2022 conference realignment (7/6 rumors: Big 12 to add 4-6 Pac-12 teams?)

[Santander]

The real question is - what happens to the Rose Bowl? I mean, you could technically keep the conference tie-ins, but it doesn't make sense when the two sexiest brands in the Pac-12 join the other conference. I guess this might make the purists (myself included) let the Rose Bowl go to become just another CFP bowl game?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

The real question is - what happens to the Rose Bowl? I mean, you could technically keep the conference tie-ins, but it doesn't make sense when the two sexiest brands in the Pac-12 join the other conference. I guess this might make the purists (myself included) let the Rose Bowl go to become just another CFP bowl game?

The Rose Bowl becomes the Big Ten championship game. Oregon and Washington will get accepted shortly, and no one will care what Utah* or Stanford has to say about it

What even is a 20 team conference? That's just a sports league. You may as well go 24 teams with 4 divisions and semifinals at that point. You'll literally never play other teams in your league, even in non-revenue sports.

Seems like we are headed towards a duopoly led by competing television networks putting their best teams head-to-head in a title like the American League and National League circa 1900. Everyone will have to choose an allegiance. Really depressing stuff. I was in denial that it wouldn't come to this.


*Sounds like I made a smart investment in a Utah 2021 Rose Bowl vintage shirt. Will be vintage very soon!

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Holy sh**t, this plus Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC we are pretty much down to two super conferences.

Also, is it possible Kansas and K-State bolt from the rump Big 12 to the PAC?

It won’t make up the loses, but the PAC still has a bunch of flagship schools and would probably still be a major conference, if decidedly a tier below the new super B1G and SEC.

No, in fact, I think it's way more likely that the Big 12 takes a few Pac-12 teams (rumors are the two Arizona schools, Colorado, and Utah) in an effort to become the #3 conference.  Things don't look good for the Pac-12 at the moment.

But it’s not like things look good in the Big-12 either and they already locked into taking 4 G-5 schools.

Remaining PAC-12 school plus Kansas, K-State, and Texas Tech (Baylor has such a huge bag of skeletons I don’t think anyone touches them) than a bunch of second and third tier state schools plus some PAC members.

[NewYorkExpress]

The real question is - what happens to the Rose Bowl? I mean, you could technically keep the conference tie-ins, but it doesn't make sense when the two sexiest brands in the Pac-12 join the other conference. I guess this might make the purists (myself included) let the Rose Bowl go to become just another CFP bowl game?

Yeah, the Rose Bowl will likely become a permanent Semifinal. Maybe the other one will be the Sugar Bowl, given what's happened to the Big 12 with their two best schools (Texas and Oklahoma) heading to the SEC.

[7,052,770]

I could live with a system where the SEC has 24-30 schools in the Southeast and the Big 10 has 24-30 schools in the rest of the country, and those are the only 2 conferences in the top division, with full NIL and paid players. Each league would have their own semifinals (maybe top , and then the two champions meet in a college Super Bowl (maybe alternating between Pasadena and New Orleans?). That sounds like a whole lot of fun.

[Santander]

Also, this would probably help balance out the horrendous imbalance between divisions in the Big Ten... Now you have USC/Wisconsin (UCLA could make the big time with some rehab) as a counterweight to Michigan/Ohio State/Penn State in the East. No more Minnesota or Northwestern runs in the West. As for time zone, a middle ground between Central and Pacific Time isn't that bad. Nobody cares about Rutgers and Maryland anyway.

[7,052,770]

Also, this would probably help balance out the horrendous imbalance between divisions in the Big Ten... Now you have USC/Wisconsin (UCLA could make the big time with some rehab) as a counterweight to Michigan/Ohio State/Penn State in the East. No more Minnesota or Northwestern runs in the West. As for time zone, a middle ground between Central and Pacific Time isn't that bad. Nobody cares about Rutgers and Maryland anyway.

West	Central	East
Arizona	Illinois	Indiana
California	Wisconsin	Maryland
Colorado	Iowa	Michigan
Oregon	Kansas	Michigan State
Stanford	Minnesota	Ohio State
UCLA	Missouri (!!)	Penn State
USC	Nebraska	Purdue
Washington	Northwestern	Rutgers

[NewYorkExpress]

Honestly, Missouri's happy in the SEC, even if they are really out of place from a sports perspective.

