What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

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GoBucks1047
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What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

Post by GoBucks1047 »

As college football has pasted for the season and March Madness is still a month away, I want to open up discussion on which teams you would want in your conferences (whether it’s realistic or fictional), how you’d realign them, and how many teams you’d want in your conference (could be 8 teams, could be 20)?

I know for me, I played around with it looking at 10 vs. 12 teams in a conference, but felt when it came to returning and maintaining tradition through rivalries in the many sports regionally while maximizing money and recruiting for conferences, 11 teams seemed best. They way I see it, you’ll play everyone often playing an 8 game conference schedule in football (10 game conference schedules I believe is too many) and still being capable of having conference championship games (Top 2 teams play). I’d also have the power conference schedule a minimum 2 non-conference games against other power conference teams, but since there are 77 power teams, Army (in a group of 5 conference) would be considered a power conference team to keep an even number.
College basketball with 11 team conferences would be expand their conference schedule to 20 games, and resume double round robin scheduling (I also find 11 team conference tournaments the most fair to the best deserving teams getting a bye while still giving the lower seeded teams a chance). I think the additional conference games would improve the regular season and can have the conference games start in December (like what the Big Ten does), play some non-conference games during Bowl season/CFP, and then resume in January. I then tried to realign all 32 conferences into 11 teams each in football and men’s basketball, but wasn’t able to do it without breaking up many conferences and settled with 33 conferences of 10-12 teams for basketball and 9-12 teams in football (only did 12 teams when conferences were spread far apart, and only did 9 teams for a few FCS football leagues); the Ivy League was the exception leaving them untouched. I won’t post all 33 conferences on here, but I wanna post the main conferences (7 in football, 8 in basketball) and get your thoughts on it.

American Athletic Conference (FBS)
Boston College
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Louisville
Navy^ (Football Only)
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
West Virginia

This conference gets us the Big East football we miss and I think would be the best northeast conference we can get that would be competitive. Many rivalries in the northeast would be restored in football including the Backyard Brawl (anyone remember 2007). It should be noted that this conference, a team would get 4 protected rivalry games (instead of 2) and then you’d play 4 other teams, and for Notre Dame, they would play Boston College, Louisville, Navy, and Pittsburgh annually (all rivalry games and/or close ACC opponents). Cincy and WVU could be good games that could become rivalries. They’re already familiar with Syracuse and Temple. And then UConn and Rutgers could be the cupcake games in the NYC area. I’d think it’d be smart for ND if they had Cincy, WVU, and Syracuse in a group to play 2 times every 3 years, and then UConn, Rutgers, and Temple in another group twice every 2 years every 3 years. Then their non-conference scheduling could be USC, Stanford, Michigan/Michigan St, and Northwestern/Purdue. It’s all rivalry games both close and in CA and would benefit ND to join this conference (I’d be willing to give conference television rights to NBC to air games to sweeten the cake). In basketball, I decided Navy (along with Army) would be better off if their Olympic sports stayed in the Patriot League, but the remaining 10 teams would give us a good taste of the original Big East basketball we miss, but with 10 teams here, I would have it set that this league would be required to play 3 non-conference games in basketball with the Big East below:

Big East Conference (non-football)
Butler**
Dayton**
DePaul
Georgetown**
Marquette
Providence
Seton Hall
St. John’s
Villanova**
Xavier
** = East Coast Football Conference (FCS)

I swapped out Creighton for Dayton because Dayton has more rivalries and can start/restart rivalries with teams in the Big East and the AAC than Creighton, and I returned Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference with Wichita State and gave the MVC Saint Louis as a potentially competitive 11th member to improve that conference (Loyola-Chicago and Valparaiso are returned to the Horizon League; IUPUI back to Summit League). With the setup of the AAC and Big East, rivalries amongst the 2 conferences can be returned in basketball as both conferences have 5 teams on the east coast and 5 teams in the Midwest/Ohio Valley region. I’m aware adding Dayton would hurt the Big East a little losing the Omaha market and adding the Dayton market (which could be merging with Cincy soon), but the current Power 5 conferences are also taking a hit so I’m sure the Big East would be able to manage. The Big East by itself would still be competitive and Dayton has proven it can compete come March and I’m sure would be able to fit in.

