HuntTheJones Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Okay, so it seems I've caught the college football fever a tad early this summer, and I've had the concept in mind for some years now, so I decided to run with it (finally). My idea comes from the ever popular idea of super conferences in college athletics. You've heard it all before I'm sure, sixteen schools, four divisions, the whole nine. Personally, I value regional location for conference affiliation over the money, so however unrealistic it is for some schools to be in certain conferences monetarily, this is the time where I point out it's my concept . Uniform updates will follow with all. First up will be the Southeastern Conference, being Mississippi native for my entire life and a graduate of Ole Miss I'm somewhat partial to the SEC. So here goes. The Southeastern Conference will have a centralized location and headquarters in the mecca of the South, and one of my favorite (and possibly future home of) Atlanta, Georgia. This includes location for all championship matchups and tournaments, meaning not only the SEC Championship Football Game, but for the purpose of this concept the Basketball and Baseball Tournaments. Atlanta is more than capable of hosting such events with a plethora of hotels, metro areas, and state of the art facilities, two of which are completed and brand new (Mercedes Benz Stadium - SEC Football Championship, SunTrust Park - SEC Baseball Tournament), and one of which is undergoing renovations currently (Philips Arena - SEC Basketball Tournament). This brings us to the member institutions and how they will be divided up. My vision for the SEC has the conference leaving the Big 12 footprint of Texas and Missouri, and instead focusing on states already within the geographic footprint of the "current South," including the state of North Carolina (where I believe the SEC Network is currently located). There is also a heavy emphasis on developing and continuing in-state rivalries, as well as historic rivalries, in this concept. As I said earlier in the post, there will be four divisions. They are as follows: The SEC East, The SEC North, The SEC South, The SEC West, giving us a total map look as follows. I tried to split these up geographically as best I could. Here are Division Specifics: The SEC East: - Clemson University. Location: Clemson, South Carolina. Mascot: Tigers. Colors: Purple, Orange, White. ~110 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - University of Georgia. Location: Athens, Georgia. Mascot: Bulldogs. Colors: Red, Black, White. ~59 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Georgia Tech University. Location: Atlanta, Georgia. Mascot: Yellow Jackets. Colors: Old Gold, Navy, White. 1.8 Miles from Downtown Atlanta, GA. - University of South Carolina. Location: Columbia, South Carolina. Mascot: Gamecocks. Colors: Garnet, Black, White. ~195 Miles from Atlanta, GA. The SEC North: - University of Kentucky. Location: Lexington, Kentucky. Mascot: Wildcats. Colors: Royal Blue, White, Silver. ~296 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mascot: Tar Heels. Colors: Carolina Blue, White, Navy. ~338 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee. Mascot: Volunteers. Colors: Orange, White, Smokey Grey. ~157 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Vanderbilt University. Location: Nashville, Tennessee. Mascot: Commodores. Colors: Black, Vegas Gold, White. ~216 Miles from Atlanta, GA. The SEC South: - University of Alabama. Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mascot: Crimson Tide. Colors: Crimson, White, Grey. ~186 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Auburn University. Location: Auburn, Alabama. Mascot: Tigers. Colors: Navy, Orange (Auburn), White. ~115 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - University of Florida. Location: Gainesville, Florida. Mascot: Gators. Colors: Royal Blue, Orange, White. ~310 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Florida State University. Location: Tallahassee, Florida. Mascot: Seminoles. Colors: Garnet, Vegas Gold, White. ~230 Miles from Atlanta, GA. The SEC West: - University of Arkansas. Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mascot: Razorbacks. Colors: Cardinal, White, Black. ~576 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Louisiana State University. Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mascot: Tigers. Colors: Purple, Athletic Gold, White. ~460 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - University of Mississippi. Location: Oxford, Mississippi. Mascot: Rebels. Colors: Navy, Red, White. ~300 Miles from Atlanta, GA. - Mississippi State University. Location: Starkville, Mississippi. Mascot: Bulldogs. Colors: Maroon, White, Grey. ~256 Miles from Atlanta, GA. I do plan to write a post for each school as to why they are in the SEC (if they aren't a current or founding member), what makes them a good fit, and what they bring to the table for the conference, the rivalries, and the tradition. I will also note that this concept (when it comes to uniforms) will put huge emphasis on uniformity of design across word marks, scripts, logos, and sports. In other words, a school is it's brand, and that brand and it's elements will be seen across all three of the big sports in their uniforms, fields, courts, etc. C&C please! Like I said, not perfect realistically or logistically, but what my SEC would be in a Super Conference era, perfect HuntTheJones world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRC4 Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Did Miami Hurricanes not make the cut of 64?!?!?!?