With two new expansion teams having joined the league this “offseason,” the time has come for the JAL to split into two conferences.
The two conferences will be the National Conference (NC) and the American Conference (AC). League officials considered a number of different ways to decide which teams would be placed in each conference. In the end, it was decided that the original founding four franchises (Rapids, Cobras, underdogs, Bison) should be kept together to preserve the history and rivalries between them. By doing so, up and coming rivalries such as Lynx-Fog and possibly Express-Bambinos will have the ability to flourish by being in the other conference together. Additionally, future expansion teams can be placed in either conference.
Without further ado, here is the new conference setup... And each conference's official logo.
The JAL postseason will now operate just like other professional leagues. This means the playoffs will run through each conference individually and the WWCD Cup will be between the champion team from each conference. Also, the conference championship games will now be officially titled the “National Conference Finals” (NCF) and “American Conference Finals” (ACF).
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