More conference realignment talk

[LAZER]

Throw them in with UConn, Memphis, and Houston and you have a really good basketball conference.

Houston is going to the B12.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Throw them in with UConn, Memphis, and Houston and you have a really good basketball conference.

Houston is spoken for in this scenario but otherwise yes, that's a possibility as well. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

For those pining for the old conferences, I think you may get your wish. I think eventually the B1G and SEC will eventually bloat to 24 teams each. They can then divide themselves into 4 divisions of 6 and effectively recreate old conferences. Imagine a  B1G like:
PAC Division: USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington
Midwest Division: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois
MI/IN/OH Division: Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State
Atlantic Division: Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, 1 of Duke/GT/NCST/VT

Coast to coast coverage...major rivalries still intact. Best of both worlds.

[SaveOD238]

I could see a scenario where any number of teams like BC, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest, Pitt could be on the outside looking in and needing a new home. Some of those are obviously more likely than others. Depending on how else the landscape shifts, I could see a situation where a UConn type deal with the Big East is more profitable for those schools than merging with the AAC.

The ACC implosion could either be great for the Big East when they add (or re-add) these teams.

Or it could be awful if those ACC remnants poach Nova, etc.  However, I think MU is well positioned to be on the right side of the cut line.  Nova and UConn are obviously the most valuable pieces, but after that it's Marquette and X, then the big city schools (StJ, GTown, and DePaul).  I would not want to be Providence, Seton Hall, Butler, or Creighton (though they have the fans/$$ to be attractive despite distance).

[Oldgym]

Houston is spoken for in this scenario but otherwise yes, that's a possibility as well. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

For those pining for the old conferences, I think you may get your wish. I think eventually the B1G and SEC will eventually bloat to 24 teams each. They can then divide themselves into 4 divisions of 6 and effectively recreate old conferences. Imagine a  B1G like:
PAC Division: USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington
Midwest Division: Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois
MI/IN/OH Division: Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State
Atlantic Division: Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, North Carolina, 2 of Duke/GT/NCST/VT

Coast to coast coverage...major rivalries still intact. Best of both worlds.

Add in the SEC schools, however they divide themselves up, and this is starting to look like NCAAv2.0. Buckle up.

[Viper]

I'll top that. I wish things could go back to where they were several iterations ago.

Between these mega conferences, NIL, and free transfers it's going to be a lot harder for me to maintain interest in major college sports.

I agree. I find it's a bummer that great rivalries, especially-so in football, have gone away, along with traditional bowl game match-ups.
Mega-conferences, college tv contacts in the B'$, it gets ridiculous, it seems. But hey, I'm still pissed at Tony George for screwing Indycar racing back in '96, the Colts leaving Baltimore, Quebec losing the Nordiques, that smoke show hot chick I dated back in '87 not wanting a second date, ...and Marquette called Golden Eagles.  That's a full plate of You Can't Be Serious?!

[MUMountin]

I'll top that. I wish things could go back to where they were several iterations ago.

Between these mega conferences, NIL, and free transfers it's going to be a lot harder for me to maintain interest in major college sports.

The reality is that college conferences have never been static.  Check the wiki page of pretty much any conference and you'll see charts that show all of the various members that have joined and left (and sometimes rejoined) conferences over the years--some of which are pretty wild in retrospect.  Sure, some conferences have had more core stability but there is a ton of fluidity when you zoom out a few years. 

Some schools inevitably get left behind, others take advantage of moving up a rung on the ladder, and some realize that maybe the grass isn't always greener.  The main thing is staying well-positioned so you are ready the next time the winds of change blow.  And enjoy the ride in the meantime.

[Tha Hound]

The ACC implosion could either be great for the Big East when they add (or re-add) these teams.

Or it could be awful if those ACC remnants poach Nova, etc.  However, I think MU is well positioned to be on the right side of the cut line.  Nova and UConn are obviously the most valuable pieces, but after that it's Marquette and X, then the big city schools (StJ, GTown, and DePaul).  I would not want to be Providence, Seton Hall, Butler, or Creighton (though they have the fans/$$ to be attractive despite distance).

I do not agree with that list of most valuable teams. But I'd take it.

[SaveOD238]

I do not agree with that list of most valuable teams. But I'd take it.

Why not?

Nova and UConn are national brands with recent national championships and at least some desire to compete in football. 

Xavier, MU, and I guess Creighton have both recent and historic success, passionate regional fan bases, and spend lots of $ on hoops

St John's, Georgetown, and DePaul all have historic success and are in major markets, but fan bases are meh and recent success is very limited.

Butler is too small.  Seton Hall and Providence are close to the X, MU, Creighton group, but don't have the national cred of the other schools.

[wisblue]

The Big East 2005-2013 was fun but I actually like the current setup better. I'm good. Let the football conferences do whatever they want.

I don't have a problem with NIL or the transfer portal, in theory. They may need tweaking.

I really wasn't thinking so much about the Big East. I also prefer the more manageable conference where they can play a full home and home round robin.

I was thinking more about the Big 10 and the other power football conferences that are getting so big that some conference teams don't even face each other for several years. I also dislike the imbalanced conference schedules in basketball. The Big 10 (with 10 teams) that I grew up with was more enjoyable with rivalries that were renewed almost every year.

