Possible future conference realignment scenarios?

[uconntailgater]

Now that conference realignment appears to be on hiatus for a while? What are the different opinions on what is next for the conference realignment scenarios? I'm for one believe Texas becomes the next important player in the expansion process. With the big 12 by default now being the most vulnerable conference does Texas make a move?

Now that the Big southern expansion appears to be dead where do they turn to next? It appears Texas would be the logical conclusion. If they go to the Big I assume Oklahoma would have to go with them. Does the Big stop there or add UConn and Kansas to improve their Basketball standing?

 

[sportsart]

I was hoping for a new thread about CR. Thanks.

 

[uconntailgater]

I have a feeling that Texas will flex its muscle with the ACC locked up and the Big Ten with just a few options at expansion.

 

[auggie22]

I think we see Texas in the ACC, getting the ND treatment.

 

[Point6]

My prediction: AAC becomes first conference to 16!!! Look for us to add Buffalo, UMass, Towson -- wait, how many teams do we have?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

As I said 4 years ago, the ONLY way UConn survives as a medium to big time athletic program is to figure out how to get more TV revenue quickly. This means if the AAC doesn't completely fall flat on its face, it has to bust the ESPN agreement before it is up, and never agree to a ROFR ever again.

It is probably a lost cause though.

 

[Fishy]

It's hard to really see where a major conference poaches from another major conference right now unless there's some sort of out written into the GOR's.

Long-term, the Big 12 looks pretty wobbly to me.

If I had to take a guess, if we're liberated from this AAC mess, most likely landing spot is the Big 12 looking to expand eastward. (Or, worse, a Big 12 trying to pick up the pieces from Texas bolting.)

 

[whaler11]

My prediction: AAC becomes first conference to 16!!! Look for us to add Buffalo, UMass, Towson -- wait, how many teams do we have?

Only a lack of knowledge about the history of conference would lead one to believe that the AAC would be the first to 16.

Check out what happened to the first one to 16 and it wasn't the Big East....

 

[whaler11]

It's hard to really see where a major conference poaches from another major conference right now unless there's some sort of out written into the GOR's.

Long-term, the Big 12 looks pretty wobbly to me.

If I had to take a guess, if we're liberated from this AAC mess, most likely landing spot is the Big 12 looking to expand eastward. (Or, worse, a Big 12 trying to pick up the pieces from Texas bolting.)

While that is 'worse' it is still better
than now.... even if Oklahoma went with them.

 

[Fishy]

Absolutely.

 

[Point6]

Only a lack of knowledge about the history of conference would lead one to believe that the AAC would be the first to 16.

Check out what happened to the first one to 16 and it wasn't the Big East....

My friend, don't tempt Aresco with your "history"talk or I swear we will go directly to 18.

 

[upstater]

Pac12 and Big12 look weird with a total of 22 teams between the two.
You'd figure there would be some sort of consolidation eventually, especially as the Pac-10 begins to see the writing on the wall in terms of expansion options.

Then again, the time zone and travel problems of those two conferences might be intractable. Regardless, any move would mean the Pac12 adding, and not vice versa. West Virginia is an outlier any way you cut it. I could see the Pac12 snapping up Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St. and (hold your nose) Texas Tech.

That would leave WVa., Kansas, Kansas St., Iowa St., TCU, and Baylor.

 

[The Funster]

WVU, Kansas, KSt, Iowa St, TCU, Baylor, UConn, Temple, USF, Houston, Cincy, Memphis

Pretty spread out but workable, IMO. Maybe drop Houston and add ECU? Two Tex schools enough and ECU is both an eastern school and in a good recruiting area. Could drop Houston and add UCF for a stronger FLA presense too. Could also look to go to 16 with two 8 team divisions to help with travel, too, I guess.

Kansas, KSt, Iowa St, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Tulsa, and...?
UConn, Temple, WVU, Cincy, Memphis, ECU, USF, UCF

 

[upstater]

WVU, Kansas, KSt, Iowa St, TCU, Baylor, UConn, Temple, USF, Houston, Cincy, Memphis

Pretty spread out but workable, IMO. Maybe drop Houston and add ECU? Two Tex schools enough and ECU is both an eastern school and in a good recruiting area. Could drop Houston and add UCF for a stronger FLA presense too. Could also look to go to 16 with two 8 team divisions to help with travel, too, I guess.

Kansas, KSt, Iowa St, Baylor, TCU, Houston, Tulsa, and...?
UConn, Temple, WVU, Cincy, Memphis, ECU, USF, UCF

Temple gets dropped again in such a scenario. Who knows about Memphis? UCF and ECU might both have more value.

