What's new
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

Official realignment thread - SEC formally invites OU and Texas to join the conference in 2025

That was also the case in the Big 8 for most of CU's history until McCartney decided to circle Nebraska. It took several years until that caught on.

I don't know what the answer is. Unfortunately, CU is just damn isolated from natural geographic rivalries. Every other P5 is a 7 hour drive from Boulder or farther. Unless CSU is added to the conference, no one is really all that drivable.

What I could see is CU developing something like Washington has for rivalries. In-state against Washington State is a big game where they look down on their opponent while packing the stadium. Regional supremacy rival is Oregon -- those schools are even a little farther away from each other than Boulder & Salt Lake City so there's no reason that CU-Utah couldn't be like UW-UO. Then they've got the general rivalry feel from their side for USC as that program they circle, with a win just meaning more.

I think CU can have that same thing with less happening on the in-state side but with the added benefit of what we can do in the non-conference by playing our old Big 8/12 mates on a semi-regular basis as we've seen from the recent scheduling. Program really needs to start doing more to pump up that Utah game, though.

Just give me Nebraska as much as we can play them and I'm happy-It'll be fun to play K-State in 8 years.......but they're nowhere near as fun to hate as the corn is.
 
Just give me Nebraska as much as we can play them and I'm happy-It'll be fun to play K-State in 8 years.......but they're nowhere near as fun to hate as the corn is.
I just don't know how often that can realistically happen. 2 games per decade going forward?
 
Notable on the criteria that matters to the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors -- the new Carnegie Classification added UNLV and Nevada to its list of Tier 1 Doctoral Universities (131 on it in total). Other programs in the west that made it are CSU, New Mexico and Hawaii. I believe all of them also qualified in 2015.

Entire Pac-12 is still in. Big 12 other than Baylor and TCU are on the list.

http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/srp.php?clq={"basic2005_ids":"15"}&start_page=standard.php
https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/unlv-attains-highest-status-research-university
**** Baylor
 
I just don't know how often that can realistically happen. 2 games per decade going forward?

Given this is the third most expensive non-conference game to attend this coming season-I think we're going to hear about more games with them after 2030 next Spring.
 

Makes sense. Losing UConn actually improves SOS for the rest of the conference. I'm not sure there's a program the could add that would bring it up. In fact, if Navy doesn't bounce back from its 3-10 2018 season I could see the AAC dropping them (football only member) to have a 10-team conference.
 
Makes sense. Losing UConn actually improves SOS for the rest of the conference. I'm not sure there's a program the could add that would bring it up. In fact, if Navy doesn't bounce back from its 3-10 2018 season I could see the AAC dropping them (football only member) to have a 10-team conference.
It would be a bad look to drop Navy. They'd just have to eat it as a bottom dweller.
 
Navy could eventually leave. Army struggled in C-USA with those schools before going back to independent football.
 
Drove through Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin recently. Will drive back early Saturday. It was a nice experience starting in Iowa to Wisconsin. You could see all those cornfields and I couldn't help but reminisce about the old Big 8 days.

So why not resurrect that Big 8 feeling by having the Big 8 schools team up with Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois for a new 12 team conference?

South: CU, MU, KU, KSU, OU, and OSU.
North: Iowa State, Iowa, NU, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

OU-NU and CU-NU would be played every year.

I'm going to set that up in NCAA FB 14 when I get home.
 
Drove through Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin recently. Will drive back early Saturday. It was a nice experience starting in Iowa to Wisconsin. You could see all those cornfields and I couldn't help but reminisce about the old Big 8 days.

So why not resurrect that Big 8 feeling by having the Big 8 schools team up with Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois for a new 12 team conference?

South: CU, MU, KU, KSU, OU, and OSU.
North: Iowa State, Iowa, NU, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

OU-NU and CU-NU would be played every year.

I'm going to set that up in NCAA FB 14 when I get home.

