Growing up, I was never raised on college sports; it was mostly the National Football League (NFL), as I’m a big Miami Dolphins fan. When I started at FSU, I found the different conferences of college football to be very confusing. If you do too, don’t fear, because I’m here to break it down for you.
The Big Groups
College football is divided into three main groups, consisting of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), also known as JUCO (Junior College). Most big schools and state schools, including FSU, are part of the NCAA, which is the largest group overall.
The NCAA is divided into three divisions, Division 1, 2, and 3, with Division 1 (D1) being the top dog. D1 is where most big schools sit, and it’s divided between the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FSU, for reference, is a D1 school and part of the FBS, which has 128 teams separated into 11 different conferences.
The Small Groups
The 11 conferences in the FBS fall into three more categories: the Power Five, the Group Five, and the Independents. From these, the most popular and most watched group is the Power Five because it generally has the best teams and the biggest teams across the country.
The Power Five has the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 10, Big 12, and Pac 12 (which is undergoing a reformation).
Group Five has the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). Last is the independents, which currently includes Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut.
Since there are many different college football teams in the FBS alone, conferences are used for organization and financial reasons. For the most part, conferences are made up of teams located near one another, allowing for easier traveling to and from games.
Moreover, in terms of broadcasting to viewers, conferences typically have media contracts for channels to broadcast games while attracting more sponsorships and advertisements, essentially bringing in more money. For example, FSU is part of the ACC, and the ACC is partnered with ESPN for broadcasting — so if you want to watch an FSU football game, ESPN is the place to go.
The Conferences for Scheduling
When it comes to determining a team’s schedule for each season, they can expect to play eight or nine games against a team within their respective conference. Additionally, around three or four teams are chosen by the school to be played against outside of their conference.
Upon deciding the teams that a school will play within their conference, rivalries are often expected, and teams alternate which stadium they play at each year. Every conference is different in terms of its rules and the number of teams they have, leading to each year having a different schedule.
For example, the Auburn versus Alabama game is a rivalry nicknamed “The Iron Bowl” and is one of the largest in-conference rivalry games inside the SEC. One year they play at Auburn, and the next at Alabama, continuing to alternate and schedule with each other.
Now, for out-of-conference games, there are a variety of reasons why teams are chosen for their schedule. Fans can expect to see rivalries like FSU against the University of Florida in an annual faceoff, despite being part of different conferences.
Another common reason to schedule an out-of-conference game is to have a “cupcake” game, where a top school will pay thousands of dollars to a smaller school for an often-guaranteed win. For example, UF paid USF $500,000 to play this season, but USF actually won! The other out-of-conference games are usually just chosen to bring fans an entertaining watch.
Regular Season Games
Every team plays 12 regular-season games, but the top teams are chosen to participate in the playoffs that span across the entire FBS. In addition, most conferences also host a championship game to name their conference champion, such as the ACC championship game, which happens every year in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This often helps to determine the seeding for the playoffs. The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee evaluates the performance of teams to create rankings that then establish seeding.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams are chosen to compete in the 12-team bracket. The top four teams are given a bye week (or an off-week) as an advantage against the other teams. With the other eight teams, they’re paired together to play, and the higher-seeded team is given home-field advantage.
There are six different bowls that rotate to be the location between the four quarterfinal games and two semifinal games. The final game is the National Championship Game, where the winner becomes the national champion of the NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision.
The world of college football can certainly be confusing, so my advice is to only focus on your school’s team. I personally have a preference towards the NFL, as it has much more structure and clarity to it. Now, good luck in proving that you know ball as the 2025 season continues!
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