Political anchor issues serve clear purposes. They tend to be ideologically pure issues, things that get your mind in the right place and your base excited. They also tend to be less politically realistic; they’re pretty far out there sometimes, and introducing them is often a tactic for drawing acceptable compromise.

The anchor issue for my College Football Commissioner platform was relegation. It is a pet issue, and of the items on the commish wish list, it would be the least likely to actually enact.

Relegation introduces fairness and merit to a sports environment that can often lack it.

* Your conference affiliation is impacted by which programs you buddied up to 100 years ago. It has little to do with what you’ve accomplished, or proved you could accomplish, on the field in modern times. * The conference you happen to be in thus determines so much about your standing in the sport, from your revenue to your competition to your chance at a title. * European soccer long ago introduced promotion and relegation, or breaking one enormous league — England’s Football League or Germany’s Deutscher Fußball-Bund, for instance — into tiers. The top teams in a league’s tier get to move up, and the bottom teams have to move down. (See below for how this would work in CFB.) * Aside from maybe college basketball, no American sport — not even soccer — would benefit from or more seamlessly fit this than college football. We have so many teams, in every part of the country, with such clearly defined levels of prestige to strive for.

It is something, however, that has to be enacted at the start of a league’s existence; trying it later on will meet massive resistance from those already in the top tier of the sport. That doesn’t make it any less of a great idea, though.

And to further illustrate the fairness it can introduce, I attempted a massive simulation. A 15-year simulation, to be exact.

This would likely work best if each power conference had a tier of conferences set up beneath it.

So Tier I is the Power Five, Tier II is the Group of Five (with the AAC tied to the ACC, Conference USA tied to the Big 12, the MAC tied to the Big Ten, the Mountain West tied to the Pac-12, and the Sun Belt tied to the SEC), Tier III is the top FCS conferences, and on and on.

There are plenty of variations you could attempt. I discussed a lot of them in this relegation opus.

You could set up eliminator games. Instead of relegating the last-place team in one tier and promoting the winner of the tier below, you could have them play for the spot in mid-December.

As a carrot on the stick, you could offer the opportunity for big programs to field junior teams at smaller levels.

You could make it a two-year process to slow down movement and allow teams suffering a bad season to rally the next year.

To look at the potential effects, however, I kept things simple.

Worst team goes down; best team moves up. I set up eight tiers to incorporate all of Divisions I-III as they existed in 2002 — certain tiers include more than one conference in a given region (the Northeast and Patriot conferences in Tier IV, for instance) — and I set the ball in motion.

For grins, since it was part of the commissioner platform as well, I set up an eight-team Playoff for Tier I that included the five conference champions and three at-larges. And as a way of tracking the best teams in each tier at a given time, I also included a mock championship for Tiers II-IV.

(Because you have to set up a ton of rules for this dumb sport, I made Ivy League teams eligible for the Tier IV championship but not for promotion or relegation.)

Enough talking. Here’s the simulation*.

* How did I simulate these results? With duct tape and chicken wire, basically. Obviously there isn’t going to be a good way to simulate how a Division III team might fare in changing Division II conferences, perhaps against a couple of former FCS teams. I used actual results where possible, S&P+ where feasible, Sagarin where needed, Logan Hansen’s Division III ratings at times, too. But a lot of this came down to figuring out rough “Your record was X-X in real life Tier VI, and the jump to Tier V appears to be worth about one fewer win” generalizations. It was messy. So be it.

2002

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Kansas State at 1 Miami, 5 Iowa at 4 USC, 6 Washington State at 3 Georgia, 7 Oklahoma at 2 Ohio State

: 8 Kansas State at 1 Miami, 5 Iowa at 4 USC, 6 Washington State at 3 Georgia, 7 Oklahoma at 2 Ohio State Relegated from Tier I : Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Stanford, Vanderbilt

: Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Stanford, Vanderbilt Promoted to Tier I : Colorado State, Marshall, North Texas, TCU, West Virginia

: Colorado State, Marshall, North Texas, TCU, West Virginia Tier II championship : Colorado State vs. West Virginia

: Colorado State vs. West Virginia Tier III championship : Boise State vs. Western Kentucky

: Boise State vs. Western Kentucky Tier IV championship: McNeese State vs. Penn

2003

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Florida State at 1 Oklahoma, 5 Texas at 4 Michigan, 6 Ohio State at 3 USC, 7 Kansas State at 2 LSU

