Report: USC and UCLA are planning to leave for the Big Ten as early as 2024

The Social Chair

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USC fans can’t be too happy about waking up to watch a 9 am kickoff in a snowstorm. Boo hoo.
I'm a USC fan, and I'll get to wake up on a beautiful 75 degree November day, watch a football game first thing, and still have the rest of the day to go to the beach or on a hike.


College football has really reached the abyss. During the 90's and 2000's they pretty much had a perfect product and now they have nuked it out of greed. During those two decades we had geographically based conferences that a great deal of parity, look at the national title numbers from those decades
SEC-8
Big 12 (8)-6
B10-2
ACC-2
Big East-2
No Pac10 on here tells the story, right?
 

Humphrey

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USC won one or two, didn't they (even though perhaps those one or two were later revoked)?
 

Humphrey

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They're betting that the football TV rights will generate enough money to do just that.
Just get rid of NCAA football for the schools that want to do that (the elites, that is). Only way that governing body gets to govern ANYTHING. Let the schools set up their own rules, salaries/NILs, etc. Most likely would end up more as sponsorships than have anything to do with the players being students; quite refreshing, IMHO.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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This has to be the end of non-revenue sports, doesn't it? You're not going to want to spend the money flying the soccer team all the way across the country to play Rutgers.
They're betting that the football TV rights will generate enough money to do just that.
And if they don't the sports alums are pretty generous with donations to support their teams
 

Gunfighter 09

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The B10 just has to grab Oregon, UW and the Bay Area Schools and they are complete. One conference would have the following TV markets:

-NY, DC, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Indy, Minny, LA, SF, Seattle, Portland.

Though the TV market thing could be an incentive to grab ASU and add Phoenix to the list.

Crazy that Larry Scott killed a 100 year old conference with his incompetence.
 

Jeff Van GULLY

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So FOX Sports was a big driver of getting USC and UCLA to the BIG 10. Smart on them and as we've seen in other conference realignments, the TV execs have a big say in guiding new members in a conference.

So with the ACC, who is partnered with ESPN, how can they approach this if they push to get PAC12 teams? The same execs they would be working with, work with the SEC as well! This gets very messy and you know if ESPN has to pick one or the other, they would pick the SEC (and their new contract). How can you trust ESPN as a partner in navigating new members? How do the ACC's moves not leak to the SEC?
 

Captaincoop

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The B10 just has to grab Oregon, UW and the Bay Area Schools and they are complete. One conference would have the following TV markets:

-NY, DC, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Indy, Minny, LA, SF, Seattle, Portland.

Though the TV market thing could be an incentive to grab ASU and add Phoenix to the list.

Crazy that Larry Scott killed a 100 year old conference with his incompetence.
Oregon and Washington. The rest of the Pac has no shot. They're not looking to expand this to 60+ teams, it's going to be a max of about 40 in the new top tier (Big Ten/SEC). TV markets are so 2013...this is all about brand, and if you don't bring enough to the table to enlarge the pie for the other ~39 members, you're not getting in.
 

canderson

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The B10 just has to grab Oregon, UW and the Bay Area Schools and they are complete. One conference would have the following TV markets:

-NY, DC, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Indy, Minny, LA, SF, Seattle, Portland.

Though the TV market thing could be an incentive to grab ASU and add Phoenix to the list.

Crazy that Larry Scott killed a 100 year old conference with his incompetence.
IIRC Washington has the largest media pull in the PAC 10, believe it or not.
 

Awesome Fossum

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Oregon and Washington. The rest of the Pac has no shot. They're not looking to expand this to 60+ teams, it's going to be a max of about 40 in the new top tier (Big Ten/SEC). TV markets are so 2013...this is all about brand, and if you don't bring enough to the table to enlarge the pie for the other ~39 members, you're not getting in.
Spot on. If I'm Stanford, I'm calling Notre Dame and begging to be brought along for the ride.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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When do other sports go the way of hockey and have their own conferences? Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track, etc...
 

snowmanny

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When do other sports go the way of hockey and have their own conferences? Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track, etc...
There is some weird hockey conference that has Bentlley, Niagra, Mercyhurst (PA), Air Force....If Bentley can get their hockey team out to Colorado I would think the traditional Big 10 teams COULD get their soccer teams to LA...if they wanted to.

