Conference Realignment Discussion

[Orioles]

Having had a few days to digest the crimes perpetrated upon my beloved Big East, the perspective has done me a little good. Given that the members intend to hold Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month notice requirement, Georgetown and the other Catholic/ FCS football schools get a stay of execution on their relegation to mid-major. Unlike they do in English footy, these teams won't be relegated based on performance. In fact a few of them are among the elite handful of programs in the nation who can be expected to be in the mix for a Final Four berth once or more in a 4-year span. They'll lose their opportunity to compete on the highest level based on the affairs of another sport altogether. The saving grace is that no matter how negatively recruiting is affected, or how much the strength-of-schedule is hurt, this sport gives every team a shot to win until they're the last one standing. Fortunately life as a big-city Butler doesn't begin for at least a few years. Who knows, maybe the conference pulls some magic trick like adding Navy and Air Force, thereby making any raid on the Big East to goddamn un-American for those southerners to stomach in the name of dollars. I have the feeling they'd take it in confederate $2 bills if that's all that was available.

Make no mistake, something has been lost here, or at least will be when Syracuse and Pitt follow BC in shamefully uprooting their entire athletic program and history for the immediate financial gain offered from one sport, and it's not just a charter member of the ugly cheerleader club (Gtown's are pretty heinous, but Pitt had some consistently busted hoops cheerleaders - at least we graduated a Redskinette. I'm sure the University is very proud). Look, I hate Syracuse as much as the next normal, intelligent, literate, sane person should, and Orange will remain the color of evil (along w/ Blue-Devil Blue) when they're gone, but I'll admit I hate to see them go.

I don't blame Jim Boeheim for trying to quiet some of the critics or make himself feel better by saying "it's not the same Big East" as it once was, and I can't necessarily disagree, but the idea that it somehow makes this kind of despicable dollar-chasing acceptible is total bullshit. Those teams that the Big East started with are still there, with most still among the elite teams in the country. The teams that left before (BC, Miami, VaTech) all sucked at basketball, and were fairly inconsequential to the league's hoops history. The same is not true of Syracuse. The biggest rival of not one but TWO nationally prominent programs, Georgetown AND UConn (yes, I kinda have 2 dogs in this fight. no this is not an unbiased post, but I still think I'm right). It's sickening to watch the absolute disregard for every non-football university athletic program (many of those are also students, not just athletes) under the laughable guise of "a better academic fit" (as BC's president called the ACC a few years ago while slithering out of a league including such dissimilar schools as Gtown and Villanova). Yes, I understand that what's good for the bottom line is generally good for the school, but something has to be done to prevent this because besides wrecking other sports like basketball the last handful of people who might still respect the NCAAs rules will not be able to recite the bans on buying a recruit a stick of gum without cracking up.

A number of the observers I've read in recent days, following the ACC's willful and wanton destruction of the Greatest College Basketball League Ever Assembled, have pointed out the lack of accountability in the system as leading to this dog-eat-dog old-west free-for-all. The NCAA is at the behest of its members, making it totally useless when the member presidents start damaging the integrity of their institutions and "governing" athletic body. Former Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese noted in an ESPN interview that there's "nobody at the top." If I've learned anything from following the Big East for 20+ years, it's that Mike Tranghese is always right.

Given the direct impact on students at numerous state universities, and that the NCAA is supposed to be a national governing body, it wouldn't be out of bounds for Congress to step up and do a few things: 1) empower the NCAA or a new org to act like a commissioner's office for its members 2) recommend that they have to look into and okay future conference moves, 3) and insist they put in a football playoff system. It's a lawless landscape in college athletics, and there gots to be some law.

All on the day Dave Gavitt died. Sad day.

[Astros]

I hate seeing the Big East ripped apart by all this, and all the blame goes back to Texas. Had they pushed for a Big 12 Network and equally shared revenue, there would've been no problems. But now, they looked out for #1 when they'd already had 2 schools bolt their conference, including the only Big 12 North football school worth a shit. Now, if things stay as they are, every year we're stuck with the winner of the Red River Shootout going to the national championship game and getting blown out because there is no other competition for them once A&M leaves and OK State regresses back to normal.

