View Full Version : My megaconferences



earlywinegareth
09-06-2011, 11:37 AM
Add to the SEC: A&M, Florida State, Clemson, Louisville. Except for A&M, the other 3 are in SEC territory already and fit the SEC culturally.

Add to the PAC: OU, oSu, TX, Tech. These 4 fill out a nice eastern division with Arizona, ASU, Utah, and CU. The folks in New Mexico must feel very inferior right now.

Add to the B10: Mizzou, Kansas, K-State, Iowa State. You already have states of Iowa and Nebraska represented, just tack on the states of Kansas & Missouri. Makes a lot of sense from a geographical and cultural standpoint. Plus I think MU, KU, and ISU are members of the prestigious AAU club.

Trying to keep regional ties intact. I give every former B12 member a decent home 'cept Baylor who never should've been there in the first place.

I won't even attempt the Big East or ACC, I can't keep straight who the current members are anyway.

Just the facts
09-06-2011, 12:22 PM
Not bad. I like your Big 10 idea

Thunder
09-06-2011, 01:25 PM
I think conferences should be grouped by regional. NCAA should have never allowed such moves by some schools.

Kokopelli
09-06-2011, 01:30 PM
If it goes to superconferences it is mindboggling that there isn't a conference in the middle of the country!!

Just the facts
09-06-2011, 02:49 PM
If it goes to superconferences it is mindboggling that there isn't a conference in the middle of the country!!

This is the sad part to me also. I wish the Big XII had been proactive and gone to 16 teams about 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe there is still hope.

Thunder
09-06-2011, 03:44 PM
This is the sad part to me also. I wish the Big XII had been proactive and gone to 16 teams about 2 or 3 years ago. Maybe there is still hope.

This is extremely poor suggestion. Big 12 is Big 12. Keep it at 12 teams. NCAA needs to go on a lockdown or something that prevent schools from leaving/joining conferences. Revert all teams back to their original location.

venture
09-06-2011, 04:45 PM
Well our original location would be the Big 8. :-P

There are very few conferences though that can claim long term stability though. I think the most stable ones around are the SEC and MAC. The MAC shocked me, but some of those teams have been playing together for 30-40 years now.

Thunder
09-06-2011, 05:29 PM
Big 8? Oh, dear. I'll make it an exception. Bring back the Big 12!!!

Swake2
09-06-2011, 08:03 PM
Well our original location would be the Big 8. :-P

There are very few conferences though that can claim long term stability though. I think the most stable ones around are the SEC and MAC. The MAC shocked me, but some of those teams have been playing together for 30-40 years now.

Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska came together over 100 years ago in 1907 to form what would become the Big 6, then Big 7, then Big 8 and finally the Big 12. Oklahoma has been part of the conference since 1925 and OSU since 1958. Somewhat more than 30-40 years. It's very sad what is being broken up.

MDot
09-06-2011, 08:41 PM
I agree with your megaconferences and believe that's how it'll end up at some point. But also it is sad to see something like the Big 12 break up cause as a 17 year old, it's the only conference I ever really knew growing up cause as we all know, this is Soonerland and being an OU fan all of my life I'm gonna miss the rivalry between Nebraska, Texas aTm, possibly Texas. Heck even Kansas State gave us a run for our money everytime we've played them and I'll miss that. But of course change seems to be what everything is about now so I've learned to adjust really fast so I'm sure I'll embrace the Pac-12 or whatever it'll become but for the time being, it's like breaking up with the only girlfriend you've ever had when you had plans on being with her your entire life but things have changed since when y'all first met but you'll end up finding someone else and you might end up liking her even more and actually end up with her forever. Lol my metaphor for the day. but we'll see and I'm all for the Pac-? if it's what's best for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Just the facts
09-06-2011, 10:20 PM
Same girlfriend, you're just moving to a new town and different friends.

Jersey Boss
09-06-2011, 10:24 PM
This is extremely poor suggestion. Big 12 is Big 12. Keep it at 12 teams. NCAA needs to go on a lockdown or something that prevent schools from leaving/joining conferences. Revert all teams back to their original location.

Have you read a sports page in the last year?