EDIT _ But I do agree with you.What makes sense for Rutgers football probably makes no sense for Rutgers baseball.
 

8slim

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When do other sports go the way of hockey and have their own conferences? Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track, etc...
This would make the most sense. Basically, have 2 mega football conferences of the B1G and SEC. And then have geographically logical, culturally fitting rest-of-sports conferences.

We all get the TV appeal of USC-Michigan football. But USC-Rutgers in hoops, or women’s volleyball, is so beyond dumb.
 

Hoya81

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Would it be more sensible to just spinoff football into some kind of Premier League structure and leave the other sports behind?
 

dirtynine

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Would it be more sensible to just spinoff football into some kind of Premier League structure and leave the other sports behind?
100% more sensible. At the highest levels (Big 10/SEC) it’s a defacto pro league now that uses collegiate branding. Just treat it as such. The only thing preventing it are the last vestiges of amateurism/academics. We should all be ok with letting that go.
 

Awesome Fossum

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Of course, but there isn't a single decision maker. We have a lot of individual decision makers, which is why this is taking decades to unfold.

And once we finally get to the SEC + Big 10 mega conferences and basically an SEC champ vs Big 10 champ national championship game, that's not going to be the end. Eventually, one will eat the other and/or the Ohio States and Alabamas will leave the Vanderbilts and Purdue behind. Just like AFL/NFL and AL/NL, this ends with a single closed league.
 

BaseballJones

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Would it be more sensible to just spinoff football into some kind of Premier League structure and leave the other sports behind?
Yes. Just have football be its own separate thing entirely. That way schools could make leagues for every other sport that actually make sense, and wouldn't cost the athletic departments a fortune shuttling their teams across the country for field hockey.

It's an absolute no-brainer and I don't know why schools haven't already started working on this (though maybe they have behind closed doors).
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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It's an absolute no-brainer and I don't know why schools haven't already started working on this (though maybe they have behind closed doors).
Is it that they want cheap filler content for their cable networks when FOOTBALL isn't happening? And there's probably some value to the schools in having non-football/basketball events on television for recruiting in those sports, alumni relations, fund raising etc... I'm always amazed at how passionate some ex-varsity athletes in non-big time sports at my alma matter (which is not a big time sports school in the first place) are about the continued success or failure of the program that they were part of many years ago.

Showing the Midwestern Collegiate Baseball League game between Missouri and Kansas doesn't have the same cache as the SEC Baseball game between Missouri and Florida. And who would have the rights?
 

j-man

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here is what going to happen it might take 5-10 years

but u are going to see a 2 team superconf big ten sec the only q is it 40- or 48

SEC if they go to 20 Clem m fa fla st and ND or louisvillie if nd says no
if the sec goes to 24 then u add ok st va tech nc state

if big ten goes to 20 u add wash org nd Stanford if nd bots to sec then it's uva
if they go to 24 u add nc duke then u take wake forest
 

j-man

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norte dame has to join a conf in football while the big ten is a better fit the sec wouild give nd football a chance to win it all
 

dhappy42

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Seriously, it should be promotion/relegation, like in footy leagues around the world.

On the theory that a league should have 14 teams, so each team has a 13-game season. Bottom three schools from each get sent down, top three schools from each go up. These would be interesting divisions and the promotion-relegation games at the end of the season would be incredible.

