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Dream Conference Realignment


AUght2win

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I don't think we've seen the end of conference realignment, just a break in it. When the current MASSIVE TV contracts come up, and when the full repercussions of the demise of cable TV are understood, I think we'll see more shuffling. I think it's possible the conferences will go back to being more geographically based if the football TV money isn't as big. For instance, unless the TV money is outrageous, I don't see how West Virginia can turn a profit having to fly their kids halfway across the country multiple times a year for multiple sports.

If you were in charge of it all, what would be your ideal conference alignment? My main priority would be geography and preserving/reviving old rivalries.

SEC East
Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
Georgia Tech
Auburn
South Carolina
Clemson

SEC West
Alabama
LSU
Ole Miss
Miss State
Memphis - would be a perfect fit, as they almost joined the Big 12 years ago. Just need to upgrade their facilities.
Vanderbilt
Kentucky

Sec would play 9 conference games, with two inter-divisional locks. Auburn's would be LSU and Alabama. Alabama's would be us and Tennessee. Downside would be the West would obviously be top-heavy with Alabama or LSU as a lock to win the division for the foreseeable future. BUT, what a basketball division, huh?

ACC
UNC
NC State
Duke
Miami
Wake Forest
UCF - largest college in America. They are ready for the Power 5.
ECU
Florida State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Maryland 

Acc obviously takes a hit, the same way the Big 12 did previously.

Big 12
Arkansas
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Okie State
Baylor
Texas Tech
Kansas 
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
TCU

Big 10
Ohio State
Michigan
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Penn State
Notre Dame
Pitt

Pac 12
Same as current, but Boise State and BYU are added to make 14 teams.

Big East
Syracuse
Louisville
Cincinnati
Boston College
Rutgers
UConn
Temple
Navy
Army
USF

Reestablish the Big East. Teams like Syracuse, BC, Rutgers, and Louisville are tweeners that belong together. 

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Pretty good job of placement. The SEC East would be a tough division. If UT makes a comeback then it's tougher than the West is now. The Big 10 has to change their name though. Notre Dame would probably only join if the conference was called if it was called the Lucky 13 + Notre Dame. I kid of course on that but really the Big 10 needs a new name. 

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Hell no.  The SEC is not balanced at all.  u've got 5 heavy weights in the East, plus 2 programs that can be you any given weekend.  The West has 2 heavyweights, 1 or 2 programs that could beat you on any given week, and the rest are traditional cakewalks.

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I liked the proposals to end the east/west divisions and play every team every 4 years.  Have 3 annual teams played and 5 rotational.   I don’t know where but somebody drew up some decent proposals.  Splitting into east/west with locked partners makes it so long between playing old traditional rivalries.  My 2 cents.  

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31 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

Hell no.  The SEC is not balanced at all.  u've got 5 heavy weights in the East, plus 2 programs that can be you any given weekend.  The West has 2 heavyweights, 1 or 2 programs that could beat you on any given week, and the rest are traditional cakewalks.

LSU/UAT would love that ish AND they'd be fresh as a daisy come playoff time.

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1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Hell no.  The SEC is not balanced at all.  u've got 5 heavy weights in the East, plus 2 programs that can be you any given weekend.  The West has 2 heavyweights, 1 or 2 programs that could beat you on any given week, and the rest are traditional cakewalks.

It's unbalanced now, just inverted. Auburn, LSU, Bama, Texas A&M vs. UGA and Florida. You can't necessarily align conferences on who's good currently as that will always change. The West is admittedly really weak though, in terms of programs that are built to compete. FSU could be a team that could be plugged in to the west as opposed to Memphis. But I think Memphis would be really fun in the SEC. They already are rivals with the Mississippi schools, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. 

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1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Hell no.  The SEC is not balanced at all.  u've got 5 heavy weights in the East, plus 2 programs that can be you any given weekend.  The West has 2 heavyweights, 1 or 2 programs that could beat you on any given week, and the rest are traditional cakewalks.

An attempt at balance would be...

East
Tennessee
Florida
Vandy
Kentucky
Clemson
South Carolina
UGA

West
Alabama
Auburn
GT
Memphis
Ole Miss
Miss State
LSU

But selfishly, as an Auburn fan, Auburn should play GT, UGA, Tennessee, Alabama, and Floria on a yearly basis. Those are our traditional rivals. That's why I like Auburn to the East so much. 

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That's good OP but the best thing for the SEC is to go to the optimum structure of a 16 team conference, 4 divisions, 9 conference games, a 2 year rotation. Teams play 3 division games and 6 rotating conference games outside their division. Each division includes 1 set of the old major rivalry teams. Very simple and straight forward.