Thunder
09-06-2011, 10:26 PM
Have you read a sports page in the last year?

Duh. Can you read? I said, I want to keep Big 12 at 12 teams all the same it has been before.

MDot
09-06-2011, 10:28 PM
Like that concept better. Still gonna miss my old town and friends some, but the new area will grow on me soon enough. Besides who wouldn't want to take a trip to Southern Cali every so often and see Oklahoma show the coast why we're known for football.

Just the facts
09-06-2011, 10:34 PM
ESPN had an interesting article about Pac-12 football about a week ago. Basically it was about how football coaches (head and assistant) are way under paid in the PAC-12. The PAC-12 has an unwritten rule that the tennis coach is just as important as the offensive coordinator so they should be paid the same. They compared coaches salaries and attendance of the PAC-12 and several other conferences. Not a single PAC-12 team average over 60,000 fans per game and the SEC has 6 teams that average over 80,000 (or something like that). I'll see if I can find it.

MDot
09-06-2011, 11:01 PM
Well hopefully they get over that cause while I agree that some things should be equal, Football and Tennis are not the same thing. But given that the SEC is in Football territory and the Pac-12 isn't that's sorta understandable but not topping 60,000? That's weak.

Mr. T in OKC
09-07-2011, 08:22 AM
In 2010, USC averaged 79,907 in attendance, Washington averaged 66,264, and UCLA averaged 60,376. None over 80,000 though. USC was ranked 15th in the nation for average attendance. In the Big XII Oklahoma was ranked 12th with 84,738, Texas A&M was ranked 13th with 82,477, and Texas was ranked 5th with 100,654.

www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/d47a560045aad7aab88ffc9080650d5b/2010_Attendance.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=d47a560045aad7aab88ffc9080650d5b

Just the facts
09-07-2011, 09:00 AM
Found it - here is part of the article.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/preview11/story/_/id/6886381/larry-scott-transforms-pac-12-how-does-compare-sec-big-ten


In 2010, using figures compiled by USA Today, four of the top 10 and seven of the top 24 highest paid head coaches were in the SEC, topped by Alabama coach Nick Saban, who made approximately $6 million. Two Pac-12 coaches ranked in the top 25: Oregon's Chip Kelly ($2.4 million) and California's Jeff Tedford ($2.3 million).



But the disparity, believe it or not, is even more stunning when you consider assistant coach pay. Thirteen of the 26 assistant coaches paid $400,000 or more were in the SEC. Among the 40 highest-paid assistant coaches in the nation, the Pac-12 had just two: offensive coordinator Norm Chow (at UCLA in 2010, now at Utah) and Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt. (Private schools such as USC and Stanford don't provide salary data. It's likely that Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin and his father and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would figure into these rankings.)



The raw numbers also don't tell the whole story. Just about every Pac-12 city is more expensive to live in than just about any SEC city. If UCLA were to hire Saban away from Alabama, it would have to pay him $8.65 million to match his standard of living in Tuscaloosa. The $206,000 California defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast makes in the Bay Area is like making $124,285 in Auburn, Ala. That's certainly not what Gus Malzahn and Ted Roof, Auburn's two coordinators, are making ($500,000 and $407,000, respectively).



That salary gap needs to close.



Of course, even a big media deal isn't going to transform the Pac-12 culture into the SEC culture. The SEC averaged 76,719 in attendance last year. The Pac-10 averaged 53,819. No team in the Pac-12 averaged over 80,000 in attendance last year. Six did in the SEC.

It's hard to imagine the Pac-12 will significantly catch up in attendance figures in the near-term -- if ever. That's a revenue source that the conference can't match.



"That is a significant challenge," Mullens said. "There is a correlation -- I don't know if it has to be considered a direct correlation -- between resources and sustained success. When folks are packing 100,000-seat stadiums with donations for every seat, it's a game-changer."



But Mullens pointed out that sometimes creativity can help. Consider Oregon. It's carved out a specific niche. In a sport that has long emphasized tradition, the Ducks adopted a philosophy of seeking the new and, yes, sometimes outrageous.



"We need to stay true to what got us here," Mullens said. "We need to remain innovative. We need to remain hungry and be true to what has worked for us -- being cutting edge, willing to take some risks, whether that be uniforms or facilities."