I read realignment stuff every day on Clay Travis' website and there's new rumors every day. There was only going to be on survivor between the ACC and Big East. There was talks of the Big East raiding to get BC back and get Maryland, which would've left the ACC ripe for the picking with the SEC wanted to expand into NC and VA and the Big Ten will always add someone if the fit is right. So the ACC went with the nuclear option and took Cuse and Pitt. And what did that ensure? Now they're for sure the 4th, maybe the 5th best football conference in the country once the Big 12 and ACC go kaput? This doesn't protect the ACC from future raids at all. This doesn't solidify them. The SEC is going to 16 teams within 3 years. They want to get into new TV markets and there's a gentleman's agreement to not expand in states that already have SEC schools (no Clemson, FSU, Louisville, GA Tech). Missouri makes the most sense in the west, and they will come into the fold shortly I think, if not I could see maybe going after TCU just to secure the Metroplex. In the east, that leaves the Tobacco Road schools, UVA and Va Tech. Duke and UNC are married to each other, Wake has no appeal, but NC State would move, they're the forgotten, overlooked NC school. Plus they're not great at football, they're serviceable, so you're not adding another powerhouse to make it even tougher to win the SEC. UVA's not coming, I think they think too highly of themselves. VA Tech would jump at the chance though, they've already switched leagues once before, no reason why they wouldn't do it again to play in the best conference in the country. If the ACC loses VA Tech and NC State, look for the Big Ten to go after Maryland, UNC and Duke, just to see if they could entice them. That's a lot of new homes for the Big Ten Network to go into.

[Astros]

Also, the Big East doesn't really have appealing football schools for other schools to go after. I think you'll see the football schools merge with the remnants of the Big 12 for survial and then Big East basketball becomes an all Catholic school league by getting Xavier and others to join

[Athletics]

If they actually used common sense the conferences could at least split up to look normal on a regional basis.

PAC 12 including Texas, Texas Tech, OU, and OK State
Big Ten including KU and K St and two Big East Schools
Big 12 disbanding
MWC including Baylor and Iowa State
SEC including Mizz, A&M, Va Tech and Clemson/FSU
ACC raiding the Big East more
Big East basketball school sucking up some A10 schools
A10 and Colonial combining for a new powerhouse basketball program

I am sure there are a few other variations that people can put together...but I say that is a better start then the mess they have going on right now.

[Mets]

I hope Notre Dame stays independant in football. Even though I'm a Big East fan, I'd rather see them play Michigan(State), USC, Army/Navy, etc each year, rather than Rutgers, etc.

[Astros]

They're too big of a cash cow to ever not be independent. As long as NBC is stupid enough to keep paying them a shit ton of money that's what they'll do. If I was NBC, since Versus has MWC football, I'd be doing all I could to talk TCU into pulling out of the Big East and staying now. Sweep up some Big 12 schools when that folds and you've got a decent football conference that is no worse than the ACC.

Stephen, as long as Texas insists on having a distinct advantage over everyone else with the Longhorn Network, the Pac 12 won't take them, that's why the deal fell through a couple weeks ago with Tech and the Oklahoma schools. Texas is a bully, they want to remain a bully and have an easy route to the national championship. Why else do you think there were talks of them joining the ACC? You think its a coincidence they were willing to fly over the entire SEC to play in a conference? Nope, they're scared of playing in the SEC, they want no part of it. They wouldn't be the top dog, they couldn't push other schools around and would have more than 2 tough games a year. Nebraska, Colorado and A&M got tired of it, its only a matter of time before the others do as well. Oklahoma has plenty of options, but they're refusing to leave OK State in the cold (which is admirable) and go anywhere without them. There's only 4 million people in the state, so its not a huge media market for expansion. That's why the SEC's not trying to get them, they'd take OU in a heartbeat, but they don't want to add 2 teams in order to only get 4 million more homes regardless of the prestige of the OU program

[Athletics]

Haha, why do you think I posed my realignment as common sense on a regional basis rather than what has played out so far. I know full well Texas is too greedy, the are basically Notre Dame 2.0 with their exclusive television rights.

And I know full well that the other schools are getting tired of it and once OU decides to up and leave the rest will follow.

So the second scenario could play out where you have TCU, OU, Ok St and Texas tech going to the Pac 12,

Texas goes Indy

Baylor and Iowa St go to the MWC since it is next inline to pick up an AQ with the destruction of the Big 12.

