To me, there are multiple potential options -16, 20, 24, 32. The number turns on what programs are available and how geographically dispersed they may be. The first question is who, if any program, moves up? Maybe none. Maybe UNC, FSU, Miami and others. The second question is what other programs may become available by virtue of being kicked out of the P2 or a successor super league? Maybe privates like Vandy and Northwestern. Maybe some less prominent publics like Mississippi State, Maryland, Rutgers, or Minnesota. The third question becomes what do the academic elites choose? Assuming they are available, do Duke, Vandy, Northwestern and Stanford want to form the core of an academic-centered league that might include the service academies, stray G5s like Rice and Tulane, and maybe publics like UVa and Cal-Berkeley? Or are they willing to compete with less prestigious schools on a regional basis with whom they have been reluctant to associate in the past? After those questions are answered the question becomes what aggregation of remaining, available schools is most marketable? Because there will be few if any schools that are big draws on their own, my belief is that the initial group needs to be the biggest available brands, wherever they may be. Thereafter, one reaches the desired number by factoring in rivalries and attempting to balance numbers regionally (recognizing that the further west one goes, the harder it is to justify regional aggregation because of the distances and lack of strong brands). A final consideration is whether to aggregate based on all sports or football only. Duke, for example, should be excluded from a football only league. But in an all sports league, Duke might have a place in spite of its lack of football following if some combination of Kansas, UNC, Arizona or even Kentucky is in the league. I just think it’s hard to predict the final size of the league (or confederation) without talking through the options and scenarios. So for starters I would look for a core 16 or so that you think will end up in the group, regardless. As for providing a level from which the P2 or their successor can pluck players or coaches, I think that has nothing to do with the need to form a new “best of the rest” conference, who would be in that conference or any related issue.