Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[leopard88]

Cincinnati is only about 80 miles from Lexington, KY, so it's not that big of a stretch to cross the Ohio River.

 

That said, I could see Memphis and West Virginia in the SEC before Cincinnati if only because the SEC probably maintains more of a geographic/cultural identity than any other major conference. That would also allow the conference to add two schools with the potential to provide additional strength in both football and basketball while adding another state to the footprint with West Virginia.

 

After Maryland* left the ACC with almost no advance warning, nothing would shock me.  However, I suspect the "charter member" concept carries some weight with schools like UNC, N.C. States and Virginia.

 

* -- While Maryland was a charter member of the ACC, most fans (including me) always had the sense that it was treated as an outsider, even in the pre-expansion days. A friend of mine used to joke(?) that it was because Maryland never seceded and joined the Confederacy.

[Sebastianm]

Good point, When do you think Liberty will join a conference, NDSU is a elite program nobody talks about, so I think they go in the Big Ten.

[TBGKon]

22 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

Good point, When do you think Liberty will join a conference, NDSU is a elite program nobody talks about, so I think they go in the Big Ten.

I foresee Liberty eventually in the Sun Belt or CUSA.

 

NDSU will never leave D1 FCS, theyre kinda isolated conferencewise and I doubt the Big Ten will offer a jump that far.  The MAC would be their best option, but even they travel would be an issue.

[waltere]

22 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

NDSU is a elite program nobody talks about, so I think they go in the Big Ten.

 

Lol no.

Asides from anything else, the Big Ten cares enough about academics to have been majorly antsy about the fact Nebraska got removed from the AAU on basically a technicality, there's no way they're even considering North Dakota State.

[Sebastianm]

I was ridiculous on the NDSU into the Big Ten, more seriously, I think Liberty could be a national threat in a decade or less. Now, who will be the next team to move from FCS to FBS?

[GhostOfNormMacdonald]

47 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

I think Liberty could be a national threat in a decade or less.

Thats an interesting take. I admittedly don't know much about Liberty but that would be a huge jump from where they are now as an independent that just moved into the FBS. They would need to find and join a conference (most likely not a major one) thats willing to put up with its controversies and smallish on-campus population. On top of that they would need to make an immediate impact in that conference and dominate it thoroughly enough to garner national attention. Thats probably not likely at all for them to do in a decade, and probably impossible to do in less than a decade

[Seadragon76]

2 hours ago, Sebastianm said:

Good point, When do you think Liberty will join a conference, NDSU is a elite program nobody talks about, so I think they go in the Big Ten.

 

1.) It's not going to be anytime soon. Liberty isn't a bad team... it's the school itself. The politics they espouse there is pretty dangerous. Why do you think the Sun Belt and Conference USA wanted nothing to do with Liberty when they made the move up? The moment Liberty does something that is even remotely controversial, those conferences would be getting big time glares for letting them in.

 

2.) Whatever drugs you're on.. please share. There's NO way on on this planet or any other planet or even this forsaken timeline that North Dakota State jumps ship to the Big Ten. First off is academics - 13 of the 14 Big Ten members are in the AAU, probably the most prestigious academic organization in North America (Nebraska was part of it before they left in 2011). Invitations for the AAU are extremely rare. Why am I bringing this up? It might be a sticking point for most of the schools.

 

Secondly is the massive overhaul NDSU would need to undertake in order to be in the Big Ten's radar. The Fargodome, where they play in football, is 5.5 times smaller (in terms of capacity) then Michigan Stadium. Hell, the smallest stadium in the Big Ten (Northwestern's Ryan Field) is 2.5 times larger in terms of capacity. It's the same with other sports. In terms of football is the extra money it would take - Where do you think they can come up with the money for an extra 22 scholarships in the middle of an economic downturn?

[Sebastianm]

2 minutes ago, Seadragon76 said:

 

1.) It's not going to be anytime soon. Liberty isn't a bad team... it's the school itself. The politics they espouse there is pretty dangerous. Why do you think the Sun Belt and Conference USA wanted nothing to do with Liberty when they made the move up? The moment Liberty does something that is even remotely controversial, those conferences would be getting big time glares for letting them in.

 

2.) Whatever drugs you're on.. please share. There's NO way on on this planet or any other planet or even this forsaken timeline that North Dakota State jumps ship to the Big Ten. First off is academics - 13 of the 14 Big Ten members are in the AAU, probably the most prestigious academic organization in North America (Nebraska was part of it before they left in 2011). Invitations for the AAU are extremely rare. Why am I bringing this up? It might be a sticking point for most of the schools.

