Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[rams80]

I wonder what Phil Knight thinks about the possibility of T. Boone Pickens muscling in on his heretofore-exclusive Official PAC Sugardaddy territory.

Judging from Oklahoma State's new unis, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

[DarkJourney]

5 writers opinions over at Rivals.com on the 64 schools that would comprise the four 16-school super conferences and their reasoning for leaving certain schools out:

OLIN BUCHANAN

Paring FCS down to 64 teams would be difficult and a lot of feelings surely would be hurt. But I always say not everybody can play at the $100 tables. So, I'd make up my list of teams that typically draw a lot of fans, have at least a history of some reasonably recent success, have national appeal or are fortunate enough to be part of successful conferences. So, I'd start my list with all the teams in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and the SEC with the exception of Vanderbilt. So there's 35 teams. I surprise myself by also deciding to keep all eight teams from the Big East and TCU to bring my list to 44. That would leave 20 slots open. The 10 most obvious teams to include are Notre Dame, BYU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech. So, with nine available spots I'd also keep Missouri, Boise State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia. But, frankly, I'd rather keep college football as it is.

MY 64 SCHOOLS

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, California, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia and Wisconsin

TOM DIENHART

A school must be able to justify its spot at the table by showing what it brings to a league from a TV standpoint. That's what drives conference realignment. A school is hurt by being traditionally bad, small and in a state that already has a strong school that usually fields a good team. And since football has greater money-making potential than basketball, the quality of hoops doesn't matter. With that, here are the current Big Six members who didn't make my cut: Baylor, Duke, Iowa State, Kansas State, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

MY 64 SCHOOLS

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, California, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

DAVID FOX

I selected my 64 teams based on a number of factors, but the primary factor is commitment to competing at a high level in football and a history of such commitment. If it's my 64-team format (which I am not in favor of), this at least needs to be a committed bunch. Their fans and alumni need to be committed as well. We keep hearing that TV markets are important in conference realignment. They are, but do you think Tuscaloosa is a big television market? No. Alabama is on top of the college football world because every Alabama (and likely many Auburn fans) watch the Crimson Tide win or lose, up year or down year. I had the most difficulty in cutting basketball-first schools from the mix, or schools with an overall good athletic program but lousy football (i.e., Vanderbilt). Since football is the primary driver, the basketball-first schools I included at least had to put together an honest effort to compete in football the past 10 or 20 years. That's why I included Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina but not Duke, Indiana or Memphis.

MY 64 SCHOOLS

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, California, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, SMU, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCF, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

MIKE HUGUENIN

The move to four 16-team "super conferences" would kill college sports as we know it - making football so important as to render every other sport basically meaningless - but because there is one more dollar out there that can be sucked up, it appears that the powers-that-be are hell-bent on going for it. TV money is the driving force behind this, and I decided that in some coin-flip situations - is this school in or out? - TV markets would be the deciding factor on whether to include certain programs or send them packing. Basketball prominence doesn't figure into this because it sure as heck seems as if it doesn't matter in "real life," either.

MY 64 SCHOOLS

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, California, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCF, UCLA, USC, USF, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

STEVE MEGARGEE

There currently are 66 teams in the six major conferences. Once we add Boise State, BYU, Notre Dame and TCU to the mix, that leaves us with 70 schools that have a good case for being included in our group of 64. So which six schools do we leave out? I seriously considered cutting Connecticut (a relative FBS newcomer), Duke, Indiana, and Kansas before deciding the strength of their basketball programs probably would require that they remain included. But I thought about it again and decided Duke's basketball program could do just fine without being included in this super-conference setup. Duke's small enrollment and lack of recent football success otherwise made the school an ideal prospect to get cut. So Duke is out. Now I had to cut five more schools. I focused on schools that either had small enrollments or remote locations. In most cases, they also hadn't been successful lately. Vanderbilt's in a great location - heck, I live in Nashville - but its relatively small enrollment and its lack of recent success knocked it out. The enrollment factor also caused me to cut Wake Forest. I didn't want to cut any schools with BCS bowl experience, but Wake's 2006 ACC title seems more like an aberration with each passing year. Enrollment certainly isn't a problem for Washington State, but its remote location and a lack of recent success cause me to knock them out. And since the Big 12's on the verge of implosion, I get the feeling that conference's members would get hurt the most, particularly those schools in remote locations. That's why I considered knocking out Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State. Of those three schools, Kansas State's the only team that has appeared in a BCS game. So the Wildcats survive, while Baylor and Iowa State are the last two cuts.

