Conference Realignment Rumors – 9-26-2011

I’m trying to keep from posting too much on the rumors as things change so frequently now a days, I’ll try to limit to once per week unless something major happens.  Now that Texas A&M to the SEC is a done deal as the Big 12 members have released the Aggies and the SEC from any litigation worries, you have to wonder what will happen next.  It appears that we might see some moves by the Big 12 first, however, there are a lot of rumors in that area.  Texas legislature was pushing for universities from Texas to be admitted (Houston, SMU, TCU) but Big 12 members don’t seem to be interested in that move.  They are interested in expanding their base and are trying to work out something with BYU.  Also rumored is Boise St, while they do anything television-wise, they offer one of the most legit programs over the last decade.  If the Big 12 goes with BYU and Boise St, we could also see Air Force being targeted.  Everyone is waiting to see what Missouri will do – will they stay in the Big 12 or will they become the 14th member of the SEC.  If they stay in the Big 12, realignment could see Louisville, Cincinnati or West Virginia in the Big 12 – but without Missouri – there is too much geography between the current schools and the midwest/eastern schools.

The Big East is looking to expand and has expressed interest in the service academies as football only members.  Army has said they are not interested, mainly because they are afraid they will not be competitive.  Maybe they are also seeing through the Big East as it is not a very solid conference at the moment.  Air Force and Navy have expressed interest but it might take a while for Navy to move in this direction because they have already committed their schedule for several years.  Air Force’s interest seems difficult to understand other than being in a possible Automatic Qualifier conference.  Air Force is in Colorado and that is a long, long way from the Big East.  Plus, what would Air Force do with their other sports?  I think they only have 9, so maybe that is not much of a worry.  Where some big issues come with the Big East is that other members might be interested in other opportunities.  Connecticut has all but stated they want to be in the ACC, not the Big East.  Rutgers is another possibility for the ACC.  West Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati also seem to have other options with the Big 12.  To top it off, the hybrid hasn’t worked in the past, so why do they want to continue down this road?  Recently, there has been a big push by the basketball powers for re-admitting Temple and allowing Villanova to upgrade their football program.  I just think things are extremely shaky for the Big East.

The ACC seems to have a lot of interest in Connecticut, but are in no hurry at the moment as they wait to hear from Notre Dame.  Also, the ACC has to be worried about teams being poached by the Big 10 and SEC.  We’ll see if anything happens in the near future.

Texas and Oklahoma Next?

The regents for Texas and Oklahoma have met and have opened the door for them to join the PAC12.  Both regents have approved the option of leaving the Big 12.  Texas has been trying to work out the details of how they could work the Longhorn Network into the plan for the PAC16 – no details yet on that.  But it is looking more and more like we will soon be hearing that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma St will be joining the PAC12 soon to be PAC16.  It seems like they will be doing a pod system, with 4 teams in each pod.  Many of the teams want to be assured they will be able to go to California, so it looks like a possibility of splitting the California schools into different pods.  Rumor has it that each team would play the other 3 teams in their pod, then 2 of the 4 in each of the other pods for 9 games total.  It is also rumored they will take the top 2 teams from each of the 4 pods to the conference championship game.  If Texas does decide against the PAC16, then the PAC12/16 is likely to go after Missouri and Kansas.

There is now talk that the leftover Big East schools (South Florida, Connecticut, West Virginia, TCU, Rutgers, Cincinnati and Louisville) and the leftover Big 12 schools (Missouri, Baylor, Iowa St, Kansas and Kansas St) are talking about a merger.  That is twelves schools, but of course there are rumors of other teams like Connecticut and Rutgers to the ACC and Missouri and West Virginia to the SEC.  If the new conference were smart, they would try to invite Boise St to help solidify an automatic qualifier spot then take your pick of a handful of MWC or CUSA schools to get to 12.  It is pretty imminent that the football and basketball schools of the Big East are now going to part ways.

Other rumors – Apparently, I have heard the SEC is not interested in West Virginia at all and this seems to be a rumor that is confirmed by West Virginia officials.  I have also heard that the Big 10 is pretty much satisfied staying at 12 schools unless they can get Notre Dame.  There are still rumors of Notre Dame to the ACC but staying independent in football.  They would likely play 4 games with ACC football schools and all other sports would be in the ACC.  If this is the case, the ACC is rumored to take another non FBS football school with Notre Dame, such as Villanova or Georgetown.  There are still rumors of Texas to the ACC with either Notre Dame, or Texas Tech or Kansas, but that just seems very far fetched.

Heading to Houston for the Final Four

When my VCU Rams made their unbelievable run to the Final Four, there was no way that I could miss it.  Tomorrow morning, I will be heading to Houston, TX on one of the planes chartered through VCU Sports Travel.   We will meet at the airport to check in at 6:30AM for our 8:30AM departure.  Arrival time is 10:45AM.  Then we will take a shuttle to the Westin Galleria Houston.  There is quite a bit planned for us as we can go to the stadium and experience Bracket Town.  We also will be admitted into the VCU team practice at 12PM.

On Saturday, we will have a Pre-Game Event at the Reliant Center for a couple of hours, then we will experience the VCU – Butler game.  We have tickets to all of the games, including Monday’s final.  All seats are lower level.  Sunday, we have a day of leisure and then on Monday, we will watch the VCU Rams win the National Championship!  Our flight will leave Houston on Tuesday and I will arrive back in Richmond, VA at 12:35PM.

I am so excited about this trip.  Extremely nervous, but very excited.  I will post some updates on the site each day about the experiences.  Stay tuned…