Our future

[brewcity77]

I do not see the NCAA tournament being scrapped for a power 5 only tournament; I could see being changed from 32 conferences to maybe 20.

I could see it going to 4 conferences that comprise about 70-80 teams. The top 48 get tourney bids, everyone else gets one bid each.

[Hards Alumni]

I agree with this analysis

Why?  Aviation predates modern basketball.

[dgies9156]

Why?  Aviation predates modern basketball.

Because heavy lift and jet powered flight did not. Take a good hard look at the size of a DC-7 or a 707 and compare it to an A-321 or a 737 Max10.

Aviation that we know today really did not take hold until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and the introduction of the A320 and the current 737-800 and -900 series.

[muwarrior69]

Folks, I blame the jet for the mess we're in!

Really, think about it.

Historically, conferences haver been geographically based. The bounds of the conference historically have been about as far as you can travel on the ground in about a day. The SEC, for example, is largely built on the rail lines of the Southern, the L&N and the ICG. In the Big 10, the longest trip used to be between Columbus and Minneapolis, which on a charter train or bus is about a day.

It was nice because teams played nearby teams, creating rivalries. You'd go to a football (or basketball) game, network, watch the game and go home. If you are Michigan playing Ohio State or Michigan State, or us playing Notre Dame or DePaul or the Red Roadkill, it was locals getting together to blow crap on each other, watch a game, maybe have dinner and go home.

With jet travel and airlines going everywhere, what used to be a special treat, takes about as long as it would take to go from Knoxville to Athens, or Birmingham to Baton Rouge. Think about it. UCLA traveling to Rutgers is about the same time as it used to take UCLA to ride to Palo Alto or Berkeley.

It will get worse in the years ahead, when Wisconsin ends up playing UCLA instead of us. Look at how long it took to get Notre Dame back on the schedule. We used to be regular opponents for Minnesota, Iowa and even, occasionally, Illinois. Those would all be fun games but we'll never see any of those teams on our regular schedule again. They'll be too busy playing each other in conference or the dregs of the A10.

And, that's too bad!

You are such a Debbie Downer. With the price of Jet Fuel going through the roof and the fossil fuel industry out of business in the next decade local rivalries will be roaring back. Then again all the games on the cable networks or streaming services, as long as there are no brown outs in your area, will look like a repeat of the 20/21 season with little to no fans in the stadiums and arenas, unless you have a 60K electric car to get there. I'm sorry for being such a Debbie Downer.

[Lennys Tap]

Because heavy lift and jet powered flight did not. Take a good hard look at the size of a DC-7 or a 707 and compare it to an A-321 or a 737 Max10.

Aviation that we know today really did not take hold until the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and the introduction of the A320 and the current 737-800 and -900 series.

Many here have insisted that Gonzaga could never join the Big East because of geography. Tell that to USC and UCLA. Maybe our intelligentsia isn't aware of advances in aviation.p

[WhiteTrash]

Many here have insisted that Gonzaga could never join the Big East because of geography. Tell that to USC and UCLA. Maybe our intelligentsia isn't aware of advances in aviation.p

I'll bet my house that you hear USC & UCLA complain about travel in the next 5 years when the teams don't perform as well as expected. "USC lost at Rutgers..... the travel was the reason!!"

It won't change a thing, but they will complain.

[Uncle Rico]

I'll bet my house that you hear USC & UCLA complain about travel in the next 5 years when the teams don't perform as well as expected. "USC lost at Rutgers..... the travel was the reason!!"

It won't change a thing, but they will complain.

The changes aren't done yet.  My hunch is, USC won't be flying to Rutgers much and vice versa

[Newsdreams]

The changes aren't done yet.  My hunch is, USC won't be flying to Rutgers much and vice versa

Yup most likely only meet in conference tournament or in football championship. Most likely not at all. They'll work it out.

[Newsdreams]

Not worried about any of this. My only worry today is assembling my new charcoal grill / smoker.

[Shooter McGavin]

Not worried about any of this. My only worry today is assembling my new charcoal grill / smoker.

What kind you get?  I'm in the market.

[WhiteTrash]

What kind you get?  I'm in the market.

I'll be so rude as to jump in, but I've been very happy with Blaz'n Grill http://www.blazngrillworks.com/. Well built and made in America.

[Shooter McGavin]

Thanks.  I'll check it out.

[Newsdreams]

What kind you get?  I'm in the market.

Master Built Gravity Series 800
On sale $200 off
There are also 500 & 1000 main difference is grilling area. 800 has a removable griddle the 500 doesn't.

[Shooter McGavin]

Master Built Gravity Series 800
On sale $200 off
There are also 500 & 1000 main difference is grilling area. 800 has a removable griddle the 500 doesn't.

Thank you.

[Newsdreams]

Thank you.