MY 64 SCHOOLS

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boise State, Boston College, BYU, California, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, USC, USF, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

[TBGKon]

Kinda interesting how Olin Buchanan leaves out Kansas.

I can't complain about any of them, as USF is in them all. A Big East title in 2011 will further help that feeling out.

[DCDuck]

Boise State in all of them? Really? I don't think that will ever happen.

[YessSir32]

Here's my take on what I think what will happen that I posted in the concepts a while back.

As expected the Big 12 folds. Also, the Big East unexpectedly disappears. The rest of the conferences pan out like so: (links in conference names)

Big Ten - As soon as the Big East becomes no more, the B1G brings in Pitt quickly. They bring in Kansas because of their strong basketball program and Missouri follows. After the new teams join, Notre Dame finally agrees to make the move. The conference championship game is in Detroit, MI

SEC - When the Big 12 starts to crumble, the SEC is quick to grab Texas A&M and Baylor. Clemson and Florida State follow from the ACC. Championship game in Atlanta, GA

PAC-16 - The PAC-12 would soon also feed off of the fallen Big 12 as they expand east and grab Texas Tech and Kansas State. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State soon follow. The new conference is called PAC-16. Championship game in Los Angeles, CA

ACC - Once Florida State and Clemson leave for the SEC, the ACC takes Connecticut and West Virgina. Later on they eat up most of the Big East taking South Florida, Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati. This leaves the Big East left in the dark. Championship game in New York, NY

Mountain West - Boise and TCU are unable to find a willing conference since they have weak basketball programs. The Mountain West wants to merge with the WAC. That gets turned down, but the WAC programs like the idea. They all join except for Louisiana Tech. UTEP joins as well. The WAC folds. Championship game in Denver, CO.

MAC - Not much going on here. They only extend an offer to Marshall and they accept. Championship game in Cleveland, OH

C-USA - With Marshall and UTEP gone, the C-USA is looking for new members. With their conferences gone, Iowa State and Louisville are left in the dust. No one comes knocking, so they join the C-USA. Championship game in New Orleans, LA

Sun Belt - With the WAC gone, the Sun Belt Conference nabs Louisiana Tech. Championship game in Jacksonville, FL

Texas decides to go independent joining Army, Navy and BYU.

So now for the scheduling.

For the 16 team conferences, the given team will play all other 7 divisional opponents. They only get one protected rivalry from the other conference.

14 team conferences are the same, but they have two protected rivalries because there obviously isn't 8 team divisions. So you can guess how 10 team conferences work. *All teams play 4 non-conference games.

The independents will all play each other once and you'll know why later.

Now, I've decided to go with a tournament instead of bowls. I'm going with a 32 team bracket. The conferences are all guaranteed a certain amount of tourney spots.

B1G gets 4 tourney spots

SEC gets 4 tourney spots

PAC 16 gets 4 tourney spots

ACC gets 4 tourney spots

MWC gets 3 tourney spots

C-USA gets 3 tourney pots

MAC gets 2 tourney spots

SBC gets 2 tourney spots

The top 2 Independents also get tourney spots.

This leaves for spots, the 5th and 6th place teams from the B1G, PAC, ACC and SEC conferences will have a play-in for those final four spots.

The bracket will be named after the #1 one seeds. The B1G bracket winner will play the ACC bracket winner. The PAC16 bracket winner plays the SEC bracket winner. The national championship location changes yearly.

[Chicageaux]

Boise State in all of them? Really? I don't think that will ever happen.

Why wouldn't Boise State be part of the four super conferences?

[TBGKon]

My analysis for those who want some assistant in comparing the Rivals guys:

Subtractions

- All guys want Vandy, Duke, Wake, Baylor, and Iowa State bumped.

- 3 out of 5 save all 9 Big East teams. David & Mike both boot Cincy and Uconn. David throws in Rutgers.

- 3 out of 5 knock out Washington State

- David kicks out Indiana

- Olin drops Kansas, while Tom drops K-State

Additions

- All guys agree to add at minimum Boise, BYU, and the Irish.

- David and Mike throw in Houston and UCF. David also adds in SMU

[McCall]

My analysis for those who want some assistant in comparing the Rivals guys:

Subtractions

- All guys want Vandy, Duke, Wake, Baylor, and Iowa State bumped.

- 3 out of 5 save all 9 Big East teams. David & Mike both boot Cincy and Uconn. David throws in Rutgers.

- 3 out of 5 knock out Washington State

- David kicks out Indiana

- Olin drops Kansas, while Tom drops K-State

Additions

- All guys agree to add at minimum Boise, BYU, and the Irish.

