NCAA Conference Realignment

[venture]

Uhhh Kerry...you lost a conference and should be doing 8 if you want to draft in a few more teams. LOL

[Just the facts]

Uhhh Kerry...you lost a conference and should be doing 8 if you want to draft in a few more teams. LOL

Thanks for cathcing that. I made the corrections.

Round 5:

Notre Dame/Purdue/Louisville/Kentucky/Indiana selects Cincinnati
Alabama/Auburn/Texas/Florida St/LSU selects USF
Ohio St/Michigan/Penn St/Michigan St/Pittsburg selects West Virginia
USC/UCLA/Stanford/Cal/Arizona selects Oregon
Oklahoma/OK State/Kansas/Arkansas/Texas A&M selects Colorado
Miami/Florida/Georgia/Tennessee/South Carolina selects North Carolina
Nebraska/Iowa/Missouri/Wisconsin/Illinois selects Minnesota

10 rounds to go. Next up Nebraska/Iowa/Missouri/Wisconsin/Illinois/Minnesota

[Just the facts]

Round 6:

Notre Dame/Purdue/Louisville/Kentucky/Indiana/Cincinnati selects Syracuse
Alabama/Auburn/Texas/Florida St/LSU/USF selects Memphis
Ohio St/Michigan/Penn St/Michigan St/Pittsburg/West Virginia selects Maryland
USC/UCLA/Stanford/Cal/Arizona/Oregon selects Washington
Oklahoma/OK State/Kansas/Arkansas/Texas A&M/Colorado selects Utah
Miami/Florida/Georgia/Tennessee/South Carolina/North Carolina selects Virginia
Nebraska/Iowa/Missouri/Wisconsin/Illinois/Minnesota selects Northwestern

9 rounds to go. Next up Notre Dame

[Just the facts]

Round 7:

Notre Dame/Purdue/Louisville/Kentucky/Indiana/Cincinnati/Syracuse selects Boston College
Alabama/Auburn/Texas/Florida St/LSU/USF/Memphis selects Mississippi
Ohio St/Michigan/Penn St/Michigan St/Pittsburg/West Virginia/Maryland selects Rutgers
USC/UCLA/Stanford/Cal/Arizona/Oregon/Washington selects Arizona St.
Oklahoma/OK State/Kansas/Arkansas/Texas A&M/Colorado/Utah selects TCU
Miami/Florida/Georgia/Tennessee/South Carolina/North Carolina/Virginia selects Duke
Nebraska/Iowa/Missouri/Wisconsin/Illinois/Minnesota/Northwestern selects Iowa St

8 rounds to go. Next up Nebraska

[betts]

Looks like the regents just gave Boren permission to explore aligning with a new conference. Mack Brown is whining about it, which is ironic, since actions by the University of Texas set this whole realignment mess into motion.

[venture]

Also word out now that Big 12 and Big East officials are discussing merging the conferences.

The UT regents also did the same thing granting power to their president to do what is best for the university.

[Native Okie]

Please Boren Please not the West Coast. I live here and We don't fit in. Have we forgotten the Oregon rip off so quickly. OU has more in common with an Alabama than any of the west coast teams.

[hughmo]

Please Boren please, go west this time! OU will dominate in the PAC-? in not only football but basketball and other sports, plus a move west will help the academic standing of the university.

[betts]

Just please don''t stay in a watered down Big 12. SEC, PAC-16, either is preferable.

[venture]

Mountain West and Conference USA are now in merger talks.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/e...70202/32117287

Don't you dare try to copyright the latest (possible} conference on the horizon.

I'm calling it the Big Country.

CBSSports.com has learned that merger talks have heated up again between the Mountain West and Conference USA on a possible 22-to-24-team combination that would span the country and result in an automatic BCS bowl berth for the winner of the amalgamation.

As CBSSports.com initially reported, officials from each conference first discussed the arrangement last year. Each league would produce individual champions who would then play off in a championship game for the BCS berth. Officials from each conference have met recently on the subject CBSSports.com also learned.

There are complications. The Mountain West is still waiting to learn if it will receive temporary BCS status in 2012 and 2013 as a result of meeting a series of benchmarks over a four-year period that concludes after this season. Aside from that, with conference realignment in full swing, college athletics' first super, duper conference just might work. Assuming the remains of the Big East and Big 12 merge, there will be one less automatic BCS berth. The Big Country snatch that up, spanning from the Carolinas, Florida and Mississippi to Texas and the West Coast and Hawaii.