: 8 Florida State at 1 Oklahoma, 5 Texas at 4 Michigan, 6 Ohio State at 3 USC, 7 Kansas State at 2 LSU Relegated from Tier I : Arizona, Illinois, Iowa State, Mississippi State, North Carolina

: Arizona, Illinois, Iowa State, Mississippi State, North Carolina Promoted to Tier I : Boise State, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Pitt, Southern Miss

: Boise State, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Pitt, Southern Miss Tier II championship : Boise State vs. Miami (Ohio)

: Boise State vs. Miami (Ohio) Tier III championship : Delaware vs. Fresno State

: Delaware vs. Fresno State Tier IV championship: Colgate vs. Northern Arizona

2004

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Iowa at 1 USC, 5 Cal at 4 Texas, 6 Virginia Tech at 3 Auburn, 7 Georgia at 2 Oklahoma

: 8 Iowa at 1 USC, 5 Cal at 4 Texas, 6 Virginia Tech at 3 Auburn, 7 Georgia at 2 Oklahoma Relegated from Tier I : Baylor, Kentucky, Marshall, Washington, Wake Forest

: Baylor, Kentucky, Marshall, Washington, Wake Forest Promoted to Tier I : Boston College, Georgia Southern, Louisville, Northern Illinois, Utah

: Boston College, Georgia Southern, Louisville, Northern Illinois, Utah Tier II championship : Louisville vs. Utah

: Louisville vs. Utah Tier III championship : Navy vs. Stanford

: Navy vs. Stanford Tier IV championship: Harvard vs. UTEP

2005

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 West Virginia at 1 USC, 5 Oregon at 4 Ohio State, 6 Notre Dame at 3 Penn State, 7 Georgia at 2 Texas

: 8 West Virginia at 1 USC, 5 Oregon at 4 Ohio State, 6 Notre Dame at 3 Penn State, 7 Georgia at 2 Texas Relegated from Tier I : Colorado State, Miami (Ohio), North Texas, Oklahoma State, Pitt

: Colorado State, Miami (Ohio), North Texas, Oklahoma State, Pitt Promoted to Tier I : Akron, Iowa State, North Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt

: Akron, Iowa State, North Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt Tier II championship : Iowa State vs. Stanford

: Iowa State vs. Stanford Tier III championship : Appalachian State vs. Nevada

: Appalachian State vs. Nevada Tier IV championship: SMU vs. Texas State

2006

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 West Virginia at 1 Ohio State, 5 LSU at 4 USC, 6 Louisville at 3 Michigan, 7 Boise State at 2 Florida

: 8 West Virginia at 1 Ohio State, 5 LSU at 4 USC, 6 Louisville at 3 Michigan, 7 Boise State at 2 Florida Relegated from Tier I : Akron, Georgia Southern, Iowa State, NC State, Stanford

: Akron, Georgia Southern, Iowa State, NC State, Stanford Promoted to Tier I : BYU, Central Michigan, Kentucky, Rutgers, USF

: BYU, Central Michigan, Kentucky, Rutgers, USF Tier II championship : BYU vs. Rutgers

: BYU vs. Rutgers Tier III championship : Hawaii vs. UMass

: Hawaii vs. UMass Tier IV championship: Mount Union vs. Portland State

2007

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 West Virginia at 1 Ohio State, 5 Georgia at 4 Oklahoma, 6 Missouri at 3 Virginia Tech, 7 USC at 2 LSU

: 8 West Virginia at 1 Ohio State, 5 Georgia at 4 Oklahoma, 6 Missouri at 3 Virginia Tech, 7 USC at 2 LSU Relegated from Tier I : Middle Tennessee, Northern Illinois, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Washington State

: Middle Tennessee, Northern Illinois, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Washington State Promoted to Tier I : Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi State, Wake Forest

: Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi State, Wake Forest Tier II championship : Kansas vs. Wake Forest

: Kansas vs. Wake Forest Tier III championship : Richmond vs. Washington

: Richmond vs. Washington Tier IV championship: Chadron State vs. Elon

2008

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Virginia Tech at 1 Oklahoma, 5 USC at 4 Alabama, 6 Utah at 3 Texas, 7 Penn State at 2 Florida

: 8 Virginia Tech at 1 Oklahoma, 5 USC at 4 Alabama, 6 Utah at 3 Texas, 7 Penn State at 2 Florida Relegated from Tier I : Central Michigan, Hawaii, Louisville, Mississippi State, Virginia

