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Proposed rulesCan an FIU team or a Power Four team enter?
An eligible non-Power Four FBS team such as FIU can enter if it is outside the CFP field. Power Four teams and teams eliminated from the CFP cannot enter. Sixteen teams play; only the separate CFP awards the national championship.
How are the 16 teams selected?
Eligible non-Power Four conference champions outside the CFP receive bids and home openers. At-large selections follow the same underlying résumé order.
Where is this tournament played?
The first three rounds use higher-seed campuses. Its separate championship rotates among right-sized neutral sites selected in advance; it does not replace the CFP national championship.
How it works & full rules
Create a separate 16-team FBS National Tournament for eligible non-Power Four teams outside the CFP, with automatic champion access, campus rounds, and a distinct neutral-site final.
Why change is needed
Most non-Power Four programs have a technical CFP path but rarely a realistic national postseason objective. A second title can add meaningful access without removing those teams from FBS or closing the CFP.
Why this approach
The event creates games with stakes, campus value, and a record-book identity while remaining clearly below—and separate from—the CFP national championship.
How it works
- Every eligible non-Power Four conference champion outside the CFP receives a bid and a home opener.
- At-large selections use the same underlying résumé order, and CFP teams cannot drop into the tournament after losing.
- The first three rounds use higher-seed campuses; the championship rotates among right-sized neutral sites selected in advance.
The tradeoff
A second title succeeds only if athletes, schools, fans, and media treat it as a genuine objective rather than a consolation bracket. Travel, cost, timing, and opt-out behavior require testing.
In practice
A conference champion left outside the CFP hosts its opener and can win a national tournament title; a Power Four team or a team eliminated from the CFP is never added to the field.
The complete rule set
What this part would establish
- No Power Four member is eligible, regardless of record, ranking, or conference finish.
- Every eligible non-Power Four conference champion outside the CFP receives a bid and a home opener.
- At-large positions follow the same final underlying résumé order used in CFP consideration.
- The tournament reseeds after the round of 16 and quarterfinals; the higher underlying seed hosts the first three rounds, and the championship moves to a rotating neutral site selected at least two years ahead.
- A team selected for the CFP cannot transfer into this event after a CFP loss.
Detailed mechanics
Eligibility and selection
The field consists only of eligible FBS institutions outside the Power Four that were not selected for the CFP. At-large candidates ordinarily need seven wins and an overall winning record; an eligible conference champion is exempt from the seven-win threshold. Independents can earn at-large bids but not champion automatic bids.
Seeding and campus hosting
Teams are seeded 1–16 by the final underlying résumé ranking. Champions are guaranteed a first-round home game; remaining host positions go to the highest seeds. If a champion moves into a host position, its underlying seed remains visible and still controls later reseeding.
CFP priority without punishing success
CFP selection is the higher opportunity and cannot be declined in favor of the tournament. An outside-the-Power-Four CFP qualifier receives at least the tournament participant distribution plus its CFP distribution, formal qualifier recognition, and the next season’s prime interconference-challenge invitation. A first-game loss does not retroactively make selection a mistake.
A distinct media window and title
The event owns Tuesday and Wednesday nights while the CFP owns Friday and Saturday. The first three rounds are campus-hosted and separated by a holiday pause. The Tuesday-night championship before CFP title weekend rotates among right-sized neutral sites selected at least two years in advance. This keeps the early rounds local, gives the final its own destination identity, and lets teams and supporters plan before the field is known. The champion receives a distinct FBS records designation, trophy, advancement revenue, and a showcase invitation—but no automatic CFP berth the next year.
Give the second tournament a funded operating floor
The 16-team National Tournament adds 15 games and must be included alongside the CFP in the 32-game tournament budget. Test a right-sized neutral final, campus hosting and every team's travel and access commitments using the tournament's own demand assumptions. Do not borrow a CFP audience or payout to price this competition. Identify its protected operating floor, payment dates and shortfall owner before offering participation; the allocation remains unagreed until independently reviewed.
Current proposal answers
Decisions already made.
These are policy calls—not claims that outside approval or validation already exists.What name and trophy would give the championship genuine identity without overstating its place?
The working public name is the National Tournament, with a distinct National Tournament Championship trophy and record-book designation. It is an FBS postseason title, not the CFP national championship and not a consolation bracket for CFP losses.
Where should the National Tournament Championship be played?
At a rotating neutral site selected at least two years in advance. The first three rounds retain campus hosting, while the final becomes a distinct destination championship. Bid standards favor an indoor or weather-resilient venue, affordable travel inventory, a market separate from that season’s CFP title site, and a right-sized lower-bowl plan so the event does not depend on pretending every seat will sell.
Safeguards
What keeps the rule honest
- The field and replacement order are final when announced; no mid-event CFP transfers occur.
- Host standards cover field condition, replay, medicine, security, tickets, and broadcast connectivity.
- The first three rounds use objective campus standards for field condition, safety, accessibility, lodging, travel, replay, medicine, security, tickets, and broadcast connectivity.
- The event’s name, trophy, records, and distributions remain clearly distinct from the CFP championship.
Evidence still required
What outside proof must answer
- Can protected weeknight inventory produce enough value to fund travel, hosting, and meaningful distributions?
- What exact rest interval should govern champions playing immediately after conference-title weekend?
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