An interesting alternative would be division I/division II/division III EC, so lets say 12, 16 or 24 teams in each division would play separate championships, with elimination/promotion each EC year. As in hockey or now nations league in soccer. For a 16 team division, an example would be something like 2 groups of 8 (first 6 advance, last two go to the relegation round), then similar as is now. And the last two (pairs of) teams would play a round of 4, with the last two teams being relegated.
Basic idea looks fine, but the system is also very important. There are 14 weeks in every season, what is your idea? Now the system is:Week 1 - scrimmageWeeks 2 to 8 - group stageWeeks 9 to 13 - second group stageWeek 14 - semifinal (friday) and final (monday)How would you change it to be able to compete 24 teams in second phase?