In the spring of 2015 the DIAA national playoffs included just eight teams and five conference champions - the 2016 may well look very different.

Here’s why: More conferences will want to be involved this season, and that will make the number of conferences involved more than eight. In addition, there will be DIAA independent teams, namely Notre Dame College and, possibly, Delaware.

Interest is starting to grow in the DIAA playoff as programs start to realize that DIA is out of their reach, but they can still get a playoff experience. So with that, here’s a look at what a DIAA playoff might look like:

The East

Empire - Syracuse won the Empire and will want to play in the playoffs.

ECRC - AIC is the champion and will likely concentrate on 7s, opening up the chance for Boston College, which beat Alabama in the ACRC Bowl Series to show how solid they are, and have stated they are interested.

Keystone - JMU won this and want to be in the payoffs.

SIRC - FIU won this and will be in the playoffs.

Ivy League - Champions Dartmouth won’t participate, but they will have a playoff for someone else to get in there. Harvard looks good for that now, but last year was a big shocker so you never know.

That’s five eastern conferences. Add in Notre Dame College, which logged wins over Syracuse, U. Notre Dame, Buffalo, Kentucky, WVU, and JMU - two DIA teams, a Varsity Cup team, and two conference champions - has, in our estimation, done enough to warrant a spot in the DIAA playoffs.

So that’s six in the East. Likely we could expand that to eight, with MTSU (close runners-up in the conference that has produced the Eastern finalist the last three years). Empire runner-up Stony Brook will be thinking about 7s, and the Ivy League isn’t strong enough to give another seed, so look for one of these three sources: the ECRC #3 team New England College (given how well the ECRC did in the ACRC Bowls, they might get a shot), Keystone runner-up Pitt, or an SCRC team. Word is that Tennessee is considering taking a pass on DIAA playoffs, but South Carolina or Alabama would be fine additions.

In the West

Gold Coast - last year’s winner was Long Beach State.

Pac West - last year’s winner was UC Davis, which went on to take the entire tournament.

NCRC - last year Central Washington won, but went to the Varsity Cup and Western Washington took the DIAA spot. This year, CWU is not in the NCRC, and it’s wide open.

Heart of America - Arkansas won last year and is in the driver’s seat this year.

MAC - Bowling Green is expected to play, and the only question is, where (East or West). There seems to be more room in the West.

SWC - North Texas definitely wants in, and their victory in the ACRC Bowl Series shows they have improved and should get a spot.

So that’s six sports, and we could see two more. We might see teams from Utah (Utah State or UVU) enter, and if not then certainly the Pac West would deserve to have its runner-up make that playoffs. If there’s a sport left, then maybe the #2 team from Gold Coast, NCRC, or HOA could sneak in.

That’s how it looks at the present, and with the regional part of it still in control, we might see it all work.

Here’s what might happen (just for fun):

East Round 1

Ivy League at FIU

Boston College at Syracuse

Notre Dame College at MTSU

USC or Alabama at JMU

West Round 1

A Utah team at Gold Coast

NCRC at Pac West

North Texas at HOA

HOA#2 at Bowling Green

Why HOA #2? Travel. We’ve basically created a Middle America bracket within the West, and Missouri or Kansas could have a little easier time linking up with Bowling Green as opposed to teams from the West Coast.