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotapalm Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Looking forward to the uniforms- You've established a good branding set/ crisp logos and graphics for the conferences. It's good so far. http://www.dakotapalmhelmets.blogspot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycast Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Love the idea and really looking forward to this, but I would really keep Auburn and Alabama in the same division...how I'd stack 'em up... SEC North - North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt SEC South - Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn SEC East - Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina SEC West - Mississippi, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Louisiana State Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 So football does the Big XII model of top two records? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoopsCoach55 Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 I like the idea, especially having TAMU and Mizzou returning to the Big 12! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 4 hours ago, Skycast said: Love the idea and really looking forward to this, but I would really keep Auburn and Alabama in the same division...how I'd stack 'em up... SEC North - North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt SEC South - Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn SEC East - Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina SEC West - Mississippi, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Louisiana State I actually like this a lot. Mind if I run with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WavePunter Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Well, I typed this all up this morning, but apparently didn't post.. Some of it has already been mentioned in the meantime, but I'll post as-is anyway.. I might suggest dropping UNC, going with a 15 team conference, using the West/Central/East breakdown, and using that as a starting point.. It keeps Regionalization intact while salvaging a lot more rivalries that get lost to your 4-division model.. It also allows the "ATLANTIC COAST conference" to maintain all of its coastal state, while still eliminating Georgia and Florida from its list.. It helps logically as well, as your model had a situation where the westernmost school was not a member of the western division.. If you're dead-set on the 4-division model, I'd suggest reworking the divisions in entire-state format.. It makes just as much sense logically and logistically, but has the added advantage of maintaining the in-state rivalries.. North States - TN, KY, NC East States - GA, SC South States - AL, FL West States - MS, LA, AR Also curious as to how this will affect other conferences.. If you only include current Power 5 scools (65 total) and keep the 5 conferences, your balance will be way off (13 per conference would be equal).. you could add the necessary 15 teams, but some other conferences would be really weak, considering the strength you’ve given the SEC.. or you could drop 1 team and go with 4 conferences of 16 teams my two cents.. Edit: I had completely forgotten about Miami in the grand scheme of all this.. While I stand by the benefits of the 15-team conference, a 16 team conference could exist by still dropping UNC, and replacing them with Miami.. If you did this, you could add Miami to the East as well, replacing UNC in your original model, which (although it doesn't make logistical sense) would help maintain the "ACC rivalry" between the 3 former ACC schools.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiller99 Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Great concept so far! I agree with @WavePunter in the removal of UNC from the conference. From an academic standpoint, I’d recommend the addition of Tulane to the conference. Alternatively, Troy, Tulsa, ECU or Memphis (although it may be better for them to be in the new BigXII) would work for your new idea. That's what- She Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WavePunter Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 7 minutes ago, mamiller99 said: Great concept so far! I agree with @WavePunter in the removal of UNC from the conference. From an academic standpoint, I’d recommend the addition of Tulane to the conference. Alternatively, Troy, Tulsa, ECU or Memphis (although it may be better for them to be in the new BigXII) would work for your new idea. If we're going with 5 or more super conferences, I'd agree with this completely (apart from ECU and Tulsa), to help bring some parity to the landscape.. As it stands, some of those other conferences are going to be back-filled with FCS schools while the SEC is stacked with FBS schools.. However, if we go the logical route, drop 1 FBS team to bring the number to 64, and make 4 super conferences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WavePunter Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 And to help sort this out, here's a solution out west (Assuming you choose the 64-team, 4-superconferences model).. Idaho becomes the school eliminated from FBS Pac 12 becomes Pac 16: Pac 12 drops Colorado and Utah Absorbs San Jose State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State, UNLV, and Nevada.. This keeps the major Utah-based rivalries intact by shipping the entire state off to another conference, solves the 1-extra school problem by dropping Idaho, savages the VAST majority of the Pac 12, and aids in regionalization and logistics.