NCAA Conference Realignment

[fatediesel]

It appears that the NCAA landscape is about to drastically change, as Nebraska has reportedly accepted an invitation to join the Big 10. As a result of Nebraska leaving the Big 12 looks like it is going to implode, as Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado are reportedly going to join the Pac 10. This leaves Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, and Missouri without a conference. Missouri was reported to have an invite to the Big 10 but that does not appear to be the case. I have no idea what happens with those schools. They could possibly join the Mountain West. They could try to raid Conference USA or the MAC and keep the Big 12 name. If the Big 10 goes after a couple Big East teams like Rutgers, Pitt, or Syracuse then the remaining Big East teams could join with the remaining Big 12 teams. Regardless, a lot is going to happen in the next couple weeks.

[Kev1080P]

the SEC wont stand by and just watch this happen, they will get involved and react accordingly

[jono_0101]

Originally Posted by Kev1080P

the SEC wont stand by and just watch this happen, they will get involved and react accordingly

maybe florida or alabma should leave the SEC so they can play each other in the BCS championship like they should instead of the conference championship

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by jono_0101

maybe florida or alabma should leave the SEC so they can play each other in the BCS championship like they should instead of the conference championship

lol true, I am happy to see this should force the big 10 to finally have a championship game, so teams that get beat for one reason or another get a shot at a team in the championship.

Like with Iowa last year, I bet they could have beat OSU in a second game at a neutral site and even if Vandenberg had to start again I think he could have won.

[SteelPen]

Notre Dame is the one to blame for all this mess!

Originally Posted by Kev1080P

the SEC wont stand by and just watch this happen, they will get involved and react accordingly

Originally Posted by Mark Schlabach of ESPN

Unless Texas is on the market, it seems unlikely the SEC will react.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Redliner17k

Notre Dame is the one to blame for all this mess!

The BCS is the one to blame. If there was a playoff the conferences would have much less power.

I heard the Pac 10+ is looking to add a second automatic bid.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by supersix4

lol true, I am happy to see this should force the big 10 to finally have a championship game, so teams that get beat for one reason or another get a shot at a team in the championship.

Like with Iowa last year, I bet they could have beat OSU in a second game at a neutral site and even if Vandenberg had to start again I think he could have won.

One of the big reasons for the Big 10 expanding is so they can have a championship game. The Big 10 has wanted to have a championship game for years but couldn't because of the NCAA rule stating a conference must have a minimum of 12 teams to have a championship game. I would assume they'd have Big 10 East and West, and look like:
East:
Ohio State
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
Purdue

West:
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

The only problem with this format is that the East would be so much better than the West, so they might have to consider possibly swapping the Michigan and Illinois schools.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

One of the big reasons for the Big 10 expanding is so they can have a championship game. The Big 10 has wanted to have a championship game for years but couldn't because of the NCAA rule stating a conference must have a minimum of 12 teams to have a championship game. I would assume they'd have Big 10 East and West, and look like:
East:
Ohio State
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
Purdue

West:
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

The only problem with this format is that the East would be so much better than the West, so they might have to consider possibly swapping the Michigan and Illinois schools.

If the Big 10 expands to 12 teams, would this also force schools like Penn State from playing cream puffs the first 3 or 4 games of the season? I hope so.......and this comes from a Penn State alumni. I'd like to really "earn" a ranking by beating good competition, instead of rolling over Division II schools.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Fors*

If the Big 10 expands to 12 teams, would this also force schools like Penn State from playing cream puffs the first 3 or 4 games of the season? I hope so.......and this comes from a Penn State alumni. I'd like to really "earn" a ranking by beating good competition, instead of rolling over Division II schools.

