College Football: Supersizing the Conferences

I remember when it was introduced and everyone was amazed when McDonald’s brought supersizing to their menus.  Nobody believed that you could get so much extra in addition to what you already ordered. 

That’s how I felt when I heard the Big Ten may be looking to add schools to the conference in the next few years. SEC commissioner Mike Slive said that if the Big Ten expanded, that his own conference wouldn’t take the move lying down.  So, the potential exists that the college sporting landscape could see a radical shift in the coming years.

Now, there is speculation that the Big Ten might only add one team to take it to 12.  There are also scenarios that have the conference expanding all the way to 14 or supersizing it to 16 members.  And that is where the intriguing aspect of this whole issue comes into play. If the Big Ten adds five more schools and supersizes itself, then some of the major conferences would almost have to act to just keep up the pace.

There is really only one sport that is fueling all of the expansion talk and that’s football.  As much as they want to add a school to fit their academic and athletic profile, we all know that the Big Ten doesn’t like to be left out on the last weekend of the regular season when three of the other Big Six conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12) all have showcase games that they can market and sell. 

The Big Ten wants to add a school so they, too, can have a conference championship game and grab their own share of the spotlight.  Granted, there is something in it for the school(s) that join the Big Ten, since the conference pays each of its members $22 million per year and has its own television network.

So, with all of that said, what would the college sports landscape look like if the Big Ten were the catalyst and supersized themselves all the way to 16 members?  Well, I sat down and tried to redo what each conferences might look like in a few years if major expansion does occur.

First, a few ground rules to what is laid out below…

1.  My restructuring of the conferences is what I believe makes the most sense in terms of geographic matchups and try to make the layout of the conferences as logical as possible.

2.  I have reduced the number of conferences to eight and have also renamed some of them to reflect their new sizes.

3.  Even though I have never liked it, I will show how the BCS can work (although I wish there was a playoff system in place).

Now, let me start by eliminating two of the current six BCS conferences.  I’d like to say goodbye and good luck to the Big East and the Big 12.  You can pick up your consolation prizes on the way out.  So, let’s start with the conference that will be the catalyst…

GREAT MIDWEST CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Illinois
Michigan
Michigan State
Notre Dame (Former I-A independent)
Northwestern
Ohio State
Penn State
Pittsburgh (Former Big East)

WEST DIVISION

Indiana
Iowa
Iowa State (Former Big 12)
Minnesota
Missouri (Former Big 12)
Nebraska (Former Big 12)
Purdue
Wisconsin

Thoughts:  The five teams added make the most sense for the new “Great Midwest."  Pitt comes in and renews their rivalry with Penn State and develops a new one with Ohio State.  Notre Dame would be able to maintain its yearly games with Michigan and Michigan State and still play Purdue every couple of years.  Iowa vs. Iowa State would still be preserved and a new yearly meeting between Iowa and Nebraska would be something to look forward to.  And Missouri will still play Illinois every couple of years.

SOUTHEASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

WEST DIVISION

Arkansas
Louisiana State
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Oklahoma (Former Big 12)
Oklahoma State (Former Big 12)
Texas (Former Big 12)
Texas A&M (Former Big 12)

Thoughts:   With the new “Great Midwest” pulling in teams like Notre Dame and Nebraska, the new “SAC” counters by bringing in the four schools from the former Big 12 South.  The effect on the East Division is, now there will be an Alabama vs. Florida and Alabama vs. Tennessee game every season, not to mention Auburn vs. Georgia every year as well. 

The new West Division maintains the main rivalries of the four new teams in the conference as well renews the Arkansas vs. Texas rivalry. Plus we get to see LSU play Oklahoma and Texas every year.

WESTERN COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE

NORTH DIVISION

Boise State (Former Western Athletic)
Brigham Young (Former Mountain West)
Colorado (Former Big 12)
Oregon
Oregon State
Utah (Former Mountain West)
Washington
Washington State

SOUTH DIVISION

Arizona
Arizona State
California
Fresno State (Former Western Athletic)
Stanford
UCLA
UNLV (Former Mountain West)
USC

Thoughts: The old Pac-10 adds the most teams with six and picks the most solid non-BCS western programs to add to the new “WESTCON."  In the north, Washington State vs. Boise State becomes a new rivalry while BYU playing the Oregon and Washington schools every year becomes something to look forward to.  Fresno State starts rivalries with Stanford and Cal while UNLV adds the Las Vegas market to the conference profile.