 

An example of a 4 division SEC, adding 2 new teams, in this case let's say it's W. Virginia and N.C. State.  .

SEC North- Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, W. Virginia

SEC East- UGa, Florida, S. Carolina, N.C. State.

SEC South- Auburn, bama, Ole Miss, Miss State

SEC West- LSU, TAMU, Arkansas, Missouri 

 

SEC South Auburn would play:

* in even years- their 3 SEC South teams, all 4 SEC East teams and 2 of the SEC North teams.

* in odd years- their 3 SEC South teams, all 4 SEC West teams and the 2 remaining SEC North teams. 

The 6 rotating games mean each SEC team now gets to play all the other SEC teams, every 2 years. This is a big bonus and lessens the necessity for a 2nd rivalry game every year. 

 

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2 hours ago, AUght2win said:

I don't think we've seen the end of conference realignment, just a break in it. When the current MASSIVE TV contracts come up, and when the full repercussions of the demise of cable TV are understood, I think we'll see more shuffling. I think it's possible the conferences will go back to being more geographically based if the football TV money isn't as big. For instance, unless the TV money is outrageous, I don't see how West Virginia can turn a profit having to fly their kids halfway across the country multiple times a year for multiple sports.

If you were in charge of it all, what would be your ideal conference alignment? My main priority would be geography and preserving/reviving old rivalries.

SEC East
Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
Georgia Tech
Auburn
South Carolina
Clemson

SEC West
Alabama
LSU
Ole Miss
Miss State
Memphis - would be a perfect fit, as they almost joined the Big 12 years ago. Just need to upgrade their facilities.
Vanderbilt
Kentucky

Sec would play 9 conference games, with two inter-divisional locks. Auburn's would be LSU and Alabama. Alabama's would be us and Tennessee. Downside would be the West would obviously be top-heavy with Alabama or LSU as a lock to win the division for the foreseeable future. BUT, what a basketball division, huh?

ACC
UNC
NC State
Duke
Miami
Wake Forest
UCF - largest college in America. They are ready for the Power 5.
ECU
Florida State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Maryland 

Acc obviously takes a hit, the same way the Big 12 did previously.

Big 12
Arkansas
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Okie State
Baylor
Texas Tech
Kansas 
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
TCU

Big 10
Ohio State
Michigan
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Iowa
Iowa State
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Penn State
Notre Dame
Pitt

Pac 12
Same as current, but Boise State and BYU are added to make 14 teams.

Big East
Syracuse
Louisville
Cincinnati
Boston College
Rutgers
UConn
Temple
Navy
Army
USF

Reestablish the Big East. Teams like Syracuse, BC, Rutgers, and Louisville are tweeners that belong together. 

I like most of what you wrote.  However, I want us to remain in the SEC West.  It's the most respected conference in college football, and I'd like us to stay there.

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Just swap Auburn and Tennessee. 

Auburn, UF, uga

aTm, lsu, uat

Saban can still play Tn every season like he's always complaining about.  Auburn can still play UGA and uat every season.  The Florida game will once again be a yearly thing.  GT would never join the SEC, but I would like the SEC to swap out missouri for a team from the southeast.   

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I know this will be unpopular, but hell no to Memphis because of academics.  Conference institutions do work with each other scholastically too and Memphis would be an outlier.  

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Just reading through other blogs and articles, I’ve been seeing rumors and speculation of the Big 10 targeting Oklahoma and Texas. I’m sure tbe SEC can counter then with a couple teams which may possibly move Auburn to the east. 

 

Also, a while back I read articles from credible sources that Silicon Valley based giants like Netflix, YouTube, and others having the money and clout of basically overhauling the whole CFB landscape. Some major possible changes that are being talked about in the long run. 

@Brad_ATX, postulate.

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55 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Just reading through other blogs and articles, I’ve been seeing rumors and speculation of the Big 10 targeting Oklahoma and Texas. I’m sure tbe SEC can counter then with a couple teams which may possibly move Auburn to the east. 

 

Also, a while back I read articles from credible sources that Silicon Valley based giants like Netflix, YouTube, and others having the money and clout of basically overhauling the whole CFB landscape. Some major possible changes that are being talked about in the long run. 

@Brad_ATX, postulate.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/247sports.com/college/oklahoma/Article/Big-Ten-targeting-Oklahoma-Sooners-Texas-Longhorns-125965141/Amp/

Big Ten Source: League targeting OU, Texas
by Joey Helmer
Dec 5, 9:01 PM

The Sooners are doing just fine. They're the back-to-back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Champions and are headed to their second straight College Football Playoff and third in the past four seasons. They're making upwards of $40 million per year.