I'd suggest Louisville instead (they could slot into either the Central or the East, given their location on the Ohio River).

[7,052,770]

Honestly, Missouri's happy in the SEC, even if they are really out of place from a sports perspective.

I'd suggest Louisville instead (they could slot into either the Central or the East, given their location on the Ohio River).

Yeah, as long as the money is better in the SEC, I think Missouri's staying. But the definitely have more of the "feel" of a Big 10 school, and I don't think any SEC fanbase would be sad to see them go.

If ACC schools are available, the SEC and Big 10 are going to have a huge brawl over a whole bunch of them, with North Carolina, Virginia, and Notre Dame as the biggest targets.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Honestly, Missouri's happy in the SEC, even if they are really out of place from a sports perspective.

I'd suggest Louisville instead (they could slot into either the Central or the East, given their location on the Ohio River).

Missouri has desperately wanted into the Big Ten forever.
If they get an offer they are taking it in a heartbeat.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/jeremyduda/status/1542693775281049601

[GeorgiaModerate]

Oregon and Washington have reportedly applied to join the Big Ten.

[7,052,770]

Another thing to remember is that the Pac-12 was one of the biggest opponents of the failed 12-team CFP model with autobids. That stance made no sense then (given how rarely Pac-12 teams make the 4-team playoff) and is even worse now.

[Santander]

Oregon and Washington have reportedly applied to join the Big Ten.

I guess this means Stanford, Cal, Arizona and Colorado have to follow suit? Great brands and they all "fit". They don't want to be left playing in the rump Pac-12 against UNLV and Boise State.

[YE]

How big does the BIG want to get?

[MasterJedi]

How big does the BIG want to get?

When the dust settles (could be years though) it'll likely the Big 10 and SEC super conferences (20-24 teams), with much diminished Big 12 and ACC with the tier 2 regional schools.

[Illiniwek]

Hahahahahaha oh life is sweet here in B1G country! Feels great to be from a school that is safe in one of the super conferences. I am already dreaming about trips out for road games at the Coliseum and Rose Bowl. Sounds amazing right about now. Welcome to the Midwest USC & UCLA!

Honestly, Missouri's happy in the SEC, even if they are really out of place from a sports perspective.

I'd suggest Louisville instead (they could slot into either the Central or the East, given their location on the Ohio River).

Yeah, as long as the money is better in the SEC, I think Missouri's staying. But the definitely have more of the "feel" of a Big 10 school, and I don't think any SEC fanbase would be sad to see them go.

If ACC schools are available, the SEC and Big 10 are going to have a huge brawl over a whole bunch of them, with North Carolina, Virginia, and Notre Dame as the biggest targets.

The money is better in the Big Ten. That has been the way its been, and it is definitely going to be the way its going to be with the new media rights deal they are about to enter into. I can certainly see Mizzou staying because they don't want to leave behind the cache of being in the top conference in football. But they aren't staying because its the best money.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Again, RE: Mizzou, they left the Big 12 in the first place because everyone, including Mizzou, thought they were going to the Big Ten. They ended up in the SEC as a consolation prize when the B1G took Nebraska and Rutgers instead. Neither the school nor the conference are that happy with each other.

[7,052,770]

I think a Pac-12/Big 12 merger would be a pretty smart move. Obviously a 22-team conference is unwieldy, but we know a lot of teams would be trying to get out ASAP, and it would provide a haven for the teams who aren't able to join the SEC or Big 10 (or ACC) and stay a quasi-relevant second tier conference. Also, if the Pac-12 and Big 12 don't merge and each add a bunch of MWC/AAC teams to reload, the conferences won't be any better, but there will be more "Power" mouths to feed. If you can't be in one of the two real power conferences, you might as well keep the ACC/Big 12/Pac-12 tier smaller.

The conference would look like this, which is quite expansive.


However, I think it's very likely that Washington, Oregon, and Stanford are headed to the Big 10. If West Virginia, Cincinnati, and UCF could be pawned off to the ACC, you would have a decent set of schools left with 16 total teams.


With this 16 team alignment, you could still weather some defections. If Kansas, Colorado, or Cal manage to get into the Big 10, you're OK. Maybe the Arizona schools find a new home (... SEC ?!?!). There will always be Mountain West schools to call up if necessary, but this way you're calling them from a group of 10-14, not just Washington State and Oregon State begging 10 teams to come join them.