So using 2021 power rankings from ESPN, we'd have:

Transcendent League (first tier 1-14)

Georgia (national champions)

Alabama
Ohio State
Michigan
Oklahoma
ND
OK ST
Clemson
Iowa St.
Cinci
Utah
Pitt relegated to Stupendous
Wisconsin relegated to Stupendous
TAMU relegated to Stupendous

Baylor promoted from Stupendous
NC ST promoted from Stupendous
Penn St promoted from Stupendous


Stupendous League (second tier 15-28)

Pitt relegated from Transcendent
Wisconsin relegated from Transcendent
TAMU relegated from Transcendent
Ole Miss
Mich ST
Auburn
Arkansas
Wake
Miami
Texas
Purdue
Tennessee relegated to Formidable 8
Minnesota relegated to Formidable 8
Kentucky relegated to Formidable 8

Nebraska promoted from Formidable 8
Oregon promoted from Formidable 8
UCLA promoted from Formidable 8


Formidable 8 (third tier 29-42)

Tennessee relegated from Stupendous
Minnesota relegated from Stupendous
Kentucky relegated from Stupendous
Iowa
Appalachian St.
Florida
Kansas St.
Mississippi St.
Houston
Boise ST.
Arizona St.
BYU relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
Western KY relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
LSU relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
North Carolina promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate
SMU promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate
Coastal Carolina promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate


Confabulation of the Adequate (fourth tier 43-56)

BYU relegated from Formidable 8
Western KY relegated from Formidable 8
LSU relegated from Formidable 8
Louisville
Virginia
Louisiana (Cajuns)
West Virginia
Texas Tech
FLorida St
Oregon ST
Fresno St
Wash St relegated to AmbitoUSA
UCF relegated to AmbitioUSA
Liberty relegated to AmbitioUSA
Texas-San Antonio promoted from AmbitioUSA
USC promoted from AmbitioUSA
Nevada promoted from AmbitioUSA


AmbitioUSA (Fifth tier 57-70)

Wash St relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
UCF relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
Liberty relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
UAB
Army
Washington
Maryland
Va Tech
Toledo
Air Force
Illinois
TCU relegated to Circle of Ennui
South Carolina relegated to Circle of Ennui
Marshall relegated to Circle of Ennui

Boston College promoted from Circle of Ennui
San Diego St promoted from Circle of Ennui
Cal promoted from Circle of Ennui


Circle of Ennui (sixth tier 71-84)

TCU relegated from AmbitioUSA
South Carolina relegated from AmbitioUSA
Marshall relegated from AmbitioUSA
Utah St
Western Mich
Tulsa
Syracuse
Missouri
Cent Mich
Memphis
East Carolina
GA Tech relegated to Conference SUCK
GA State relegated to Conference SUCK
Indiana relegated to Conference SUCK
Miami (OH) promoted from Conference SUCK
Rutgers promoted from Conference SUCK
Mid Tenn St promoted from Conference SUCK


etc etc etc

Darwin's Waiting Room (124-130 and FCS 1-6)

New Mexico
Temple
FIU
New Mex St
Akron
UConn
UMass
North Dakota St (FCS #1)
Montana St
James Madison
Sam HOuston St
South Dakota St
Missouri St
East Tenn ST


etc
I like this idea. It’ll never happen.
 

Dan Murfman

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The Athletic has an article on the grant of rights. The takeaway seems getting out is doable but could be costly and tricky as you have to figure out where to sue. They mention that Texas & Oklahoma probably would have liked to o to SEC earlier but haven’t challenged Big 12 GOR. Of course you are talking a couple of years as opposed to ACC going for another 14 years.

https://theathletic.com/3396108/2022/07/01/acc-grant-of-rights-staples/
 

OCST

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I like this idea. It’ll never happen.
It sort of does. “ Smaller” schools that do well can move up a level, think TCU, Louisville, Cincy, or down, UConn - realignment is really pro/rel arranged by university presidents instead of on the field.

Even without formal realignment, smaller schools force themselves into the league that really counts - the set of teams that are given top spots for TV. Boise St was such a team for football - it was in a not-top conference but might as well have been first-tier for a time. In. basketball, Gonzaga. Etc.