And I could probably think up 100 more that all make way more sense then playing a game of hungry hungry hippos.

[Orioles]

The Big East's big whiff was not accepting Penn State back in 1990. Clearly a huge mistake. PSU would've raised the level of play in the league, and probably been enough to keep BC, and maybe Miami or Va Tech (though they seemed better fits for the SEC/ACC regionally, that doesn't mean diddly anymore). Natural rivalries with Pitt, WVU and Syracuse would've been good for all involved.

I think the Big East has a good argument for being a stronger league than the ACC over the past 5 years or so, but that's more about how bad the ACC has been than the Big East reaching a higher level of play. I do, however, think WVU was good enough to win the national title the year they choked against Pitt in the backyard brawl. That could have made a difference for the future of the league. With Pitt gone, the football side is praying for a way to keep TCU. You know it's bad when Temple's making you look stupid for booting them a decade or so ago.

As for the rest of the dominos, it's the Longhorns' world and everybody else just lives in it. UT football produces more annual revenue than any other college program, and it's not even close. They'll decide the fate of the Big 12 and the Big East.

The move to the SEC is a total no-brainer for A&M, even if Texas had shared the wealth, or expanded the Longhorn Network to become a Big 12 Network. Being the only Texas presence in the best conference by far will be huge for their recruiting after all that time battling the other Texas schools in-conf for players.

I'd expect that if Texas left the Big 12 there would be some combination of the remainder of that league and the Big East (which would make a heck of a basketball conference, by the way).

I don't totally agree that there aren't attractive schools left in the Big East for other football conferences. None would be attractive to the SEC (at least if what AD said about the "gentlemen's agreement" among SEC presidents took Louisville out of the mix, and even then maybe too weak a program).

WVU - They want to go to the SEC, and have the most consistently competitive program in the Big East on a national level. Unfortunately, despite passionate fans and a successful program with a long history, West Virginia just isn't nearly a big enough market to appeal to anyone but MAYBE the ACC if they went for someone like Rutgers and wanted to add a program they could be sure would bolster both their football and basketball profiles (oh wait, nobody making these decisions gives 2 american shits about hoops). In the long run, this is the football program that could be hurt the most when all the dust settles if they don't fit into one of the power conferences.

Rutgers - This is one school that I think has to be attractive to both the Big 10 and the ACC. The NY market is so huge that even moderate success makes them a major financial asset. They went to a crappy bowl game a few years ago and people were so fired up they made the Empire State Building red for the night of the game. They have a natural recruiting base that should yield them better results in both football and basketball. Any improvements to athletic facilities to meet the standards of a better league would also be a lot easier if they were pocketing a slice of the Big 10 Network's deep dish pie. They may not have a history of success, but they do have a history. I mean, they did play in the first college football game ever, so the Big 10 can call them "Legends" or whatever stupid name their divisions have.

UConn - The Huskies aren't in so different of a position as WVU now, though they are a more attractive get due to a slightly larger market, and proximity/ reach towards the coveted New York market. The football program has performed well on the field the past few years, and the number of names called in the first few days of the NFL draft hasn't hurt them. I'd think they'd be attractive to the ACC, but have heard rumors BC's trying to stop it from happening.

Louisville and Cincinnati - These are two big enough markets that a successful program in the right league might garner enough of a following to make money for someone. Bearcats program seems to keep improving despite the parade of coaches being hired away to the Big 10. Tough spot though because they're not really a geographic fit for anyone but the Big 10, who would never have them anyway. Louisville hasn't been strong lately in football, but they have good facilities, can fit almost anywhere geographically, and have a solid fan base. So a bigger market than UConn or WVU, but not as competitive lately.

No idea how this all shakes out, other than it doesn't end well for the Big East (and probably not for the Big 12 - but the Pac-12's halt on things gives it a little life).

[Astros]

One of the major drawbacks for WVU, besides market size, is that it just isn't that good of a school (we both know academics don't mean shit, but if the league's want to posture that it does, that's why they won't go after them). WVU's not an SEC fit for that reason, it doesn't help the "they only care about football" argument, Plus, historically and geographically they're not a fit, its the SOUTHeastern conference, bringing in a state that seceded from Virginia during the war to become Yankee don't work for me. And I love WVU, one of my good friends was a gymnast there that was in Faces in the Crowd in Sports Illustrated.

