I'd like you folks to rip apart this little realignment fantasy I've cooked up, based on the MWC/CUSA merger discussion, if you care to.
How about a Big 12 / "Big East plus 3" confederation that might look something like this:
East
West Virginia
Rutgers
Connecticut
Louisville
Cincinnati
South Florida
3 from: Boise State, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Navy, East Carolina, Tulane, or Central Florida
West
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas Christian
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
For an initial, experimental term of years, the East plays its side, the West plays its side, no cross-games -- it's a confederation during the experimental years. The East keeps and divides its money, the West keeps and divides its money, and each division negotiates its own TV contract for the initial term of years. During these beginning years, each side only has 8 conference games per year -- those in their own division (although it's okay to schedule teams from the other side if you want to, but they don't count in your divisional standings). The divisional winners meet in the conference championship game.
During the initial term of years, Texas gets the LHN up and running, and, if the LHN is not what was expected, after the initial term of years expires, Texas migrates to the SEC, B1G, PAC, or ACC, leaving the remaining schools in a stable situation where we all live happily ever after. Or, if the LHN is going great guns, or if Texas (or OU) otherwise wants to stay, then go with the conference long-term, fully integrate the conference, and set up an interdivisional play scheme, maybe 3 pods of 6 (or whatever works).
Notice how the Texas and Oklahoma schools happily make up a pod of 6, thus preserving the RRR and the most intense rivalries. With 3 pods of 6, you could play your pod every year, keep your travel costs down (look at how compact the TX/OK pod footprint is), as well as play every team in the entire conference once every 4 years and still maintain an 8-game conference schedule, leaving 4 games each year for teams outside of your 18-team conference footprint.
As things are developing right now, by going to 12 in the Big 12, with the addition of, say, Louisville, West Virginia, and Cincinnati, we would be playing 8-game conference schedule anyway (but in a 12-team context). Why not have a bigger vision?
Why not have a bigger vision since an 18-team confederation doesn't cramp your 8-game schedule at all, and most likely increases your television revenue, due to the acquisition of so many additional markets? Just make it known to everybody upfront that the whole situation is experimental so there is no hard feelings if you leave.
This confederated conference would realize the addition of the entire New York City market (such as it is), whole parts of the Florida market (certainly Tampa Bay, at the least), parts of the North Carolina market (by adding East Carolina), and maybe we could sweet-talk the North into adding Tulane just to irritate the so-and-so SEC (thus making incursions into New Orleans). Yea, I know these mid-majors don't "control" any of those markets (yet), but maybe they could over a long period of time, especially with kings like Texas and Oklahoma regularly coming into town?
At any rate, maybe add Tulane, East Carolina and Houston to the North (but whoever they want). Now there's a league with some long-term, developmental potential, or am I wrong? Plus, during the experimental years, the West gets to keep its little pile of money, without adding any more hungry mouths to feed, just in case the whole enterprise turns out to be a complete fiasco. So you get to have your cake (make $$$) and eat it (keep $$$), too -- a sort "realignment insurance policy".
End fantasy.
Whaddaya think?
How about a Big 12 / "Big East plus 3" confederation that might look something like this:
East
West Virginia
Rutgers
Connecticut
Louisville
Cincinnati
South Florida
3 from: Boise State, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Navy, East Carolina, Tulane, or Central Florida
West
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas Christian
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
For an initial, experimental term of years, the East plays its side, the West plays its side, no cross-games -- it's a confederation during the experimental years. The East keeps and divides its money, the West keeps and divides its money, and each division negotiates its own TV contract for the initial term of years. During these beginning years, each side only has 8 conference games per year -- those in their own division (although it's okay to schedule teams from the other side if you want to, but they don't count in your divisional standings). The divisional winners meet in the conference championship game.
During the initial term of years, Texas gets the LHN up and running, and, if the LHN is not what was expected, after the initial term of years expires, Texas migrates to the SEC, B1G, PAC, or ACC, leaving the remaining schools in a stable situation where we all live happily ever after. Or, if the LHN is going great guns, or if Texas (or OU) otherwise wants to stay, then go with the conference long-term, fully integrate the conference, and set up an interdivisional play scheme, maybe 3 pods of 6 (or whatever works).
Notice how the Texas and Oklahoma schools happily make up a pod of 6, thus preserving the RRR and the most intense rivalries. With 3 pods of 6, you could play your pod every year, keep your travel costs down (look at how compact the TX/OK pod footprint is), as well as play every team in the entire conference once every 4 years and still maintain an 8-game conference schedule, leaving 4 games each year for teams outside of your 18-team conference footprint.
As things are developing right now, by going to 12 in the Big 12, with the addition of, say, Louisville, West Virginia, and Cincinnati, we would be playing 8-game conference schedule anyway (but in a 12-team context). Why not have a bigger vision?
Why not have a bigger vision since an 18-team confederation doesn't cramp your 8-game schedule at all, and most likely increases your television revenue, due to the acquisition of so many additional markets? Just make it known to everybody upfront that the whole situation is experimental so there is no hard feelings if you leave.
This confederated conference would realize the addition of the entire New York City market (such as it is), whole parts of the Florida market (certainly Tampa Bay, at the least), parts of the North Carolina market (by adding East Carolina), and maybe we could sweet-talk the North into adding Tulane just to irritate the so-and-so SEC (thus making incursions into New Orleans). Yea, I know these mid-majors don't "control" any of those markets (yet), but maybe they could over a long period of time, especially with kings like Texas and Oklahoma regularly coming into town?
At any rate, maybe add Tulane, East Carolina and Houston to the North (but whoever they want). Now there's a league with some long-term, developmental potential, or am I wrong? Plus, during the experimental years, the West gets to keep its little pile of money, without adding any more hungry mouths to feed, just in case the whole enterprise turns out to be a complete fiasco. So you get to have your cake (make $$$) and eat it (keep $$$), too -- a sort "realignment insurance policy".
End fantasy.
Whaddaya think?
