The Expansion Option

The Larkspur Bowl has been a fourteen team league since inception; This number has allowed the league to have a thirteen week regular season (with every matchup occurring annually) followed by a six team, three round playoff, along with a six team consolation bracket for draft seeding. The current system works- if it ain't broke, why fix it? The one change to this format is that playoff reseeding WILL be in effect for 2017.

However, there is a short waiting list for entry into the league, which means the idea of 'new blood' is a regular off season idea. Here's a mock up for a hypothetical expansion, a return of the Orgrimmar Horde, and the addition of a hypothetical 'New England' team:

INEVITABLE CHANGES:
Expanding to SIXTEEN teams would likely involve a reduction of one bench spot per team (meaning the number of rostered players would increase from 294 to 320 at a time, depleting the talent pool by 26.) and a change to AUCTION style drafting in the year following expansion- if we were to move to 16 teams in 2017, we would change to an Auction Draft in 2018.

We would need to select one of three options for the new League Alignment:

OPTION ONE: No Playoff Bracket
There would be a fifteen week regular season and no playoff bracket, akin to a classic 'World Series' style Championship: In a Week 16 the top two teams in the standings would face off in the Larkspur Bowl. Each weekly matchup would matter that much more, as each and every win (and point) would be vital to determining who squared off in the final. This would likely mean that covering bye weeks and injuries would cause more roster turnover through the season.

OPTION TWO: Two Conferences, Four Team Playoff

Two Conferences would be formed based on the previous year's standings; for now, lets term these divisions the 'odd' and 'even' conference. (The 'odd' conference featuring teams that finished with odd numbered places in the standings the previous year: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15; the 'even' the inverse.) Each team would play every team in its conference TWICE, for a fourteen week regular season. The top two seeds in each division would then play in a Conference Championship Game in week 15, with the victors playing in the Larkspur Bowl in week 16. There would be no games across conferences, though the Conferences would be reshuffled by overall standing each season.

OPTION THREE: Four Divisions, Six Team Playoff

Four Divisions would be formed on a semi-permanent basis. Teams would play the other the other three teams in their division three times each, and then the four teams from another division once each, rotating each year. For instance, Division A would play Division B in year one, Division C in year two, and Division D in year three. The four division winners would receive automatic playoff bids, with two 'wild card' bids awarded to the next best teams, for six total playoff teams. The top two teams would receive first round byes in week 14, while the 3 seed played the 6 seed and the 4 seed the 5 seed, regardless of division. They would then reseed for a week 15 semifinal, followed by a week 16 Larkspur Bowl Championship.

NOTE:
You'll notice that none of the options involve a Week 17 Larkspur Bowl Championship, as the final week often feature non-competition variance and therefore is unlikely to ever be featured. Should the NFL expand their regular season schedule, the Larkspur Bowl will likely feature a mandatory shift in scheduling to better utilize the full slate of games.