Conference Realignment (speculation thread)

[rmartin65]

With the news of the sudden move by Syracuse and Pitt to join the ACC, I think we are seeing the birth of the super-conferences. How do you think it all goes down?

I have 4 super conferences forming (ACC, Big 10, Pac 12 and SEC) and 3 Minor Conferences (WAC/MWC, MAC, Sun Belt/CUSA), all with 16 teams, split into 2 divisions of 8. New teams are in italics.

ACC

North
Boston College
Connecticut
Maryland
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech

South
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami (FL)
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Wake Forest


Big 10

East
Cincinnati
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue

West
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Northwestern
Wisconsin


PAC-12

East
California
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

West
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas Tech
Utah

SEC
East
Alabama
Auburn
East Carolina
Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
South Florida
West Virginia

West
Arkansas
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

WAC/MWC

East
Air Force
BYU
Colorado State
New Mexico
New Mexico State
TCU
Utah State
Wyoming

West
Boise State
Fresno State
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
San Diego State
San Jose State
UNLV

Sun Belt/C-USA

East
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Memphis
Southern Mississippi
Troy
Tulane
UAB
UCF

West
Baylor
Houston
Kansas
Kansas State
Rice
Southern Methodist
Tulsa
UTEP

MAC

East
Akron
Army
Buffalo
Kent State
Navy
Marshall
Ohio
Temple

West
Ball State
Bowling Green
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Miami (OH)
Toledo
Western Michigan

Leftovers
Arkansas State
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee
North Texas
Western Kentucky

[Dutchrudder]

I know the rumors are out there, but I don't think Tech will end up in the Pac-12/16. The school is just too horrible at academics for them to dilute their conference. I would expect either Kansas or BYU to take that last spot over them.

[Rick_Moon]

Is it possible to join 2 conferences? For example, Notre Dame is independent in football (I know that's not a conference) but I believe that they are in the Big East for other sports. Is it possible for Texas to join the Pac-12 for football, and the ACC for basketball? Other sports could join either or, but I'm mainly focused on football and basketball in this post. The football program would go against some good competition in the Pac-12, and the ACC would be the most dominant basketball conference in college.

So, is it possible? If not, I wouldn't mind UT going to the ACC.

[Stemp]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

I know the rumors are out there, but I don't think Tech will end up in the Pac-12/16. The school is just too horrible at academics for them to dilute their conference. I would expect either Kansas or BYU to take that last spot over them.

Texas is insisting they come along for the ride. They know that Tech will be indebted to them, they can use them as an excuse or ally for political reasons and they need a strong alliance in the West coast centric conference. Same reason OU is bringing along OSU.

Football is driving these changes, which is why Kansas is an also-ran in this discussion.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by Stemp

Texas is insisting they come along for the ride. They know that Tech will be indebted to them, they can use them as an excuse or ally for political reasons and they need a strong alliance in the West coast centric conference. Same reason OU is bringing along OSU.

Football is driving these changes, which is why Kansas is an also-ran in this discussion.

It may be worth it for the Pac if they can get Texas, but I don't see why Texas would care about where Tech lands. Academically, Tech is one of the worst schools in all of the BCS conferences. I can't imagine schools like Stanford and Cal would want such a terrible institution in their conference. OSU, OU, BYU and Texas would be the jackpot for the Pac12.

[Blake]

As a Texas fan, I would rather go to the PAC16 than the ACC. Seems like there are better teams.

[ArlingtonTexan]

I am adding something to make sure everyone knows this is a mock to the titlt.

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by Super Mario

As a Texas fan, I would rather go to the PAC16 than the ACC. Seems like there are better teams.

Same here. I am excited about this move.

Also, the culture of The University of Texas is very much a western culture, with a mix of California fruits and nuts, Northwest trees and grunge, Arizona dessert and Colorado cool. The ACC is East Coast. That is just not who we are. Same thing with the Southern culture of the SEC or the Midwest culture of the Big 10 (B1G). Texas will fit in great with the schools in the PAC 16. And the proposed pod system helps sustain key regional rivalry games, such as UT vs OU.

I am really pleased with what is being proposed here. Although it is obviously not finished until it is finished.

I hope they get it done. Its all good.

[TexansSeminole]

How can the ACC be considered a super conference in football with it's current lineup? The ACC adds a whipping boy in Syracuse and an average program in Pittsburgh. Adding UCONN would do nothing for the league either, atleast football wise.

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by TexansSeminole

How can the ACC be considered a super conference in football with it's current lineup? The ACC adds a whipping boy in Syracuse and an average program in Pittsburgh. Adding UCONN would do nothing for the league either, atleast football wise.

If they lose Miami or Florida State to the SEC, that will make it even worse. Needless to say, both of these schools would be natural fits in the SEC. It could happen.

[MojoMan]

Since this is the conference realignment speculation thread....

Report: Big East, Big 12 discuss merger

NEW YORK -- A person involved in the discussions tells The Associated Press that school and conference officials from the Big East and Big 12 have been discussing ways to merge what's left of the two leagues if Texas and Oklahoma leave the Big 12.

