CFB Conference Realignment: The Super Conference Era Is Upon Us

The ACC made the first move Sunday by accepting Pitt and Syracuse into the ranks of what is now considered the best basketball conference in the nation.

Texas A&M is just a few lawyers away from becoming part of the premier football conference in the nation, the SEC.

Where will everyone else end up in this mess we call conference realignment?

The inevitability of what will happen between the Pac-12 and the rest of the big-name schools in the Big 12 such as Texas and Oklahoma cannot be ignored. Right now, the Longhorn Network is, once again, getting in the way. Eventually, everything will fall into place for both parties, resulting in a "super conference."

Will UConn and Rutgers follow Syracuse and Pitt's lead to the ACC, stranding the rest of the Big East while also forming the league’s first mega conference?

The SEC is looking for a 14th team to Texas A&M's 13, but who will get the invite?

The Big Ten acts like it’s content with its 12, but they know they will have to keep up when the dominoes start to fall all around them.

And what happens to the rest of the leftovers from the Big 12 and Big East?

Lots of questions and not a lot of answers in the ever-changing world of college sports. 

The Pac-12 (or 16?)

After the seemingly-done deal between Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State fell apart Tuesday night, people figured that this whole “expansion” business was over. That’s about as far from the truth as can be, seeing that the deal would do wonders financially for both sides.

The deal-breaker was the Longhorn Network, once again burning bridges and wrecking relationships. We will have to wait for the next go-round in the next couple years to see when this happens, but never doubt that this won’t happen.

The Pac-16 is a very real future for the rest of the powerhouses in the Big 12. Someone will have to give in, and whether it be Larry Scott or Texas will be determined soon enough.   

The SEC

Texas A&M is inches away from SECeding and becoming member number 13, but who else will be invited to the party, and how many more schools get that invite?

West Virginia fits culturally, but academically they fall short. Considering additions to any conference would imply that the prospective team could at least pull its own weight financially, if not add to television markets and funding to the conference.

Unfortunately, West Virginia would be lucky to grab the Pittsburgh market in addition to their population-challenged state.

Missouri, on the other hand, has some strong television markets in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas in addition to being an AAU member, but the problem is the SEC is Mizzou’s back-up plan.

Missouri wants access to the academically prestigious Big Ten and will wait to see if that invite comes, but if not, they will lobby for an SEC invite if they don’t already have one.

Other possibilities include Virginia Tech and Maryland leaving of the ACC, but seeing as the conference increased its buy-out to $20 million, that may deter anyone from leaving the nation’s premier basketball destination.

Mike Slive and the SEC can and will be able to get anyone they want, the question is, who do they want? Birmingham has been very quiet as of late. 

The ACC

With the addition of Syracuse and Pitt and with UConn and Rutgers lobbying for an invite, the ACC made what they could out of a bad situation.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford planned for a future in which they come out on top no matter what, which, considering the circumstances, was their safest move.

If they had lost Virginia Tech or Maryland to the SEC, which they still could, the ACC would have been stuck with possibly ten teams, but now they have secured the position as the fourth super conference.

Their preemptive strike on the Big East might just be the beginning if they do lose anyone who veers from a the basketball-focused league.

Look for Louisville or USF to come calling if Virginia Tech or Maryland decides to explore the more football-oriented south.

The Big Ten

For years now, the Big Ten stuck with 11 teams hoping that Notre Dame would eventually get tired of being independent. However, it was the conference who folded first by adding a culturally-fit Nebraska.

Jim Delaney has come out and said his conference is more than happy at 12 teams, but how could they sit around and watch their three rival conferences grab four more teams each and not make a move themselves?

They won’t, or at least they certainly shouldn’t.

When Oklahoma, Texas and company bolt to the Pac-12, expect the Big Ten to become much more action-oriented.

Missouri should be their first target followed by a now nervous Notre Dame. With a reeling Big 12 falling apart, the Big Ten should negotiate with basketball powerhouse Kansas and their tag-along Kansas State to get up to 16.

The state of Kansas is no television magnet, but neither is Nebraska, and the Jayhawks are more than worth the lack of a big time market

The Remnants

There will be a lot of teams left out of the 64-team spread, including the corpses of the Big 12 and the Big East. The two fallout survivors would be more likely to succeed if they combine forces, in addition to inviting a few smaller Texas or Florida schools to get to a 12-team conference.

Houston and Florida International should be vying for those spots, bringing in their Houston and Miami television markets.

If the new Big East/Big 12 wants to gain any kind of footing in BCS contention, they need to go big after schools like TCU and Boise State who have disrupted the bowl system lately. These kind of additions would create ripples and might even earn them an automatic qualifying spot if play their cards right.

Dangerous times call for drastic measures. Survival of the fittest is in play now and undesirable universities need shelter so that they don’t get eaten. This is not the time for panic; this is the time for college football to finally fall into the Super Conference Era.