: Central Michigan, Hawaii, Louisville, Mississippi State, Virginia Promoted to Tier I : Appalachian State, Arizona, Ball State, Oklahoma State, Pitt

: Appalachian State, Arizona, Ball State, Oklahoma State, Pitt Tier II championship : Arizona vs. Oklahoma State

: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State Tier III championship : James Madison vs. Rice

: James Madison vs. Rice Tier IV championship: Minnesota-Duluth vs. Weber State

2009

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Georgia Tech at 1 Alabama, 5 Florida at 4 Boise State, 6 Oregon at 3 TCU, 7 Ohio State at 2 Texas

: 8 Georgia Tech at 1 Alabama, 5 Florida at 4 Boise State, 6 Oregon at 3 TCU, 7 Ohio State at 2 Texas Relegated from Tier I : Arizona State, Ball State, Colorado, Maryland, Vanderbilt

: Arizona State, Ball State, Colorado, Maryland, Vanderbilt Promoted to Tier I : Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Stanford, UConn

: Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Stanford, UConn Tier II championship : Cincinnati vs. UConn

: Cincinnati vs. UConn Tier III championship : Villanova vs. Washington

: Villanova vs. Washington Tier IV championship: SC State vs. UW-Whitewater

2010

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Virginia Tech at 1 Auburn, 5 Wisconsin at 4 Stanford, 6 Boise State at 3 TCU, 7 Oklahoma at 2 Oregon

: 8 Virginia Tech at 1 Auburn, 5 Wisconsin at 4 Stanford, 6 Boise State at 3 TCU, 7 Oklahoma at 2 Oregon Relegated from Tier I : Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, UCLA, Wake Forest

: Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, UCLA, Wake Forest Promoted to Tier I : Arizona State, Georgia Southern, NC State, Northern Illinois, Tulsa

: Arizona State, Georgia Southern, NC State, Northern Illinois, Tulsa Tier II championship : Arizona State vs. NC State

: Arizona State vs. NC State Tier III championship : Delaware vs. Nevada

: Delaware vs. Nevada Tier IV championship: Eastern Washington vs. FIU

2011

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Wisconsin at 1 LSU, 5 Arkansas at 4 Stanford, 6 Oregon at 3 Oklahoma State, 7 West Virginia at 2 Alabama

: 8 Wisconsin at 1 LSU, 5 Arkansas at 4 Stanford, 6 Oregon at 3 Oklahoma State, 7 West Virginia at 2 Alabama Relegated from Tier I : Appalachian State, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon State

: Appalachian State, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon State Promoted to Tier I* : Baylor, Houston, Montana, Nevada, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington

: Baylor, Houston, Montana, Nevada, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington Tier II championship : Baylor vs. Toledo

: Baylor vs. Toledo Tier III championship : North Dakota State vs. Temple

: North Dakota State vs. Temple Tier IV championship: Illinois State vs. Montana State

* Due to conference realignment — Nebraska moving to the Big Ten, Colorado moving into the Pac-12’s ecosystem (but not into the Pac-12 because of Tier II status at the time), two teams are promoted to the Big 12 and three are promoted to what is now the Pac-12.

2012

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Georgia at 1 Notre Dame, 5 Kansas State at 4 Oregon, 6 Stanford at 3 Florida, 7 Florida State at 2 Alabama

: 8 Georgia at 1 Notre Dame, 5 Kansas State at 4 Oregon, 6 Stanford at 3 Florida, 7 Florida State at 2 Alabama Relegated from Tier I : Boston College, Houston, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana

: Boston College, Houston, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana Promoted to Tier I* : Cincinnati, Louisville, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Syracuse

: Cincinnati, Louisville, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Syracuse Tier II championship : Ole Miss vs. Oregon State

: Ole Miss vs. Oregon State Tier III championship : Kent State vs. Utah State

: Kent State vs. Utah State Tier IV championship: Central Arkansas vs. San Jose State

* Due to conference realignment, two teams are promoted to the ACC and two are promoted to the Big 12

2013

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Missouri at 1 Florida State, 5 Stanford at 4 Michigan State, 6 Baylor at 3 Alabama, 7 Ohio State at 2 Auburn

: 8 Missouri at 1 Florida State, 5 Stanford at 4 Michigan State, 6 Baylor at 3 Alabama, 7 Ohio State at 2 Auburn Relegated from Tier I : California, Georgia Southern, Purdue, UConn, USF

