I thought this may make the season more attractive and ensure more local derbies early in the season.
1st half of season
Western conference teams play each other twice. Eastern conference teams play each other twice.
Mid-Season Break
All-Star Game/internationals/European pre-season tours
2nd Half of Season
Top 5 teams from each Conference compete in a national A Division for 5 play-off spots and a wild card
Bottom 5 teams from each Conference compete in a national B division for 2 play-off spots and a wild card
The benefits would be that
- MLS wouldn't have to play with weakened teams during international tournaments
- more, lucrative friendlies when there are no international competitions
- accommodates expansion with the formation of a Central Division, without increasing the overall number of games per team. In that case you may want to move to a A Division and 2 regional B divisions for the second half of the season
- the better teams, who usually have the better players, play at a higher standard of competition throughout the second half of the season
On the other hand you may consider there's nothing wrong with MLS as it is.
I like many aspects of your proposal, but I think the A/B division split with playoff qualifiers from both is a logically inconsistent setup. You are essentially giving playoff spots to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th best teams. And the midway point, it would be better to be in 6th or 7th place than 4th or 5th. That creates very strange incentives.
I do like the idea of conferences being treated as their own regional leagues, with a seasonal progression from regional competition to national competition to playoffs. However, you can't have half the season be meaningless for half the teams - which you know, which is why you were giving playoff spots to the B division. Instead, the national competition stage has to be pushed to very late in the season.
My solution, which works for a mature league with between 28-48 teams (the illustration uses the optimal* number of 36) shares many of the same features as yours, is as follows:
League Structure. 36 teams divided into 4 regional conferences of 9 teams.
League Schedule. 34 games per team, consisting of 16 games against conference opponents (2 games against each) and 18 games against non-conference opponents, pitting each conference against 2 of the other 3 conferences each year on a rotating basis.
Regular Season Trophies. Each conference winner earns a regional trophy equivalent to the current Supporters Shield.
Postseason Qualification. 16 of 36 teams qualify for the postseason. The top team in each conference automatically qualifies. The remaining teams are ranked by points, and the top 12 remaining teams qualify for the postseason.
MLS Group Stage. The first round of the postseason consists of a group stage of 4 groups of 4. Groups are drawn randomly from 4 pots with the caveat that, if possible, no team will be placed in a group with a member of it's own conference in an attempt to maximize group diversity. Pot 1 consists of the 4 conference winners, Pot 2 consists of teams 1-4 of the remaining qualifiers, Pot 3 consists of teams 5-8 of the remaining qualifiers, and Pot 4 consists of teams 9-12 of the remaining qualifiers.
The group stage consists of a single round robin (3 games per team). Each game is hosted by the team from the higher pot; i.e. conference winners earn 3 home games. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams from each group qualify for the next round of the postseason.
MLS Playoffs. The second round of the postseason consists of a single elimination tournament bracket with 2-leg matches for the quarterfinals and semifinals, and a single game for the MLS Cup. The 8 qualifiers are seeded based on their point totals from the group stage.
Summary. This setup allows for (1) increased number regional rivalry games, (2) shorter average travel distances, and (3) increased postseason intensity. It accomplished this by adding just 2 games to the maximum length of the MLS schedule, despite the addition of 16 more teams to the league and 8 more teams to the postseason.
*36 teams is considered optimal due to the clean non-conference rotation. With 28 teams, each would play 12 conference games and 21 non-conference games, leaving one game open to fill a 34 game schedule. With 32 teams, each would play 14 conference games and 20 non-conference games, missing four non-conference teams each year on a rotating basis.
On the other hand you may consider there's nothing wrong with MLS as it is.
But until we reach maturity, I have to believe their short term goal, with a league size of 20-24, is to stay with two conferences. At 24 teams in 2 conferences, the 34 game schedule works out perfectly with 22 conference games (2 games against each) and 12 non-conference games (1 game against each).
