BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

I agree Texas would have to get out of the current contract with the Big 12. I am not a lawyer so I don't know if it is possible though none of the conference lockup clauses seemed to have worked so far.

And the variable that could change the equation is if the ACC disintegrates. Jimbo Fisher and one of the trustees at FSU made favorable mention about a move to the Big 12 and the President of FSU came put and threw water on it, repeating basically your very valid arguments. But if the Big 10 poaches two more ACC schools at what point do the schools in the ACC with big-time football programs decide to jump to other conferences?

I think the economics of having four superconferences are so compelling that eventually college sports will wind up there.

 

Not sure if there is such a thing right now.

 

I am close to convinced that college athletics is going the way of Oklahoma high school athletics. Extremely controlled in football, but in basketball, anything goes till tournament time.

 

Sooooo (deep breath)....

My college roommate who works in the Kansas athletic department texted me wanting to know if I knew anything about the Big Ten going to 20 and inviting KU, among others. I texted back and said if I had heard anything like that I'd been the one calling him. We go back and forth a little bit and he tells me Kevin Harlan, who called the OSU-Michigan State game this weekend, was on the radio in KC saying some "very reliable" sources he talked to over the weekend said the Big Ten wants to go to 20 and will go after Kansas.

Take that for what's it is worth, but Harlan doesn't have a reputation for rumor mongering.

I don't see how Kansas, or any of the Big 12 schools, can get out of the Grant of Rights, but if the Big Ten insists on not inviting non-AAU members then its options are limited and it might have to make a hard push. Virginia, UNC, Duke and Georgia Tech fit the bill. So do Pitt and Iowa State, but they don't do anything to expand the conference footprint. After that there's Kansas and Texas in the Big 12. Maybe they could woo Missouri to leave the SEC, but I don't see any other schools from the SEC or Pac being interested. I suppose they might make an AAU exception for Notre Dame, but after the reaction to Nebraska losing its status, I don't think they are interested in inviting any other non-AAU schools.

 

Kevin Harlan is apparently on crack.

 

You'd think Jake_Taylor's old roomie wouldn't have to rely on Kevin Harlan for info.

 

And if they're gonna call they could at least say they're from the SEC.

 

Florida State and Clemson see themselves, and are seen by plenty of folks nationwide, as "big-time programs." Doesn't mean they're whipping up on the SEC, but those are programs that compete for the upper echelon of football talent, regularly draw huge crowds and don't have much trouble moving (or at least keeping steady) the TV ratings needle.

 

Not if you knew who he was. The Kansas Relays staff isn't necessarily called into the realignment meetings.

If the Big Ten wants to go to 20, which I'm not sure I buy that anyone in power really wants to do, then it kinda has to at least be communicating with Kansas, Texas and Missouri. There aren't enough AAU schools with major athletic departments not to. But the Longhorn and Jayhawk Networks and the grant of rights would make it very difficult for KU or Texas to go to the Big Ten, even if both sides wanted it.

 

And I think that Georgia Tech and Miami, by virtue of being in large media markets, are "big-time" programs. Certainly not top 15 programs but certainly top 50 programs. I also think these schools chief priority is the football program, even at Miami with the very recent success of the basketball team.

 

Lots of news Thursday. The Catholic 7 could begin play in the fall, and they will buy the Big East name. Xavier and Butler will also leave the A-10 to join the new conference. Trickle-down ramifications galore.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130228/catholic-7-news/?sct=uk_t2_a3

Notre Dame might join the ACC next season.

Louisville might not because the football can't go, but perhaps for all other sports, that works.

Creighton, Dayton and St. Louis are on standby for 2014-15 if/when the new Big East expands to 12.

The A-10 might target George Mason, Siena or even College of Charleston to replace lost members.

The old Big East would still hold its auto-BCS berth despite the mass exodus.