Your Saturdays.
Our imagined league.

How is the league organized?

Twelve conferences. Ten teams each. One hundred twenty teams with a clear path to the top of the mountain.

Each team plays ten regular-season games: six conference games and four out-of-conference games. The top two teams from each conference advance to Conference Championship Saturday, the opening round of a 24-team playoff. Win your way through the bracket to a national championship, with the entire season settled before Christmas.

Is this the official College Football Playoff?

No. These are real teams and recorded results in our imagined league. The conference alignment and 24-team postseason are a fantasy concept. Pairings show who would qualify if the season ended today.

Why reimagine the league?

Community, tradition, and legacy: keep campuses, hometowns, and fans at the heart of the game; restore regional rivalries; and carry college football’s stories into its next chapter.

The CFP is expected to expand to 24 teams in 2027, pending final approval, but subjective rankings and controversial selections remain concerns. Our format helps restore the soul of the sport and refocuses attention where it belongs—on the biggest matchups that matter the most.

How do teams qualify?

The two highest power-rated teams in each CFL conference qualify for their conference championship game, which is Round 1 of the 24-team playoff. Actual real-world records are displayed for context; they do not determine qualification. Equal ratings at the qualification cutoff remain unresolved.

How do seeding and later rounds work?

Real-world head-to-head results decide each matchup whenever the teams have already played that regular season. Otherwise, the higher Power Rating advances in our fictional bracket. The six Round 1 winners in each half are seeded by Power Rating. East seeds E1 and E2 and West seeds W1 and W2 receive Round 2 byes; E3–E6 and W3–W6 play Round 2. East and West winners meet for the national title. Every advancement labels whether it comes from a real-world result or Power Rating.

Where do the records and ratings come from?

Because this is a fictional format the simplest way to convey a team's record is to use their actual real-world win/loss record from the real season, and use that as the starting point for the bracket. Seeding is solely based on power ratings, with the two highest power rated teams in each conference kicking off the playoff in their respective conference championships. We always default, did they play irl? If so, then that result trumps anything else. If they haven't played in the real regular season then the higher rated team advances.

What about NIL?

Our proposed CFL would allow student-athletes to earn compensation for legitimate work and services wherever permitted by applicable law. That includes endorsements, spokesperson appearances, advertisements, and other paid opportunities.

As with any college job, students should put their education first when managing their time. Participation in team athletics would remain voluntary and subject to the team’s and university’s performance standards. The league would not interpret or enforce labor laws; legal work authorization and other applicable requirements would still govern each arrangement.

What about revenue sharing?

Conferences would have the autonomy to develop and oversee their own revenue-sharing programs. Each member university could decide whether to participate and implement a program, within its conference’s framework and applicable law.

How would the transfer portal work?

Bring back the commitment. In our proposed system, a National Letter of Intent (LOI) would serve as a binding, two-way employment contract between the player and university. Recruiting takes substantial financial and developmental investment; the agreement would spell out both parties’ obligations and the terms for an early release. This is a proposed contract model, with its legal status and enforceability subject to applicable law.

• An institutional transfer fee. If a player leaves an LOI commitment to join another program, the original university could require the transfer fee specified in the agreement. The receiving university or its designated athletic collective would pay and clear that fee before the player’s new roster registration or on-field eligibility is approved. The athlete and their family would not be responsible for paying it.
• Winter window: January 1–15. Players could enter the portal, make official visits, and sign with a new institution in time for spring-semester admission.
• Spring window: April 15–30. A second window would allow post-camp depth-chart adjustments. After April 30, football rosters would lock for the upcoming season, with no summer or fall athletic transfers. These roster rules would not restrict a student’s academic right to change schools.
• No back-channel recruiting. Outside universities and collectives could contact, negotiate with, or make financial offers to a player only after that player has officially entered the portal during an authorized window. Confirmed tampering would bring immediate postseason bans, substantial fines, and forfeiture of access to future transfer windows.

How would the calendar work?

