Based on some whispers, and my own intuition, here is how I think this thing plays out.
It looks like the Pac 10 is going to start the 16 team conference ball in motion. The conferences then shake out like this:
Big 10
Notre Dame
Penn State
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State
Missouri
Nebraska
Kansas
ACC
Boston College
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami (FL)
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Rutgers
Pitt
Connecticut
Syracuse
Pac 10
Arizona
Arizona State
California
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Colorado
SEC
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Lousiville
South Florida
Memphis
So, who do I think the Big Loser is in all of this? K State and Baylor, who I think are most likely headed to Conference USA and the Sun Belt. Kansas could be a loser in this too, if they get hog tied to Kansas State's fate. Memphis get to be the big winner, as the SEC would be happy to welcome their Fed Ex money. I am, however struggling to come up with a 16th SEC team. I was thinking one of Houston / Rice / TCU / Baylor, as the SEC would love to open up the state of Texas for recruiting. I do think the Big East will live on, but as a basketball conference possibly with FCS football.
It looks like the Pac 10 is going to start the 16 team conference ball in motion. The conferences then shake out like this:
Big 10
Notre Dame
Penn State
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State
Missouri
Nebraska
Kansas
ACC
Boston College
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami (FL)
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Rutgers
Pitt
Connecticut
Syracuse
Pac 10
Arizona
Arizona State
California
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Washington
Washington State
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Colorado
SEC
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Lousiville
South Florida
Memphis
So, who do I think the Big Loser is in all of this? K State and Baylor, who I think are most likely headed to Conference USA and the Sun Belt. Kansas could be a loser in this too, if they get hog tied to Kansas State's fate. Memphis get to be the big winner, as the SEC would be happy to welcome their Fed Ex money. I am, however struggling to come up with a 16th SEC team. I was thinking one of Houston / Rice / TCU / Baylor, as the SEC would love to open up the state of Texas for recruiting. I do think the Big East will live on, but as a basketball conference possibly with FCS football.