If anything this would make schools more likely to schedule cream puffs. There's really no reason to schedule tough non-conference games when you're in the Big 10, Big 12, or SEC. Going undefeated in one of those conferences will almost always get you in the title game (barring situations like 2004, when Auburn was left out), and if the Big 10 added a title game that's another quality win. The poll voters aren't going to care if you beat 4 cream puffs, they're going to look at your victories in conference and give you the benefit of the doubt over a hypothetical situation like Mountain West team that scheduled 4 quality non-conference opponents and went undefeated.

[Moviefan1203]

I'm a big supporter of the NCAA conference realignment, they have needed consolidation for a long time. I think it's going to be much better for sports to have several big conferences and cut down on the total number of conferences. The best part of all of this is that we should be much closer to a college football playoff system. With all the conferences appearing now to go the conference championship game route, the groundwork is being set forth to get rid of the BCS. So fatediesel, you are a Big Ten guy, who else besides Nebraska is going to join? I've been hearing rumors of Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh for a long time now. How many of those schools are going to end up being part of the new sixteen team conference?

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

One of the big reasons for the Big 10 expanding is so they can have a championship game. The Big 10 has wanted to have a championship game for years but couldn't because of the NCAA rule stating a conference must have a minimum of 12 teams to have a championship game. I would assume they'd have Big 10 East and West, and look like:

Ok, I figured they just didn't want a championship game because it would make it harder for their favorites to get in big bowl games if they had to play a team a second time on a neutral field.

Originally Posted by fatediesel

If anything this would make schools more likely to schedule cream puffs. There's really no reason to schedule tough non-conference games when you're in the Big 10, Big 12, or SEC. Going undefeated in one of those conferences will almost always get you in the title game (barring situations like 2004, when Auburn was left out), and if the Big 10 added a title game that's another quality win. The poll voters aren't going to care if you beat 4 cream puffs, they're going to look at your victories in conference and give you the benefit of the doubt over a hypothetical situation like Mountain West team that scheduled 4 quality non-conference opponents and went undefeated.

I dunno I think you'd see more parody for the PSUs/OSUs who get their one win at the other schools and ride it out till the championship now not only will you have to play a little bit better talent, but now like last year when they were able to get out of seeing Stanzi that wouldn't fly once everything was in place

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

who else besides Nebraska is going to join? I've been hearing rumors of Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh for a long time now. How many of those schools are going to end up being part of the new sixteen team conference?

I've heard those teams as-well I laughed when I heard they wanted to add Tex and Okla/OkSu... That while would finally put them on an sec level it would make it wicked hard for the original 10 to get a ton of wins.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

I'm a big supporter of the NCAA conference realignment, they have needed consolidation for a long time. I think it's going to be much better for sports to have several big conferences and cut down on the total number of conferences. The best part of all of this is that we should be much closer to a college football playoff system. With all the conferences appearing now to go the conference championship game route, the groundwork is being set forth to get rid of the BCS. So fatediesel, you are a Big Ten guy, who else besides Nebraska is going to join? I've been hearing rumors of Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh for a long time now. How many of those schools are going to end up being part of the new sixteen team conference?

Same here. I really believe a major realignment might eventually push college football towards a playoff system and away from bowls.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Fors*

If the Big 10 expands to 12 teams, would this also force schools like Penn State from playing cream puffs the first 3 or 4 games of the season? I hope so.......and this comes from a Penn State alumni. I'd like to really "earn" a ranking by beating good competition, instead of rolling over Division II schools.

I would think that will be the case. It would seem larger conferences would result in teams getting more conference games and fewer non-conference games.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

So fatediesel, you are a Big Ten guy, who else besides Nebraska is going to join? I've been hearing rumors of Missouri, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh for a long time now. How many of those schools are going to end up being part of the new sixteen team conference?

