Projecting Conference Realignment

[HawkeyeMike23]

THere will Not be 5 Mega conferences. I believe there will be 4 with their own networks. Having 5 adds 15 teams into the BCS mix from our current 65. The reason for the conferences will be for TV. Your MWC would have a television network that would fail financially within a year or two. Imaging the horrible basketball. Do all those teams even have wrestling? The SEC, PAC 10, BIG 10 and ACC could easily support their own TV network. The BCS (if it survives) wouldnt wnat to have anything to do with the MWC

The MWC already does have a TV network, and it's been around since 2006. Not sure how it does financially, but it's survived so far.

 

[thejumper5]

THere will Not be 5 Mega conferences. I believe there will be 4 with their own networks. Having 5 adds 15 teams into the BCS mix from our current 65. The reason for the conferences will be for TV. Your MWC would have a television network that would fail financially within a year or two. Imaging the horrible basketball. Do all those teams even have wrestling? The SEC, PAC 10, BIG 10 and ACC could easily support their own TV network. The BCS (if it survives) wouldnt wnat to have anything to do with the MWC

1. A conference doesn't have to exist for more than one sport. Not all the members have to participate in every sport for a conference. What if Iowa State was in the MWC for football and the MVC for everything else?
2. A conference doesn't have to have a television network devoted just to that conference.
3. The MWC is close to being a BCS conference anyway, so they may look to expand to boost their rating and put themselves over the top. If they MWC is good enough, they have to be allowed in, per the current contract.

 

[fsanford]

THere will Not be 5 Mega conferences. I believe there will be 4 with their own networks. Having 5 adds 15 teams into the BCS mix from our current 65. The reason for the conferences will be for TV. Your MWC would have a television network that would fail financially within a year or two. Imaging the horrible basketball. Do all those teams even have wrestling? The SEC, PAC 10, BIG 10 and ACC could easily support their own TV network. The BCS (if it survives) wouldnt wnat to have anything to do with the MWC

Just because there are 5 conferences does not mean there will be 16 teams each.

2 conferences could have 16,
1 at 14
2 at 12

Or simple math maybe 5 -14 team conferences

That totals 70 schools, which is a realistic number.

Pac 10, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12/MWC and SEC.

 

[tm3308]

1. A conference doesn't have to exist for more than one sport. Not all the members have to participate in every sport for a conference. What if Iowa State was in the MWC for football and the MVC for everything else?
2. A conference doesn't have to have a television network devoted just to that conference.
3. The MWC is close to being a BCS conference anyway, so they may look to expand to boost their rating and put themselves over the top. If they MWC is good enough, they have to be allowed in, per the current contract.

The problem is that the reason the MWC is close to being a BCS conference is because of its headliners (Utah, TCU, BYU), and those are the prime candidates to move to the Big 12/Pac-10/SEC. Without those three, the MWC doesn't offer all that much outside of UNM men's basketball.

 

[Bluzmn]

I just don't see the Big Ten doing something (like in Deace's scenario) where two trophy rivalries are thrown by the wayside.

 

[AllProHawkeye]

If the Big Ten expands to 12 or 14 teams I see the SEC really going after Florida State and Miami. Then the Big Ten picking up (12) Missouri – (14) Missouri, Rutgers & Syracuse.

Just my thought.

 

[briankaldenberg]

If the SEC adds Oklahoma and Texas they will be head and shoulders above every other conference.

Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, LSU.

That's like 70% of the national championships in the last decade.

 

[thejumper5]

The problem is that the reason the MWC is close to being a BCS conference is because of its headliners (Utah, TCU, BYU), and those are the prime candidates to move to the Big 12/Pac-10/SEC. Without those three, the MWC doesn't offer all that much outside of UNM men's basketball.

But in my scenario, the MWC loses only Utah and adds Houston, Oklahoma St, Hawaii, and Boise St, each of which would probably boost the conference more than the weaker teams that conference would lose. So yes, if the MWC is depleted by the Pac 10/Big 12 (I just can't see the SEC-TCU combo happening), then the MWC wouldn't make it to the BCS party, but if they don't lose more than one team, they could turn around and add enough to make it better for them.

 

[DuffMan]

Sorry, I didn't read any of the OP, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Fred Hoiberg becomeing the biggest sports celebrity in the state of Iowa...

 

[BA96MA99]

My insane idea for the day: The name of the new conference will remain the Big Ten.

That's right: expansion to 20 teams, 10 in each division (Big Ten East and Big Ten West). If this is all about television and research $$$, why not 20 teams?!

Getting tired of the expansion speculation. Let's get this done and over with.