But might they and Red River Rival Texas be headed to the Big Ten Conference in the not-so-distant future? That could be the case, according to one report by Minnesota insider Greg Flugaur, who obtained information from a B1G source named BTM.

For some background, Flugaur notes that FOX Sports (21st Century FOX) owns 51 percent of the Big Ten Network and holds 50 percent of the Big Ten’s Tier 1 & 2 Contract from 2017-2022, as well as the league’s conference championship game. The lucrative contract to BTN for those Tier 1 & 2 rights, the CCG and basketball has turned into content and ratings from the league that have left FOX Sports “overjoyed” over these first couple years since structuring it.

TV ad rates FOX Sports have been able to pass on to its customers indicate the network is “all in” on Big Ten Live Sport Content now and in the future, BTM told Flugaur. Given that, both FOX Sports and the Big Ten Conference want more and are working in tandem to get it. The two believe there is ample opportunity to gain more content for the next media contract in order for both to succeed together. That’s where realignment begins and comes into play once again, with those two working in tandem in their attempt to gain more value for the league, the source said.

They’ll try to gain more said value by adding both Big 12 powers OU and Texas. They’ll target the two schools for addition in 2024-25.

This source lays out three different forms called “choke points” that help successfully deliver live content. These three are financing, content and distribution. Distribution is the one to focus on, as the Big 12 Conference will, in his words, have an issue there involving Tier 1 & 2 rights. The money gap is expected to widen between the Big 12 and the SEC and Big Ten.

So, the Big Ten, along with FOX Sports, plans to let OU know what their intentions are through third parties. They will coordinate this at the same time OU is negotiating its new third tier contract, with the Big Ten emphasizing what’s at stake there and to make it a short-term deal, BTM said.

A short-term deal, obviously, means something could be in motion. Keep in mind the Big 12 Grant of Rights is up on June 30, 2025, so, as Flugaur notes, if OU signs something new that expires by or before then, the wheels just may be turning. The main thing to keep in mind here is OU is the school to watch.

Which brings us to Texas. The Longhorn Network has long been prohibitive and a deal breaker when it comes to expansion, but no longer, BTM tells Flugaur. He stresses LHN’s contract is not ironclad like the Big 12 GOR and notes it’s actually a losing proposition to owner Disney, as well as a problem in terms of exposure for Texas. According to BTM, LHN is but a twig in the road, not a log at this point.

One more point is this: The end date makes a lot of sense in terms of when the Big Ten could be aggressive in pursuing expansion if it, indeed, does come to fruition. When the league last negotiated its TV contract, it constructed it to end in 2022, as opposed to a later date, and in so doing gave itself time to act with about three years in between then and the date the Big 12’s GOR expires.

In terms of alignment, the Big Ten, along with the ACC, will push for reform that would allow for one big conference, no divisions, and the ability to eliminate round-robin play, the source told Flugaur. Currently, as is the case with the Big 12, conferences with only one division have to play round-robin schedules, and while Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney and the rest of league brass publicly support divisions, Flugaur indicates that’s not the case behind closed doors. The opposite would actually allow for an increase in value to television and media and an easier expanding value.

Whether or not OU or Texas stay put or go to the Big Ten or elsewhere remains up in the air. But the Big Ten is reportedly targeting them both.

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1 hour ago, aujeff11 said:

Just reading through other blogs and articles, I’ve been seeing rumors and speculation of the Big 10 targeting Oklahoma and Texas. I’m sure tbe SEC can counter then with a couple teams which may possibly move Auburn to the east. 

 

Also, a while back I read articles from credible sources that Silicon Valley based giants like Netflix, YouTube, and others having the money and clout of basically overhauling the whole CFB landscape. Some major possible changes that are being talked about in the long run. 

@Brad_ATX, postulate.

I expect conference expansion to happen again.  There's just too much money involved.

My dream would be to whittle this thing down to 64 teams, because realistically there aren't even 64 that can compete consistently for championships.

Run 8 different 8 team divisions where the winner and runners up get an auto bid to the 16 team playoff.  Each division can do a full round robin that way and there would be no harm in scheduling good out of conference games to get your team ready, as playoff spots only matter based on division finish (like high school basically).  This could also allow for any rivalries to keep going in case they are broken up by realignment, as each team would still need to fill out the rest of the schedule. 

