The New Superconference Era: How Will Power Conferences Change College Football?

Want to know what would be absolutely hilarious?

If Texas and Oklahoma were just yanking our chain again and causing a big debate about nothing.

Imagine if the Sooners and the Longhorns just decided to stay in the Big 12, let Texas A&M trot off to the SEC and then invite a token 10th member?

All this expansion talk would turn out to be utterly meaningless.

According to all the reports and rumors we’ve been hearing, though, that doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen, but you never know.

We thought the Big 12 would disband last year and look what happened.

Even if Oklahoma and Texas do flee, you have to believe that it’s just not going to be as bad as the media is hyping it up to be.

It’s basically just rich schools getting a little richer and changing up the conference map a bit.

It’s not the end of college sport, it’s just the natural evolution.

There’s no need for all the panic-inducing headlines.

College Football Doomsday!

College Football Armageddon!

College Football Chaos!

The Domino Game of Death!

Relax. Let’s just sit down and figure this all out.

Everyone wants to know how this is going to go and no one’s giving them any firm answers.

What happens when the realignment wave comes washing through college football?

Who will be left floundering in its wake?

No one knows for sure right now, and I'm sure there's a few surprise moves awaiting us, but if the Big 12 does implode, this is how I see all the conference chips ultimately falling.

Let’s Start Off with the Pac-12

The rumor is that Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are seriously considering making the move out west to the Pac-12.

Texas has also been linked to the conference during this process but the big snag is the school’s new Longhorn Network.

If Texas can’t work out the terms to hold onto the channel, the Longhorns probably won't join.

That would leave the conference in need of a 16th team.

The first thought would of course be new national darling Boise State but that’s complicated for a lot of reasons and it’s not a likely move.

Let’s take a look at how the Pac-12 landscape could possibly shift.

What If Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech Join?

If the Pac-12 reels in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, but not Texas, the conference will be in need of a 16th school.

The conference will also have to shift its divisions because the three new schools would fit into the South Division.

Who Will Be the 16th Team?

BYU?

Boise State?

Kansas?

Nevada?

San Diego State?

There aren’t too many appealing choices.

BYU and Kansas would be the top two options but it may not be easy to convince either to come in and be just another small spoke on such a big wheel.

Why Should BYU Join the Pac-12?

BYU has just recently declared its independence, and so far, the Cougars have managed to stay afloat in the independent waters.

BYU beat Ole Miss in the opener but fell short against Texas last Saturday.

BYU is a school that sees a lot of advantages in being an independent but the school has to realize that there would be a lot of advantages from joint Pac-12 revenue deals as well.

Also, the basketball team is solid.

Jimmer’s gone, but that’s a program that could compete in the Pac-12.

The academic standards are up to par with the Pac-12 code and the fan base is big enough to spark some interest from conference officials.

Why Not Boise State?

For starters, academics.

Boise State is a glorified junior college.

Snooty Stanford and Cocky California wouldn’t want to rub elbows with the Broncos.

Second, market.

I’m sure Idaho is a great state, and I’d love to visit there someday, but if I’m a conference commissioner like Larry Scott, I would see no reason to try to expand my ground and penetrate my product there.

Third, the other athletic teams.

Most of the other Boise State teams couldn’t compete in the Pac-12.

Fourth and final reason, brewing NCAA trouble.

After all that USC has gone through, the last thing the Pac-12 needs is another school with a scandal.

Pac-16 North Division

What could the Pac-12 North Division look like?

BYU Cougars

California Golden Bears

Oregon Ducks

Oregon State Beavers

Stanford Cardinal

Utah Utes

Washington Cougars

Washington State Cougars

Pac-16 South Division

What would the Pac-16 South Division look like?

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona State Sun Devils

Colorado Buffaloes

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Texas Tech Red Raiders

UCLA Bruins

USC Trojans

Does It Work?

Utah would have to move up north, where BYU would join them.

Oregon would be the most dominant program in the north with Stanford right behind them.

It would be fun to see Oklahoma and USC perennially battle it out for for supremacy in the south.

