AROUND THE NATION
Conference realignment cheat sheet 2014: Where college football teams are now
By Pete Volk on Feb 13, 2014, 9:01a
http://www.sbnation.com/college-foot...nference-moves
Most of the ramifications of the last flurry of conference realignment will finally finish in 2014. What do the new conferences look like?
For each conference whose roster is changing, we'll also figure out winners and losers. That only refers to this year, not the entire wave of realignment kicked off either five (by the Big Ten), 10 (by the ACC), or 23 (by the SEC) years ago, depending on how you look at it.
American
In: East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa (plus Navy in 2015)
Out: Louisville, Rutgers
The teams: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USF, Navy (2015)
Winner or loser?
Definite loser. The AAC lost by far its biggest program in Louisville, plus one of its few legitimate second-tier teams in Rutgers. Now, the old Big East is almost an exact replica of the old Conference-USA, with its hopes of national respect as a power conference completely dashed.
Still, it might have the best shot at New Year's success of any of the non-power leagues, especially if Tulsa rebounds from a down year and Tulane continues its improvement. ECU is considered a solid program.
ACC
In: Louisville
Out: Maryland
The teams: Atlantic: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, Wake Forest
Coastal: Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Winner or loser?
Winner. While the long-term effects of bringing Bobby Petrino back are unknown, Louisville's program is certainly at a much better place than Maryland's right now. The Terrapins pulled in a better recruiting class than the Cardinals after the Petrino fallout, but there's a lot of ground to make up there.
Big Ten
In: Maryland, Rutgers
Out: None
The teams: East: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers
West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin
Winner or loser?
Definite winner. The Big Ten is the only conference that added teams for 2014 without also losing any, and while Maryland and Rutgers are not expected to come in and immediately compete for the Big Ten title, they expand the footprint of the conference and the TV network that goes along with it.
Another win: the Big Ten realigned its divisions geographically, scrapping the confusing Leaders-and-Legends format.
Big 12
No Changes
Conference USA
In: Old Dominion, Western Kentucky
Out: East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa
The teams: East: FIU, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, MTSU, Old Dominion, UAB, Western Kentucky
West: Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA
Winner or loser?
Loser. Tulsa is down and Tulane is up, but East Carolina has been one of the most consistent non-power programs in the country since Ruffin McNeill took over. Western Kentucky is undergoing its second straight coaching change, while Old Dominion is completing its transition to the FBS level, so while the replacements brought in might have promise in the future, none are home-runs.
MAC
No Changes
Mountain West
No Changes
Pac-12
No Changes
SEC
No Changes
Sun Belt
In: Georgia State (officially, after transition year) Idaho, New Mexico State
Out: Western Kentucky
The teams: Arkansas State, Georgia State, Idaho, UL-Lafayette, UL-Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy
Winner or loser?
Winner. Sure, the loss of Western Kentucky will hurt (especially at the top), but the Sun Belt had a serious numbers issue and was able to add quantity -- which is exactly what it needed. None of the programs added are particularly big gets.