What Conference Re-alignment Should Look Like

Conference re-alignment in collegiate athletics is all about the almighty dollar. School presidents along with conference commissioners are cut right out of corporate America. For the same way that big companies have destroyed the mom and pop chains that built this country, the same can be said for the rivalries that shaped both college football and basketball. Sports and built off of fans and rivalries. Conferences used to be built of playing teams in your region and in some cases mainly your state. This has given way to cross-country flights just to play a conference game in the pursuit of money. 

By next season both The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences will have 14 members which is too many for football. By playing eight conference games a season, you will have a situation where some teams in the same conference won’t meet for several years. Twelve teams for football in a conference is enough as The NCAA stipulates that a conference must field at least twelve football members in order to have a conference championship game which means more money for the conference which is what these commissioners and school presidents solely covet. 

These super conferences have washed out “student”-athletes from the non-revenue earning sports as in some cases they are now forced to travel to another time-zone just to compete in their respective conference as football is the main money maker in collegiate athletics. I know writing this won’t change anything, but in a perfect world this is what conference re-alignment should look like. Any conference on this list that has multiple sites listed for a football championship game indicates that the game should be on a rotational basis.

When you’re the best conference in the country for college football, there is no need to add teams. Adding teams to The SEC for football is the equivalent of putting sauce on a perfect steak. The SEC has raised the bar for what conferences should be in football and everyone else needs to catch up to them.

The main problem that has plauged The Big East is the fact that the roots of this conference are around college basketball. The Big East was raided by their traditional powerhouses who went to The ACC. The Boston College Eagles and Miami Hurricanes have not had the same success in The ACC in either football or basketball that they had in The Big East. With The UMass Minutemen becoming a Football Bowl Subdivision team, there are so many natural rivaries in The Northeast for them with The Syracuse Orange, UCONN Huskies, and Boston College. To some it would make more sense for The Notre Dame Fighting Irish to join The Big Ten Conference, but being that they have been in The Big East for so long except for football, it only makes it viable to join as a football member as well. This would mean that The Big East would have 19 basketball members which means that only the top 12 teams in the standings should make it to Madison Square Garden for The Big East Tournament eliminating The NCAA Tournament that goes on every year there.

The Colorado Buffaloes have struggled regardless of whether it was in The Big 12 Conference or The Pac-12.  The Nevada Wolf Pack have not endured a losing season since 2007. Nevada’s pistol offense under head coach Chris Ault would bring an interesting wrinkle to The Pac-12 as would a rivalry with The Utah Utes.

With 114 wins since 2002, The Boise State Broncos are more than due to be a member of a big time football conference. In reality they are going to The Big East, but The Big 12 is the perfect fit for them as they would take the place of The Colorado Buffaloes. It isn’t morally right to have to The Texas Longhorns and The Texas A&M Aggies in separate conferences even though The Aggies have proven that they are SEC worthy after defeating The Alabama Crimson Tide last week. By moving The Oklahoma Sooners to The Big 12 North it would allow for The Longhorns and The Sooners to meet in The Big 12 Championship Game which would be huge for television ratings. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have more natural rivalries in The Big 12 with Oklahoma and Texas than they have in The Big Ten.

Since The West Virginia Mountaineers were dying to leave The Big East Conference, let them move to a conference that doesn’t ask them to travel out of their region for every game. To me, The Louisville Cardinals going to The ACC would permit for great rivalries in both football and basketball. Duke vs. Louisville in basketball just brings back great memories of The Final Four from 1986.

It is easier to separate The Missouri Tigers from The Big 12 than it would be for The Nebraska Cornhuskers. Although Mizzou has historical ties has with The Kansas Jayhawks, they also have deep ties with The Illinois Fighting Illini. The Tigers could still play The Jayhawks in the same fashion that they play The Illini in a neutral site game for both basketball and football. You have to keep The Michigan Wolverines and The Ohio State Buckeyes in separate divisions in order to preserve the chance of a potential championship game between these titans in The Big Ten Championship Game which is what the conference currently does. 

The Colorado Buffaloes haven’t showed that they can play “big boy” football as of late. The Buffs have not enjoyed a winning season since 2005. Instead of playing The Colorado State Rams to start the season, these two could meet at the end of the campaign to possibly decide The Mountain West Title. The BYU Cougars left The Mountain West to become an independent in football, but they still have an in-state rivalry with The Utah State Aggies on the table.

It is hard to fathom that after this season we will no longer have The Western Athletic Conference involved in football. The WAC has been around since 1962 and it has paved the way for good football teams as well as good football players. The San Diego State Aztecs do not belong in The Big East; they belong in The Pacific time zone with teams such as The Fresno State Bulldogs and The Hawaii Warriors.

There has to be a stop to this mass exodus of Conference USA schools going to The Big East. I imagine that it would stop as soon as The ACC stops raiding The Big East. Conference USA is the perfect place for schools such as The Houston Cougars and The Southern Methodist Mustangs that were hung out to dry once The Southwest Conference folded in 1995.

With the exception of losing UMass to The Big East, The Mid-American Conference could serve to stay as is.