Oklahoma State is also one of college football’s fastest blooming programs, so adding the Cowboys would be a major coup for the conference.

Now Let’s Move on to the Big Ten

The Big Ten is now really the Big 12 and it sounds like it could be the Big 14 pretty soon.

The question is, will we ever see the Big 16?

The rumored Notre Dame and Texas interest is certainly interesting chatter and that would probably be the absolute dream scenario for the Big Ten.

Is it realistic, though?

Maybe, maybe not.

Texas is the big unknown in the equation right now.

The Longhorns haven’t shown their hand yet and until they do, it’s all speculation.

One thing’s for sure, if the Big 12 dissolves, the Big Ten will be active players in the free-agent team market.

Kansas?

Kansas State?

Missouri?

Iowa State?

They already poached Nebraska, and it doesn’t look like that will be their only prized catch after all of this is said and done.

Why Should Notre Dame Join the Big Ten?

In this era of a potential superconference structure, now is not the time to campaign for the Most Independent award.

Stability for the future is a valued priority right now.

Notre Dame may love being independent because of all the valuable revenue they gain from it, but it’s now time for the Irish to find a home.

The Big Ten is the most sensible choice.

Read my article about the potential move here:http://bleacherreport.com/articles/841139-notre-dame-to-the-big-ten-conference-is-a-move-that-makes-sense

Why Should Texas Join the Big Ten?

The main priority for Texas is to save the Big 12.

If that doesn’t happen, then the school would have to evaluate all its different options for the future.

The Pac-12, ACC, Big Ten and independence are all on the table.

The Longhorn Network could prevent a move to the Pac-12, so that could leave the Big Ten as the most sensible option for Texas.

The Big Ten’s academic reputation is stellar and Texas would fit in well geographically in the Big 12 Legends Division.

Picking from the Big-12 Crop

If the Big 12 ship starts sinking, how many drowning schools will the Big Ten throw a life raft to?

If Missouri moves to the SEC, the most logical option would be to pick up both Kansas and Kansas State.

Big-16 Leaders Division

What would the Big-16 Leaders Division look like?

Indiana Hoosiers

Illinois Fighting Illini

Kansas Jayhawks

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Ohio State Buckeyes

Penn State Nittany Lions

Purdue Boilermakers

Wisconsin Badgers

Big-16 Legends Division

What would the Big-16 Legends Division look like?

Iowa Hawkeyes

Kansas State Wildcats

Michigan State Spartans

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Northwestern Wildcats

Michigan Wolverines

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Texas Longhorns

Does it Work?

There would be a lot of power here.

Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Texas, Notre Dame and Penn State.

Those are juggernaut names.

Wisconsin, Michigan State and Iowa aren’t too shabby either.

Think of all the prime time matchups you could get out of those schools.

This Big-16 conference would definitely be capable of competing with the SEC and the potential Pac-16.

Now onto the SEC

The SEC has already voted to accept Texas A&M as its 13th team and the conference extended an invitation to the Aggies, who joyfully accepted.

The only problem?

Baylor.

Baylor knows that once Texas A&M leaves, the Big 12 will probably burn to the ground and Baylor will be the one left to stare at the ashes.

So now the move has been put on hold for now at least.

Logically, though, one way or another, Texas A&M will eventually find its way over to the SEC.

Will Texas A&M Ever Get In?

Will Texas A&M ever get in?

Yes, soon enough.

At this point, we’re really waiting on Oklahoma and Texas to make a move.

It also depends on how long Baylor wants to act like a stubborn baby.

Who Will the 14th Team Be?

If Texas A&M gets to join, who will the SEC add as a 14th team to balance out the league?

My gut tells me Missouri but you have to feel like the SEC would at least attempt to grab an upper-echelon ACC team as long as the ACC doesn’t raise the buyout clause.

If the SEC is serious about finding new market areas, Missouri makes the most sense, but ACC teams like Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are all intriguing schools.

Why Should Virginia Tech Join the SEC?

