From the Mount - Conference Realignment Edition - Wait a tic, what?

Could this really happen?

In a word: Yes. This is something that is a hot button issue right now. The issue has far reaching implications and the shake up will be interesting to see and I am kind of excited to se how things play out, even if KU might get screwed in everything.

As of right now, rumor has it MU and Nebraska are gonna sneak away to the Big 10 and the Pac 10 is courting Texas and Oklahoma. Only, with Texas you would have to take Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor and with Oklahoma you would have to take Oklahoma State. Ultimately I would put Baylor into the Fredo hall of fame for their ability to ride Texas into possibly two new conferences in the last 20 years, even though they bring nothing to the table in football and only recently something in Basketball. Right now though, these are all options, what could really happen here?

Well, Texas and those schools are being courted by the Pac 10 for the lucrative TV money they would bring in, however, those schools, specifically Tech and Ok. St., would significantly bring down the academic prestige of the conference. Stanford will not stand for this as they would whine like the lead singer in 'That Thing you Do' about being "alone in their principles." As such, it seems it would be terribly hard to get all six teams to move to the Pac 10.

Here is what I imagine happening, since a six team move will be too hard to pull off, the Big XII south teams will stay (especially since talk of this move has died down). It also appears that the talk of MU has cooled off and it will only be Nebraska to leave. This would end Big 10 expansion as nobody wants to split shared revenue even further and they get the conference championship game which will mean more money for the whole conference.



If you ask me, this is a good thing and I will explain why. Despite the fact that MU is a rival of KU and I would love nothing more than to beat up on them ever year, I am actually disappointed they won't be leaving too. Why is that you ask? Well, if MU and Nebraska leave then that gives the Big XII two open spots and I can think of two teams who would fit very well into the Big XII and would jump at the chance to get into a BCS conference: Boise State and TCU. Both programs will be top 10 teams next year and over the last 10 years have had considerably better records than both Nebraska and MU. This ups the conference strength in Football by a lot and possibly gives the New Big XII next years preseason favorite to appear in the National Championship game.

But what if Texas and the rest of the south schools go to the Pac 10? Where does that leave everybody else? Well, that Kansas in a whole heap of trouble. But let's try to look at the bright side of things here and see where KU could possibly wind up if worst case scenario actually happens. If all the teams that have been invited to leave do leave that leaves KU, K-State, Iowa State, and Colorado. Add to this Boise State and TCU and I think you have a strong six team foundation to another power conference. I think from this you could add Utah State and BYU and Colorado state which gives you nine teams total. But if the Pac 10 becomes the Pac 16 and the Big 10 decides to expand all the way to 16, this new conference is going to need 7 more teams. Where are those teams going to come from?

If the Big 10 goes to 16 they will likely get Notre Dame and poach some of the Big East which means the Big East will have to disband. Looking at those teams the best fits for this new conference would be Lousiville, Connecticut, and Cincinnati. This ups the total to 12 teams which puts them on the same plane with the ACC and SEC. So let's say that's good enough and every conference doesn't have to go to 16 teams quite yet. This is not a bad conference, not quite as strong in football, but probably equally strong in basketball. This would also give Boise State and TCU the chance to be taken seriously nationally and therefore strengthen their recruiting and become possibly one of the best programs in the country. That leaves us with the "New Conference" with these teams:

1) Kansas
2) Kansas State
3) Iowa State
4) Colorado
5) Boise State
6) TCU
7) Colorado State
8) Utah
9) BYU
10) Louisville
11) Connecticut
12) Cincinnati

I also think if they really wanted to go to the 16 team level we could find another four teams that would work well: UNLV, Nevada/Memphis, Bowling Green/Marshall, and Ball State. This is more from a geographical perspective but you're adding some solid programs in both football and basketball there.

I am not sure what you would call this conference but I do think it would be strong enough to merit inclusion in the BCS discussion, which would lead to 4 new 16 team super conferences. Matter of fact the more I think about this the more I like it. Having strong football programs like Boise State, TCU, Colorado, and Utah to bolster football season, then having a sold basketball showing with the likes of KU, K-State, Colorado, Louisville, Connecticut, and Cincinnati is a solid conference season. The Big XII would have been more powerful in football, but this will lead to a more competitive conference there. But basketball would be comparable. If KU, K-State, Colorado, Louisville, Connecticut, and Cincinnati all performed like they did last season you would have as many solid teams as the Big XII did. And this is without even mentioning the possible additions of BYU, Utah, and Memphis. I think it would make for some exciting stuff.

All in all, maybe college sports is moving towards these power conferences quicker than we think, but I think after it's all said and done there will be much less movement than we all think. However, if things shake out to where the Big XII remains intact except for MU and NU and brings in Boise State and TCU, I would actually prefer that. If everything blows up and KU has to realign with 15 other teams to form a power conference and it breaks down like I outlined above...it's not ideal but it's a decent scenario, and I wouldn't be disappointed with it. I suppose we will all just have to wait and see.