: California, Georgia Southern, Purdue, UConn, USF Promoted to Tier I* : Bowling Green, Duke, East Carolina, Navy, UCF, UCLA, UL-Lafayette

: Bowling Green, Duke, East Carolina, Navy, UCF, UCLA, UL-Lafayette Tier II championship : UCF vs. UCLA

: UCF vs. UCLA Tier III championship : Colorado State vs. UW-Whitewater

: Colorado State vs. UW-Whitewater Tier IV championship: Eastern Illinois vs. North Texas

* Due to conference realignment, three teams are promoted to the ACC.

2014

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Michigan State at 1 Alabama, 5 Baylor at 4 Ohio State, 6 TCU at 3 Florida State, 7 Mississippi State at 2 Oregon

: 8 Michigan State at 1 Alabama, 5 Baylor at 4 Ohio State, 6 TCU at 3 Florida State, 7 Mississippi State at 2 Oregon Relegated from Tier I : Bowling Green, Nevada, Syracuse, Tulsa, Vanderbilt

: Bowling Green, Nevada, Syracuse, Tulsa, Vanderbilt Promoted to Tier I* : Boston College, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Minnesota, Utah State

: Boston College, Houston, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Minnesota, Utah State Tier II championship : Louisiana Tech vs. Minnesota

: Louisiana Tech vs. Minnesota Tier III championship : Illinois State vs. Memphis

: Illinois State vs. Memphis Tier IV championship: Coastal Carolina vs. South Dakota State

2015

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Ohio State at 1 Clemson, 5 Iowa at 4 Oklahoma, 6 Stanford at 3 Michigan State, 7 Notre Dame at 2 Alabama

: 8 Ohio State at 1 Clemson, 5 Iowa at 4 Oklahoma, 6 Stanford at 3 Michigan State, 7 Notre Dame at 2 Alabama Relegated from Tier I : East Carolina, Oregon State, Rutgers, UCF, UL-Lafayette

: East Carolina, Oregon State, Rutgers, UCF, UL-Lafayette Promoted to Tier I : Bowling Green, California, Memphis, Temple, Western Kentucky

: Bowling Green, California, Memphis, Temple, Western Kentucky Tier II championship : California vs. WKU

: California vs. WKU Tier III championship : Southern Miss vs. WMU

: Southern Miss vs. WMU Tier IV championship: Akron vs. Chattanooga

2016

8-team Tier I playoff : 8 Wisconsin at 1 Alabama, 5 Penn State at 4 Washington, 6 Oklahoma at 3 Ohio State, 7 Michigan at 2 Clemson

: 8 Wisconsin at 1 Alabama, 5 Penn State at 4 Washington, 6 Oklahoma at 3 Ohio State, 7 Michigan at 2 Clemson Relegated from Tier I : Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Marshall, Missouri, Utah State

: Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Marshall, Missouri, Utah State Promoted to Tier I : Appalachian State, Colorado, Tulsa, USF, Western Michigan

: Appalachian State, Colorado, Tulsa, USF, Western Michigan Tier II championship : Colorado vs. WMU

: Colorado vs. WMU Tier III championship : Wyoming vs. Youngstown State

: Wyoming vs. Youngstown State Tier IV championship: Charleston Southern vs. New Mexico

Starting in 2002 and adjusting for realignment as best as possible (it was messy), here’s where things ended up heading into 2017.

And yes, my Missouri Tigers became the first Playoff participant to end up getting relegated. Whatever. In my simulation, Mizzou wins the 2007 title. Worth it.

College Football Relegation, Tier I ACC Big 12 Big Ten Pac-12 SEC ACC Big 12 Big Ten Pac-12 SEC Boston College Baylor Iowa Arizona Alabama Clemson Houston (2) Michigan Arizona State Appalachian State (2) Duke Kansas State Michigan State Boise State (2) Arkansas Florida State Louisville Minnesota BYU (2) Auburn Georgia Tech Memphis (2) Nebraska California Florida Miami Oklahoma North Dakota State (4) Colorado Georgia Navy (2) Oklahoma State Northern Illinois (2) Oregon LSU NC State TCU Northwestern Stanford Louisiana Tech (2) North Carolina Texas Notre Dame UCLA Mississippi State Pittsburgh Texas Tech Ohio State USC Ole Miss Temple (2) Tulsa (2) Penn State Utah South Carolina USF (2) West Virginia Toledo (2) Washington Tennessee Virginia Western Michigan (2) Texas A&M Virginia Tech Wisconsin Western Kentucky (2)

A team’s original tier, if different from the current one, is noted in parentheses.

