College football relegation - an idea borrowed from European soccer where teams rise and fall from division to division based on win-loss-tie results and not politicking or whimsy - is brilliant . And it is absolutely not going to happen in college football because cash money runs things.
But it never hurts to dream.
Dreaming is exactly what the brain trust at SB Nation's college football headquarters has been doing this week, jiggering relegation divisions and simulating scenarios for every college football team they could think of. Seriously, George Fox is in there somewhere.
What does relegation hold for Boise State? Great things, mostly.
Among the highlights:
Boise State promotes from the Tier 3 Western Athletic Conference to the Tier 2 Mountain West Conference in 2005, the first year of the SBN simulation. Had you suggested that Boise State join the Mountain West for reals back in 2005, you would have been a witch and dunked in the Boise River to prove your witchiness.
Boise State's Mountain West schedule in 2006, its first year of membership, includes the University of Washington, which was relegated for being the Pac-10's last place team in 2005. The Broncos, by virtue of being really good at football, win the Mountain West and promote to the top tier of college football in the Pac-10.
Boise State is in the Pac-10 for the next five years.
In the Pac-10, the Broncos get to play a schedule that includes your typical Pac-10 heavyweights plus TCU, BYU, and Utah.
The 2010 Pac-10 season would have featured a killer conference title race with Boise State, Oregon, and TCU.
Conclusion: If I were running the NCAA, we would have a relegation system yesterday. Who's with me?
Your turn
What do you think of Boise State's results in the relegation discussion? How cool would it be to earn a spot in the Pac-10? Share your thoughts in the comments.