- David and Mike throw in Houston and UCF. David also adds in SMU

SMU? No. TCU is fine as the lone Dallas-FtW market rep. If you're going to include one of either KU or K-State, when it comes to football, you keep K-State. KU has fleeting success once every 10 years or so. KSU's been down for a little while and slowly climbing back, but they've had the success in the past. Btw, I'm a Mizzou fan, hate both Kansas schools, but I'm being objective here. Baylor seems to be the redheaded stepchild of the Big XII, and apparently all of College football. And they're usually one of the first ones I'd leave out. But they're sometimes competitive and I'm sure there are some other teams left in that are worse, so I don't know. I've been cooking up some SuperConference ideas that I need to refine and then I may post them.

[thespleenenator]

Here's my take on what I think what will happen that I posted in the concepts a while back.

As expected the Big 12 folds. Also, the Big East unexpectedly disappears. The rest of the conferences pan out like so: (links in conference names)

Big Ten - As soon as the Big East becomes no more, the B1G brings in Pitt quickly. They bring in Kansas because of their strong basketball program and Missouri follows. After the new teams join, Notre Dame finally agrees to make the move. The conference championship game is in Detroit, MI

SEC - When the Big 12 starts to crumble, the SEC is quick to grab Texas A&M and Baylor. Clemson and Florida State follow from the ACC. Championship game in Atlanta, GA

PAC-16 - The PAC-12 would soon also feed off of the fallen Big 12 as they expand east and grab Texas Tech and Kansas State. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State soon follow. The new conference is called PAC-16. Championship game in Los Angeles, CA

ACC - Once Florida State and Clemson leave for the SEC, the ACC takes Connecticut and West Virgina. Later on they eat up most of the Big East taking South Florida, Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati. This leaves the Big East left in the dark. Championship game in New York, NY

Mountain West - Boise and TCU are unable to find a willing conference since they have weak basketball programs. The Mountain West wants to merge with the WAC. That gets turned down, but the WAC programs like the idea. They all join except for Louisiana Tech. UTEP joins as well. The WAC folds. Championship game in Denver, CO.

MAC - Not much going on here. They only extend an offer to Marshall and they accept. Championship game in Cleveland, OH

C-USA - With Marshall and UTEP gone, the C-USA is looking for new members. With their conferences gone, Iowa State and Louisville are left in the dust. No one comes knocking, so they join the C-USA. Championship game in New Orleans, LA

Sun Belt - With the WAC gone, the Sun Belt Conference nabs Louisiana Tech. Championship game in Jacksonville, FL

Texas decides to go independent joining Army, Navy and BYU.

So now for the scheduling.

For the 16 team conferences, the given team will play all other 7 divisional opponents. They only get one protected rivalry from the other conference.

14 team conferences are the same, but they have two protected rivalries because there obviously isn't 8 team divisions. So you can guess how 10 team conferences work. *All teams play 4 non-conference games.

The independents will all play each other once and you'll know why later.

Now, I've decided to go with a tournament instead of bowls. I'm going with a 32 team bracket. The conferences are all guaranteed a certain amount of tourney spots.

B1G gets 4 tourney spots

SEC gets 4 tourney spots

PAC 16 gets 4 tourney spots

ACC gets 4 tourney spots

MWC gets 3 tourney spots

C-USA gets 3 tourney pots

MAC gets 2 tourney spots

SBC gets 2 tourney spots

The top 2 Independents also get tourney spots.

This leaves for spots, the 5th and 6th place teams from the B1G, PAC, ACC and SEC conferences will have a play-in for those final four spots.

The bracket will be named after the #1 one seeds. The B1G bracket winner will play the ACC bracket winner. The PAC16 bracket winner plays the SEC bracket winner. The national championship location changes yearly.

I have no idea how the hell you think the SEC would take Baylor but not Louisville. Plus, a 32 team bracket would make the season too long.

[McCall]

Here's my take on what I think what will happen that I posted in the concepts a while back.

As expected the Big 12 folds. Also, the Big East unexpectedly disappears. The rest of the conferences pan out like so: (links in conference names)

Big Ten - As soon as the Big East becomes no more, the B1G brings in Pitt quickly. They bring in Kansas because of their strong basketball program and Missouri follows. After the new teams join, Notre Dame finally agrees to make the move. The conference championship game is in Detroit, MI

SEC - When the Big 12 starts to crumble, the SEC is quick to grab Texas A&M and Baylor. Clemson and Florida State follow from the ACC. Championship game in Atlanta, GA

PAC-16 - The PAC-12 would soon also feed off of the fallen Big 12 as they expand east and grab Texas Tech and Kansas State. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State soon follow. The new conference is called PAC-16. Championship game in Los Angeles, CA

ACC - Once Florida State and Clemson leave for the SEC, the ACC takes Connecticut and West Virgina. Later on they eat up most of the Big East taking South Florida, Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati. This leaves the Big East left in the dark. Championship game in New York, NY

Mountain West - Boise and TCU are unable to find a willing conference since they have weak basketball programs. The Mountain West wants to merge with the WAC. That gets turned down, but the WAC programs like the idea. They all join except for Louisiana Tech. UTEP joins as well. The WAC folds. Championship game in Denver, CO.

