Blame Texas...

I know it's been a while, but there's nothing like conference realignment to get me back to posting.

A little over a year ago, I remember being upset with Nebraska announcing they had intentions of leaving the Big 12. At the time this struck me as an unnecessary move to seek greener pastures where they might dominate once again in football. I was a fan of the Big 12, in part because of the geography of the conference, and didn't like the thought of a school disrupting it by leaving (other then ISU or, to a somewhat lesser degree, CU).

Then I read the reasons why Nebraska was leaving, largely Texas' greed and unwillingness to compromise, and I thought a move to the Big 10 was a wise one.

The Big 10 (now 12) is rather unique in that they have very high academic standards (AAU membership is a prerequisite for joining the conference), a competitive tradition in athletics, and a dedication to keeping things on par as much as possible. It's the last point that really sets the Big 10 apart--schools receive an equal sharing of revenue generated from athletics regardless if it's Michigan, Ohio State, or Northwestern.

Contrast this with how Texas is treating the other members of the Big 12 and why wouldn't a school choose to leave?

Now it seems almost a given that Texas A&M will also be leaving the Big 12, also because of Texas, setting off a new round of conference realignment. Because the SEC and Texas are of the same warped thinking when it comes to things such a geography and any realistic possibility of maintaining rivalries, it looks as if we're headed into an era of 16 team conferences.

I've attempted to create 7 such conferences based on, in large part, a longing for some degree of regional geography to play a factor in conferences. Although geography played a major role in the creation of these conferences, it was not the only factor as academics, athletics, and rivalries also factored in.

I'm interested in your thoughts on this.

ps--the MAC was demoted to D-IAA status.

ACC (16)

NORTH SOUTH

Boston College UVA

UConn Virginia Tech

Maryland UNC

Rugers NC State

Army Wake Forest

Navy Duke

West Virginia Appalachian State (I-AA)

Marshall East Carolina

ADDED: UCONN, Rutgers, Army, Navy, West Virginia, Marshall, East Carolina

ADDED (but currently I-AA...): Appalachian State

DROPPED: Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson

NOTES: A respectable conference academically (although adding Marshall hurts); a power to be dealt with in basketball.

BIG EAST 16

NORTHERN SOUTHERN

Cincinnati LA-Layfette

Louisville LA-Monroe

Western KY Tulane

Memphis Southern Miss

Vanderbilt South Florida

Middle TN Central Florida

UAB Florida International

Arkansas State Florida Atlantic

ADDED: LOTS!

DROPPED: LOTS! (note: non-football schools were not taken into consideration)

NOTES: These are the leftovers. Once the conference realignment dust settles, the Big East will be on par with the current WAC or (at best) Mountain West.

Academically this is a mix of the good (Tulane, Vanderbilt), the bad (ok) (Louisville, Cincinnati), and the ugly (I'm talking about you Arkansas State!). This is what you get when you draw from the leftovers.

SEC 16

WEST EAST

LSU Florida

Arkansas Georgia

Mississippi South Carolina

Mississippi State Tennessee

Alabama Georgia Tech

Auburn Clemson

Kentucky Florida State

TX A&M Miami

ADDED: TX A&M, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, Miami

DROPPED: Vanderbuilt (what are they doing in this conference anyway?)

NOTES: Adding both TX A&M and Georgia Tech is a definite academic boost to an otherwise dismal academic conference (at least for major schools). Florida State and Miami, to a lesser extent, also help the conference academically.

GREAT LAKES 16

WEST EAST

Minnesota Indiana

Wisconsin Purdue

Iowa Michigan

Illinois Michigan State

Northwestern Ohio State

Nebraska Penn State

Iowa State Pitt

Notre Dame Syracuse

ADDED: Iowa State, Notre Came, Pitt, Syracuse

NOTES: One of the most stable and prestigious conferences, most schools long

to join a conference such as this.

There are several prerequisites to joining this conference, one of them is

to be a member of the Association of American Universities (Iowa State and Pitt

are current members). Nebraska recently lost their membership to this organization and may have not been admitted to the Big 10 had it taken place a year earlier.

Syracuse recently withdrew rather from the organization rather than face a situation similar to Nebraska's. But I think it is likely they will try to rejoin.

Notre Dame is a special exception since membership in AAU is based, in part, on research spending of which Notre Dame falls into a somewhat different category.

I don't think anyone really questions the quality of education at Notre Dame, so membership should be a foregone conclusion (plus they've been previously invited to join the Big 10).

See also Amendment to Great Plains 16

GREAT PLAINS 16

NORTH SOUTH

K-State Texas

KU Texas Tech

Missouri Baylor

OU TCU

Oklahoma State SMU

Tulsa Rice

Air Force Houston

New Mexico Louisiana Tech

ADDED: Tulsa, Air Force, TCU, SMU, Rice, Houston, Louisiana Tech

ADDED (but open to suggestions...): New Mexico, Louisiana Tech

DROPPED: Iowa State

NOTES: The demise of this conference saddens me. I really did like the set up of this conference for a number of reasons. Such is life.

As noted, Texas, along with the SEC, is what is to blame for this mess. Yes, CU may have left for the Pac-10 regardless, but Nebraska would likely still be a proud member of this conference if it weren't for Texas' greed.

Also, Louisiana Tech (possibly Houston) is a definite blow to an otherwise relatively stable academic conference (I'm aware OK State has a ways to go).

AMENDMENT: If the Big 12 should utterly collapse, my hope would be that K-State, KU, and MU be admitted into the Big 10 (Great Lakes 16) (with K-State invited even though it lacks AAU membership). I really don't see the Big East as a good conference for a number of reasons.

As for the others, having OU, Texas, and OSU/Texas Tech join the SEC makes sense.

There is the option of joining the Pac-16 for these schools, although it's a bit of a stretch because of the geography.

If push came to shove and Texas was forced to go independent or to form a new conference with the leftovers, I would not be sorry one bit.

FRONTIER

COASTAL MOUNTAIN

Hawai'i Boise State

Fresno State Idaho

San Diego State Idaho State (I-AA)

San Jose State Utah State

Cal Poly (I-AA) Wyoming

UC-Davis (I-AA) New Mexico

Sacramento State (I-AA) New Mexico State

Northern Arizona (I-AA) UTEP

ADDED: Basically a combination of what's left of the Mountain West and WAC plus UTEP.

ADDED (but currently I-AA...): Idaho State, Cal Poly, UC-Davis, Sacramento State, Northern Arizona (all are currently Big Sky)

DROPPED: Air Force, CSU, Nevada-Reno, UNLV

NOTES: This is a conference that may have to settle for 12 teams.

PAC-16

NORTH SOUTH

Washington Stanford

Washington State Cal

Oregon USC

Oregon State UCLA

Utah Arizona

BYU Arizona State

CU Nevada-Reno

Colorado State UNLV

ADDED: CSU, BYU, Nevada-Reno, UNLV

NOTES: I am well aware OU, TX, or some other combination from the Big 12 might be more realistic if the Pac-12 should go to 16, but I was trying to strengthen existing rivalries while maintaining academic standards (UNLV is the only one in my eyes that drops the ball in that respect)