shizzle787
King Shizzle DCCLXXXVII of the Cesspool
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2015
- Messages
- 11,991
- Reaction Score
- 18,512
Army has thrown a wrinkle into realignment. With Pete Thamel reporting talks are getting down the tracks, I expect Army and the American to announce a marriage soon. I expect Army to join July 1st of 2025. This gives them time to clear their schedules.
With Army and Navy in the fold, the AAC will go after Air Force (and by proxy, Colorado State). Though nothing will happen for 2024, the two schools decide to make the move for July 1st of 2025. They both pay a 17 million dollar exit fee, but it is worth it for Eastern exposure, and Air Force can share a conference with the other service academies. Colorado State doesn't want to be left behind so they make the move.
The American then attempts to raid the Atlantic 10, but those schools prefer to stay in a basketball-focused league and plot for a better TV deal going forward.
At this point, Washington State and Oregon State have run out of time. They invite the remaining ten MW members to the Pac-12. This saves everyone a lot of money, and CBS and FOX transfer the TV deal (with a small bump) over to the Pac-12. The Mountain West is no more.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Gonzaga and the Big East decide to come to terms, and the Big East invites the Zags as the 12th member of the league.
The Pac-12 then reaches out to St. Mary's about an Olympic sports memberships to bolster the basketball side of the league; St. Mary's accepts.
At this point, the WCC is down to 7 members. The league responds to its departures by adding Cal Baptist, Seattle, and Grand Canyon to get back to 10 members.
These moves leave the WAC with 8 members. Though the league's geography is arguably better than before, the Utah clump does not help things. Though nobody further leaves the league, the WAC is unable to pry any Summit or Southland members. The league ultimately decides against bringing back Chicago State or dipping into the Division 2 pool.
This leaves Division 1 with 363 schools, 31 conferences, 134 FBS schools, 9 FBS conferences, 128 FCS schools, 13 FCS conferences, and 1 independent institution as of July 1st of 2025.
With Army and Navy in the fold, the AAC will go after Air Force (and by proxy, Colorado State). Though nothing will happen for 2024, the two schools decide to make the move for July 1st of 2025. They both pay a 17 million dollar exit fee, but it is worth it for Eastern exposure, and Air Force can share a conference with the other service academies. Colorado State doesn't want to be left behind so they make the move.
The American then attempts to raid the Atlantic 10, but those schools prefer to stay in a basketball-focused league and plot for a better TV deal going forward.
At this point, Washington State and Oregon State have run out of time. They invite the remaining ten MW members to the Pac-12. This saves everyone a lot of money, and CBS and FOX transfer the TV deal (with a small bump) over to the Pac-12. The Mountain West is no more.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Gonzaga and the Big East decide to come to terms, and the Big East invites the Zags as the 12th member of the league.
The Pac-12 then reaches out to St. Mary's about an Olympic sports memberships to bolster the basketball side of the league; St. Mary's accepts.
At this point, the WCC is down to 7 members. The league responds to its departures by adding Cal Baptist, Seattle, and Grand Canyon to get back to 10 members.
These moves leave the WAC with 8 members. Though the league's geography is arguably better than before, the Utah clump does not help things. Though nobody further leaves the league, the WAC is unable to pry any Summit or Southland members. The league ultimately decides against bringing back Chicago State or dipping into the Division 2 pool.
This leaves Division 1 with 363 schools, 31 conferences, 134 FBS schools, 9 FBS conferences, 128 FCS schools, 13 FCS conferences, and 1 independent institution as of July 1st of 2025.