A conference with the worst possible recruiting footprint.
 
my thoughts put together from following this topic fairly closely for the last ten years.

hokiehead presumptions:
  • last round of realignment was driven by media markets. I believe that will a secondary factor in the next major round, I believe quality of content will be the driver as the sports distribution model is changing rapidly and significantly. Right now, the best measurement we have for (at least perceived) quality of content is TV ratings.
  • none of the GoR's have yet to be challenged in court. i think the projected benefits will outweigh the risk for some schools to chance the court battle if conferences aren't willing to negotiate settlements.
  • posted before, but like cardinality of major conferences has never been a driver of realignment. while the CFP is a new variable, I don't think the playoffs makes having each conference at 16 (or whatever number) an important factor in the near future.
  • In terms of being poached, the Pac is weak but geographically protected. the XII is not quite as weak, but geographically susceptible.
  • I also believe that some of the P5 conferences are likely considering, if not negotiating, contraction packages with members who have no foreseeable path to being financially contributing on par with the rest of their conference peers

hokiehead predictions:
what happens depends a lot on who makes the first move in the P5, but these are what I predict are the moves each conference is considering. I have bolded the moves that I think are potential "first dominoes" in P5 realignment.
  • ACC
    • makes a move for Penn State. the hook is that if PSU comes over, ND becomes a full member with the two schools as cross-division playing partners. I give that about 40% chance. Note that the B1G does not have a GoR for media rights.
    • ACC backup plan is West Virginia. they have consistently good TV ratings, a geographic fit and give the ACC the DC market back (lost w/ Maryland departure). If the ACC gets poached, they could look at UConn and Cincinnatti
    • ACC should be negotiating with Wake to exit. I'd personally like to see BC kicked to the curb as well but don't think that's in the works
  • B1G
    • B1G makes a move for ND and Texas. I give that a 30% chance.
    • B1G backup includes North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia Tech.
    • B1G could potentially be looking to jettison Nebraska or Rutgers, but both have more potential than any expansion candidates other than the one's above
  • SEC
    • makes a move for North Carolina and Texas. UNC is the final jewel the SEC needs in the crown that is the SE United States. they're the total package despite recent academic scandals. UT gives the SEC total ownership over Texas recruiting, nevermind the TV ratings, fan support, $$$, etc... This could very well be the first big move in the next round of realignment.
    • secondary targets are Oklahoma, Virginia, Virginia Tech, WVU
  • Pac12
  • Pac may not make the first move in P5 expansion, but if the XII shows sign of collapse, the Pac puts the full court press to bring in UT and Oklahoma.
  • if not those, I think the Pac stands pat. BYU and Boise brings the best TV ratings. objections to both have been well stated. I don't see the Pac going for the other Texas schools or any more Cali schools
  • I don't think it's likely the Pac is looking at contraction, but Oregon State doesn't appear to be adding much value to the conference
  • XII
  • I think they're more concerned with playing defense and protecting what they have than they are with potentially poking the bear and poaching someone else from a P5.
  • In terms of adding someone from a G5 school, I think that's also unlikely as there's little motivation to further divide the revenue they have. If I'm wrong, targets are probably still the same one's they looked at before: BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, AFA, CSU, Memphis
  • no contraction being considered
 
Last edited:
A conference with the worst possible recruiting footprint.

We had that in the Big 8 and we won a national championship while tying the eventual SEC champs, beating the eventual SWC & Pac-10 champs, and losing to the eventual Big Ten champs by one point on the road in addition to winning in Lincoln.

What were you trying to say again?
 
We had that in the Big 8 and we won a national championship while tying the eventual SEC champs, beating the eventual SWC & Pac-10 champs, and losing to the eventual Big Ten champs by one point on the road in addition to winning in Lincoln.

What were you trying to say again?

. . . all while Texas and USC were stepping on their dicks at the same time.
 
We had that in the Big 8 and we won a national championship while tying the eventual SEC champs, beating the eventual SWC & Pac-10 champs, and losing to the eventual Big Ten champs by one point on the road in addition to winning in Lincoln.

What were you trying to say again?
This isn’t the 80’s/90’s anymore man. Stop trying to bring back the triple option and stop using CUs success in the Big 8 during that time as precedent for it happening again 30+ years later
 
We had that in the Big 8 and we won a national championship while tying the eventual SEC champs, beating the eventual SWC & Pac-10 champs, and losing to the eventual Big Ten champs by one point on the road in addition to winning in Lincoln.

What were you trying to say again?
Statistically unlikely events happen. His point is still valid. And demographic shifts since then only make his point more pertinent today.
 
Drove through Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin recently. Will drive back early Saturday. It was a nice experience starting in Iowa to Wisconsin. You could see all those cornfields and I couldn't help but reminisce about the old Big 8 days.

So why not resurrect that Big 8 feeling by having the Big 8 schools team up with Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois for a new 12 team conference?