No problem if you have any ? You can PM

[bilsu]

I'll bet my house that you hear USC & UCLA complain about travel in the next 5 years when the teams don't perform as well as expected. "USC lost at Rutgers..... the travel was the reason!!"

It won't change a thing, but they will complain.

USC may never play Rutgers. They will not be in the same division.

[GoldenWarrior11]

And USC and UCLA aren't the only PAC teams coming along.  If the endgame is 24 teams (likely four pods of six), then a PAC pod of UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California makes a ton of sense.  California can just as easily be left out for ND, who would gladly be in the PAC pod to ensure 2-3 west coast games annually (and guaranteed USC/Stanford annually).

Travel for Olympic sports can easily be condensed to limit cross country flights.  The Big Ten isn't finished yet.

[dgies9156]

And USC and UCLA aren't the only PAC teams coming along.  If the endgame is 24 teams (likely four pods of six), then a PAC pod of UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California makes a ton of sense.  California can just as easily be left out for ND, who would gladly be in the PAC pod to ensure 2-3 west coast games annually (and guaranteed USC/Stanford annually).

Travel for Olympic sports can easily be condensed to limit cross country flights.  The Big Ten isn't finished yet.

The way I view this is similar to when the Dodgers and Giants went west in 1958.

At the time, they were the first west coast baseball teams. The next most westerly team was Kansas City and the St. Louis Cardinals.

MLB managed and eventually put four more teams on the west coast, plus teams in Denver and Phoenix. That's why I suspect the BIG has their eyes on, at least as a minimum, Washington and Oregon, California, Colorado and maybe Stanford.

Sorry Beavs and Cougs, you're still out in the cold.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

And USC and UCLA aren't the only PAC teams coming along.  If the endgame is 24 teams (likely four pods of six), then a PAC pod of UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California makes a ton of sense.  California can just as easily be left out for ND, who would gladly be in the PAC pod to ensure 2-3 west coast games annually (and guaranteed USC/Stanford annually).

Travel for Olympic sports can easily be condensed to limit cross country flights.  The Big Ten isn't finished yet.

24 teams with 4 pods of 6. This idea makes a lot of sense. My rough draft of what that could look like.

Big 10:
East Coast Pod:
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia

MIO Pod:
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame

Midwest Pod:
Nebraska
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

West Coast Pod:
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Washington
Oregon

SEC
Northern Pod:
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Tennessee
West Virginia
Arkansas
Mizzou

Southeast Pod:
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami (FL)
South Carolina
Clemson

Deep South Pod:
Florida State
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State

Western Pod:
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Colorado
Arizona State
TCU

The B1G pods line up almost perfect. High academics (minus Nebraska), coast to coast football, most of the major rivalries stay intact, and Wisconsin has an easy pod to waltz through to a championship game appearance every year. The SEC ones were a little harder to put together. I'm also not sold on Colorado, Arizona State, or TCU as the ultimate picks but I went with the largest media markets available. You could also roughly rename the B1G to the Union and the SEC to the Confederacy.

If this did play out, that would leave 10 schools in the Big 12, 7 schools in the ACC, and 4 schools in the P12. I was surprised doing this exercise how low on my list all of the B12 schools are. Now that TU and OU have left it really is a collection of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite schools within their states, mostly with meh media markets.

[Viper]

24 teams with 4 pods of 6. This idea makes a lot of sense. My rough draft of what that could look like.

Big 10:
East Coast Pod:
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia

MIO Pod:
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame

Midwest Pod:
Nebraska
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

West Coast Pod:
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Washington
Oregon

SEC
Northern Pod:
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Tennessee
West Virginia
Arkansas
Mizzou

Southeast Pod:
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami (FL)
South Carolina
Clemson

Deep South Pod:
Florida State
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State

Western Pod:
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Colorado
Arizona State
TCU

The B1G pods line up almost perfect. High academics (minus Nebraska), coast to coast football, most of the major rivalries stay intact, and Wisconsin has an easy pod to waltz through to a championship game appearance every year. The SEC ones were a little harder to put together. I'm also not sold on Colorado, Arizona State, or TCU as the ultimate picks but I went with the largest media markets available. You could also roughly rename the B1G to the Union and the SEC to the Confederacy.

If this did play out, that would leave 10 schools in the Big 12, 7 schools in the ACC, and 4 schools in the P12. I was surprised doing this exercise how low on my list all of the B12 schools are. Now that TU and OU have left it really is a collection of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite schools within their states, mostly with meh media markets.

I like this, and I think ASU and TCU would stick because, as you mention, located in large markets...and are decent football schools. I also like that basketball cheaters Kansas and Arizona are out, and your BIG west coast pod has that Conf of Champions blood-line, making Bill Walton happy.

