Seadragon76

Sad to see them leave the MAAC I wonder if they will go with 9 teams or find a replacement team to stay at 10? I say find a replacement team to go back to 10. My choice? NJIT.

More realignment news: Former Southland founding school Abliene Christian returns home and... Boise State's other sports (save wrestling) heads to the Big West

In realignment news that are more truthful: New Orleans (Privateers, not Saints or Hornets) will join the Southland in 2013

Nope. The Southland has been looking at Abilene Christian and New Orleans as new members (with the latter already in the Southland for tennis)

Proof or it didn't happen. () I know it sounds dumb to you (and I bet you are just laughing on the inside. Come on, Lights Out...I know that Bronco pride of yours won't let you not laugh at the Vandals for their decision), but what option did they have? The Mountain West hasn't come calling for them (and New Mexico State, for that matter) and what sense would it make to drop down to the FCS level. This was the only option they had, so they went with it. It may not be the smartest choice to make, but it was a choice they had to make for survival purposes.

The SEC could go after either Duke or North Carolina and still get the same market (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) as if they went for North Carolina State. The SEC's name is so strong that it's not about being able to compete (ask Missouri and Texas A&M), it's about being able to expand the SEC's television footprint. It now reaches St. Louis, Kansas City and Houston. Imagine what the Carolina Triangle could bring it in terms of TV? Now as someone who lives in Big 12 country (close enough to Ames to make it count), I am very skeptical about the idea of adding anyone else who isn't in the Midwestern footprint, like Florida State or Clemson. Bad enough that they added West Virginia for this upcoming season, but what do I know?

Ticks? I guess that is a cute little insult towards Richmond fans... you know, the 20-30 fans the Spiders have (compared to the 40-60 the Black and Gold Lambs get). Either way, it seems kind of weird that VCU is willing to give up the money to be in a bigger conference, but DCDuck is right: The Atlantic 10 (Plus 4) is hanging it's hopes on Butler returning to form and Xavier now being the flagship school. Both of them fail and it blows up in their face.

They'll stay independent, 'cause "football independence is a vital part of their identity as a university". Which is Higher-Up Speak for 'NBC just gave us a 10-year, $250 Billion dollar TV deal, bitches!'

DarkJourney: Denver in the WCC wouldn't fit because I think Denver is a public school (everyone in the WCC is private) and I get the feeling that the WCC doesn't want to go too far out of it's range. Yeah, they got BYU. But BYU fits in with the other key factors in the WCC. I feel that Denver ought to go to the Summit League because it is a better natural fit for them.

If this all goes down we have... -Utah State and San Jose State in the MW -UTSA and Louisiana Tech in C-USA -Texas State and UT Arlington in the Sun Belt This leaves four schools: Denver, Idaho, New Mexico State and Seattle. Seattle may have the easiest route as the West Coast Conference could open their arms to another old friend (they already did with U. of the Pacific). Denver would be a great fit in the Summit League. Yeah, they would have trips to Michigan and Indiana, but it has to be better then trips to Texas and Louisiana (or now, with trips to as far as Florida). Idaho and New Mexico State would be the hardest to deal with since they have football. The best route - Join the Mountain West. Here's a possible scenario for what the Conference may look like here: Mountain Division -Air Force -Colorado State -New Mexico -New Mexico State -Utah State -Wyoming West Division -Fresno State -Hawaii -Idaho -Nevada -San Jose State -UNLV Another thing to consider: Boise State's other sports will return to the WAC in 2013. If the WAC falls, they need a home for everything else.

I'm thinking the WAC would go the way of the Big West. With UTSA, Texas State and Louisiana Tech being potential targets for C-USA, this means that the WAC would be down to four football playing schools (Idaho, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State). Those schools would need homes for their football programs. I'm certain the Mountain West would be happy to take all four in as football only members (much like former WAC member Hawaii). Outside of football, they would have those four plus Denver, Seattle and UT-Arlington. This gives them seven members, which is awfully close to the danger zone in terms of conference membership. They would need a member pronto. The answer? Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners are going to be a WAC affiliate member for baseball starting next season, so this would help them get a permanent home in the WAC.

From what I read on CollegSportsInfo, the CAA may look at Appalanchian State as a possible expansion member. Others include Stony Brook, Charlotte and someone else... I would need to look at it again.

It wouldn't surprise me. You don't play home games in the Georgia Dome as a start up with an ultimate goal of the CAA. And C-USA/MWC would love to get a toehold in Atlanta. Makes sense. Isn't UTSA (Texas, San Antonio) pretty much joining the WAC after a few startup years in FCS? They play home games in the Alamodome. Yeah. The difference is that while Georgia State is taking their time before trying to make a move while UTSA is making the move just one year after they started their football program up. You also had to consider that the WAC needed members after losing Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii so any delay in the move would be horrendous for them.

