Conference Challenge in Need of Major Shake-up

According to one writer on here, the Big 10/ACC Challenge needs to end. I don't agree 100%, but Steven Auger has a point.

The idea of having two supposedly power conferences in college basketball have a series of non-conference games in an effort to mix up the schedule between the preseason tournaments like the NIT Tip-off, the Maui Invitational, or the Great Alaska Shootout and the beginning of conference play is a very smart idea.

But that doesn't mean the same two conferences should be going up against each other year after year. Power within a conference and between conferences shifts every single year.

The ACC this year is very top-heavy, but not very deep. The Big Ten has some very solid programs, but Michigan State, who got waxed last night against North Carolina, and Purdue aren't in the Final Four conversation.

A few years ago there was a Big East/SEC Challenge. Where did that go?

The basic format is fine. Eight to ten teams from a conference play eight to ten teams from another conference over the span of a few nights. Each conference hosts 50% of the games.

Here's where the changes come in: it needs to be expanded.

The NCAA puts out a request for this pre-season tournament challenge series to include eight conferences for a four year commitment. Each conference in their submission includes at least eight teams from their conference who are willing to participate. The NCAA then selects the eight conferences and eight to ten teams from each conference who will play.

Getting ten match-ups for an ACC/Big 12 showdown wouldn't be a problem. The Mountain West only has nine teams, so there has to be a bit of flexibility.

Game and conference rotation is randomized, except that no conference pairing can repeat in that four year period. If the Big Ten plays the Big 12 one year, they can't play each other until that four year block is up.

Since you have eight conferences participating, you'd get to see a Syracuse-Texas game one year, and then North Carolina-USC perhaps the following year. My guess is that the NCAA would prefer the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Mountain West, Pac-10, Conference USA, Missouri Valley Conference, ACC, SEC, WAC, and Atlantic 10 to all submit to be part of this expanded Conference Challenge.

And if the Ivy League or the West Coast Conference wishes to be part of it, let 'em go right ahead and put their name in the hat. But, the NCAA would have the final decision on which eight conferences got selected, and year-by-year would set the conference pairings and specific games as randomly as possible.

Sure, there'd likely be some games that wouldn't be competitive at all, but No. 1 versus No. 12 last night was supposed to be the highlight game, yet was only that for the Tar Heels. But then again, if it were rotated, maybe we'd see another Top 10 match-up like we saw between Notre Dame and Texas not too long ago.

Attention NCAA! I hope you were listening. . .