Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[RevNet]

Don't think that Baylor is going to the PAC-12 if this tweet is anything to go by:

 

 

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, McCall said:

3 schools bring you 1 market...

OR...

2 schools bring you that market AND K-State brings you the KC market.

 

2 additional markets>1 additional market

 

yeah but is KC a much stronger recruiting ground than Dallas/Fort Worth?  

[4_tattoos]

2 hours ago, RevNet said:

Don't think that Baylor is going to the PAC-12 if this tweet is anything to go by:

I think some may be underestimating the cultural/political differences between the PAC-12 and Big 12 member schools (and their donors). The potential of money being made doesn't trump everything.  

 

I heard rumors of there being some resistance within the conference in inviting Utah to join the (then) PAC-10 back in 2010/11. 

[Burmy]

Sources are reporting that the Big 12 and Pac-12 are meeting to discuss a partnership, which could lead to anything from a "scheduling alliance" to a full-blown merger. (Makes sense, given how both conferences are the most frequently snubbed by the CFP among the Power Five, and I feel K-State, Iowa State and Oklahoma State would like to resume their rivalry with the Buffs)

 

Of course, this all comes as rumors of Kansas to the Big Ten intensify...

[GDAWG]

3 hours ago, Burmy said:

Sources are reporting that the Big 12 and Pac-12 are meeting to discuss a partnership, which could lead to anything from a "scheduling alliance" to a full-blown merger. (Makes sense, given how both conferences are the most frequently snubbed by the CFP among the Power Five, and I feel K-State, Iowa State and Oklahoma State would like to resume their rivalry with the Buffs)

 

Of course, this all comes as rumors of Kansas to the Big Ten intensify...

 

A full blown merger would be yikes for West Virginia.  

[MJWalker45]

On 7/30/2021 at 10:48 PM, NormMacdonald said:

Kansas and Iowa State to the B1G feels right. Having Hawkeyes vs Cyclones as a conference rivalry game will just make it way more intense. Plus Kansas would really bolster the conferences basketball appeal. They at least make more sense than Maryland and Rutgers did from a cultural perspective

It would also make more sense for Kansas and Nebraska at the end of the year as far as rivalry games. Iowa vs Nebraska is the same as Penn State vs Michigan State. They needed to have a rivalry game so they got thrown together and it's not really a rivalry except in name alone. 

 

On 7/30/2021 at 7:21 PM, Geoff said:

He mentioned that TCU might be more attractive to the PAC than TTU. Growing grad studies program, urban-ish campus (only one left in the Big XII), and, yes, it a religious private school but it's no where near the level of BYU or Baylor. When I was out in Texas, I spent a decent bit of time around TCU and it's not an overly religious outfit. My roommate was in grad school there for evolutionary psychology and knew quite a few fellow atheists. In the end, DFW is a helluva lot easier to get to than Lubbock.

TCU is run by the Disciples of Christ. It's not really all that evangelical as some of those other private schools. I attended a Disciples of Christ church growing up and was surprised that we had churches in West Virginia and Texas, but not Ohio. 

 

On 7/31/2021 at 1:24 PM, schlim said:

I just assume by 2030 the big money making programs will figure out a way to make a 30 or 32 team mega money making league and every other program will be left out in the cold. 

Looking at the leagues 29texan put together already shows the American 16 and CUSA will have a hard time attracting viewers outside hardcore college football fans or individual fans of those programs. A team like KState is not going to amount to anything nationally  in any conference it joins. 

 

I wonder if they do this, does this finally kill the golden goose? If the Big Ten, SEC and ACC champs are walking around with 3 losses in their fiefdom and below them UCF is 13-0, but can't get games with the top 30 schools because they aren't in their bracket, will we start seeing mythical championships again? Someone also pointed out that the biggest way to screw the SEC is to keep the playoff at 4 teams with Texas and Oklahoma now stuck in the SEC and having to win it outright or avoid more than 1 loss to ever make the playoffs. 

On 7/31/2021 at 12:59 PM, 29texan said:

My fantasy set-up for College Conferences

-------------------------------------------------------------

Five 16 team "Super Conferences"

========================

- "ACC" (ACC + Notre Dame & WVU)

- "American XVI" (Best 15 of the Go5 teams + one Big XII member)

- "B1G" (Big Sixteen; Big Ten + Two Big XII members)

- "Pac-16" (Pac-12 + 4 Big XII members)

- "SEC" (SEC + Texas and OU)

These 5 conferences play for the 12-team College Football Playoff with bowls.

______________________________________________________________________

Conference USA

===========================================

- Atlantic (12 teams)

8 C-USA members + 3 independents + 1 FCS call-up

- Central (14 teams)

10 MAC members + 2 C-USA members + 2 FCS call-ups

- Mountain (16 teams)

9 Mt. West members + 4 FCS Call-ups + 2 C-USA members +1 Independent

- South (16 teams)

8 Sun Belt members + 7 C-USA members + 1 FCS call-up

This would basically be four different conferences falling under one brand and having its own separate 4-team playoff.

If you want to pretend that it's a true college football playoff, all of the leagues should have a chance for the title. Not saying automatic bids, but the current proposal of the 6 best league champions getting included in the playoffs. Before you say, "What about that mid-major with 4 losses"? With 12 teams, who thinks we wouldn't see a 3 loss Alabama or Ohio State, neither with a league title, in that 12 team playoff instead of a 10-1 UCF that doesn't have a league title? 

 

[29texan]

On 8/4/2021 at 1:42 PM, MJWalker45 said:

If you want to pretend that it's a true college football playoff, all of the leagues should have a chance for the title. Not saying automatic bids, but the current proposal of the 6 best league champions getting included in the playoffs. Before you say, "What about that mid-major with 4 losses"? . . . 