Similarly schools in top leagues that are terrible just vanish from TV schedules - Fresno St gets on TV before Kansas football.
 

Awesome Fossum

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Frankly, citing Boise State and Fresno State as examples of mobility in the current system suggests to me that you're starting from the conclusion and working backward.
 

mauf

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Seriously, it should be promotion/relegation, like in footy leagues around the world.

On the theory that a league should have 14 teams, so each team has a 13-game season. Bottom three schools from each get sent down, top three schools from each go up. These would be interesting divisions and the promotion-relegation games at the end of the season would be incredible.

So using 2021 power rankings from ESPN, we'd have:

Transcendent League (first tier 1-14)

Georgia (national champions)

Alabama
Ohio State
Michigan
Oklahoma
ND
OK ST
Clemson
Iowa St.
Cinci
Utah
Pitt relegated to Stupendous
Wisconsin relegated to Stupendous
TAMU relegated to Stupendous

Baylor promoted from Stupendous
NC ST promoted from Stupendous
Penn St promoted from Stupendous


Stupendous League (second tier 15-28)

Pitt relegated from Transcendent
Wisconsin relegated from Transcendent
TAMU relegated from Transcendent
Ole Miss
Mich ST
Auburn
Arkansas
Wake
Miami
Texas
Purdue
Tennessee relegated to Formidable 8
Minnesota relegated to Formidable 8
Kentucky relegated to Formidable 8

Nebraska promoted from Formidable 8
Oregon promoted from Formidable 8
UCLA promoted from Formidable 8


Formidable 8 (third tier 29-42)

Tennessee relegated from Stupendous
Minnesota relegated from Stupendous
Kentucky relegated from Stupendous
Iowa
Appalachian St.
Florida
Kansas St.
Mississippi St.
Houston
Boise ST.
Arizona St.
BYU relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
Western KY relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
LSU relegated to Confabulation of the Adequate
North Carolina promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate
SMU promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate
Coastal Carolina promoted from Confabulation of the Adequate


Confabulation of the Adequate (fourth tier 43-56)

BYU relegated from Formidable 8
Western KY relegated from Formidable 8
LSU relegated from Formidable 8
Louisville
Virginia
Louisiana (Cajuns)
West Virginia
Texas Tech
FLorida St
Oregon ST
Fresno St
Wash St relegated to AmbitoUSA
UCF relegated to AmbitioUSA
Liberty relegated to AmbitioUSA
Texas-San Antonio promoted from AmbitioUSA
USC promoted from AmbitioUSA
Nevada promoted from AmbitioUSA


AmbitioUSA (Fifth tier 57-70)

Wash St relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
UCF relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
Liberty relegated from Confabulation of the Adequate
UAB
Army
Washington
Maryland
Va Tech
Toledo
Air Force
Illinois
TCU relegated to Circle of Ennui
South Carolina relegated to Circle of Ennui
Marshall relegated to Circle of Ennui

Boston College promoted from Circle of Ennui
San Diego St promoted from Circle of Ennui
Cal promoted from Circle of Ennui


Circle of Ennui (sixth tier 71-84)

TCU relegated from AmbitioUSA
South Carolina relegated from AmbitioUSA
Marshall relegated from AmbitioUSA
Utah St
Western Mich
Tulsa
Syracuse
Missouri
Cent Mich
Memphis
East Carolina
GA Tech relegated to Conference SUCK
GA State relegated to Conference SUCK
Indiana relegated to Conference SUCK
Miami (OH) promoted from Conference SUCK
Rutgers promoted from Conference SUCK
Mid Tenn St promoted from Conference SUCK


etc etc etc

Darwin's Waiting Room (124-130 and FCS 1-6)

New Mexico
Temple
FIU
New Mex St
Akron
UConn
UMass
North Dakota St (FCS #1)
Montana St
James Madison
Sam HOuston St
South Dakota St
Missouri St
East Tenn ST


etc
I’ll put a twist on this and suggest an idea that didn’t work in European football, but could work here: Super League.

