Peter King Reveals 49ers' Christian McCaffrey's Idea for CFB Conference Realignment

What if the highest level of college football had its own version of the Ivy League?

That was apparently the idea San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey floated to Peter King of NBC Sports.

King wrote that McCaffrey, who attended Stanford, "is chagrined by the dissolution of the Pac-12 as we knew it." The two-time Pro Bowler proposed putting the Cardinal in a conference with other schools that hold a similarly high regard for academics. He listed off Cal, Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Rice, SMU and perhaps Georgia Tech as sensible candidates for such a venture.

Unfortunately for McCaffrey, there's no present reality in which this happens.

For one, Northwestern isn't going to voluntarily turn down the money it stands to collect from the Big Ten's seven-year, $7 billion media rights deal.

Then there's the difficult truth that there probably isn't much of a market for a conference like the one McCaffrey proposed. Stanford and Cal are two of the most recognizable football brands among that group, and they're stuck in limbo because nobody seems to see a ton of value in them individually or collectively.

Not to mention, building a conference that stretches from Northern California to Atlanta would create the same travel issues many are highlighting from the newest round of realignment.

To be fair to McCaffrey, his solution isn't any more or less illogical that what has actually transpired.