 

Don't assume.

I only did this because, if we're being honest, even in my fantasy mock up of these conferences and playoffs, they'll still find a way to keep these smaller schools out of the playoffs. Even now, I believe there should just be separate playoffs for the Power Five Four and Group of "Five". 

I'm just going with what's being presented right now. Personally, I'd prefer an 8 team playoff, 16 max... but just the talks of that are currently on hold because of UT and OU.

[MJWalker45]

Just now, 29texan said:

Don't assume.

I only did this because, if we're being honest, even in my fantasy mock up of these conferences and playoffs, they'll still find a way to keep these smaller schools out of the playoffs. Even now, I believe there should just be separate playoffs for the Power Five Four and Group of "Five". 

I'm just going with what's being presented right now. Personally, I'd prefer an 8 team playoff, 16 max... but just the talks of that are currently on hold right now.

If Kent State can win the Division I basketball championship, they should have the ability to win the College Football Playoff. The fact that 5, soon to be 4, conferences can all but block the other conferences from the table is anti-competitive as hell. NIL will increase the distance as well, since players going to smaller schools won't have the access to those big time sponsorships that the P5 schools have, based on boosters and pedigree.

[29texan]

39 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

If Kent State can win the Division I basketball championship, they should have the ability to win the College Football Playoff. 

My only response to that is: 

We have FBS and FCS in football, but not in basketball or other sports... so what difference would it make if we added a sub-division to the sub-division?

[MJWalker45]

Just now, 29texan said:

My only response to that is: 

We have FBS and FCS in football, but not in basketball or other sports... so what difference would it make if we added a sub-division to the sub-division?

Too many middle of the road teams and eventually we'll have 2-4 teams in each league that are winning everything and 60+teams that are just punching bags for those  8-12 teams at the top. It's a good way to kill off interest in the game when games are over before they even start. It won't be immediate, but it will eventually drag down the quality of games when Bama is beating every team it plays by 40 every week and Ohio State can just book their hotels for championship weekend in August. 

[29texan]

5 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

Too many middle of the road teams and eventually we'll have 2-4 teams in each league that are winning everything and 60+teams that are just punching bags for those  8-12 teams at the top. It's a good way to kill off interest in the game when games are over before they even start. It won't be immediate, but it will eventually drag down the quality of games when Bama is beating every team it plays by 40 every week and Ohio State can just book their hotels for championship weekend in August. 

But that's mostly already happening... only three schools since this playoffs started (Bama, Clemson, Ohio State) have been pretty much guarantees to make it in. 

That's really not my point, though.  FBS and an FCS are both Division 1 with their own individual playoffs. I don't see what it would hurt if there's a sub-division in between, like with my C-USA examples, that has its own separate national championship.

[MJWalker45]

3 minutes ago, 29texan said:

But that's mostly already happening... only three schools since this playoffs started (Bama, Clemson, Ohio State) have been pretty much guarantees to make it in. 

That's really not my point, though.  FBS and an FCS are both Division 1 with their own individual playoffs. I don't see what it would hurt if there's a sub-division in between, like with my C-USA examples, that has its own separate national championship.

Unless the NCAA takes it over, which if I were them I'd rather not, what kind of money will they get? At the end of the day they still need to pay the bills and becoming a quasi-FC/BS division won't help them pay the bills. 

[29texan]

18 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

Unless the NCAA takes it over, which if I were them I'd rather not, what kind of money will they get? At the end of the day they still need to pay the bills and becoming a quasi-FC/BS division won't help them pay the bills. 

The NCAA is as good as dead... at least on the football side of things, anyway. 

There still needs to be some kind of collective bargaining agreement since we're pretty much acknowledging that this isn't "armature sports" as it should have been a long time ago. 

[See Red]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32017916/sources-pac-12-big-ten-acc-preliminary-discussions-forming-alliance-likely-scheduling

 

The B10, Pac 12, and ACC are in preliminary talks about some sort of alliance.

[MJWalker45]

3 hours ago, See Red said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32017916/sources-pac-12-big-ten-acc-preliminary-discussions-forming-alliance-likely-scheduling

 

The B10, Pac 12, and ACC are in preliminary talks about some sort of alliance.

I'm betting they come up with a football version of the ACC/Big Ten basketball games to set up the first couple of weekends. That'll take some attention away from the SEC. I'd like to see them expand the playoffs, but I'm also betting these three say hell no. 

[heavybass]

Confirmed Alliance

[Red Comet]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32078895/big-ten-acc-pac-12-officially-announce-alliance-stabilize-current-environment
 

Yep, and here is the article to prove it.

 

I really feel like the unspoken part of the alliance is “How are we going to carve up the Big XII?”

[Seadragon76]

1 minute ago, Red Comet said:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32078895/big-ten-acc-pac-12-officially-announce-alliance-stabilize-current-environment
 

Yep, and here is the article to prove it.

 

I really feel like the unspoken part of the alliance is “How are we going to carve up the Big XII?”

 

Easy..

 

-West Virginia to the ACC

-Oklahoma State, Kansas State, TCU and Texas Tech to the Pac-12

-Iowa State and Kansas to the Big Ten

 

This leaves Baylor out and forced into the American.

[LMU]

So, we're officially witnessing the college athletics reenactment of the Partition of Poland.

[Geoff]

Nah, the alliance is in response to these three leagues realizing none of these schools move the needle in the right way when it comes to TV money.

 

If anything, I think this just solidifies the fruition of the Big American or some other conferences rising out of the dust. The American has been looking to pick up UAB and/or Georgia State. While TV markets aren't the main driving force, both schools are in good markets and shown recent commitment to athletic (chiefly football) success. If the Big XII comes out of this picking off some AAC schools, these two to the AAC wouldn't surprise me.