BIG ATLANTIC CONFERENCE

NORTH DIVISION

Boston College
Connecticut (Former Big East)
Maryland
Rutgers (Former Big East)
Syracuse (Former Big East)
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest

SOUTH DIVISION

Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami (Fla.)
North Carolina
North Carolina State
South Florida (Former Big East)

Thoughts: The former ACC scoops up four of the remaining Big East teams and now covers the entire Atlantic seaboard.  In the North, Boston College isn’t like a fish out of water anymore as Syracuse, Rutgers, and UCONN give the new conference some Northeast flavor.  The only new addition in the South is South Florida making the way for new rivalries with Florida State and Miami (Fla.).

Now, with the four new BCS conferences, that still leaves 56 teams out there looking for homes.  Well, I was able to figure out solutions for all of them as well.  Let’s start with the…

SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE

NORTH DIVISION

Baylor
Kansas
Kansas State
Southern Methodist
Texas Christian
Texas-El Paso
Tulsa

SOUTH DIVISION

Alabama-Birmingham
Houston
Rice
Southern Mississippi
Texas Tech
Troy
Tulane

Thoughts: After the Big 12 is picked apart by the “new” BCS, the four remaining teams join with teams from the former Conference USA and Troy from the former Sun Belt.  In the North, TCU playing Kansas and Kansas State every year is the highlight. The Dallas rivalry of TCU and SMU is something to look forward to.  In the South, Houston and Rice will continue their rivalry each year and a Houston vs. Texas Tech game each season would be a treat.

METRO CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Army
Central Florida
East Carolina
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Navy
Temple

WEST DIVISION

Cincinnati
Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisville
Memphis
Middle Tennessee State
West Virginia

Thoughts: After the Big East gets blown apart, the remaining three teams join together with the remnants of Conference-USA and the Sun Belt Conference. In the East, Temple can finally be in a conference with some regional rivalries taking on Army and Navy each season.  The West is where the football powers would be for now.  The new regional rivalry of Louisville and Memphis is something to look forward to as well the continuation of Cincinnati and West Virginia.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Akron
Buffalo
Kent State
Marshall
Miami (OH)
Ohio
Toledo

WEST DIVISION

Ball State
Bowling Green
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Western Kentucky
Western Michigan

Thoughts: The Mid-American Conference will actually remain largely unchanged with all of the current members staying and adding only two new teams.  In the East, Marshall comes back to the conference that they had success in previously.  In the West, all of the Michigan schools stay together to keep their rivalries, and the addition of Western Kentucky makes for an intriguing new rivalry with Bowling Green.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE

EAST DIVISION

Air Force
Arkansas State
Colorado State
Louisiana Tech
North Texas
Utah State
Wyoming

WEST DIVISION

Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
New Mexico State
San Diego State
San Jose State

Thoughts: The remaining teams in the Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference join forces to make up our last conference.  The last two teams from the old Sun Belt are also included in the “new” MWC.  In the East, Colorado State and Air Force will continue their great rivalry.  In the West, New Mexico and New Mexico State now will meet every year and another beneficiary will be Hawaii, whose travel distance will be greatly reduced by not having to fly halfway across the mainland every year.

The BCS will work like this in the future.  The four “new” BCS Conference Championship game winners will get automatic bids.  That leaves six spots available. The bowls will probably take at-large bids from the other BCS conferences, but the current non-BCS rules apply to the other four conferences if the teams meet certain criteria.  It may not seem fair given the teams in these “new” non-BCS conferences, but the BCS hasn’t really been fair all this time, so why would it start with this conference realignment?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, all of this supersizing talk is making me hungry.  I’m going to get a Triple Cheeseburger with everything on it with a XXXL side of fries and a 128 oz. soda to wash it down.