This metric measures yearly conference strength based on their teams’ FBS Tier Rank. The table shows how many teams per tier are in each conference. Each tier has a point value assigned. Those points are added up to give us the combined strength of every conference.
While we see that “only Elite wins change Elite perception” applies to the perception of conference strength as well, this metric measures the overall strength of the conferences from top to bottom. While the Big 10 has won the last two national championships to take the mantle of “best conference” in the media, in a measurement of all teams, the SEC remains the strongest conference.
Also, in 2024, the Big 10, ACC, and Big 12 were the most bottom-heavy they have been since 2016. You can see that they have 7 to 8 teams each that qualify as “Weak” or “Bottom Feeder.” Perhaps we’ll see this more often moving forward as a consequence of increased conference size.
Here is the point system for tiers:
5 points – National Champion. 4 points – National Championship Game Participant. 3 Points – Elite Season (Any team that finishes in the Top 5 of the Final AP Poll or any team in the Top 15 that has defeated another Elite Team). 2 Points – Big Boy Season (the non-elite top 15 teams in the final AP Poll and any top 25 team that has defeated a top 15 team). 1 point – Fringe Top 25 Season (Any team left in the top 25 or has a winning record and has defeated a top 25 team). 0 Points – Mediocre Season (any team left with a winning record or any team with a .500 record that has beaten an FBS team with a winning record). -1 Points – Weak Season (Any team left with a .500 record or a team with a losing record that has beaten an FBS team with a winning record). -2 Points – Bottom Feeder (A team with a losing record that has not beaten an FBS team with a winning record)
