If somebody died and I became Exalted Emporer and Imperial Potentate of the college football calendar, here is how I would fix it.
1. Separate the playoff games (however many teams are in it) from the bowls. Bowls are essentially meaningless now.
2. Move all the bowl games to August 15th thru Labor Day. Set up the schedule where the old New Year's day games would b e played on Labor Day. The bowl games would be like "week zero" we have now. They would be the opening game of a 12 game season. That way teams that played in the playoff would also be able to play in the bowl game the following August.
2a. Teams that did not qualify for a bowl can schedule another team that did no qualify for their opening game and play it in August.
3. Have national signing day on July 15th. (For the next year. 7/15/24 would be the signing day for the 2025 class.) Let the seniors in HS sign before their senior year.)
4. Have the portal open from the day after the season ended for the team the guy played for, including conference championships, and run through December 20th.
5. Players who signed on July 15th are not eligible to enter this portal.
6. Second signing day for HS players who did not sign in July would by the first Tuesday in February.
7. Second portal day would be from the day Spring practice ends until May 1.
1. I want the portal period to be in May/June. 2. The ones that enter the portal has to sit out a year unless they just graduated. No exceptions for a coach leaving..... That's always been such a lame excuse seeing how you are a 'student' and all.
I have always loved bowl games but with players opting out and the portal mess, I would replace bowls with a true playoff that starts the week after Army/Navy game and ends on New Years Day or the Saturday following it.
Players in high school should commit for the first year and then they can join the portal draft thereafter. Everyone competes for a spot every year and no more four year scholarship offers. It is pure chaos and tampering now, let’s go all in on free agency. 😉