MAC - Not much going on here. They only extend an offer to Marshall and they accept. Championship game in Cleveland, OH

C-USA - With Marshall and UTEP gone, the C-USA is looking for new members. With their conferences gone, Iowa State and Louisville are left in the dust. No one comes knocking, so they join the C-USA. Championship game in New Orleans, LA

Sun Belt - With the WAC gone, the Sun Belt Conference nabs Louisiana Tech. Championship game in Jacksonville, FL

Texas decides to go independent joining Army, Navy and BYU.

Some quick notes:

Kansas and K-State, not seperating. KU needs K-State for a legitimate football draw. Them being paired with KSU is really the only way they'd stay in a power conference, except attaching to Mizzou.

SEC would only take Baylor to get aTM, and I'm sure they'll find a way around that. Baylor would probably end up as a last entry into one of the lesser power conferences, not the best one. More than likely they'd end up in Conference USA.

TCU is already going to the Big East, so how would the Mountain West folding cause them to be without a conference?

[DCDuck]

Boise State in all of them? Really? I don't think that will ever happen.

Why wouldn't Boise State be part of the four super conferences?

- Tiny little niche market

- Good at two sports (football, wrestling), mediocre at best in all others

- Academics comparable to a four-year community college

Boise State could barely hold serve in basketball when they were in the WAC. How do you think they'd manage going up against the likes of Texas and Kansas on a yearly basis?

[rams80]

Boise State in all of them? Really? I don't think that will ever happen.

What do you expect its Rivals. They only know crap that's directly fed to them.

The SEC will not kick out Vandy and the Big Ten sure as hell will not kick out Indiana and ummm....wait did some dumbass seriously suggest the ACC would kick out Duke? Bottom line is that if you are currently a member of one of the 4 surviving leagues your future and safety is assured.

[B-Rich]

The SEC will not kick out Vandy and the Big Ten sure as hell will not kick out Indiana and ummm....wait did some dumbass seriously suggest the ACC would kick out Duke? Bottom line is that if you are currently a member of one of the 4 surviving leagues your future and safety is assured.

Correct.

Tulane is still kicking itself in the bee-hind for leaving the SEC in the early 60s.

[TBGKon]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6974572/oklahoma-sooners-regents-meet-big-12-conference-affiliation-monday

Monday could be D-Day...

[dfwabel]

http://espn.go.com/c...iliation-monday

Monday could be D-Day...

Not quite.

Monday matters little as neither OU or the Pac-12 wants to be known as "first official" move. The OU Regents will go to Executive Session and make a decision which will not be made public for a while unless they make a press release as aTm did.

When aTm is officially accepted into the SEC with a firm date, then the other dominoes will fall, especially the Pac-12 is not "exploring" to expand again, rather the deal which was on the table last summer is still there for Texas, Tech, OU and OSU.

[ESTONES6]

I love the ebb and flow of all the realignment. It seems every few weeks, even months, there is no talk about realignment or super conferences. Then, out of no where, there is a flurry of activity about schools leaving to go to other conferences or going independent. Then, after a few hectic days where numerous "first dominoe to fall" and "d-day" references, nothing really materializes. Then we go in to a few month stretch where nothing happens... just to get blind sided by huge news that big name schools are going elsewhere. Love it.

[rams80]

Look what I found!

Texas is having a Board of Regents phone conference to discuss Conference alignment roughly two hours after the OU Conference on Monday. Yeah, this league's going down.

[RyanMcD29]

In the "Hey, I coulda told you that one" category The ACC's looking to poach the Big East

Cuse and Pitt look like the targets

[rams80]

Certainly adds to the "Texas to the ACC" talk. Or the ACC is anticipating an SEC raid.

So when will the Big Ten get involved again?

[HedleyLamarr]

Certainly adds to the "Texas to the ACC" talk. Or the ACC is anticipating an SEC raid.

So when will the Big Ten get involved again?

Supposedly, the ACC has no problem with Texas keeping the Longhorn Network, unlike the Pac-12 and SEC do. And, Texas would still be a big fish in the ACC.