I think NIL needs more than tweaking. When schools are paying high school kids huge amounts of money to sign with them and spending big money to solicit transfers, the concept of student-athletes is pretty much gone.

[The Sultan]

Because students can't make money?

[wisblue]

Because students can't make money?

Students can make money, but too many of them that are pulling in huge amounts of money are not students.

[Daniel]

Students can make money, but too many of them that are pulling in huge amounts of money are not students.

There really is no control - should have phased in stages maybe with a "salary cap" concept per team.   Who knows

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Students can make money, but too many of them that are pulling in huge amounts of money are not students.

Can people pulling in huge amounts of money not be students?

[wisblue]

Can people pulling in huge amounts of money not be students?

They could be, but you know as well as I do that many of them are not.

[WhiteTrash]

Can people pulling in huge amounts of money not be students?

First, I am good with NIL. I think it is fair. Maybe some tweaks are in order but mostly all good with it.

Let's be real about the difference of regular students making money and student athletes. Student athletes make money off the venue/platform provided by the schools. I said "f*ck 'em" a lot as a MU student and nobody would ever by my t-shirt.

If some student gets paid $100k by Microsoft to program while in school, that student will still be making money programing after they graduate or if they transfer from MU to Northern Colorado. No one will give a damn about buying a TK shirt once he's no longer on the platform MU basketball provides.

There are some correlations between making money as an athlete and as a regular student, but there are some significant differences. But it's not enough for me to oppose NIIL. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I just don't get how any of that makes them not students

[The Sultan]

First, I am good with NIL. I think it is fair. Maybe some tweaks are in order but mostly all good with it.

Let's be real about the difference of regular students making money and student athletes. Student athletes make money off the venue/platform provided by the schools. I said "f*ck 'em" a lot as a MU student and nobody would ever by my t-shirt.

If some student gets paid $100k by Microsoft to program while in school, that student will still be making money programing after they graduate or if they transfer from MU to Northern Colorado. No one will give a damn about buying a TK shirt once he's no longer on the platform MU basketball provides.

There are some correlations between making money as an athlete and as a regular student, but there are some significant differences. But it's not enough for me to oppose NIIL. 

Who cares if there are significant differences? People can legally make money however they want. They can still be students while doing so.

[The Sultan]

They could be, but you know as well as I do that many of them are not.

I have no idea if that's the case or not, but if true, NIL has nothing to do with it.

[The Sultan]

There really is no control - should have phased in stages maybe with a "salary cap" concept per team.   Who knows

Really can't do that without making them employees and having a CBA in place.

[WhiteTrash]

Really can't do that without making them employees and having a CBA in place.

That is clearly where we are headed. Legally, ethically and common sense dictates that outcome.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

That is clearly where we are headed. Legally, ethically and common sense dictates that outcome.

I really don't think that will come to pass

[StillAWarrior]

That is clearly where we are headed. Legally, ethically and common sense dictates that outcome.

Unless, of course, the athletes don't want to be in a union. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I agree that law, ethics or common sense dictate that outcome. If the athletes want a union, all three might be true. If the athletes don't want a union, all three might be incorrect.

[dgies9156]

You guys all are missing the opportunity.

When the SEC comes calling for North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State and Miami, the ACC will implode.

Virginia and the Green Scum will end up in the Big 10.

As I said before, Val needs to put on her party dress and head to Durham, NC and spend some time with Duke. Then she needs to go across the state and visit Winston-Salem and Wake Forest. Neither are football schools with anything more than a marginally discernable heartbeat. Their basketball would fit in well with the Big East and make us a true beast of a conference.

The rest of the ACC will end up in the AAC.

[WhiteTrash]

Unless, of course, the athletes don't want to be in a union. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I agree that law, ethics or common sense dictate that outcome. If the athletes want a union, all three might be true. If the athletes don't want a union, all three might be incorrect.

Fair enough. That is true but every other professional sport has chosen to unionize. But college sports may choose not to.

I was making the assumption that they will try, again, and the courts will not stop them (hence legally), nor should they (hence ethically and common sense).

[wisblue]

The reality is that college conferences have never been static.  Check the wiki page of pretty much any conference and you'll see charts that show all of the various members that have joined and left (and sometimes rejoined) conferences over the years--some of which are pretty wild in retrospect.  Sure, some conferences have had more core stability but there is a ton of fluidity when you zoom out a few years. 

Some schools inevitably get left behind, others take advantage of moving up a rung on the ladder, and some realize that maybe the grass isn't always greener.  The main thing is staying well-positioned so you are ready the next time the winds of change blow.  And enjoy the ride in the meantime.

I go back a long way. From the 50's when I first was aware of college sports until the mid 90's, the Big Ten (which is what I followed most closely) had the same 10 teams. There were great rivalries that were renewed almost every year. The winner of the football championship went to the Rose Bowl and the winner in basketball went to the NCAA tournament. The other major conferences were also stable, and each had storied rivalries like USC-UCLA in the Pac 8, Nebraska-Oklahoma in the Big 8, Texas-Arkansas in the SWC, Alabama-Tennessee in the SEC, etc.

In the overall scheme of things, the major conference realignments have been a relatively recent phenomenon, and I don't see them as a positive from a spectator's perspective.