Atlantic Coast Conference (FBS)
Clemson
Duke
Florida St.
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami
North Carolina
NC State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

The ACC goes back to the 11 members it had back in 2004 before Boston College joined and I think would be more competitive in football while remaining as one of the top basketball conferences in the nation. It would also be interesting to see how well Maryland would be welcomed back.

Big Ten Conference (FBS)
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan St.
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio St.
Penn St.
Purdue
Wisconsin

The Big Ten also returns to the 11 members it had from 1993-2010. I did think about swapping Notre Dame and Penn State, but felt the Big Ten would need some extra help with tv markets and recruiting with keeping Penn State and having some access to the east coast.

Big 12 Conference (FBS)
BYU
Colorado
Iowa St.
Kansas
Kansas St.
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma St.
San Diego St.
Utah

The Big 12 goes back to its Big 8 roots ditching the Texas schools though I’m sure they’ll still show up on non-conference schedules (Red River Rivalry is mandatory). Many rivalries lost are restored and I’m sure some new ones can be added with BYU and Utah joining and adding another market to an area where there aren’t many large markets and football brands. San Diego St. is a team I added as an 11th member because Southern CA has a few big markets that’s needed, and it gives the Big 12 access to California for recruiting if they ever lose out on recruitment in the state of Texas, plus San Diego St. over the past few years have been competitive in basketball with Big 12 teams, and BYU and Utah would be able to carry their weight in basketball as well. It is also interesting to note that BYU, Utah, and San Diego St. spent many years together in the WAC and MWC for over 30 years so uniting them with the Big 8 would be something to see.
I did consider Boise State with their closer geography, but sent them to the PAC-12 because the Big 12 needed CA, and I felt if I put Utah in the PAC-12 and added Boise St, BYU, and San Diego St to the Big 12, the Big 12 would be more separate being the Big 8 + 3 instead of unified. The PAC-12 is also in need of a great football team, and I feel Boise St. would be able to help assuming they don’t beat each other up. Their basketball team wouldn’t be the worst in the league, and Boise would be another market even though it’s not Salt Lake City or Denver. You also get the return of the PAC-10 even though Boise St joins them.

Pacific-12 Conference (FBS)
Arizona
Arizona St.
Boise St.
California
Oregon
Oregon St.
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington St.

Southeastern Conference (FBS)
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi St.
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

The SEC returns to its 10 members, and then gets to keep South Carolina. With this alignment, many rivalries would be restored that were lost when divisions were added, and teams would play much more frequently compared to today. No doubt football would remain as competitive as it is. Basketball this season would’ve been interesting to see as well in this format.

Southwest Conference (FBS)
Arkansas
Baylor
Houston
Memphis
SMU
South Florida
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
UCF

I think you all seen the Southwest Conference coming, but not the twist I added to it. I brought back the original 9 members, but swapped Rice for Memphis to add a new market and more competitive football and basketball team (sorry Rice), and needing 2 teams to add, and South Florida and UCF were the only 2 teams left that made sense. They both applied to the Big 12 in 2016, have good football programs, decent basketball, and are located in big FL cities so why not add them, plus many of their teams from the current American while giving them a chance to play with the big boys. Football would be competitive, basketball would be pretty decent as well, and it gives the Southwest Conference at least half of the Florida market and recruiting in addition to the entire state of Texas. I did consider Tulsa as a member, but seeing how SMU was just slightly better and I’ve been about maintaining rivalries, I felt SMU was a better option than Tulsa, and I couldn’t put Tulsa and Rice ahead of South Florida and UCF. Even then, I feel like the SWC would fail as a conference as it did before without South Florida and UCF.


Chieftain2009
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Re: What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

Post by Chieftain2009 »

I'm good with the way things are right now with how the conferences are aligned. But, if I had to change it up, I would drop Conference USA, MAC, Sun Belt, Liberty, New Mexico State and UMASS out of the independents, and everyone in the Mountain West except Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State, Nevada and Wyoming down to a D1 subconference. Keep FCS the same way it is currently structured. Keep D1 basketball structured the same way it currently is (except for conferences), and realign conferences based on geographic location and renaming the conferences. For example:

Northeast Coast Conference (NECC):
Army
Boston College
Maryland
Navy
Penn State
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
UConn

Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC):
Clemson
Duke
East Carolina
NC State
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Midwest Conference (MWC):
Cincinnati
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisville
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia

Central States Conference (CSC):
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin

Southeastern Conference (SEC):
Alabama
Auburn
Central Florida
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami
South Florida

Southern Athletic Conference (SAC):
Arkansas
Houston
LSU
Memphis
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Tulane
Vanderbilt

Southwestern Conference (SWC):
Baylor
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
SMU
TCU
Texas Tech
Tulsa

Western Athletic Conference (WAC):
Arizona
Arizona State
Boise State
BYU
Colorado
Nevada
Utah
Utah State
Wyoming

Far West Conference (FWC):
California
Fresno State
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

Obviously this would never happen. But a fun look at what it would look like based strictly on geography. With either 9 or 10 in each conference.


Omega
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Re: What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

Post by Omega »

Although I long for the non ESPN college football landscape of 1975, my thoughts are that the major football schools are likely to break away from the NCAA and form their own governing body to facilitate the college football playoffs. Say 48 schools in four geographic conferences to populate an eight team playoff. If these schools can work out a deal to keep their other sports under the NCAA umbrella, I can see this happening as long as the TV money does not run out.


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Re: What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

Post by PTrojan59 »

Chieftain2009 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:14 am I'm good with the way things are right now with how the conferences are aligned. But, if I had to change it up, I would drop Conference USA, MAC, Sun Belt, Liberty, New Mexico State and UMASS out of the independents, and everyone in the Mountain West except Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State, Nevada and Wyoming down to a D1 subconference. Keep FCS the same way it is currently structured. Keep D1 basketball structured the same way it currently is (except for conferences), and realign conferences based on geographic location and renaming the conferences. For example:

Northeast Coast Conference (NECC):
Army
Boston College
Maryland
Navy
Penn State
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
UConn

Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC):
Clemson
Duke
East Carolina
NC State
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Midwest Conference (MWC):
Cincinnati
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisville
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia

Central States Conference (CSC):
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin

Southeastern Conference (SEC):
Alabama
Auburn
Central Florida
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami
South Florida

Southern Athletic Conference (SAC):
Arkansas
Houston
LSU
Memphis
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Tulane
Vanderbilt

Southwestern Conference (SWC):
Baylor
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
SMU
TCU
Texas Tech
Tulsa

Western Athletic Conference (WAC):
Arizona
Arizona State
Boise State
BYU
Colorado
Nevada
Utah
Utah State
Wyoming

Far West Conference (FWC):
California
Fresno State
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

Obviously this would never happen. But a fun look at what it would look like based strictly on geography. With either 9 or 10 in each conference.
Oh man Texas & Texas A&M get left out in the cold lol


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Chieftain2009
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Re: What are your ideas on realignment for college conferences?

Post by Chieftain2009 »

PTrojan59 wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:16 am
Chieftain2009 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:14 am I'm good with the way things are right now with how the conferences are aligned. But, if I had to change it up, I would drop Conference USA, MAC, Sun Belt, Liberty, New Mexico State and UMASS out of the independents, and everyone in the Mountain West except Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State, Nevada and Wyoming down to a D1 subconference. Keep FCS the same way it is currently structured. Keep D1 basketball structured the same way it currently is (except for conferences), and realign conferences based on geographic location and renaming the conferences. For example:

Northeast Coast Conference (NECC):
Army
Boston College
Maryland
Navy
Penn State
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
UConn

Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC):
Clemson
Duke
East Carolina
NC State
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

Midwest Conference (MWC):
Cincinnati
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisville
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia

Central States Conference (CSC):
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin

Southeastern Conference (SEC):
Alabama
Auburn
Central Florida
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami
South Florida

Southern Athletic Conference (SAC):
Arkansas
Houston
LSU
Memphis
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Tulane
Vanderbilt

Southwestern Conference (SWC):
Baylor
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
SMU
TCU
Texas Tech
Tulsa

Western Athletic Conference (WAC):
Arizona
Arizona State
Boise State
BYU
Colorado
Nevada
Utah
Utah State
Wyoming

Far West Conference (FWC):
California
Fresno State
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State

Obviously this would never happen. But a fun look at what it would look like based strictly on geography. With either 9 or 10 in each conference.
Oh man Texas & Texas A&M get left out in the cold lol
I completely missed those LOL. Definitely not intentional.


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