 

[The Funster]

I think Temple would be a good travel mate and deliver the Philly market. The value of that is up for debate, granted.

 

[IMind]

I think Temple would be a good travel mate and deliver the Philly market. The value of that is up for debate, granted.

I think it all depends on what happens with the new Temple AD and the direction they go. If they continue to support football the way the last AD did I think they're kept around. If they go back to being Temple... the Philly market wont support a loser.

 

[uconntailgater]

I wonder if Texas would ever consider going independent. I guess it would depend on how much money they think they can make with the Longhorn network.

 

[whaler11]

I wonder if Texas would ever consider going independent. I guess it would depend on how much money they think they can make with the Longhorn network.

I wonder. Oh no wait I don't wonder. Nobody wants to watch Texas dismantle Troy in November.

No school has any value on their own. Their value is a function of who they play. Nobody is watching the Yankees or Lakers play intersquad scrimmages.

 

[alsacs]

Now that the SEC network information has leaked and that conference is going to be swimming in cash and each of the teams will have to buy into the network ownership with ESPN getting half ownership I don't think Missouri or Vanderbilt are going to leave the SEC for the B1G.

The future of realignment is completely in the Big XII's hands. I don't see Delany challenging any conference with a GOR as his conference has a GOR and then the ACC or SEC could offer Penn State(either the ACC making a Godfather offer or SEC making inroads in a big state). Big XII at 10 teams is where Texas and DeLoss Dodds wants the conference, but if Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and West Virginia all together put the screws to Texas then maybe the conference would consider going to 12 teams. Now Iowa State, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State all know their futures are tied to Texas and won't rock the boat of the mouth that feeds them, but Fox/ESPN tell the Big XII we will re-work your contracts and keep them at the same level at 10 teams vs 12 teams and we get to rotate broadcasting a championship game, you get Dr. Pepper to cut a small check as a title sponsor, and we get more inventory then that is the next shoe to fall. The Big XII would probably look at BYU, Cincinnati, Connecticut, and South Florida.

Your AD has to get Oklahoma.Oklahoma State, Kansas to see Connecticut as one of the top 2 of those horses. Now BYU has the contract with ESPN and other problems. Cincinnati has the football success, but nobody sees them as Louisville(justifiable IMO), and South Florida has the FL recruiting angle, but their football success has been below UConn. If I was UConn I would be doing what Cincinnati is doing with the ACC schools and make sure Oliver Luck, Joe Castiglione(Oklahoma AD), Mike Holder(Oklahoma State AD), Sheahon Zenger(Kansas AD) know UConn and do anything and everything to get them to consider UConn when they have leveraged Texas into expanding into 12.

 

[frankthetank]

Now that the SEC network information has leaked and that conference is going to be swimming in cash and each of the teams will have to buy into the network ownership with ESPN getting half ownership I don't think Missouri or Vanderbilt are going to leave the SEC for the B1G.

The future of realignment is completely in the Big XII's hands. I don't see Delany challenging any conference with a GOR as his conference has a GOR and then the ACC or SEC could offer Penn State(either the ACC making a Godfather offer or SEC making inroads in a big state). Big XII at 10 teams is where Texas and DeLoss Dodds wants the conference, but if Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and West Virginia all together put the screws to Texas then maybe the conference would consider going to 12 teams. Now Iowa State, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State all know their futures are tied to Texas and won't rock the boat of the mouth that feeds them, but Fox/ESPN tell the Big XII we will re-work your contracts and keep them at the same level at 10 teams vs 12 teams and we get to rotate broadcasting a championship game, you get Dr. Pepper to cut a small check as a title sponsor, and we get more inventory then that is the next shoe to fall. The Big XII would probably look at BYU, Cincinnati, Connecticut, and South Florida.

Your AD has to get Oklahoma.Oklahoma State, Kansas to see Connecticut as one of the top 2 of those horses. Now BYU has the contract with ESPN and other problems. Cincinnati has the football success, but nobody sees them as Louisville(justifiable IMO), and South Florida has the FL recruiting angle, but their football success has been below UConn. If I was UConn I would be doing what Cincinnati is doing with the ACC schools and make sure Oliver Luck, Joe Castiglione(Oklahoma AD), Mike Holder(Oklahoma State AD), Sheahon Zenger(Kansas AD) know UConn and do anything and everything to get them to consider UConn when they have leveraged Texas into expanding into 12.

I agree with much of this. The Big 12 is the only league that has any possible incentive to proactively expand at this point with all of the GOR arrangements that are in place. UConn is going to need to put together an airtight case that overrides any geographic concerns. As much as I'm sure UConn fans would prefer the Big Ten or ACC, it's the Big 12 that's really the only semi-plausible opportunity for awhile.