UCLA, due to its Big Ten membership, has witnessed multiple conference opponents cancel their spring game over fears other programs may use it as an opportunity to scout players they may want to pluck in the portal.
Perhaps it’s time to adopt a new offseason schedule in college football that works as an equitable solution for all.
This is a new proposal across college football but especially for the Big Ten. Let’s start the season on the first week of August. 12 games, two easy ones, and 10 conference games with two bye weeks.
If this happened in 2025, the season would wrap by Oct. 18, and the conference championship games would take place on the 25th.
Then, the participants in the College Football Playoff would get two weeks off. Have the time be spent playing non-CFP bowl games. In those two weeks, it’s the legal contact phase, where programs can contact and agree to deals for coaches. However, those coaches have to stay with their team through their bowl games.
The opening round takes place during the third week of November or so, and the quarterfinals take place a week later. Have another bye before the semifinals and then the finals on a Saturday. Have the break between the fall and the spring semester be used for the transfer portal.
During the second week of January, the portal closes for the year.
Programs should have OTAs, Mini-Camp, Training Camp and such. Something to emulate the NFL level. College football’s “down” time should come during the NFL playoffs because that is what everyone will be paying attention to.
Let’s face it: college football as we once knew it is dead, and every year, it feels like the powers that be are turning the sport into a mini-NFL product. If that is the case, college football might as well go all the way to prepare players for the jump to the pros.
The 2025 College Football Playoffs took way too long to wrap up with the championship game, feeling that a conclusion that took too long to reach instead of the festival of football it is.
Thus, the Big Ten and college football, as a whole, should have a unified schedule. There really is no reason UCLA and Nebraska need to be on different schedules or be forced to play into deep January.
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