There were no details on how the champions in the individual conferences would be decided. Conference USA is a 12-team league, that is decided by a championship game between the two division winners. The Mountain West is currently an eight-team league that will be 10 teams in 2012. It is losing TCU to the Big East next year and getting Nevada, Hawaii and Fresno from the WAC. It's not clear if the conference would or could expand further to 12 teams.

"It would strengthen our league and give us more television sets," said an administrator from the possible Big Country. "I think it's a big picture thing for us."

Using the current configuration, think of a Boise State-Central Florida Big Country champ game for a berth in, say, Orange or Fiesta Bowl. Not sure how the Orange or Fiesta feel about that. That's another blog for another time.

[dcsooner]

Just please don''t stay in a watered down Big 12. SEC, PAC-16, either is preferable.

Agree Betts, remaining in the revised BIG 12 would be extremely disappointing

[Bill Robertson]

I don't have a farm but if I did I'd bet it that OU, OSU, TU and Tech will announce before Oct 1 that they are members of the PAC.

[venture]

I don't have a farm but if I did I'd bet it that OU, OSU, TU and Tech will announce before Oct 1 that they are members of the PAC.

Probably end up doing it on Friday or Sunday.

[venture]

Missouri has reportedly been invited to the SEC.

http://eye-on-college-football.blogs...56338/32131957

West Virginia has been denied by the ACC & SEC.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/e...32522/32130111

[venture]

Big 12 may live on after all...maybe.

Boren is calling for Dan Beebe's resignation or Oklahoma will leave and take OSU with them.

http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs....56338/32135249

[venture]

So if a Big 12/Big East combine to form the Big Something...and Boren gets his way, this is what the conference could look like:

North: Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State
South: Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, Texas, TCU, Baylor, and South Florida

Really not terrible conference from a football perspective. Cincy and Louisville have their moments...no worse than Baylor normally is. South Florida does well and gives a constant recruiting presence in Florida. TCU would overload the Texas situation, but oh well. Really isn't a "terrible" fall back...but we'll see what happens.

[dcsooner]

Big 12 may live on after all...maybe.

Boren is calling for Dan Beebe's resignation or Oklahoma will leave and take OSU with them.

http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs....56338/32135249

OU is disgustingly soft,why. Must we stay on board w/ TX and continue to play little brother?

[Just the facts]

Whatever happens I have serious doubts that OU will stay in the same conference with Texas. When abandoning a ship you get away from the object that caused it to sink in the first place.

[Pete]

With these appeals to the Big 12, I think Boren is just playing politics by giving the illusion OU is trying to work something out when in reality they've already decided to head for the Pac*.

He wants stability (this stuff will never end with the Big 12) and for the university to be aligned with a conference with the best possible academics.

I bet the deal is pretty much already done and they are just finalizing who will be coming along.

[ljbab728]

An interesting new wrinkle:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...cide-expansion

[MikeOKC]

An interesting new wrinkle:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...cide-expansion

At 10:14pm that Pac 12 announcement actually made it as a "bulletin" from the Associated Press. I'd say that's more than a wrinkle - that's a bombshell in this whole business.

[ljbab728]

At 10:14pm that Pac 12 announcement actually made it as a "bulletin" from the Associated Press. I'd say that's more than a wrinkle - that's a bombshell in this whole business.

Yup, it's a game changer for now. But who knows for sure. I've certainly seen announcements about a policy which eventually changed due to "outside circumstances".

[MikeOKC]

Yup, it's a game changer for now. But who knows for sure. I've certainly seen announcements about a policy which eventually changed due to "outside circumstances".

Very true. Best that can be said is, "stay tuned."

Venture - Regarding the Big 12/Big East merger...that was talk if OU/OSU/TU/TTU left for the Pac 12. The talk was that the remaining Big 12 teams would make for a good merger with the Big East. Including the Big 4 from the Big 12 in that Big East deal was never a possibility.

What now?

[Jersey Boss]

This is GREAT news. New life in the SEC?

[MikeOKC]

Just another thought...maybe Boren let the Pac 12 know that OU had decided to go a different route and the Pac 12 makes the late night announcement so they don't look jilted - again.