Seriously, what’s to keep these 16 teams from leaving their current conferences and forming a brand new league?

East
Clemson
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State

West
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
UCLA
USC

Everyone plays the other 7 teams in their division and 2 or 3 rotating inter-divisional opponents.

You could obviously debate whether these are the right 16 schools, or whether 18 or 20 teams would be better (especially if schools that are left out retailiate by refusing to schedule nonconference games with Super League teams), but it seems like this would be an enormous cash cow.

Edit: Of course, this is such an obvious idea that there must be an obstacle that I’m missing.
 
Last edited:

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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I’ll put a twist on this and suggest an idea that didn’t work in European football, but could work here: Super League.

Seriously, what’s to keep these 16 teams from leaving their current conferences and forming a brand new league?

East
Clemson
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State

West
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
UCLA
USC

Everyone plays the other 7 teams in their division and 2 or 3 rotating inter-divisional opponents.

You could obviously debate whether these are the right 16 schools, or whether 18 or 20 teams would be better (especially if schools that are left out retailiate by refusing to schedule nonconference games with Super League teams), but it seems like this would be an enormous cash cow.

Edit: Of course, this is such an obvious idea that there must be an obstacle that I’m missing.
This is like the super-league they tried in soccer, right?

The obstacle might be that nobody would play any of these teams in any other sport. And everybody would generally hate them.
 

cornwalls@6

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Apr 23, 2010
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I’ll put a twist on this and suggest an idea that didn’t work in European football, but could work here: Super League.

Seriously, what’s to keep these 16 teams from leaving their current conferences and forming a brand new league?

East
Clemson
Florida
Florida State
Georgia
Michigan
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State

West
Alabama
Auburn
LSU
Oklahoma
Texas
Texas A&M
UCLA
USC

Everyone plays the other 7 teams in their division and 2 or 3 rotating inter-divisional opponents.

You could obviously debate whether these are the right 16 schools, or whether 18 or 20 teams would be better (especially if schools that are left out retailiate by refusing to schedule nonconference games with Super League teams), but it seems like this would be an enormous cash cow.

Edit: Of course, this is such an obvious idea that there must be an obstacle that I’m missing.
I actually think we're heading towards something like that, at some point. Power program level football is a massive money beast. It should probably be broken off from all the other sports, including mens BB, and run as a separate entity, within the NCAA(Or not. Maybe they just get their own governing body). Then allow BB and the non-revenue sports to align in the conferences that make the most sense for them geographically, etc. As you note, we can quibble over the exact number of teams in the super conference, but that increasingly feels like the way forward to me. With NIL, and transfer portal(with limits/guardrails to maintain competitive balance), treat it like the professional feeder league to NFL that it has been for decades, without the facade of amateurism. The stadiums will still be packed on Saturdays, the bands will be there, the tailgates, the cheerleaders, etc. And the games will still often be wildly exciting. So many pundits are hand-wringing over this kind of direction. I think it makes perfect sense.
 

wibi

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I was in Portland over the weekend and we talked a lot about this subject. One thing that kept coming up was will Oregon and Washington let UW and UO move without WSU and OSU moving with them. The general consensus was not likely but no body was supremely confident.

I am hearing some rumbling from folks I know at Gonzaga that this might fuel to the zags move to the Big East for Basketball (since Gonzaga flies private for men and women basketball) and keep the rest of the school in the WCC.
 
Seriously, what’s to keep these 16 teams from leaving their current conferences and forming a brand new league?
I'll bite: these are college football's power teams in no small part because they're almost always powerful (in terms of wins and losses). You put all of them in one mega-conference and don't let them play anyone else, someone is going to finish with only two or three wins - or fewer. And there's not going to be a player draft designed to help losing teams catch up. If, say, Florida State winds up becoming the Super League's football equivalent of what Vanderbilt is to the SEC, what happens to its brand? Heck, would its place in the Super League be secure? Would recruits really want to go play there instead of a winning non-Super League school? So, to answer your question, risk aversion will keep some of these schools from taking this sort of plunge.

