Ya that was me.
Did an exercise to see what the pods would look like. Trying to keep geography tight to maximize profits by keeping travel costs down and keep traditional regional rivalries in tact. Bolded are added or switched teams. This is assuming the Big 12 dies and that the Big10 makes a few concessions to keep up with everyone else.
SEC | BIG 16 | PAC 16 | ACC 16 |
| | | |
Baylor | Nubs | CU | UNC |
TCU | KU | UU | NC St. |
TAMU | KSU | ASU | Wake |
Arky | ISU | UA | Duke |
| | | |
Mizzou | PSU | OU | FSU |
Vandy | OSU | OSU | GT |
Tenn | Mich | UW | Clemson |
Kentucky | Mich St | WSU | Miami |
| | | |
Ole Miss | Minnesota | USC | VT |
Miss St | Wisky | UCLA | UVa |
LSU | Iowa | Stan | Louisville |
Florida | NW | Cal | WVU |
| | | |
Bama | ND | TU | Maryland |
Auburn | Illini | TTU | Rutgers |
UGA | Purdue | OU | Syracuse |
USC | Indiana | OSU | UConn |
Some of those pods don't feature much balance, but some are very intriguing. Would be a lot of entertainment and drama during the run up to the playoffs.
First, given the disparity of population density in the US, I don't see the logic of conferences based on geography all with the same magnitude of members.
Second, this will never happen, but the idea of VT, WVU and Louisville in the same pod as UVA is downright fucjking hilarious. I can't conceive of a situation in which the university founded by T. Jeff would allow themselves to be relegated with such scum. but I should let [MENTION=2584]CVilleBuff[/MENTION] weigh in.
beyond that, ND won't go B1G -- they could've done that anytime over the last 20 years.
I don't see the motivation for the Pac to take TTU or OSU once you get past the equal magnitude issue.
ACC wants nothing to do with Rutgers -- all the old Big East schools recall playing in an empty stadium in crappy NJ weather. UConn delivers more NY-area college athletic fans.
hard to imagine Maryland coming back home in the next generation or so. the ACC has lost a significant foothold in the DC market though (UVA and VT help, but don't lock down the WMA). WVU could shore that up (I'd be on-board with the Mountaineers coming the the ACC), but I genuinely don't see UVA, UNC, Duke, etc... going for that which is why Navy keeps getting metnioned.
The expansion story that never gets traction is the idea of conferences shedding dead weight -- members who are not likely to become contributors in the near future. I could put forth an argument that Wake Forest needs to go (although their 2006 ACC football championship serves as a powerful counter-argument) -- not like the ACC is going to lose the Carolina market over that. Vandy isn't doing much for the SEC outside of pulling up their academics. To Sacky's point, the Pac probably has the least dead weight of any of the current P5.