Conference Realignment: Giving Superhero Nicknames to Superconferences

All of this talk about super-conferences is starting to get pretty tiresome.

It seems like Oklahoma and Texas have had their fingers on the button for the last month, and only now are things finally starting to take shape.

Over the weekend it was announced that both Pittsburgh and Syracuse would be making the move from the Big East to the ACC, which is something that in all likelihood will cripple the Big East.

This occurred at the same time that talk increased about four Big 12 schools—Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech—migrating out west to the Pac-12.

With so many rumors and different scenarios, it’s hard to really get a good grasp on what’s about to happen.

What we do know, though, is that if we are indeed entering a new era of college football super-conferences, we’re going to have to change all of these traditional conference names.

No more Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and so on.

Oh well, they were getting boring anyway.

Since we’re going to be dealing with “Super” conferences, we might as well name them after “Super” heroes, right?

Let’s have a look at some potential super names for these super-conferences.

SEC: The Power Rangers

No matter what happens during the whole conference expansion tango, one thing’s for sure.

The SEC will emerge as the most dominant conference once again.

No matter what the Pac-12 does, no matter what the Big Ten does, the SEC will still retain its status as college football’s top dog.

Until someone knocks the king from his throne, no one is allowed to boast about how strong their army is.

ACC: Street Sharks

The ACC took to the streets of college football and hunted down two big catches, snatching up Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East.

The ACC is being proactive and the conference can smell the blood flowing from the wounded Big East corpse.

Are Rutgers and Connecticut next?

Big Ten: The Watchmen

While the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 are making all the headlines, the Big Ten is quietly sitting in the shadows waiting to pounce once this all gets set in motion.

The Big Ten is keeping watch over the current college football landscape, and you better believe that they’ve got a few potential targets in mind just in case things get wild.

Pac-12: The Invaders

The Pac-12 plucked away Utah and Colorado last year, but don’t think commissioner Larry Scott is satisfied just yet.

The equation isn’t a hard one to figure out.

16 teams generates more revenue than 12 teams.

Regional rivalries be damned, there’s money to be made and Scott can smell it.

Big 12: Inferior Five

Texas A&M has already found a new home, and Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas all look ready to move as well.

That would leave five Big 12 teams to pick up the pieces.

Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Baylor will all have to find a new conference if the Big 12 crumbles.

Missouri is guaranteed to receive interest from the Big Ten and the SEC, and Kansas and Kansas State have respectable athletic programs, but it will be interesting to see what type of interest Baylor and Iowa State garner.

Big East: Challengers of the Unkown

After the departure of both Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the remaining six Big East teams face an uncertain future.

The Big East is now reportedly looking into the possibility of joining the victims of the seemingly inevitable Big 12 collapse to form a less-than-superconference.

MWC-USA: The Powerpuff Girls

The Mountain West and Conference-USA are in preliminary discussions to combine forces for a football-only consolidation.

The conferences are hoping to create a championship game that will have an automatic BCS bowl bid.

The problem is, the members of the two conferences are considered second-rate citizens by their BCS brethren.