Making a Case For a Super Conference

With the rising success of numerous FBS teams not affiliated to the BCS, it's inevitable that these teams will have to switch conferences to give themselves a better shot at a national championship. Let's face it, the BCS isn't going anywhere, no matter how flawed it is or how many fans are clamoring for its dismissal. The system simply generates too much money for the BCS conferences and their teams.

There has been much talk about expansion of the Big Ten, which is one team shy of becoming the Big 12 of the east. Notre Dame is always the name that's thrown into the discussion, given their history and proximity to the other schools in the conference.

Well, the Fighting Irish aren't going to jump ship, at least not now. Their latest television deal with NBC has them locked up until 2015. At this point I don't blame them. Why in the world would I trade a television contract specifically for my school, to go to a dying conference where I have to share television revenue?

Another school that has been in discussion with the conference has been Iowa State of the Big 12. The school already has a rivalry with conference affiliate Iowa, and would most likely fare better competitively in the Big Ten.

If that were to happen, what becomes of the Big 12? The answer is to become the country's first super conference, at least in football (see Big East basketball).

The Iowa State move to the Big Ten would leave the Big 12 with 11 teams. Adding five more teams to the conference would give them a total of 16, and there you have a super conference. Did you catch all that?

Wait, wait, wait. Where did those five teams come from? Allow me to make the case for the Super 16 Conference.

TCU - The Horned Frogs are already in Big 12 country, hailing from Fort Worth, Texas. Remember, they were a part of the old Southwest Conference which included Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, all current Big 12 teams. They have proved themselves over the years to be worthy of BCS status also, even though they've never been to a BCS game.

Houston - Like the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, the Cougars were a member of the SWC. Heck, they even won the conference the first year they played in it (1976). With their two victories over Big 12 affiliates Texas Tech and Oklahoma State this season, the Cougars have put themselves in the driver's seat to join the elite.

Utah - Ah, the original BCS Busters. The Utes have been a consistent contender in the Mountain West, and a staple in the Top 25 ever since Urban Meyer and Alex Smith went undefeated back in 2003-04.

BYU - The Cougars have been just as consistent as Utah in the MWC, and probably have the most beautiful stadium setting in the country. Set in the mountains of Provo, Utah, LaVell Edwards Stadium is a must-see on every college football fan's list.

Boise State - The darlings of the WAC are running out of competition in their lowely conference. Besides Fresno State and the occasional Hawaii uprising, Boise has no choice but to leave if they want to be considered for anything better than a 13-0 season and a BCS game that isn't the national championship. It won't happen this year, bookmark it.

All of those teams would jump ship in a heartbeat to join a bigger conference, no matter what kind of money or incentives are thrown at them. A super conference would generate millions for these schools year in, and year out. Even more important, each of these BCS busters would now be a part of the BCS, which is what they've wanted all along.

Could you imagine the television contract a conference of this magnitude could generate?

The Super 16 Conference could potentially follow the same format that the Big 12 currently is using. The North would consist of Boise State, BYU, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Utah. The South would consist of Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.

So what of the partially dismantled MWC and WAC? The MWC would be left with six teams, and the WAC would be left with 8. They could potentially join forces to create another very large conference, but without the hype of my proposed super conference.

In the far less than perfect world of college football, everyone is looking for their small piece of a very large pie. A super conference would simply give those teams a bigger fork to scoop with. All joking aside, its just seems like it would be fair.