Call me crazy (and I bet you that someone will for this idea), but if Butler does make the jump to the Atlantic 10 (Plus 3), why doesn't the Horizon League go after Chicago State. I know they aren't a great school, but the Horizon already has two schools in the Chicago area and... well, let's face it, the Great West is going to die a miserable death within the next two to three years thanks to realignment (Lots of talk about UTPA moving to the Southland and I would assume that UVU and NJIT would find homes someday).

In other conference based news: West Virginia and Big East settles lawsuit. WVU now onto the Big 12 BTW: WVU's first Big 12 conference football game is September 29th against the soon-to-be RGIII-less Baylor Bears

Well, here I go... Seahawks/Mariners/Washington Huskies: I was originally born in Washington State. To me, that is where my loyalities lie. Loyality is important to me... I would never, ever, EVER turn my back from where I am originally from and the teams, even if they all suck (like in 2008). Iowa State: To help fit in with where I live, which is Iowa. I would never, ever, EVER root for a Big Ten team (like Iowa). I grew up in Pac-10 country and if there is one thing I know is that the Big Ten (Plus 2) was all about the boring football... You know, 'three yards and a cloud of dust'. Hurricanes: Somewhat random here. I remember getting a mug that had the Hurricanes on it, so I went with it.

Wait, wait wait.. There's bad blood between Oregon and Oklahoma? Since when??

Is UMass still moving to the MAC for 2012? As far as I know, UMass is still going to the MAC for football only in 2012. Any move to the Big East could mean moving all of their programs from the Atlantic 10 to the Big East and I don't think they want to make that move.

Good point. Now, I don't know for sure if this whole situation would finally force the BCS to revoke the Big East's bid (it probably would), but the NCAA has stated that you need eight members to be a football conference (the WAC is currently facing this issue with the losses of Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii and the additions of two football schools Texas State and UTSA along side non-football members Denver, Seattle and UT-Arlington). To me, Villanova holds all the cards. I understand your point that little Villanova might not be enough to save the Big East in football, but I think that in order to survive, Villanova may need to make that jump. It may be the only way, man. Saving both of them could be possible, but at what cost?

Nope. Personally, I don't care. Let's stick to the thread's main topic, OK spleen? I guess I ought to throw out my two cents on what's going on. -The ACC made a proactive move by getting Syracuse and Pittsburgh. With everyone else in a 'wait and see' mode, the ACC made this move to say that it will do something. Syracuse has been on the mind of the ACC for quite a long time. Remember, Syracuse was the team the ACC wanted alongside Miami and Boston College in the last round of expansion before the Virginia Legislature butted in for Virginia Tech. Pitt is just the extra cherry on top for the ACC. -The Big East isn't as buried as many are saying. To me, the one team that can save the Big East in football is Villanova. As it stands, there will be seven football schools (this includes incoming member TCU) and 15 overall members. Villanova making the jump to FBS would give the Big East the necessary eight members to survive in football. But, should Villanova say no to making that jump, the Big East might be in big trouble and may have to take in the scraps of the Big 12 to make things work. -What about the non-football schools (outside of Villanova, of course. This group also includes Georgetown because I don't think they are going to make that jump to FBS football in my, or anyone else's, lifetime) in this whole issue? Sooner or later, those schools are going to start wondering if they really matter in the whole scheme of things? History has taught us that super conferences don't work in the Division I level (Looking at you, WAC). Those schools may just jump ship and form some sort of non-football conference that would make them all happy.

To answer your question about Baylor, DCDuck: I remember that when the Big 12 was formed, the Texas Legislature pushed the conference to add Baylor because the governor at that time was a Baylor grad. Houston and SMU (and to an extent, Rice) would be perfect for the Big 12. Both Houston and Rice gets them back into the Houston market and SMU is more then willing to get into a BCS conference. Why not, you know?

The biggest issue with SMU moving to the Big 12 is three fold... 1. The Big 12 has the Dallas-Fort Worth market under wraps with Texas, so adding SMU wouldn't help that much. Heck, I bet you that on a very busy weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth, SMU Football is easily on the lower end of 'Top 10 Sporting Event' lists. 2. SMU's current stadium is awfully small, even by Big 12 standards. They would need to add about 10,000-15,000 seats to be comparable to the other schools (To compare, the smallest Big 12 stadium right now is Oklahoma State's Boone Pickens Stadium at 48,000 seats... That is 16,000 more seats then SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium) 3. I know football has been the driving force behind all these movements, but what's not to say that the Big 12 wants a school that is strong at both football and basketball. Tank has the right idea... TCU is good at football, but they are mediocre at basketball right now. Memphis is great at hoops, but they are possibly one of the worst teams at the FBS level right now. What's not to say that if the Big 12 expands, they want to look at a school that has the best of both worlds.