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_DietDrPepper_ Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Louisville and Georgia Tech are too I could see being southern, especially GT as they are in Atlanta. Miami is another obvious one, UNC never rubbed me as southern. And also maybe a UofL UK in conference rivalry would be one of the best in the nation! Follow the NFA, and My Baseball League here: https://ahsports.boardhost.com/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qckgnc Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I always thought West Virginia would make a good SEC school,especially in your northern division. In the event that they wanted to drop Vandy for a more competitive football program. Edit: I do agree with Louisville being a good fit. I always find it funny when people say North Carolina isn't southern. You could go NC State, if the fan base is the issue but, UNC gives you a dominant Basketball Program and solis baseball team. The football team always underacheives though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Ok, so it’s been over 24hrs and still no actual concepts have been posted. I appreciate the effort put in this, but before anymore realignment takes place, there needs to be an actual concept posted. So, instead of locking this right away, I’m giving the OP 12 hrs to get something up. After that, I’ll be locking this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 I did go back and forth with Louisville (to give UK that in-state rival) but ultimately decided to go into North Carolina (as a state), and North Carolina has always (at least to me) fit the most of an SEC school as far as campus and traditions, and I do consider it a southern state and school (more so than Miami, Florida is a whole different region from the panhandle down really). As far as the other conferences I imagine it shaping up something like this: B1G: Cincinatti Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Louisville Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Northwestern Notre Dame Ohio State Penn State Pitt Purdue Wisconsin With a headquarters of Indianapolis, Lucas Oil Stadium continues to host the B1G Championship Football Game, Victory Field the B1G Baseball Tournament, and Bankers Life Fieldhouse the B1G Basketball Tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 It seems I've been time crunched, so I'll go ahead and post a uniform concept for the couple of SEC East teams I have been able to get through. Though, due to said time crunch, there will be no basketball (as I can't find a template I like, and haven't had time to make one of my own). So no only football and baseball uniforms for now, though I plan on doing courts, fields, etc.! First up is Clemson! So in a perfect world, I wanted to limit myself to ONE helmet design and ONE hat design per team, and three jersey tops per team (which is why no grey is included for baseball) but this is not a perfect world so I will stick as best I can to that. It is easier to do with football helmets than baseball caps. I'll go ahead and say I'm a huge traditional uniform guy, especially in the SEC, and if a team has a uniform that looks good already then why fix what's not broken? So, so far I find that many of my concepts have turned into slight tweaks here or there, or a mashup of eras, because I really do believe that most teams are getting it right. Clemson is no exception to this. On both uniforms we see the biggest update being to the number font, going from a standard block to the Clemson custom font (Pawhammer?) currently found in the end zones of the football stadium. It also appears on the alternate purple baseball jersey. Consistency from sport to sport is key for me, and here the most prominent crossover comes with the white pants, paw logo, and number colorations. The "C" logo found on the baseball cap also makes its way to the gridiron in place of the paw logo on the collar (because three of the same logo above the belly button is a little redundant). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 The Big 12 Conference now becomes The Southwest Conference (SWC) renewed. Headquartered in the the Dallas/Arlington area, AT&T Stadium will host the SWC Championship Football Game, Globe Life Park in Arlington the SWC Baseball Tournament, and the American Airlines Center the SWC Basketball Tournament.: SWC: Baylor Houston Kansas Kansas State Mizzou Nebraska New Mexico Oklahoma Oklahoma State Rice SMU TCU Texas A&M Texas Texas Tech Tulsa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 The Atlantic Coast Conference revamped with some growing programs, keeping close to the Atlantic Coast. Headquartered in the Nation's Capital, Washington D.C., FedExField will host the ACC Championship Football Game, Nationals Park the ACC Baseball Tournament, and Capital One Arena the ACC Basketball Tournament.: The ACC: Boston College Duke East Carolina Maryland Miami (FL) North Carolina State Rutgers South Florida Syracuse Temple UCF UConn Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest West Virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntTheJones Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 And finally, The Pac 12 becomes the Pacific Athletic Conference, or The PAC, also with some up-and-comers. UNLV gets the nod as Las Vegas officially becomes the site of the PAC headquarters and championship events. The future Las Vegas Stadium will be the home of the PAC Championship Football Game, Cashman Field the PAC Baseball Tournament, and T-Mobile Arena the PAC Basketball Tournament.: The PAC: Arizona Arizona State Boise State BYU Cal Colorado Colorado State Oregon Oregon State Stanford UCLA UNLV USC Utah Washington Washington State Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WavePunter Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 On Clemson's baseball uniform, I'd keep the script on the purple alt.. I understand trying to work in their custom font, but the scripts look great, and the custom font is underwhelming, especially on a baseball jersey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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