BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

The only way Arkansas would consider playing in the Big XII is if it gets put in the same division as the Texas schools.

As noted, there's no financial reason for Arkansas to leave the SEC. Attendance is very good in the SEC, the SEC's tv package is way better, and the SEC is a better conference in pretty much all of the major sports. The depth of Big XII hoops might be better, but the SEC has produced more final four and championship teams than the Big XII. The SEC is clearly better in baseball and football.

 

That's all good in theory. But can the Pac-10 stay away from going to 12 and adding a football championship game cash cow? It's why the BCS leagues have been going to a dozen programs.

I have a hard time believing that Virginia and Virginia Tech would not go in a package deal, especially given the way the former stuck its neck out for the latter during the latest ACC expansion. Basically, while John Swofford was busy trying to convince the big New England markets how much they needed his league, he was ignoring Virginia Tech, which has been a perfect academic and athletic fit for a generation. Charlottesville stood up for its archrival, and Swofford reluctantly let Blacksburg in. It was about freaking time ...

The one positive if the ACC lost Florida State and Miami? The fact that some idiots higher up in Greensboro would remember that the ACC was, is and will be - for the foreseeable future - a basketball league. I think enough people on this board love to pan the conference's football rep. And they're mostly correct. Question would be if the ACC could turn around and get Syracuse after the failed attempt 7-8 years ago, and then who might the 12th school be?

 

Not sure the Pac-10 will expand after all because even with Utah and Colorado there won't be a big enough bump in the TV money to offset the 12-way split instead of the 10-way split.

And if it does, it won't be a North-South split because the Northern schools won't give up playing in LA every year. It will be split by the rivalries, and then you always play your rival and three schools from the other division for a nine-game conference schedule.

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If the Big 12 were to be proactive, it should try and add BYU and Utah. Salt Lake City is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country, and the biggest left untouched by the BCS conferences.

Adding those two would give Texas and Texas A&M more reason, more incentive to stay and wait to cash in when the Big 12 TV contract expires in 2015. And if they leave, the Big 12 still takes a major blow, but at least landed the two best football programs not currently in a BCS conference not named Boise State, which might be a reach in more than just a geographical approach.

 

I'll throw in another potential candidate: South Alabama. The Jags are gearing up for Div. I (yeah, I went there) football and are pretty serious about it. Mrs. DBV is an alum and we went to several games last year. Granted, they were against prep schools and jucos, but USA drilled everybody. USA has made the NCAA tournament out of the Sun Belt, although Bill Musselman is not walking through that door again. They are also traditionally pretty good at baseball. USA is in the Sun Belt, but Gottfried said last year he didn't know where they'd wind up when football comes into the picture and back before last season he was talking about this next cycle on the conference carousel.[/morethananybodywouldeverwanttoknowaboutbackwaterathleticdepartment]

 

Most high-and-mighty UVa alums were perfectly happy with VT not being in the ACC. The idea was that the Hokies weren't good enough to be in their conference. I don't think the Board of Visitors in Charlottesville would have stood up for Tech if it hadn't been for the governor forcing their hand.

 

UTEP has links to lots of schools in the MWC when they were all in the pre-supersized WAC, but they like being in CUSA since a lot of its alums work in Texas and being in the same league with Rice, Houston and SMU means more exposure in the Metroplex and Houston papers and, of course, more donations.

 

TCU would also never go along with adding SMU. They left CUSA because they felt it was beneath them to be in an athletic conference with SMU, Rice & Houston.

 

Im hoping the Big Ten goes to 12, not 14, 16, or 302 teams. I don't want a conference where the teams only play half of their fellow conference-mates. This isn't Big East basketball.

 

Take a look at the ACC championship game crowds if you want to get an idea what attendance would look like at a PAC 10 championship game.

 

I say this every time the Big Ten expansion is brought up.

You cannot have East/West divisions because then you get a mess like the Big 12. You have to split Penn State from OSU and Michigan. OSU/Michigan must be in the same conference otherwise you could get a meaningless rivalry game at the end of hte season.

North:
Penn State
Wisconsin
Iowa
Notre Dame
Minnesota
Illinois or Northwestern



South:
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Purdue
Indiana
Illinois or Northwestern