[Jon Stratis]

Think about a 4-team alliance for a minute. That means 4 teams qualifying from every regional, plus Rookie All-Star, Chairman's, and Engineering Inspiration. There are 58 regionals, plus two district championships, plus the hall of fame teams that get in, plus the Einstein teams from last year. And don't forget about the wild card spots... that means a higher percentage of the spots earned at each regional will actually be used than they have in previous years, as we'll eliminate some overlap.

I just don't see how FIRST can expand Champs enough to accomodate the extra 50+ teams a 4-team alliance format would entail. Even with a 3 team alliance, you get close to 400 qualification based spots at Champs!