Saturday football, from opening day to the national final. All games would be played on Saturdays, with no games on any other day of the week. The proposed calendar protects rivalries, rewards home-field advantage, and finishes before Christmas.

The season

1. Late August · Kickoff. The season would begin on the last Saturday in August. This would be Week 1 for the whole league, replacing a separate “Week Zero.” In 2026, August 29 would feature Bowl Invitational / Kickoff Classics.
2. Weeks 1–11 · Ten games that matter. Every team would play six conference games and four non-conference games, with the regular season ending in early November (November 7 in 2026). Only the top two teams from each conference would reach the postseason.
3. Every season · Protect the rivalries. Schools and conferences could permanently protect annual matchups, within or outside their conference. Traditions such as the Third Saturday in October and the Red River rivalry would keep their place on the calendar. Conference schedules would rotate so every school faces every conference opponent at least once in each three-season cycle.
4. Week 6 · The national bye. No league games. Every program would get the same week to rest, recover, and reset. In 2026, the national bye would fall on October 3.
5. Week 12 · Postseason recovery. Teams bound for Conference Championship Saturday would receive a recovery week before their Round 1 game. This break would come before the playoffs begin: November 14 in 2026.
6. Week 13 · Conference Championship Saturday / Round 1. Twelve conference title games would take place on Saturday at each conference’s designated neutral site—for example, Indianapolis for the Big Ten. The twelve winners would advance. In 2026, Round 1 would be November 21.
7. Week 14 · Round 2. The following Saturday, E3–E6 and W3–W6 would play. E1, E2, W1, and W2—the top two Power Rated conference winners in each half—would receive quarterfinal byes. In 2026, Round 2 would be November 28.
8. Weeks 15–16 · Quarterfinals and semifinals. Games would continue on consecutive Saturdays: December 5 and December 12 in 2026. Rounds 2–4 would be played at the higher seed’s home stadium: a campus playoff and a real home-field reward.
9. Week 17 · The national final. On the Saturday immediately after the semifinals, the East and West winners would meet at a designated indoor or warm-weather outdoor neutral site. That is the third Saturday in December—December 19 in 2026. There would be no recovery week during the playoffs; only E1, E2, W1, and W2 would sit out Round 2.

The offseason

1. Season’s end–December 31 · Mandatory dead period. Once a team’s season ends, its program would stop practices, recruiting, and portal activity through year’s end. Time for family, rest, and recovery.
2. January 1–15 · Winter portal. Active players could transfer and enroll for the spring semester.
3. Third Wednesday in January · National high school signing day. Recruits would sign after the coaching carousel has had time to settle.
4. Mid-March–mid-April · Spring camp. Four weeks of on-field practice, ending with the spring game.
5. April 15–30 · Spring portal. Post-camp roster adjustments, followed by the annual roster lock on April 30.

How would media rights and broadcasting slots work?

One league. One media strategy. In our proposed system, the College Football League would own all twelve conferences’ media distribution rights and negotiate broadcast and streaming agreements centrally, following a league-wide model similar to the NFL. The focus: make games easier to find, maximize the value of the full slate, distribute media revenue equitably across conferences, and minimize competing network commitments.

A 2-hour, 55-minute target. The CFL would work to shorten the average game broadcast to 2 hours and 55 minutes through two 60-second media timeouts per quarter, a 15-minute halftime, and five 30-second timeouts per team, usable anytime during the game. The goal is more football, less interruption, and enough space between scheduled kickoffs. Overtime and exceptional delays could still extend a game.

The Saturday broadcast slate

A full regular-season Saturday would feature 60 games across four kickoff windows. All times below are EST. The National Bye Week has no games; postseason Saturdays follow the playoff calendar.

Pac-10 After Dark is back. Pac-10 games hosted on the West Coast would have first priority for the 10:30 PM EST window. Other West Coast games would follow, with remaining openings going to games hosted in the Mountain time zone that are not already assigned to the 3:30 PM or 7:00 PM windows.