[WhiteTrash]

I like this, and I think ASU and TCU would stick because, as you mention, located in large markets...and are decent football schools. I also like that basketball cheaters Kansas and Arizona are out, and your BIG west coast pod has that Conf of Champions blood-line, making Bill Walton happy.

TCU has a shockingly large athletic budget for such a small private school. (or maybe not shocking given it's in Texas and has wealthy oil money). I think Jamie Dixon is top 20 paid coach and the football coach maybe in the top 10.

[muwarrior69]

24 teams with 4 pods of 6. This idea makes a lot of sense. My rough draft of what that could look like.

Big 10:
East Coast Pod:
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia

MIO Pod:
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame

Midwest Pod:
Nebraska
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

West Coast Pod:
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Washington
Oregon

SEC
Northern Pod:
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Tennessee
West Virginia
Arkansas
Mizzou

Southeast Pod:
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami (FL)
South Carolina
Clemson

Deep South Pod:
Florida State
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State

Western Pod:
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Colorado
Arizona State
TCU

The B1G pods line up almost perfect. High academics (minus Nebraska), coast to coast football, most of the major rivalries stay intact, and Wisconsin has an easy pod to waltz through to a championship game appearance every year. The SEC ones were a little harder to put together. I'm also not sold on Colorado, Arizona State, or TCU as the ultimate picks but I went with the largest media markets available. You could also roughly rename the B1G to the Union and the SEC to the Confederacy.

If this did play out, that would leave 10 schools in the Big 12, 7 schools in the ACC, and 4 schools in the P12. I was surprised doing this exercise how low on my list all of the B12 schools are. Now that TU and OU have left it really is a collection of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite schools within their states, mostly with meh media markets.

The B1G would trounce the SEC in basketball if this panned out. If the remaining schools formed their own conference it would be meh in football but respectful if not formidable in basketball. They would also get more media money keeping their football programs then going their own way or joining the Big East.

[GoldenWarrior11]

24 teams with 4 pods of 6. This idea makes a lot of sense. My rough draft of what that could look like.

Big 10:
East Coast Pod:
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia

MIO Pod:
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame

Midwest Pod:
Nebraska
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Illinois
Northwestern

West Coast Pod:
USC
UCLA
Cal
Stanford
Washington
Oregon

SEC
Northern Pod:
Vanderbilt
Kentucky
Tennessee
West Virginia
Arkansas
Mizzou

Southeast Pod:
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami (FL)
South Carolina
Clemson

Deep South Pod:
Florida State
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State

Western Pod:
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Colorado
Arizona State
TCU

The B1G pods line up almost perfect. High academics (minus Nebraska), coast to coast football, most of the major rivalries stay intact, and Wisconsin has an easy pod to waltz through to a championship game appearance every year. The SEC ones were a little harder to put together. I'm also not sold on Colorado, Arizona State, or TCU as the ultimate picks but I went with the largest media markets available. You could also roughly rename the B1G to the Union and the SEC to the Confederacy.

If this did play out, that would leave 10 schools in the Big 12, 7 schools in the ACC, and 4 schools in the P12. I was surprised doing this exercise how low on my list all of the B12 schools are. Now that TU and OU have left it really is a collection of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favorite schools within their states, mostly with meh media markets.

Definitely on the right path.  For the SEC, assuming they don't get UNC/Virginia/Duke, they will for sure target NC State and Virginia Tech.  Georgia Tech is a given because it is in Atlanta and at the heart of SEC country.  Miami and Louisville are wild cards because of their urban status within states that the league already covers, but both are strong fits as well.  Moving west, solidifying Dallas with a TCU/OK State package makes a lot of sense as well. 

Ultimately, to get to 24, I'd predict:
Clemson
FSU
GA Tech
NC State
VA Tech
OK State
TCU
Louisville (or Miami, depending on Florida politics)

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The B1G would trounce the SEC in basketball if this panned out. If the remaining schools formed their own conference it would be meh in football but respectful if not formidable in basketball. They would also get more media money keeping their football programs then going their own way or joining the Big East.

Yep. If it played out that way, I don't see the B12 breaking up. I do see the B12 as a football also ran that will be treated as a second class citizen. I also think that the B12 and BEast would be the second and third best basketball conferences, especially if they pick up the best of the leftovers of the ACC and P12. I don't see either the B12 or BEast getting left out of a basketball tournament in that scenario.

I don't know how this will all play out (no one has predicted every step of realignment correctly). I do know that Kansas is kicking the tires on pulling a UConn to join the BEast. I don't think it happens anytime soon but it sounds like they are doing their due diligence. But the Big East should be doing everything it can to add top basketball properties over the next few years.

[real chili 83]

Thank you.

Check out Green Mountain too. Mine has a rotisserie and can get to 550 degrees. Less expensive too...... by about $800. Probably not as durable as the Blaz'n Grill.  That looks very durable and well made.