Conference Realignment: How Will the Big 12 & Big East Mix and Match to Survive?

The Big East has just lost both Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the Atlantic Coast Conference according to many reports.  

In what looks like a move for basketball at the moment, both Syracuse and Pittsburgh have been reported to join the Atlantic Coast Conference starting next season.  

“I like the move. The landscape of college sports is rapidly changing and frankly, the Big East is not strong enough to survive its current course”, said former Orange quarterback Donald McPherson.

Reports Have Been Confirmed Nothing Set in Stone

There has been talk that a team must repay $5 million and give the conference 27 months in advance. So the details are stilling being taken care of at the moment but if Pitt and ‘Cuse move the ACC, all of a sudden they are starting to become a national power conference.

Forget basketball for a moment (Damn they may be better than Big East now). These two teams are great storied programs, but they have not had a ton of recent success.

Sure, Pittsburgh could get a solid eight wins perhaps in the ACC, but only when they have their better years they are only a solid team nothing more. Syracuse goes the same way.

However, they both have a ton of upside with solid, consistent players and coaches. The ACC will no longer have any cake walk of a game with these two teams known for their mainstay of players at both lines of the scrimmage. 

What Dominoes Will Fall Next?

“An ACC source confirmed to ESPN.com's Dinich that the addition of teams is a very real possibility. ACC officials have declined to comment, and no sources were aware of a timetable.”

This brings me to my next point. Looking at the larger picture this potential move allows other teams to consider to move to the ACC. Who else is going to come calling? Oklahoma perhaps?

The Big 12 is starting to tumble with A&M leaving to the SEC and who knows what Texas wants to do. Maybe they will go to the independent route and just count their money with Notre Dame since they both have their own network.Maybe just maybe Boise State will jump ship to the Big East or Big 12?

Note: As title suggest it only took a day later that it was announced that Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech may be on their way to the Pac-12

Rest of Big 12 Goes Along?

How about improving programs like Oklahoma State and Missouri? Will the Big Ten perhaps make a few more calls perhaps? Or will the ACC attempt to put together a mega-conference as they now look like legit contenders to become the best conference in America if you combine basketball/football together.

I mean if the Big 12 starts to fall apart then the ACC would assume become a big bertha of a conference. If you are Missouri for example do you just sit still? How much do you gain if you go the ACC and how much do you lose if you stay? 

Big East Aftermatch

If it becomes a fact that both Syracuse and Pittsburgh jump to the ACC then we can start officially debating on how far the ACC has improved by stacking them up team by team with the rest of the power conferences.

We have already seen Virginia Tech, Boston College and Miami jump ship so who is next? 

This football conference is very intriguing since there is so much up in the air at the moment. What is going to happen? I wish I could tell because not even the commissioner’s can even tell you. The presidents of certain schools might, but they don’t always tell the exact truth.

Depending on how fast these events occur and what exactly goes down in the ACC may determine whether or not teams start jumping ship to join and make the Atlantic Coast Conference one of the elites in America.