First, let me say that this "two teams per conference versus the best twelve teams" discussion is a trifle uninteresting and I normally would not join in. I think I have a different perspective to offer, however, so I will contribute to the issue. I relate this debate to the socialism vs. free market argument. The "socialists" believe in equality for everyone: all leagues get the same number of bids, regardless of how they do. The "free marketers" believe in competition and survival of the fittest: make teams from different leagues duke it out (in the regular season, of course) for those precious bids. I myself happen to be a free marketer. I think that if you tell a league it gets x bids no matter how well it does, then there will be no incentive to do well to get additional bids. Why bother improving your team with respect to those outside your league? As long as you are one of the top x in your league, then who cares if you can't compete with any teams outside your league? Also, if there are some weak teams in your league, why bother upgrading their programs? We'll still get invited to the big dance. As a free marketer, I realize that the quality of my opponents is a reflection on me. I can either change my schedule to get rid of the weak teams, or I can work to improve them. I want my league opponents to go out and win their non-conference games. There is an incentive to improve my opponents because it will help me get what I want: a bid. Also, improving my opponents will in the long run improve me. If I found myself in a league I thought was weak, I might consider trying to change the system to a more socialistic type as an easy fix. Maybe I would consider axing the weak programs. But I think the best solution would be to improve my league AS A WHOLE so that it could compete with the others. Although I cannot clarify*, I have reason to believe that a certain league REALIZES it is weak. Instead of taking measures to make itself stronger (more scholarships, more games, whatever), it chooses to weaken other leagues by denying them their fair share of bids. I think this is a shame. I would much rather see this league rise to the level of its competition instead of dragging eveyone else down. And that's about all the political science this computer scientist can handle... Keith *comments were made off the record