Has that helped Oregon catch the elite of the SEC? After a late field goal by Auburn beat the Ducks in the national title game, they'll get a second go-around with the conference, on Sept. 3 against LSU at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The winner instantly becomes a leading national title contender. And fans from the winner's conference likely will be pretty obnoxious about the result. [we know how that game turned out]


Whether Scott's savvy business-related moves help the conference end the SEC's stranglehold on football national championships remains a question. But what doesn't remain a question is the wisdom of Scott as a "nontraditional hire."

MDot
09-07-2011, 11:13 AM
Even as many games as the Longhorns lost they must have some dedicated fans.

Kokopelli
09-07-2011, 01:32 PM
If the NCAA was to come up with a new rule that states that a team has to play all conference members in a 2 year cycle, perhaps that would slow down the megaconference train.

Such a rule would mean that in a 16 team conference a team would play their 7 division mates and 4 non-division conference rivals annually. That would a total of 11 conference games. No room for tuneup or cupcake games.

earlywinegareth
09-08-2011, 08:25 AM
Is 16 the magic number? Why not stick with 14? I haven't seen the answer to that. This article speculates SEC could make a big play and grab OU, oSu, and Mizzou along with A&M...SEC West would be those 4 plus Arkansas, LSU, Miss State, and Ole Miss. All of those are driveable. http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/31796080

Bill Robertson
09-08-2011, 10:59 AM
This is extremely poor suggestion. Big 12 is Big 12. Keep it at 12 teams. NCAA needs to go on a lockdown or something that prevent schools from leaving/joining conferences. Revert all teams back to their original location.

A great idea in a perfect world. But again, that's not where we are. The chances of the Big 12 existing in 2 years are slim and none. And slim is really sick. And the NCAA isn't going to do anything. I think the NCAA quietly likes the the idea of 3 to 4 megaconferences. It would simplify the whole playoff vs no play off argument.

Just the facts
09-08-2011, 11:05 AM
I am not sure the NCAA has any control over conference alignment, and besides, it is a voluntary organization anyhow. If 2 or 3 super conference got together and decided to leave the NCAA they could just keep all the money for themselves. Imagine what would happen if the SEC/PAC-16/BIG-16 all said screw this we are leaving the NCAA and its crazy rules behind.

Bill Robertson
09-08-2011, 11:40 AM
I am not sure the NCAA has any control over conference alignment, and besides, it is a voluntary organization anyhow. If 2 or 3 super conference got together and decided to leave the NCAA they could just keep all the money for themselves. Imagine what would happen if the SEC/PAC-16/BIG-16 all said screw this we are leaving the NCAA and its crazy rules behind.Also very true.

Native Okie
09-08-2011, 01:48 PM
A playoff will settle this whole thing. Big 12 is sunk, when NU and CU jumped. Reason is you have a bully in the playground Texas. They will not be happy until they dominate the conference. Remember the Southwest conference all Texas and that one school form Arkansas. Arkansas leaving killed the SWC. You would have to dilute the Big 12 and hope they member schools can step up in the future. Add New Mexico, Colorado State for regional help i.e. Denver television market. Split OSU off to the Big 12 North, could add TCU, Wyoming fact is there are not many middle America schools up to BCS standard. Half of our Big 12 is not. There is not a second University in Nebraska or Louisiana or Arkansas, Missouri. All of this re-alignment will force a playoff.

Just the facts
09-09-2011, 07:39 AM
fact is there are not many middle America schools up to BCS standard. Half of our Big 12 is not. There is not a second University in Nebraska or Louisiana or Arkansas, Missouri. All of this re-alignment will force a playoff.

That is correct - in football. Nearly half the SEC is not up to BCS standards in football. Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Mississippi St, Kentucky, and South Carolina are all perinial 3 thru 6 place finishers in their divisions and who knows if Georgia and Tennessee will ever be good again. The PAC-16? Washington, Washington St, Oregon St, Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona St - 2 of those schools have good teams about every 4 years - but the rest of the time they all suck. Big East and ACC - maybe 2 consistantly good teams combined.