I think the Big Ten is waiting on Rutgers. They want in the NY market, that is the easiest route and Rutgers sucks in football so it won't be a threat to the most overrated football conference in the country. Same with UConn.

Cincy's not a fit for anyone. OSU would never allow them in the Big Ten.

Louisville is one I think the SEC will look at as a last resort just to fully secure Kentucky and expand into southern Indiana if need be. That's the same reason they'll go for Georgia Tech, to fully secure Atlanta as a last resort, though GA Tech left the SEC back in the day, so they'll never invite them back IMO.

[Cardinals]

Plus, historically and geographically they're not a fit, its the SOUTHeastern conference, bringing in a state that seceded from Virginia during the war to become Yankee don't work for me.

Lay down your arms, the war is over.

[Nationals]

Okay okay okay. I feel that I should give a (half-hearted) defense of Texas here, seeing that I am a Longhorn and whatnot.*

UT is an asshole, no doubt about it. We are bigger, we are better, we are richer, we are more talented than everyone else. We are the strutting rooster in the Big XII-II-I. And we embrace that role. HOWEVER, with regard to the allegations that we are the ones who broke up the Big XII, I honestly don't think we deserve the lion's share of the blame. Some culpability, yes, but not the most. Let's take a look at things on a case-by-case basis.

Nebraska--they've had a bug up their ass since the early 2000s once they realized that they weren't one of the two major players, as they had been in the Big 8. They were quite concerned about the power shifting south in the conference to Oklahoma/Texas/Texas A&M. Moreover, one of their stated reasons for leaving the conference was unequal revenue sharing...something that they had pushed for in the first place when the conference was formed. So what gives, Tom Osborne? Hypocrisy, that's what. They are a storied program, but they are trapped in a low-revenue part of the country (Omaha is the #73 TV market in the nation) and as such, they were going to be eclipsed by a Texas that was operating under THE RULES NEBRASKA PUSHED FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE. Nebraska can play the "Texas is a big mean bully" card all they want, but at the end of the day, the geniuses in Lincoln brought this upon themselves.

Colorado--aw, who the hell cares about Colorado? Culturally, they did not fit with the Big XII--happy trails.

Texas A&M--These guys stick in my craw. They put up this big stink about the Longhorn Network, but several years ago, when the network was being kicked around as an idea, A&M was invited to be a partner with UT in a joint network...and they declined. Now they get huffy about UT going ahead with it? Uh huh. Also, there never really was a demand for a Big XII network along the lines of what the B1G has, so that was never an option. A&M has an inherent inferiority complex with everything UT (something about being the #2 university in the state) and so they've been trying to get out of UT's shadow for a long while now...switching conferences (with the smoke screen of "we don't like unfair revenue sharing"--something that had benefited them in the past) was the most attractive option here.

Now I'm not trying to say that there's a little Longhorn angel up there, because we are too damn powerful. We hold a lot of cards and we aren't afraid of playing them. But in the short term, UT is trying to hold the Big XII-II-I together, for better or worse (to the point that they have indicated willingness to give up some of their fancy ESPN money). I'm not a fan of this whole realignment business because, as you've said, Dan, the rivalries destroyed are just not worth extra money. But we are in a selfish money-driven world and that's just how life goes, unfortunately.
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*That said, i think that it is sick and kinda freaking ridiculous how much sway football has over this school. The athletics department has essentially tied the academic wing of the university (which is a damn good school, despite being in the south and in the same state Rick Perry calls home) to the train track and has sold us out for the almighty dollar. I generally share the sympathies of a respected professor who is my office neighbor (http://openpublish.dailytexanonline.com ... -athletics) on how the athletic department at UT has f*ed over the academics for cash monies.

[Giants]

The Pac-12 has absolutely no interest in any of those Big 12 South teams without Texas. Realignment doesn't make sense otherwise. Now that I'm down in Big 12 country I think the Big 12 is going to keep on existing. I'd like for them to find a place for SMU but it doesn't look like that;s in the cards. SMu.TCU battling for the Iron Skillet in the Big East anyone?