If Florida State stays put, in my view the next most logical ACC school would be Virginia Tech.

Frank Beamer has guided this program to seven straight double-digit win seasons and the ever consistent Hokies have established themselves as one of the premier teams in America.

They stay near the top of the ACC year in and year out and they’ve got a history of being a consistent presence in the BCS bowl game picture.

Since the foundation of the program is so sturdy and the recruiting and facilities are up to par, it would make a whole lot of sense for SEC officials to make a trip to Blacksburg to talk business.

Geographically, it’s a decent fit.

Virginia Tech is a little less than four hours northeast of Knoxville and the trips to the schools in the East Division wouldn’t be too strenuous.

SEC East

What would the SEC East look like?

Auburn Tigers

Florida Gators

Georgia Bulldogs

Kentucky Wildcats

South Carolina Gamecock

Tennessee Volunteers

Vanderbilt Commodores

SEC West

What would the SEC West look like?

Alabama Crimson Tide

Arkansas Razorbacks

LSU Tigers

Missouri Tigers

Mississippi Rebels

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Texas A&M Aggies

Does It Work?

Considering that Auburn and Alabama are set to be the two dominant teams in this conference for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to split them up.

Texas A&M already has established old rivalries with Arkansas and LSU and the Aggies should fit perfectly in the West Division.

Do you want to know how disgustingly hard this conference would be?

10 out of the 14 teams in this theoretical conference have already been ranked this season.

You would never see an undefeated SEC team ever again.

Who Gets Screwed?

If the Big 12 crumbles and all of these moves really do go down...

Then what?

Which schools will be left out in the cold without a coat?

Which other conferences will take a hit?

ACC

If Texas A&M is finally allowed to join the SEC and moves into the West Division, the conference will go looking for a 14th team and would preferably search for one that could join the East division.

That means they’ll probably be looking in the ACC or the Big East.

Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina would all qualify as potential targets in the ACC.

If the ACC wants to survive and become the eventual fourth superconference, it can't afford any devastating departures from big-name programs.

Big East

Big East, say goodbye to your automatic BCS Bowl bid, and possibly say goodbye to existence.

We’re headed to four power conferences and the ACC is a lot better equipped to be that fourth power conference than the Big East is.

The Big East is the forgotten stepchild of the BCS.

The teams are valuable, the conference as a whole is not.

Will the Big Ten go after Rutgers or Pittsburgh?

Will the ACC go after West Virginia?

TCU’s coming next year so that should help but the problem is the ACC might want to join in on the arms race and there are a few Big East teams they could look at, with South Florida and West Virginia being the first two that come to mind.

The Big East could add a Big 12 leftover.

Kansas State or Baylor would help the Big East get a little more attention in the midwest.

Baylor

Dear BCS Conferences,

If you’re in dire need of a team that’s had one winning season this millennium, then Baylor’s your school.

Yes, Baylor is a program that has gone through a bit of a recent resurgence with star quarterback Robert Griffin III, but their long-term track record is far from impressive.

Baylor’s saving grace is that the basketball team is a budding powerhouse and some big conference is going to want a piece of them.

Iowa State

Iowa State has been a mediocre Big 12 school for a while.

The Cyclones have had their good years and their bad years as of late but Ames, Iowa probably isn’t at the top of any conference’s wish list.

If this all goes down, it will be interesting to see if a power conference picks up Iowa State

Big 12

Obviously the biggest potential casualty in all of this would be the Big 12.

The Big 12 is home to some of the most historic rivalries in the sport, most notably Texas-Oklahoma and Texas-Texas A&M.

If we have to lose those rivalries in order for certain schools to pull in a little more annual revenue, it seems that sits just perfectly fine with some school presidents.

These days, profit outweighs tradition.

Conclusion

Nobody really knows exactly where we're headed and what's true and what's not. All I know is that if this gets as crazy and as greedy as some are saying it will, it should be great entertainment to watch unfold.

Will superconferences be a success?

It’s too early to tell, but they will certainly change the foundation of college sports.