The division winners get a home first round playoff game guaranteed.  Runners up have to go on the road.  Make the playoff brackets ahead of time so there are no surprises with seeding and the games could be played more regionally early for fan bases to travel.

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2 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

I know this will be unpopular, but hell no to Memphis because of academics.  Conference institutions do work with each other scholastically too and Memphis would be an outlier.  

Saw an article saying Memphis is willing to spend upwards of $500 mil to get up to Big 12 standards. I'm sure that much money extends to academics.

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3 hours ago, AURealist said:

Just swap Auburn and Tennessee. 

Auburn, UF, uga

aTm, lsu, uat

Saban can still play Tn every season like he's always complaining about.  Auburn can still play UGA and uat every season.  The Florida game will once again be a yearly thing.  GT would never join the SEC, but I would like the SEC to swap out missouri for a team from the southeast.   

I thought about that, but you couldn't do that to UTk. All their rivals are Eastern - UGA, Florida, Vandy, Kentucky. And I think GT would walk over coals to get in the SEC, as they were an original member, but the SEC would likely never offer them unless they wanted to up their academic reputation.

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23 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

I thought about that, but you couldn't do that to UTk. All their rivals are Eastern - UGA, Florida, Vandy, Kentucky. And I think GT would walk over coals to get in the SEC, as they were an original member, but the SEC would likely never offer them unless they wanted to up their academic reputation.

As far as I know, GT does not want to be in the SEC.   I know some high contributor alums who don't want it.  

Tennessee rivalries...what?  In your OP, you moved Vandy and Kentucky to the West away from Tenn, so they can't be that important.  We originally gave up Florida, so can they.  TN picks up LSU.  Fair deal.  Let's get this Auburn<-->Tenn done!

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15 minutes ago, AURealist said:

As far as I know, GT does not want to be in the SEC.   I know some high contributor alums who don't want it.  

Tennessee rivalries...what?  In your OP, you moved Vandy and Kentucky to the West away from Tenn, so they can't be that important.  We originally gave up Florida, so can they.  TN picks up LSU.  Fair deal.  Let's get this Auburn<-->Tenn done!

Right and with two interdivision lock games UT would still play Vandy every year. They would have to drop UK I guess.

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There should be some type of Big East or North East conference as I alluded to in the OP. There are too many good teams that don't belong in the conferences they are currently in.

Pitt and West Virginia belong together as that is a pretty major (forgotten) rivalry. Penn State could go with them as well. PSU didn't even join the Big 10 until 1990 so it isn't like they are inseperable from that conference. Syracuse, Boston College, Rutgers, Uconn, Maryland are all big time schools with mediocre football but are stellar in other sports, particularly basketball.

Would the "North East" conference be considered a Power conference if it were...

Coastal: Navy, Maryland, Boston College, Army, Rutgers, UConn

Inland: Penn State, West Virginia, Pitt, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Louisville

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This is the end all solution to conference realignment for the SEC:

 The roommate switch

  • Bedrock rivalry games are played ANNUALLY.
  • Rotate through the entire conference every TWO YEARS.
  • Round-robin DIVISIONS are maintained each year (per NCAA rules for the SEC championship game).
  • Each student/athlete gets to both HOST AND VISIT every other school in a four-year SEC career.
  • All done in an 8-GAME schedule (or 9 if/when desired).

 

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9 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

I expect conference expansion to happen again.  There's just too much money involved.

My dream would be to whittle this thing down to 64 teams, because realistically there aren't even 64 that can compete consistently for championships.

Run 8 different 8 team divisions where the winner and runners up get an auto bid to the 16 team playoff.  Each division can do a full round robin that way and there would be no harm in scheduling good out of conference games to get your team ready, as playoff spots only matter based on division finish (like high school basically).  This could also allow for any rivalries to keep going in case they are broken up by realignment, as each team would still need to fill out the rest of the schedule. 

The division winners get a home first round playoff game guaranteed.  Runners up have to go on the road.  Make the playoff brackets ahead of time so there are no surprises with seeding and the games could be played more regionally early for fan bases to travel.

I don’t know about the 8 divisions thing but it seems like a good idea to me. There seems to be a serious effort to push for an 8 team playoff which would push out conference championship games. 

Most of it is behind paywall:

https://theathletic.com/708538/2018/12/12/college-football-playoff-expansion-eight-team-support/

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7 hours ago, PigskinPat said:

If we moved to the East, we could theoretically play bama three times in one season....🤪

I'm one of those who feels it's not really even a rivalry anymore but has veered into just genuine hate so I wouldn't mind moving AU to the East and only play them every 5 years (or SECCG of course).

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