 

Secondly is the massive overhaul NDSU would need to undertake in order to be in the Big Ten's radar. The Fargodome, where they play in football, is 5.5 times smaller (in terms of capacity) then Michigan Stadium. Hell, the smallest stadium in the Big Ten (Northwestern's Ryan Field) is 2.5 times larger in terms of capacity. It's the same with other sports. In terms of football is the extra money it would take - Where do you think they can come up with the money for an extra 22 scholarships in the middle of an economic downturn?

I was ridiculous, MAC would be the best option.

[Seadragon76]

That's even MORE ridiculous. Travel would be a big issue, not just for them but for everyone else in the MAC.

[GDAWG]

North Dakota State would not be a fit in the MAC.  They would be the farthest team from everyone else if that happened.  Right now the Western most school in the MAC is Northern Illinois.  If the MAC wants to add more schools, they'll take them from the Missouri Valley Conference.

[Sebastianm]

Well, FCS until Mizzou valley becomes a FBS conference.

[GDAWG]

2 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

Well, FCS until Mizzou valley becomes a FBS conference.

 

And that's not happening.  

[Sebastianm]

How about the next school to FBS from FCS?

[GDAWG]

2 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

How about the next school to FBS from FCS?

 

There are a few switching conferences in FCS or moving up to FCS from Division II but I don't believe there's none moving from FCS to FBS at the moment.

[Sebastianm]

I'm suggesting who do you think will make that jump the quickest?

[GDAWG]

18 minutes ago, Seadragon76 said:

 

1.) It's not going to be anytime soon. Liberty isn't a bad team... it's the school itself. The politics they espouse there is pretty dangerous. Why do you think the Sun Belt and Conference USA wanted nothing to do with Liberty when they made the move up? The moment Liberty does something that is even remotely controversial, those conferences would be getting big time glares for letting them in.

 

2.) Whatever drugs you're on.. please share. There's NO way on on this planet or any other planet or even this forsaken timeline that North Dakota State jumps ship to the Big Ten. First off is academics - 13 of the 14 Big Ten members are in the AAU, probably the most prestigious academic organization in North America (Nebraska was part of it before they left in 2011). Invitations for the AAU are extremely rare. Why am I bringing this up? It might be a sticking point for most of the schools.

 

Secondly is the massive overhaul NDSU would need to undertake in order to be in the Big Ten's radar. The Fargodome, where they play in football, is 5.5 times smaller (in terms of capacity) then Michigan Stadium. Hell, the smallest stadium in the Big Ten (Northwestern's Ryan Field) is 2.5 times larger in terms of capacity. It's the same with other sports. In terms of football is the extra money it would take - Where do you think they can come up with the money for an extra 22 scholarships in the middle of an economic downturn?

 

The thing is that if it's "conference only in College football" this fall, Liberty (as well as UMass, BYU, New Mexico State, UConn and Army as well.  Notre Dame would probably be ACC in that situation) would have to go into one of those two conferences for a year if they want to play in 2020

[GDAWG]

2 minutes ago, Sebastianm said:

I'm suggesting who do you think will make that jump the quickest?

 

Nobody.  

[FiddySicks]

30 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

North Dakota State would not be a fit in the MAC.  They would be the farthest team from everyone else if that happened.  Right now the Western most school in the MAC is Northern Illinois.  If the MAC wants to add more schools, they'll take them from the Missouri Valley Conference.

The only top level league that would make sense for NDSU at this point is the Mountain West, and even that’s a huge stretch. 

[Geoff]

19 hours ago, Maroon&Gold said:

Nippert holds about as many people as Vanderbilt stadium. That said, I'd much rather see UNC and NCSU in the SEC than anyone else, for geographies sake

And? Vandy wouldn’t be able to join the SEC right now either.

[Dilbert]

59 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

The only top level league that would make sense for NDSU at this point is the Mountain West, and even that’s a huge stretch. 

Big 12 wouldnt be bad a fit. Still a ways from Iowa and Kansas but better than Northern Illinois in the MAC and better than Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming.

 

As for Cincinnati I see them in the Big 12 to help out West Virginia or in the ACC, renewing rivalries with Pitt and Louisville as well at Notre Dame in basketball.