College Football Relegation, Tier II AAC Conference USA MAC MWC Sun Belt AAC Conference USA MAC MWC Sun Belt Army Cincinnati Bowling Green Air Force Arkansas State California (Pa.) (6) East Carolina Central Michigan Colorado State Chattanooga (3) James Madison (3) Iowa State (1) Illinois (1) Eastern Washington (3) Georgia Southern (3) Lehigh (4) Jacksonville State (4) Illinois State (3) Nevada Georgia State Marshall Kansas (1) Indiana (1) Oregon State (1) Kentucky (1) New Hampshire (3) NW Missouri State (5) Kent State Rice Middle Tennessee Old Dominion (3) Sam Houston State (4) Maryland (1) San Diego State Missouri (1) Richmond (3) SMU Minnesota-Duluth (5) San Jose State South Alabama Syracuse (1) Southern Miss Northern Iowa (3) Southern Utah (3) Troy UCF South Dakota State (4) Ohio Utah State UL-Lafayette Villanova (3) Tulane Purdue (1) Washington State (1) UTSA (3) Wake Forest (1) Wis.-Whitewater (7) Wyoming Vanderbilt (1) Youngstown State (3) Wofford (3)

College Football Relegation, Tier III Atlantic 10 OVC MVC WAC Southern Atlantic 10 OVC MVC WAC Southern Albany (4) Charlotte (2) Akron (2) Colorado Mines (5) Central Arkansas (4) Colgate (4) Eastern Kentucky Ball State (2) CSU-Pueblo (5) Charleston Southern (4) Connecticut (2) McNeese State (4) Buffalo (2) Fresno State (2) Coastal Carolina Fordham (4) Midwestern State (5) Eastern Illinois Idaho Florida Atlantic (2) Indiana (Pa.) (6) Samford Grand Valley State (5) Montana (4) Liberty (4) Maine Tennessee State Indiana State Montana State (4) North Alabama (5) Stony Brook (4) Texas State (2) Miami (Ohio) (2) New Mexico (2) North Texas (2) UMass (2) Emporia State (6) Mount Union (7) Northern Arizona (4) The Citadel West Chester (6) Mary Hardin-Baylor (7) Rutgers (1) UNLV (2) UL-Monroe (2) William & Mary North Dakota Shepherd (6) UTEP (2) Valdosta State (5) Southern Illinois Western Illinois

College Football Relegation, Tier IV NEC-Patriot-Ivy Southland Pioneer-MAAC Big Sky Big South-MEAC-SWAC NEC-Patriot-Ivy Southland Pioneer-MAAC Big Sky Big South-MEAC-SWAC American Int'l (5) Central Missouri (6) Ashland (5) Azusa Pacific (6) Albany State (Ga.) (6) Bentley (5) Minnesota State (6) Dayton Cal Poly Alcorn State Bloomsburg (6) Murray State (3) Drake Central Washington (6) Arkansas Tech (5) Brown Pittsburg State (6) Duquesne Chadron State (5) Bethune-Cookman Bryant SE Louisiana Eastern Michigan (2) Colorado Mesa (5) Delta State (5) Columbia South Dakota Ferris State (5) Hawaii (2) Elon (3) Cornell Stephen F. Austin Indianapolis (5) Linfield (7) Florida A&M Dartmouth Tarleton State (5) Marist New Mexico State (2) Florida International (2) Delaware (3) UT-Martin (3) Mercer San Diego Furman (3) Harvard West Texas A&M (5) Missouri State (3) Gardner-Webb Holy Cross North Central (8) Grambling State Ivy St. Thomas (Minn.) (8) Hampton Monmouth Stetson Jackson State Penn Wheaton (Ill.) (8) Kennesaw State Princeton NC A&T Sacred Heart NC Central Towson Norfolk State Wagner Prairie View A&M Wesley (7) SC State Yale Southern Tuskegee (6) VMI Western Carolina (3) Winston-Salem (6)