I do think there's a democratic element of college sports that would also be left out under this sort of structure. I often like to think about college football and basketball in America the way that I think about soccer in a country like England: in the latter, you have your big clubs (Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc.), but you're also bound to have a pretty decent club in a lower league relatively close to you that you can support on a local level. And with the right management and a few breaks here and there, your club could get to the big time, and - cf. Leicester City - maybe even win the proverbial national championship. College football is still like this, sort of...and college basketball is definitely like this, in ways that the big city franchises of professional sport basically aren't. This Super League concept would basically make college football the NFL, except with most of its franchises located in (relatively) rural areas. Would that affect college football's popularity? In the short term, probably not, but in the long term? I don't know, but it's something to think about. (And I haven't even touched upon the fact that the pursuit of undefeated seasons and big upsets - not just your App State over Michigan, but also your slightly more run-of-the-mill Indiana or Purdue over Ohio State - are part of what makes college football so riotous to watch week to week. If CFB becomes the Rural NFL, the character of the product on the field becomes very, very different.)
 

Awesome Fossum

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I was in Portland over the weekend and we talked a lot about this subject. One thing that kept coming up was will Oregon and Washington let UW and UO move without WSU and OSU moving with them. The general consensus was not likely but no body was supremely confident.
I mean, the writing is on the wall at this point. Get into the Big 10/SEC or be left behind. Maybe lawmakers are OK with that, but Washington and Oregon aren't in a position to insist on WSU/OSU being part of a deal. Oklahoma couldn't save Oklahoma State.

I am hearing some rumbling from folks I know at Gonzaga that this might fuel to the zags move to the Big East for Basketball (since Gonzaga flies private for men and women basketball) and keep the rest of the school in the WCC.
That would be wild. Would that make sense for the current Big East schools?
 

wibi

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That would be wild. Would that make sense for the current Big East schools?
Makes sense at this point to have the Big East create a Western Conference for basketball. Shouldnt be hard to drag teams like Wichita State and Creighton into the west. Bring along some combination of BYU, St. Mary's, Pepperdine, Loyola, and maybe make a play for Kansas and Xavier. Make it a basketball only conference and let the rest of the sports play in some geographically defined situations
 

Awesome Fossum

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Makes sense for whom?

The good news is that Creighton and Xavier are already in the Big East. The bad news is that Kansas and BYU won't be picking up the phone. I sort of get the appeal of Gonzaga, but I don't think the others move the needle if I'm a current Big East school.
 

Captaincoop

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I was in Portland over the weekend and we talked a lot about this subject. One thing that kept coming up was will Oregon and Washington let UW and UO move without WSU and OSU moving with them. The general consensus was not likely but no body was supremely confident.

I am hearing some rumbling from folks I know at Gonzaga that this might fuel to the zags move to the Big East for Basketball (since Gonzaga flies private for men and women basketball) and keep the rest of the school in the WCC.
All the talk about Gonzaga going to this conference or that for "basketball only" ignores the fact that the WCC will immediately boot out all their other programs if they move for basketball.

Where will they place 15 other programs so they can continue to meet Division I membership requirements?
 

wibi

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All the talk about Gonzaga going to this conference or that for "basketball only" ignores the fact that the WCC will immediately boot out all their other programs if they move for basketball.

Where will they place 15 other programs so they can continue to meet Division I membership requirements?
Big Sky, Mountain West, Western Athletic or even the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

BYU won't be picking up the phone
Forgot they were already moving to the Big12. Even more reason for Gonzaga to get out of the WCC
 

wibi

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Makes sense for whom?