The person, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about what is going on behind the scenes, said Monday there has been dialogue between athletic directors and high-level officials in the conference offices.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh have announced they will be leaving the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Texas and Oklahoma are both trying to decide whether to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-12, taking Oklahoma State and Texas Tech with them.

[MojoMan]

And then there is this:

OU, Texas authorized to act on Pac-12

The University of Oklahoma's board of regents and their counterparts at Texas granted their school presidents the authority to take action regarding conference realignment on Monday.

The moves clear the way for the Sooners and Longhorns to apply formally to the Pac-12, with whom they have been undergoing discussions in recent days on how to make the schools' addition to the conference work.

On Sunday, those talks were still a long way from the point at which Pac-12 leadership would be comfortable recommending the move to the league's presidents, a source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz. The proposed expansion would include fellow Big 12 schools Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.

"There has been a great deal of movement around the country and press reports around the country concerning conference realignment,'' school president William Powers told the Texas board. "We believe that it would be very helpful if the campus and I, and along the terms that were discussed earlier with consultation the chancellor and the chairman of the board and others, be able to explore options and have the authority to make decision with respect to this including continued participation in the Big 12."

....

One step closer....

But then again, Mack Brown weighs in with some profound words of wisdom (from the same article):

Texas coach Mack Brown shared the apparent skepticism of an overwhelming majority of fans throughout Big 12 country when he said the best interests of players should be duly considered in any decisions on conference alignment.

According to the results of a poll released Monday that was commissioned by Baylor and conducted by KRC Research, college football fans prefer traditional rivalries and regional conferences over super-conferences.

According to the poll over the weekend of 1,500 college graduates within Big 12 states, 76 percent of fans said they would be disappointed by the creation of super-conferences.

Brown turned impassioned in the Big 12's weekly conference call with the league's head coaches and media. "As much as we talk about money," Brown said, "as much as we talk about college football, as much as we talk about realignment, as much as we talk about great games, playoffs and all that stuff, we better go back and make sure that we're taking care of the players and that the players and the high school coaches are always considered in the equation.

"Because if not, we're not going to have a game, and they're the ones that are playing. And, for parents to travel all the way across the country is going to put a bigger burden on them."

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by TexansSeminole

How can the ACC be considered a super conference in football with it's current lineup? The ACC adds a whipping boy in Syracuse and an average program in Pittsburgh. Adding UCONN would do nothing for the league either, atleast football wise.

In this case, being the clear best basketball conference and a viable football conference will be enough. Also, not letting the SEC or the Big 10-twelve think it cherry pick its members is also valuable.

[GlassHalfFull]

http://twitter.com/#!/kbohls

kbohls kbohls
No small point. UT prez Bill Powers has authority to stay in Big 12, but cannot take action on own to change conferences; regents keep that.
30 minutes ago
»

kbohls kbohls
Didn't get to ask UT prez Powers how Big 12 could still be viable. He took zero questions, ducked into elevator and left. To Pac12, I guess.

Bold is interesting

[Dutchrudder]

Couple of things to point out from this article regarding the musical chairs.

Big East exit fees are only $5 million per school.

Should the ACC vote to accept Pittsburgh and Syracuse, Big East bylaws call for a $5 million exit fee — a veritable pittance in today’s climate of billion-dollar television deals — as well as an advanced notice of 27 months. Such a timeline would technically mean neither school would be contractually permitted to leave until the 2014-2015 academic year; technically, that would also mean next to nothing in this day and age as both sides could make concessions — i.e. “enhanced” financial considerations in exchange for an accelerated time frame for an exit — that would expedite the process.

When this domino falls — and, yes, we’re saying when and not if — it will trigger what will likely become the most seismic shift to the conference landscape in the game’s history.

Nobody from the ACC is going anywhere, even to the SEC.

Of course, the fact that the ACC is suddenly a very proactive conference could also serve as protection against potential poaching from another league. Well, that and the news the conference recently and unanimously approved a bump in exit fees — from roughly $12 million to the current figure of $20 million — means that the league is interested in keeping their current membership intact as well as adding to their current roll.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports...calypse-looms/

[pbat488]

interesting read that is important to all this realignment going on.

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/201...-nytimessports

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by pbat488

interesting read that is important to all this realignment going on.

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/201...-nytimessports

The optimal name for the conference currently tagged to be the PAC 16 would be the Western Athletic Conference. Unfortunately, that name is currently taken. However, with the weakness of the WAC and the rapid change in conference alignment now going on in College Football, that name could possibly become available sooner rather than later.

[Dutchrudder]

The thing that gets me out of all of this is the fact that Syracuse and Pitt's move to the ACC came out of nowhere. They weren't making a big deal about it, or whining about the Big East the whole time like A&M was. They actually look smart and competent in this move, a stark contrast to the way A&M handled their mess, and they aren't even in the SEC yet.

[Dan B.]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

The thing that gets me out of all of this is the fact that Syracuse and Pitt's move to the ACC came out of nowhere. They weren't making a big deal about it, or whining about the Big East the whole time like A&M was. They actually look smart and competent in this move, a stark contrast to the way A&M handled their mess, and they aren't even in the SEC yet.

Wish I could rep ya you T-sip

[brakos82]

And Baylor has sued this thread. LOL