College Football Relegation, Tier V Northeast 10 GAC-Lone Star GLIAC RMAC Gulf South Northeast 10 GAC-Lone Star GLIAC RMAC Gulf South Bucknell (4) Angelo State Butler (4) Cal Davis (4) Alabama A&M (4) Carson-Newman (6) Abilene Christian (4) Concord (6) Eastern New Mexico Alabama State (4) Kutztown (6) Coe (8) Hillsdale Fort Hays State Elizabeth City State (6) Lafayette (4) Houston Baptist (4) Jacksonville (4) Northern Colorado (4) Florida Tech Lenoir-Rhyne (6) Lamar (4) Mercyhurst Portland State (4) Harding LIU Post (6) Nicholls State (4) Michigan Tech Sacramento State (4) Henderson State Presbyterian (4) Northwestern State (4) Morehead State (4) South Dakota Mines Howard (4) Rhode Island (3) SE Missouri State (3) Northwood Weber State (4) Morgan State (4) Robert Morris (4) Southern Nazarene Saginaw Valley Western State Ouachita Baptist Slippery Rock (6) St. Cloud State (6) Sioux Falls (6) Southern Arkansas St. Francis (PA) (4) Tennessee Tech (3) Wabash (7) Texas Southern (4) Texas A&M-Commerce Walsh Thomas More (8) Texas A&M-Kingsville Wayne State (MI) West Georgia Winona State (6)

College Football Relegation, Tier VI PSAC-SA MIAA-NC Northern Sun-MEC Great NW CIAA-SIAC PSAC-SA MIAA-NC Northern Sun-MEC Great NW CIAA-SIAC Alderson Broaddus Augustana (SD) Austin Peay (4) Adams State (5) Ark.-Monticello (5) Alfred (8) Central (Iowa) (8) Bemidji State Black Hills State (5) Bowie State Assumption (5) Central Oklahoma (5) Bethel (Minn.) (8) Dixie State Centre (7) Catawba East Central (5) Campbell (4) Humboldt State Christopher Newport (8) Central Connecticut (4) Hardin-Simmons (8) Charleston (WV) Idaho State (4) Clark Atlanta Clarion Lindenwood Davidson (4) Nebraska-Kearney (5) Chowan Delaware Valley (8) McKendree Fairmont State Pacific Lutheran (7) Delaware State (4) East Stroudsburg Missouri Western Findlay (5) Western New Mexico (5) Fayetteville State Edinboro Monmouth (Ill.) (8) Franklin (7) Western Oregon Fort Valley State Gannon Quincy Glenville State Whitworth (7) Huntingdon (8) Georgetown (4) SE Oklahoma (5) Lake Erie (5) Johnson C. Smith John Carroll (7) St. Joseph's (Ind.) Minot State Kentucky State Johns Hopkins (8) SW Oklahoma (5) Northern Michigan (5) Limestone Mars Hill Texas-Permian Basin (5) Northern State Lincoln (PA) Merrimack (5) Trinity (Tex.) (7) Notre Dame College Malone Muhlenberg (8) Truman State St. John's (Minn.) (8) Miles Newberry Wartburg (8) SW Minnesota State Morehouse North Greenville Washburn Urbana MVSU (4) Ohio Northern (7) UVA-Wise Salisbury (7) Rowan (8) Valparaiso (4) Savannah State (4) Shippensburg Wayne State (Neb.) Shaw Southern Connecticut (5) West Liberty UAPB (4) St. John Fisher (8) Wis.-Oshkosh (7) Virginia State Stonehill (5) Wittenberg (8) Virginia Union Tusculum West Alabama (5) UNC Pembroke Wingate

College Football Relegation, Tier VII OAC Southern (SCAC) WIAC Northwest Atlantic Central OAC Southern (SCAC) WIAC Northwest Atlantic Central Baldwin-Wallace DePauw Case Western (8) Cal Lutheran (8) Frostburg State Bridgewater (Va.) (8) Dubuque (8) Concordia-St. Paul (6) Chapman (8) Lane (6) Capital Eureka (8) Mary (6) Claremont-M-S (8) NC Wesleyan (8) Curry (8) Lake Forest (8) Rose-Hulman Fort Lewis (5) Randolph-Macon (8) Hobart (8) Missouri S&T (6) Tiffin (5) La Verne (8) Rhodes Ithaca (8) Missouri Southern (6) Wis.-La Crosse New Mexico Highlands (5) Shenandoah (8) SUNY Cortland (8) Northwestern-St. Paul (8) Wis.-Platteville Pacific (OR) Shorter (5) Western New England (8) St. Scholastica (8) Wis.-Stevens Point Redlands (8) St. Augustine's (6) Widener (8) William Jewell (6) Willamette Washington (Mo.) (8) WV Wesleyan (6) SW Baptist (6)

