Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

[T-Moar]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Natural rivalries. Especially in college sports. Same recruiting pools creates familiarity as well as hatred. Guys in the same area can hold a grudge against a school that didn't recruit them.

Then you have all the sports that aren't money makers that need the close geography to save money as well as create the same rivalries. Recruiting in those sports is even more geographical than football and basketball.

In pro sports geography isn't as important as the players have no official tie to the location or the region.

It's less about guys that didn't get recruited and more about the fans, IMO. Unless it's something like the Red River Rivalry or the Michigan - Ohio State game, I don't really think the players or coaches could give a flying flip about who their opponent is. It's people like ourselves that are fans have to go into work and school the next day and face the banter from our colleagues, and that banter is a lot more fun when your team pulled out a victory on Saturday.

[DonkeyJote]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

It's less about guys that didn't get recruited and more about the fans, IMO. Unless it's something like the Red River Rivalry or the Michigan - Ohio State game, I don't really think the players or coaches could give a flying flip about who their opponent is. It's people like ourselves that are fans have to go into work and school the next day and face the banter from our colleagues, and that banter is a lot more fun when your team pulled out a victory on Saturday.

I think there's some truth to that. But I think players feed off their fanbase too. But rivalries evolve. Just because something always has been one way doesn't mean it always should stay that way. If people always thought that way, the forward pass would still be illegal.

[cdawg44]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I think there's some truth to that. But I think players feed off their fanbase too. But rivalries evolve. Just because something always has been one way doesn't mean it always should stay that way. If people always thought that way, the forward pass would still be illegal.

Yup and Tulane and Georgia Tech would still be SEC schools as well and University of Chicago would still be in the Big 10. Times do change and rivalries come and go. I would still love to see Clemson and Georgia lock horns every year, but they just don't anymore, yet you could argue that was the rivalry of the 80s. Does it suck to lose A&M-UT, Mizzou-KU and OU-Nebraska? Hell yea, but we are getting some great rivalries that will heat up, including Nebraska-Iowa and A&M-LSU and Mizzou-Arky. Hell, I still miss seeing Houston go up against Texas and A&M every year, but college football survived. Sometimes with these moves, these schools increase their committment to athletic departments across the board and get to reevaluate how important athletics are the school.

That's why I'm not worried about it all, college football will survive and thrive going forward. And heck with time, some of those hard feelings about these moves will subside and we might see some of these rivalries come back. Lets just take a deep breath and let it all play out.

Bottom line, this all comes down to the quality of the product. If the quality is good, we will still all watch and Heck, I don't even think that matters to an extent.

[caasoccer]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I think realignment is going to be quiet for awhile now until we see what happens with the Maryland-ACC court case. If Maryland leaves for less than $50 million, then all hell will break loose IMO. If a judge makes that $50 million the final number, it will slow down some things.

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I guess the GTech and UVA rumors aren't true, for now

[adice15]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Read on a Tulsa board that there could be a new super Mountain West conference with Boise staying.

East:
Tulsa
SMU
Houston
Air Force
Colorado State
UTEP
New Mexico
Wyoming

West:
Boise
San Diego State
Hawaii
UNLV
Utah State
Fresno State
BYU
Nevada

[Jr.]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Read on a Tulsa board that there could be a new super Mountain West conference with Boise staying.

East West
Tulsa Boise
SMU San Diego State
Houston Hawaii
Air Force UNLV
Colorado State Utah State
UTEP Fresno
New Mexico BYU
Wyoming Nevada

That's a pretty decent conference

[DonkeyJote]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

That's a pretty decent conference

I don't think they can align it like that, though, can they? It's super west-heavy, imo. Boise, Hawaii, Fresno, Nevada, BYU all in the west, with Houston, Air Force, Tulsa, and SMU being the powers in the east? Doesn't seem balanced at all. I think North/South would be better:

North

Boise St.
Air Force
Colorado State
Wyoming
Nevada
UNLV
BYU
Utah State


South

Houston
SMU
UTEP
New Mexico
Tulsa
SDSU
Fresno St
Hawaii

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

That'd be pretty sweet, actually.

[TracerBullet]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

So that's relying on Houston and SMU to rescind their Big East invitations, and the Mountain West telling SJSU to gtfo. Don't see that happening.

[adice15]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

So that's relying on Houston and SMU to rescind their Big East invitations, and the Mountain West telling SJSU to gtfo. Don't see that happening.

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing an article saying Houston might consider staying as a result of the recent expansions.

[T-Moar]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

So that's relying on Houston and SMU to rescind their Big East invitations, and the Mountain West telling SJSU to gtfo. Don't see that happening.

Yeah, I think BYU/UTEP is an either/or thing. No way the MWC wants both. UTEP doesn't really have the resume, and would just be a spot-filler.

[BurghFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

What I find ironic about this possible new super-MWC is that the 8 charter members of that conference initially split off from the old 16-team WAC mainly to cut down on travel expenses and now they might be building a new super conference basically by raiding the WAC to reunite many of the same teams from the old super conference.

[simgamer0005]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

What I find ironic about this possible new super-MWC is that the 8 charter members of that conference initially split off from the old 16-team WAC mainly to cut down on travel expenses and now they might be building a new super conference basically by raiding the WAC to reunite many of the same teams from the old super conference.

yeah it is quite ironic. i don't really understand why you need a super mountain west conference. i don't know what is wrong with having the WAC and the MWC. but i sure hope whatever they do, they improve the bowl tie-ins. having Fresno State win a share of the conference title, only to matchup against SMU, a 6-6 team that could be in their conference next year is ridiculous.

i do think, though, that there's something good about having co-champions and no CCG. for Fresno State, SDSU, and Boise, they can each call themselves champions. and if they break up into divisions, only 1 team can call themselves champions. i think before there were CCGs, college football was better. divisions were generally smaller, besides of course that 16 team WAC experiment with quadrants. it's like the powers that be in college football they never learn from their mistakes. you only have a certain number of conference games per season (8 or 9). the divisional setup with CCG doesn't work. (as we've seen with the Big10 and Pac12 in recent years) while an extra conference game with a CCG could help the MWC teams improve their chances at a BCS bowl, you have unbalanced schedules and the very real possibility that the two best teams in the conference don't play in that game. it will be interesting to see what happens to the MWC though, if Boise and SDSU stay, and if they expand. personally i think the conference is good just as it is this year. it was a very exciting conference, and i think teams like Boise and Fresno should play every year.

[cdawg44]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Rutgers sues the Big East to get out early.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/college-sports/story/_/id/8713564/rutgers-sues-big-east-exit-fee-wait-time

I just don't get why this league is so reactionary. The ACC went ahead and sued Maryland first to get the case on their turf in North Carolina.