The future of college football is uncertain, and many people are questioning whether the sport is facing an impending demise. To address the issues that plague college football, we must answer a few important questions.

Firstly, is the term “student-athlete” still appropriate, or have athletes become employees who generate significant financial gains for universities?

Secondly, is five years to play four years enough time for young athletes to develop and play at the highest level?

Thirdly, has the NCAA become irrelevant, and is it time for a new governing body to take over?

Lastly, should we focus solely on the 12-team playoff, or is it worth saving the bowl season?

In my opinion, “student-athlete” is outdated, and athletes should receive compensation for the financial gains they generate for universities. However, they should still have access to free education to further their careers. Five years to play four is insufficient for athletes to develop and compete at the highest level, and the NCAA has not done enough about this issue. A new governing body may be necessary to bring about change. As for the bowl season, it should be preserved, but we should also concentrate on making the 12-team playoff the main event in college football.

Overall, college football is facing significant challenges, and it is our responsibility to find solutions to these problems. By addressing these key questions, we can work towards creating a fair and sustainable system for everyone involved. While upsets can and do happen, more often than not, the powerhouses dominate, and underdogs cash in. So how do we transition into the next era of College Football without sacrificing the traditions? Simple. This is how we fix it.

Step one is to create three separate Subdivisions, with each Subdivision having its own rules & ruling body with a Commissioner. Three different TV Deals for each league to pay for each league’s salary cap.

How the cap would work is each league would have a different base pay. Players earning more playtime can hit escalators in their contracts to enact a raise in their base pay. The NIL would return to what it was meant to be for the players.

Subdivision A separates the contenders from the pretenders. This new Subdivision is made up of the top 40 teams from the Power 4 conferences to create a called the A-League. The 40 teams would be put into regional divisions of North, South, East, & West. Each division has 10 teams. The A-League obviously would pay the most & would be closest to actually being treated as an independent minor league system for the NFL.

Subdivision B would be made up of the remaining Power 4 schools as well as the G5 schools. These schools would group regionally into traditional conferences. The B-League would have both a playoff as well as Bowl Games.

Subdivision C would be all the teams that are in the current FCS Subdivision. Nothing would change in this League from how they run things now.

Step two is to clean up the signing date & portal windows. Let December 15th be the signing period for high school athletes. Then let the signing date in February be for the portal players.

Step three is to set a Salary Cap for each of the divisions to follow. Of course, this means League A players would get more base pay as League B or C players would. This also means that athletes would be under a contract not a scholarship. If college football takes a note from the professional ranks & creates a “Rookie Contract” so colleges don’t overpay for a high school player that has never played a down in college. This makes NIL deals actual Name, Image & Likeness deals based on their on-field performance. This causes an air of competition & the life lesson of working hard for what you want. I said what I said, now what you got?