College Football Relegation, Tier VIII Centennial + 8 others American SW + 4 others CCIW + 6 others Southern California USA South + 2 others Centennial + 8 others American SW + 4 others CCIW + 6 others Southern California USA South + 2 others Albright Austin Adrian George Fox (7) Apprentice School Alfred State Austin College (7) Albion Lewis & Clark (7) Averett Amherst Beloit Allegheny Occidental Berry Anna Maria Buena Vista Alma Pomona-Pitzer Birmingham Southern Bates Carroll (Wis.) Anderson Puget Sound (7) Catholic Becker Chicago Augsburg Simon Fraser (6) Emory & Henry Bowdoin Cornell College Augustana (Ill.) Whittier Ferrum Brevard (6) Crown Aurora Greensboro Bridgewater State CWRU Benedictine (Ill.) Guilford Brockport East Texas Baptist Bethany (WV) Hampden-Sydney Buffalo State Greenville Bluffton Hendrix Castleton State Grinnell Carleton Kentucky Wesleyan (6) Cheyney (6) Howard Payne Carnegie Mellon LaGrange Coast Guard Illinois College Carthage Lincoln (MO) (6) Colby Iowa Wesleyan Concordia (Wis.) Livingstone (6) College of NJ Knox Concordia Chicago Maryville (Tenn.) Dickinson Lawrence Concordia-Moorhead Methodist Endicott Loras Defiance Millsaps (7) FDU-Florham Louisiana College Denison Mississippi College Fitchburg State Luther Earlham Otterbein (7) Framingham State Macalester College Elmhurst Sewanee Franklin & Marshall MacMurray Finlandia Washington & Lee Gallaudet Martin Luther Geneva Gettysburg McMurry Grove City Hamilton NE Oklahoma (5) Gustavus Adolphus Hartwick Nebraska Wesleyan Hamline Heidelberg (7) Panhandle State (5) Hanover Husson Presentation Hiram Juniata Ripon Hope Kean Simpson Illinois Wesleyan King's (Pa.) Southwestern (TX) (7) Kalamazoo Lebanon Valley St. Norbert Kenyon Lock Haven (6) Sul Ross State Lakeland Lycoming Texas Lutheran Manchester Maine Maritime Westminster (Mo.) Marantha Baptist Marietta (7) Millikin Mass. Maritime Minn.-Crookston (6) Mass.-Dartmouth Minn.-Moorhead (6) McDaniel Minn.-Morris (7) Merchant Marine Mt. St. Joseph Middlebury North Park Millersville (6) Oberlin Misericordia Ohio Wesleyan MIT Olivet Montclair State Rockford Moravian Seton Hill (6) Morrisville State St. Olaf Mount Ida St. Vincent Muskingum (7) Thiel New Jersey City Trine Nichols Upper Iowa (6) Norwich Washington & Jefferson Pace (5) Waynesburg Plymouth State Westminster (Pa.) Rensselaer Wis.-Eau Claire (7) Rochester Wis.-Lutheran Salve Regina Wis.-River Falls (7) Southern Virginia Wis.-Stout (7) Springfield Wooster St. Anselm (5) WV State (6) St. Lawrence Stevenson SUNY Maritime Susquehanna TCNJ Trinity (Conn.) Tufts Union (NY) Ursinus Utica Wesleyan Western Connecticut Westfield State Wilkes William Paterson Williams Wilmington (Ohio) (7) Worcester State WPI

To start 2017, one former FCS team is playing in Tier I (North Dakota State, naturally), and three Division II schools (California-Pa., Northwest Missouri State, and UM-Duluth) and a Division III school (Wisconsin-Whitewater) have made it to Tier II. (Northwest has the longest winning streak in college football right now.)

And in noteworthy plummets, Rutgers has fallen from Tier I to Tier III in just two years, three Group of Five teams (EMU, NMSU, FIU) are stuck in Tier IV, and 11 FCS teams have fallen to Tier VI.

Colorado was in Tier III as recently as 2015 but pulled off back-to-back promotions. This was probably good for the ego, as the Buffaloes were not only behind Tier II Colorado State in 2015. They were sharing the Tier III WAC with Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State-Pueblo. Ouch.