80-Team CFB 'Super League' Gaining Traction Among School Leaders

A recent proposal for a 80-team CFB 'Super League' has gained support from prominent college presidents

Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

A clash of titans is vying to control the future of college football. 

Amidst a recent alliance between the Big Ten and SEC that aims to secure the prosperity of college sports, another competitor has quietly lurked in the shadows. 

First revealed in an article from Andrew Marchand and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic, a group of powerful and deep-pocketed leaders have created a proposal they claim; will save college football from its current “dead” state. The group operates under the name “College Sports Tomorrow”. 

CST’s main proposal is an 80-program “Super League” that draws inspiration from major sports leagues such as the NFL, MLS, and Premier League. 

“The current CST outline would create a system that would have the top 70 programs — all members of the five former major conferences, plus Notre Dame and new ACC member SMU — as permanent members and encompass all 130-plus FBS universities,” wrote Marchand and Mandel, “The perpetual members would be in seven 10-team divisions, joined by an eighth division of teams that would be promoted from the second tier.” 

Similar to the English Premier League, the CST’s proposal also includes a relegation system that would affect only the eighth division. 

This means the top 70 FBS programs would be safe from relegation, while the remaining 50-plus “second tier” FBS teams would have to fight to earn a promotion to the 10 spots allocated to top members of the second tier. 

“We’ve been looking at something that’s large enough that it gives everybody a chance to compete, and that does translate into about 70 schools,” Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud told The Athletic, “That also creates content that’s more valuable so that it generates the resources to do more things that the university presidents think are important for college sports.” 

The CST’s major proposal has struggled to gain traction. Prominent members of the Power Four have given no space for the group to discuss further steps. As Marchand and Mandel noted, planned presentations of the proposal were called off by the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12. 

Members of the CST are optimistic their proposal will be given a chance, especially with the financial state of the NCAA and major conferences in limbo. 

Currently, the NCAA is locked in a class-action lawsuit with the House regarding NIL rights. If the NCAA were to lose its case against the House, it might set a precedent for even more class-action lawsuits concerning the rapid expansion of NIL. These losses would potentially cost the NCAA and major conferences billions of dollars in reparations. 

The CST’s entry into managing the future of college football will surely put pressure on the NCAA to come to a more long-term solution. While controlling members of college sports such as the SEC and Big Ten will turn a blind eye to the CST’s plan, a more centralized college sports system is necessarily a bad idea. 

Current NIL distribution and conference revenue-sharing models are the epitome of chaos and disorder. A centralized system could streamline the distribution of NIL payments to athletes and also provide grounds for expanded competition and thus more significant revenue sharing. 

An 80-team Super League feels dystopian considering the recency of a four-team playoff and Power Five conference model. However, unfamiliarity with a proposal of this nature shouldn't equate to immediate abandonment. If the CST’s intentions are virtuous, a Super League could be beneficial to future athletes and fans. Especially, those who don't want to operate under the control of the SEC and Big Ten.