I really don't know what the Big 10 is going to do. They don't have to add more teams, but they will be looking for large markets if they do expand so they can get the Big 10 Network on more cable systems. This is why Kansas and Kansas State likely won't get considered. They fit well geographically but don't bring any big markets. I could possibly see Kansas being considered since they are a member of the Association of American Universities (a prestigious association that every Big 10 member is a part of) and they bring a good basketball program. There is no way they would consider Kansas State though and it's questionable if Kansas would join a conference without Kansas State. Rutgers and Syracuse are a possibility because they'd bring the New York/New Jersey market. A dark horse could be Maryland. They would bring the Washington DC market and are a member of the AAU. I don't know if they'd be interested but if the SEC would raid the ACC they'd be a possibility. The Big 10 obviously wants Notre Dame but they are pretty intent on staying independent.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

A dark horse could be Maryland. They would bring the Washington DC market and are a member of the AAU. I don't know if they'd be interested but if the SEC would raid the ACC they'd be a possibility. The Big 10 obviously wants Notre Dame but they are pretty intent on staying independent.

Yeah I'm hearing that a chance for my terps to beat OSU/PSU just need to clean house on the coaching staff lower some grade requirements and we'll be set


It would make lax season SOOOoO MUCH FUN watching our terps whip up on their teams although somehow I don't think they'd change our conference for lax

[Batman1980]

I wish they would've granted Boise State's request to move from the WAC into the MWC, oh well.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by fatediesel

If anything this would make schools more likely to schedule cream puffs. There's really no reason to schedule tough non-conference games when you're in the Big 10, Big 12, or SEC. Going undefeated in one of those conferences will almost always get you in the title game (barring situations like 2004, when Auburn was left out), and if the Big 10 added a title game that's another quality win. The poll voters aren't going to care if you beat 4 cream puffs, they're going to look at your victories in conference and give you the benefit of the doubt over a hypothetical situation like Mountain West team that scheduled 4 quality non-conference opponents and went undefeated.

I said this because I was thinking that they would be required to play another couple conference games, thus limiting the # of possible games they could play out of conference, but you don't think that will happen? I know they might play one or two cream puffs, but I was hoping it wouldn't continue to be as many as 4 before conference play starts.....

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Stormcrow

I wish they would've granted Boise State's request to move from the WAC into the MWC, oh well.

There's still a good chance this will happen. The MWC wanted to wait and see how this whole realignment thing worked out with the Big 12/Pac 10. I could see them adding Boise and some of the Big 12 castoffs. The only way I think they don't add Boise is if they can add other teams that would get them a BCS automatic bid. The problem with adding Boise is while they are a good football team they are horrible at other sports so you're diluting your basketball conference by adding them. I don't know if they could just join the MWC for football. I would think the WAC wouldn't let them play in their conference for everything but football.

Originally Posted by Fors*

I said this because I was thinking that they would be required to play another couple conference games, thus limiting the # of possible games they could play out of conference, but you don't think that will happen? I know they might play one or two cream puffs, but I was hoping it wouldn't continue to be as many as 4 before conference play starts.....

I'd be surprised if expanded conferences lead to more conference games. Big conference teams make a ton of money playing 4 non-conference games and they aren't going to want to give any of those games up. Right now the Pac 10 plays 9 conference games so each team plays each other but with expansion I could see them moving to 8 conference games.

[STARSCREAM]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

Same here. I really believe a major realignment might eventually push college football towards a playoff system and away from bowls.

+1. I'm an Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fan and after the initial shock of all that is going down wore off I'm happy to see changes being made and also getting excited as well. It's gonna bring some good new matchups and rivalries and hopefully will force a playoff system.

[fatediesel]

I have no idea if there's any truth to this, but KCTV in Kansas City is reporting that Texas and Texas A&M have petitioned the Big 10 for an invite, and Oklahoma is trying to get an invite to the SEC, but they need to find another team to bring with them, as Oklahoma State is likely going to accept the Pac 10s invitation. The Big 10 would take Texas and Texas A&M in a heartbeat, and probably stop there for expansion unless they could get Notre Dame. I really don't know if the SEC would take Oklahoma. They are already stacked, does it make sense to bring in another powerhouse?

http://www.kctv5.com/sports/23860558/detail.html