Oh boy... Looks like the Big 12 is going to be dead in the water now. Who would of thought that Texas A&M would be the one that gives it the potential death knell?

The Las Vegas TV Market. That's what the UNLV Rebels would bring.... and a decent basketball team. Personally, this talk of Texas A&M jumping ship scares me a little. I live in Iowa State country and the talk is that the Big 12 dies off, the Cyclones are stuck in limbo until someone picks them up.

Well, since the baseball plan flopped (badly, might I add), it's time to head to another sport: College Football. The current plan is to keep it at 120 teams, so the four that are moving up (Umass, South Alabama, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio) would have to stay at the FCS level. There would be 10 conference of 12 teams, meaning one conference will be dissolved. Let's begin, shall we? ACC The ACC drops Boston College for East Carolina. That's the biggest move they make. ACC Coastal -Duke -North Carolina -Maryland -Virginia -Virginia Tech -Wake Forest ACC Atlantic -Clemson -East Carolina -Florida State -Georgia Tech -Miami of Florida -North Carolina State Big East The Big East makes the most moves in the new format. They add Army, Navy, Temple and Boston College to the mix. Big East North -Army -Boston College -UConn -Rutgers -Syracuse -Temple Big East South -Cincinnati -Louisville -Pittsburgh -Navy -South Florida -West Virginia Big Ten The Big Ten finally gets Notre Dame to join after years of courting them. They replace Nebraska in this realignment plan. Big Ten Lakes -Indiana -Michigan -Michigan State -Ohio State -Penn State -Notre Dame Big Ten Plains -Illinois -Iowa -Minnesota -Northwestern -Purdue -Wisconsin Big 12 With Nebraska returning to the fold, the Big 12 remains, for the most part, unchanged. Big 12 North -Colorado -Iowa State -Kansas -Kansas State -Missouri -Nebraska Big 12 South -Baylor -Oklahoma -Oklahoma State -Texas -Texas A&M -Texas Tech Mountain West The Mountain West gets Utah and BYU back plus the schools they will add from the WAC in Boise State, Fresno State, and Nevada. Mountain West Mountain -Air Force -BYU -Colorado State -New Mexico -TCU -Wyoming Mountain West West -Boise State -Fresno State -Nevada -San Diego State -UNLV -Utah Pac-12 The Pac-12 gets San Jose State and Hawaii to replace Utah and Colorado in the plan. Pac-12 North -California -Oregon -Oregon State -Stanford -Washington -Washington State Pac-12 South -Arizona -Arizona State -Hawaii -San Jose State -UCLA -USC SEC No changes in the SEC. SEC East -Florida -Georgia -Kentucky -South Carolina -Tennessee -Vanderbilt SEC West -Alabama -Arkansas -Auburn -LSU -Mississippi -Mississippi State Conference USA Conference USA keeps most of it's members despite losing East Carolina to the ACC. To replace East Carolina, C-USA adds Louisiana Tech to it's West Division and moves Tulane to the East. Conference USA East -Central Florida -Marshall -Memphis -Southern Miss -Tulane -UAB Conference USA West -Houston -Louisiana Tech -Rice -SMU -Tulsa -UTEP Mid-American After losing Temple, the MAC stays put. Mid-American East -Akron -Bowling Green -Buffalo -Kent State -Miami of Ohio -Ohio Mid-American West -Ball State -Central Michigan -Eastern Michigan -Northern Illnois -Toledo -Western Michigan Sun Belt The Sun Belt welcomes back Utah State, New Mexico State and Idaho (former Sun Belt members) back to the fold. This also effectively kills off the WAC. Sun Belt East -Florida Atlantic -Florida International -Middle Tennessee -Troy -UL Monroe -Western Kentucky Sun Belt West -Arkansas State -Idaho -New Mexico State -North Texas -UL Lafayette -Utah State A playoff system will also be added on. -10 team playoff, conference champions only. -Teams will be seeded via conference position in the Conference RPI. -First Round games are #10 Seed at #7 Seed and #9 Seed at #8 Seed -The Quarterfinals are also held at the higher seed. -The current BCS bowls will host the Semifinals, Third Place Game and National Championship. It'll rotate between the four games every year. -Teams that don't make the playoffs will be allowed to play in other bowl games.