fresno State, which has never played USC, UCLA, or California at home and rarely played them anywhere, would meet them on a regular basis."

Forde also justified it further by bringing up some great, dormant rivalries that get new life.

"Then there are the rivalries torn asunder by realignment but put back together here: Texas–Texas A&M, Missouri-Kansas, Utah–Utah State. And how about these regular nonconference meetings: Oklahoma-Nebraska, Texas-Arkansas and Pittsburgh–West Virginia. Rivalries preserved by nonconference games: Alabama-Tennessee, USC–Notre Dame, Georgia-Auburn, Clemson–Florida State, Penn State–Ohio State, Nevada-UNLV. Dormant, across-the-river rivalries renewed via nonconference matchups: Louisville-Cincinnati, Kentucky-Indiana, Missouri-Illinois."

Getting all of these schools and current conferences on the same page with this is the longest of longshots, but it's an interesting proposal. It's almost an inevitability at this point that college football turns into two or three super conferences controlling things at the top.

Washington and Oregon are reportedly trying to follow USC and UCLA into the Big Ten as schools outside that league and the SEC scramble to secure their footing in college athletics. Buckle up and stay tuned—the Forde Bowl Subdivision may not be such a crazy idea with how things are trending in the industry.

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