11.17.2012

Conference Realignment: Here we go again

A few years ago the Big Ten conference shook the college sports world by announcing they were considering expanding their membership.  Rumors were flying around they were looking into going to add up to 9 schools to get to 20 members. They settled at just adding one university, but the dominoes haven't stopped since.

The Big Ten conference started all of the conference realignment, and just when we thought all was done and we could move on with our lives, the Big Ten is at it again.  Rumors have it that they are in negotiations with Maryland of the ACC and Rutgers of the Big East about joining.

These are not big name schools by no means, but the repercussions of this rumor is going to be huge in the college sports landscape.

All realignment moves are for one of the following reasons.  They are either doing it for the money or for survival.

The Big Ten originally added Nebraska for the brand name and the lucrative conference championship game.  Plus this added inventory to their already money making Big Ten Network.  Nebraska was looking for a way out cause they felt Texas ran the conference.  This was a move made in heaven.

The Pac-10 didn't want to be left behind so they grabbed Colorado who was begging to get out from underneath Texas as well and Utah so they could get into the Denver/Salt Lake markets.  More markets, new network = more money.

This ticked off BYU so they left the Mountain West Conference to go independent in football.

This is when a crazy chain of events happened, and very fast.  Boise St. leaves the WAC for the MWC.  BYU decides to join the WAC for all sports except for football, but in retaliation the MWC takes Fresno St, Nevada, and Hawaii from the WAC causing BYU to change their plans.  The WAC has to have Texas St. and Texas-San Antonio jump up to FBS ranks.

The following year things got even more crazy.  Texas A&M couldn't stand being the red headed step-sister of Texas anymore so they ask to join the powerful SEC.  Months of legal issues later A&M joins the SEC followed by Missouri.

Once again, the SEC couldn't pass this up as it got them into Texas and the St.Louis/Kansas City market as they are wanting to start their own network.

TCU accepts an invite from the Big East but later pulls out and joins the Big 12.  Syracuse and Pittsburgh jump to the ACC causing the Big East to panic.  Then West Virginia bails for the Big 12 but not before them and the Big East sue each other.

Completely bent over the Big East had no choice but to add tons of school to redo their image.  Here comes Boise St and San Diego St for football only (makes so much sense for them to be in the Big East).  Houston, SMU and UCF are joining for all sports.  Temple joined this year to replace West Virginia.  Navy is joining as a football only in 2015.

The MWC then took Utah St and San Jose St from the WAC.  Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Florida International are joining C-USA.  Charlotte and Old Dominion are stepping up to the big boy ranks in the CUSA.

The WAC will no longer sponsor football leaving Idaho and New Mexico St without a home for football.

Notre Dame not to be left out left the Big East and is going to join the ACC in all sports except for football.

And now Maryland and Rutgers are rumored to be joining the Big Ten.

For the Big Ten this is all about getting into new markets and adding inventory.  But once again if this comes to fruition more chips will fall and will fall fast.  Someone will have to replace each of those schools in their respective conferences.  And then those conferences will have to replace their respective teams and so forth.

We've already lost the WAC as we know it, could we possibly lose another conference in all of this mess?  Could some schools back out of their agreement with the Big East and re-join their old conferences?  Will we see two conferences merge into one just to stay alive?

What always seems like a good move for a conference will always have a negative impact elsewhere.  We've seen conferences such as the Mountain West rise up and challenge the "big boy" conferences just to watch them tear it down.

Even with no-name schools like Maryland and Rutgers possibly joining the Big Ten, I think this one might be the biggest of them all.  The next 12 months are going to be crazy as conferences try getting settled in for the new BCS contracts that begin in a couple of years.

Expect the unexpected, as I'm pretty sure your going to see one of the big conferences adding someone that makes you scratch your head.  Even more than Boise St and San Diego St going east and West Virginia joining a Texas-based conference.  \

Grab your popcorn and enjoy the show that all of these money hungry universities are about to put on!

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