The good news is that Creighton and Xavier are already in the Big East. The bad news is that Kansas and BYU won't be picking up the phone. I sort of get the appeal of Gonzaga, but I don't think the others move the needle if I'm a current Big East school.
If the Big East sees this as an opportunity to do something similar to what the football schools are doing but for universities that are big basketball schools.

It isnt common back east but out west schools will have their athletes compete in different conferences if the conference they are in doesnt provide the sport (MPSF is a great example of this)
 

Awesome Fossum

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But the SEC and Big 10 aren't expanding just to expand, they're adding members that will make the slices of pie bigger for everyone. Can Gonzaga do that for the Big East? Maybe. Can Pepperdine? No.
 

Captaincoop

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Big Sky, Mountain West, Western Athletic or even the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Fantasyland all the way around. The MPSF sponsors either 1 or 0 sports that Gonzaga sponsors. None of those other conferences are going to vote to add a school with a bunch of sports other than football and basketball, located in Greater Nowhere.

"I get to fly my baseball team to Spokane every year, and they keep their basketball media revenue? Where do I sign?"
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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Oct 23, 2001
10,229
I'll bite: these are college football's power teams in no small part because they're almost always powerful (in terms of wins and losses). You put all of them in one mega-conference and don't let them play anyone else, someone is going to finish with only two or three wins - or fewer. And there's not going to be a player draft designed to help losing teams catch up. If, say, Florida State winds up becoming the Super League's football equivalent of what Vanderbilt is to the SEC, what happens to its brand? Heck, would its place in the Super League be secure? Would recruits really want to go play there instead of a winning non-Super League school? So, to answer your question, risk aversion will keep some of these schools from taking this sort of plunge.
Totally agree with this. Another factor is that the fans of these "big time" programs enjoy watching their teams blow out the Vanderbilts of the world every year. They'd rather go 10-1 with a bunch of games that are over before they start against Utah State, Lousiana-Monroe and Austin Peay (to pick three games from Alabama's schedule this fall) than have 11 actually competitive games that could result in a 5-6 season every now and then. The coaches and athletic directors probably love it even more.
 
Another factor is that the fans of these "big time" programs enjoy watching their teams blow out the Vanderbilts of the world every year. They'd rather go 10-1 with a bunch of games that are over before they start against Utah State, Lousiana-Monroe and Austin Peay (to pick three games from Alabama's schedule this fall) than have 11 actually competitive games that could result in a 5-6 season every now and then. The coaches and athletic directors probably love it even more.
The FCS and lower-level FBS opposition for the upper-echelon teams in the Power 5 needs to disappear. The one thing I like about the Super League concept is that all of the fluff would be removed from everyone's schedules - but a middle ground between these two extremes, with more in-conference games and maybe some version of one of the college basketball "Big Ten-SEC Challenge" type setups where everyone is guaranteed to play a team or two of similar quality as their out-of-conference games, is where I'd love to see everything end up.
 

mikeot

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2006
8,147
When do other sports go the way of hockey and have their own conferences? Baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track, etc...
This would make the most sense. Basically, have 2 mega football conferences of the B1G and SEC. And then have geographically logical, culturally fitting rest-of-sports conferences.

We all get the TV appeal of USC-Michigan football. But USC-Rutgers in hoops, or women’s volleyball, is so beyond dumb.
As a UCLA alum, my apologies to all.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,428
Harrisburg, Pa.
The FCS and lower-level FBS opposition for the upper-echelon teams in the Power 5 needs to disappear. The one thing I like about the Super League concept is that all of the fluff would be removed from everyone's schedules - but a middle ground between these two extremes, with more in-conference games and maybe some version of one of the college basketball "Big Ten-SEC Challenge" type setups where everyone is guaranteed to play a team or two of similar quality as their out-of-conference games, is where I'd love to see everything end up.
Main problem I think is a lot of programs who aren’t that super think they are (Cincy, WV, Pitt, Kentucky, Texas Tech, etc etc)