Actually I have the same sort of idea....
20 teams, 4 conferences, 5 teams in each conference...
Top 2 from each conference makes it into the finals, meaning top 8.... but then the top 4 from all remainig teams play a knock out match and two advance to the finals to make it a top 10 for the finals, that way finals will see half the comp make the top 10....
Each conference plays for there own individual trophy, say named after an immortal....
All teams play each other once, 19 games, and all have one bye each....
Conferences can be drawn from a barrel start of every year, that way no two seasons are the same, and no one can complain about being in an uneven conference since you compete against someone different every year...