South: CU, MU, KU, KSU, OU, and OSU.
North: Iowa State, Iowa, NU, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

OU-NU and CU-NU would be played every year.

I'm going to set that up in NCAA FB 14 when I get home.
A conference with the worst possible recruiting footprint.

And a terrible TV footprint.
 
ch-07-urchoro1-1.png

I thought this map really does a good job of illustrating the challenge for the Pac-12.
 
The positive from that population map is that the US midpoint for population is in Missouri, about half way across the state in the southern third.

That’s where half the population is north & half south from that midline — half East & half West.

If we can pull in Texas, at least to split it with the SEC, the Pac will be the conference that’s closest to covering half the US population.
 
The positive from that population map is that the US midpoint for population is in Missouri, about half way across the state in the southern third.

That’s where half the population is north & half south from that midline — half East & half West.

If we can pull in Texas, at least to split it with the SEC, the Pac will be the conference that’s closest to covering half the US population.
I was trying to think of a power move the SEC would make that would just **** everyone else over and I thought of Mizzou going to the big and then them adding Texas, Miami and Georgia tech. That would pretty much lock down florida, Georgia and Texas for the SEC which would be absolutely crazy to think about. Even if they didn’t go after Georgia tech and took FSU or even kept Missouri to maintain grasp on Kansas City and St. Louis. The only downside for that is all those big time programs pretty much fighting for one spot in the playoff.
 


Very smart or very stupid depending on what realignment does to the MWC.


The upcoming media rights deals for the P12, Big Ten, and Big 12 are said to be shorter as well. The CBS Sports Network deal for the MWC was a real poor one for the MWC since it went on for what seems like forever.

It's a deal that every P12 fan should be watching out for since that could be how the next P12 media rights deal could be like.
 
The upcoming media rights deals for the P12, Big Ten, and Big 12 are said to be shorter as well. The CBS Sports Network deal for the MWC was a real poor one for the MWC since it went on for what seems like forever.

It's a deal that every P12 fan should be watching out for since that could be how the next P12 media rights deal could be like.
My thought is they might be better with a longer deal than the P5 schools. If they get gutted by realignment and then have to negotiate their next deal they'll be screwed.

Not our problem tho.
 
My thought is they might be better with a longer deal than the P5 schools. If they get gutted by realignment and then have to negotiate their next deal they'll be screwed.

Not our problem tho.

The only MWC top tier schools that could get picked up by a P5 conference like the Big 12 are CSU and UNM. The others (UNR, UNLV, and Hawaii) are stuck with hoping the Pac-12 extends an invite. Boise State won't be able to go even to the Big 12 with their current status. Seems like a stable conference for now.
 
The only MWC top tier schools that could get picked up by a P5 conference like the Big 12 are CSU and UNM. The others (UNR, UNLV, and Hawaii) are stuck with hoping the Pac-12 extends an invite. Boise State won't be able to go even to the Big 12 with their current status. Seems like a stable conference for now.
MWC should be begging BYU to come back.
 
MWC should be begging BYU to come back.

I believe BYU would rejoin if they could park all their Oly sports in the MWC and stay independent in football. Those BYU fans would help the bottom line of the MWC schools for sure.
 
I believe BYU would rejoin if they could park all their Oly sports in the MWC and stay independent in football. Those BYU fans would help the bottom line of the MWC schools for sure.

Good chance BYU would come back for football if they could get a deal that allows them preferential treatment for third tier rights (kind of like Texas has with the B12.) This wouldn't be out of the question since Boise already has a similar arrangement with ESPN.

BYU went independent thinking they could force themselves into a P5 level treatment following the lead of Notre Dame. They didn't expect to have as much pull as Notre Dame does or to get their own network deal like ND has with NBC but they did expect to be higher profile and to be more valuable than they are currently looked at as.
 
Good chance BYU would come back for football if they could get a deal that allows them preferential treatment for third tier rights (kind of like Texas has with the B12.) This wouldn't be out of the question since Boise already has a similar arrangement with ESPN.

BYU went independent thinking they could force themselves into a P5 level treatment following the lead of Notre Dame. They didn't expect to have as much pull as Notre Dame does or to get their own network deal like ND has with NBC but they did expect to be higher profile and to be more valuable than they are currently looked at as.

Good catch on the BSU deal...can see that happening. MWC could use all the help with getting a good media rights deal.
 
Back
Top