Maybe the politicians in Oregon and Washington should make UW and UO push for this on their way out, as a liferaft to the 2 schools who are very unlikely to get called to the Big 10.

[GregTheGreat657]

The ACC is tough to break since it’s (terrible) media contract guarantees all revenue from its current schools stays with the conference until 2036. Whoever took an ACC program would be committing itself to a fiscal deadweight until then.

There's always a way out of everything. I believe it takes 10 (?) votes to change the ACC financial rules, so the Big 10 and SEC could offer slots to 5 teams each.

I don't know that they will or they should, but something like this seems possible:
Big 10 - Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Georgia Tech (would the SEC agree to let the Big 10 into Atlanta? Maybe Miami instead)
SEC - Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami (or Georgia Tech)

You could also see Pitt going to either, Louisville to the SEC, and obviously either would crawl over broken glass to take Notre Dame.

As a Syracuse fan, I'd rather go to the Big East for basketball, but the Big Ten for football in such a scenario

[NewYorkExpress]

The ACC is tough to break since it’s (terrible) media contract guarantees all revenue from its current schools stays with the conference until 2036. Whoever took an ACC program would be committing itself to a fiscal deadweight until then.

There's always a way out of everything. I believe it takes 10 (?) votes to change the ACC financial rules, so the Big 10 and SEC could offer slots to 5 teams each.

I don't know that they will or they should, but something like this seems possible:
Big 10 - Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Georgia Tech (would the SEC agree to let the Big 10 into Atlanta? Maybe Miami instead)
SEC - Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami (or Georgia Tech)

You could also see Pitt going to either, Louisville to the SEC, and obviously either would crawl over broken glass to take Notre Dame.

As a Syracuse fan, I'd rather go to the Big East for basketball, but the Big Ten for football in such a scenario

I can't picture the Big Ten agreeing to that.

The Big East would love that, but the Big Ten would want Syracuse Basketball just as much as the Big East would.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

UCF to the ACC is 100 percent ridiculous. West Virginia and Cincinnati borderline ridiculous. The conference has academic standards that it isn't going to throw out the window without good reason. The Grant of Rights is all they need to survive.

The whole point of the Pac-12 exodus appears to get away from Oregon State and Washington State which are money holes adding little value. The four mountain schools would be smart to switch to the current look Big XII (Iowa State and Kansas State are only marginally better dregs, but the former has been a contender despite it's stature with a few more fans.) The big sell is that the conference has 3.5 serious contenders plus BYU/Utah (hesitant to call UCF or Iowa State a contender long-term).


Hard to imagine Berkeley sharing a conference with BYU. I think they'd de-emphasize sports sooner. Big Ten or bust for them - bust being the Pac-12/MWC merger that excludes SJSU, Wyoming and maybe 1-2 others. Oregon State and Washington State become more like the Utah State program nationally, though perhaps not as good immediately. That's all they deserve to be.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Big Ten says they're done expanding -- for now -- after USC & UCLA.

[7,052,770]

The Big Ten says they're done expanding -- for now -- after USC & UCLA.

I expect something to happen anyway. Both the SEC and Big 10 would have denied everything until the day of their recent announcements.

[sparkey]

Hard to imagine Berkeley sharing a conference with BYU. I think they'd de-emphasize sports sooner. Big Ten or bust for them - bust being the Pac-12/MWC merger that excludes SJSU, Wyoming and maybe 1-2 others. Oregon State and Washington State become more like the Utah State program nationally, though perhaps not as good immediately. That's all they deserve to be.

A rump PAC-3 with Cal, WSU, and OSU would still probably have their choice of MWC schools, but I don't think they would immediately grab more than 6, just because the others aren't really ready for a PAC call up. Wyo and USU don't have the market, Nevada and SJSU don't have the support or facilities, and Hawaii and New Mexico have potential but have had recent issues with support/facilities/success that would probably keep them out at first, plus travel issues. I guess that would leave your new PAC-9:

California
Washington St.
Oregon St.
Boise St.
San Diego St.
Fresno St.
UNLV
Colorado St.
Air Force

As a Fresno St. fan I'd love to see it, despite knowing that there are huge destabilizing forces within the conference that would demand constant concessions and look to depart immediately, and it's not just Boise this time.