Conferences

[GatorGrad]

Do you guys think that we will ever see one of the BCS Conferences expand to an unheard of 16 teams? You could have two divisions of 8-teams each. The schedule could be 7 divisional games only with the division champs meeting in the title game or 7 divisional + 1 non divisional permanent rivalry game. Would the additional teams that would now have to share the bowl revenue not be worth it to the original teams? How about a 14-team conference? Or will 12 remain the max in order to maximize shared revenue while still being able to stage a title game (12 teams are needed per NCAA rules I believe.)

Also, do you think we'll ever see conferences stage their own "playoffs?" Say the SEC someday was at 16 teams. They could split into four divisions of 4 teams each with the four division champs advancing to an SEC Final Four Playoff. If we never have an NCAA Playoff, I could see conferences going this route someday for the money. Or maybe conferences merging to form super conferences or leagues...for example:

Say the BCS wants a playoff or 4-team plus one. But the Big Ten/PAC 10/Rose Bowl stand their ground and say they want no part in it. What's to stop the SEC, BIG 12, ACC, and BIG EAST from forming their own BCS League where the four conference champs made up a 4-team mini playoff? The four conference champs matchup in the semi-finals with the winners playing in the title game. The Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls could host the three games. The money and exposure would force the Big Ten / PAC 10 / Rose Bowl to join just as they caved in and joined the BCS in 1998 after holding out of the Bowl Alliance / Coalition which cost Penn St '94 and AzSt '96 MNC shots.

Thoughts?

[Blue Hen]

GG, I don't think you'll see any massive conference expansion like that. Basketball is one reason ( of many ). Dividing conference championship tournament tickets up 16 ways will cut many big supporters/donors out.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

The Big East is already a 16-school conference.

[GatorGrad]

Talking more about a 16-team conference in FOOTBALL. In particular, a conference that is already at 12 teams like the Big 12, ACC, or SEC.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to explain this to you, GatorGrad.

Adding 8 more member schools with D-IA football programs would expand Big East basketball to 24 schools.

[buckeyejim]

If a conference were to expand to 16 schools, and still only play 8 conference games would not make sense. Frankly, I think 12 is the max. that any conferece should get to. Didn't the WAC have 16 teams for 2 or 3 years? That's when 8 schools split off to form the Mountain West Conference. My opinion is that the SEC, ACC and Big 12 are not looking to expand any time in the near future. I think the Big Ten would expand to 12 ONLY if it's Notre Dame.

[GatorGrad]

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to explain this to you, GatorGrad.

Adding 8 more member schools with D-IA football programs would expand Big East basketball to 24 schools.

You have to explain nothing to me. I realize this, Herd Guy. I understand that the Big East has 16 schools, half of which play football. My scenario was purely hypothetical and for fun and mainly directed towards the ACC, BIG 12, and SEC who are already at 12 football schools. If the Big East ever expanded, the basketball schools could break off and form their own conference, and the football schools could remain and only add schools that also play football moving forward.

[JamesHowell]

The SEC and the Big Ten "could" do so at some point in the future, but only if it made big financial sense. Delaney has actually talked about it from a theoretical viewpoint in the past. The SEC would like to add western teams to get Alabama and Auburn into the east. Both the Big Ten and the SEC have an ey on Texas and the recruiting there. It won't happen any time soon, but Texas A&M and Oklahoma (and perhaps Texas) could be SEC targets. Big Ten targets could include Notre Dame, Missouri, and Texas. Those targets could get each conference to 14; getting to 16 would be a little trickier, especially in the Big Ten.

[JamesHowell]

Gator

Several Big East football schools (read: Syracuse and Connecticut) would go with their hoops partners if there was a split. They would go independent in football before they would give up the hoops revenue. Remember hoops brings in the bucks in the Big East, not football.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

Actually, GatorGrad, more than half of the Big East schools have D-I football programs.

[Blue Hen]

yeah, good point. I was thinking mostly ACC & SEC

[GatorGrad]

Actually, GatorGrad, more than half of the Big East schools have D-I football programs.

Only half (8 of 16) Big East Schools are official Big East Football Participants. I'm not talking about schools like Notre Dame who participate in hoops, but not football.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

More than half of the Big East member schools have D-I football programs, even if you exclude Notre Dame. The Big East includes D-IA, D-IAA and D-IAAA member schools.

[buckeyejim]

In my opinion, the Big East in basketball is already too big and they are too small in football. I'm not sure when, but I believe that the Big East is a conference that's got very little stability and changes are sure to occure there. The Big Ten, SEC and Pac-10 seem to be the most stable conferences with the Big 12 and ACC somewhat stable but there could be schools willing to leave if the situation (money) were right. Personally, I wish it was mandatory to comete in a conference which would force Independents to join conferences for ALL sports. Notre Damy, Navy and Army would have to play football in a conference and it would seem that Army and Navy would go to the Big East and Notre Dame to the Big Ten unless the Irish decided to stay in the Big East for football as well as what their current sports already do.

[GatorGrad]

More than half of the Big East member schools have D-I football programs, even if you exclude Notre Dame. The Big East includes D-IA, D-IAA and D-IAAA member schools.

Again, I understand that more than half of the schools in the BE play college football. But only half of the Big East Schools participate in Big East Football. Sorry if me not specifying BIG EAST football confused you. There are 16 schools in the Big East, and only 8 of them play the 7-game round robin BE schedule to determine the BE Champ and the BCS auto bid that comes with it. I'm not sure what your point is.

[FLORIDA HERD FAN]

Good for you, GatorGrad. I am impressed that you understand it after I had explained it to you.

My point is that your idea is total nonsense. There is no way any D-IA conference, BCS or otherwise, would ever seriously expanding to 16 football members. The Big East, for reasons buckeyejim pointed out, is the least likely.

[GatorGrad]

Good for you, GatorGrad. I am impressed that you understand it after I had explained it to you.

My point is that your idea is total nonsense. There is no way any D-IA conference, BCS or otherwise, would ever seriously expanding to 16 football members. The Big East, for reasons buckeyejim pointed out, is the least likely.

1) I did not understand this after you explained it to me. I understood this all along. It is a well known fact that there are 16 schools in the Big East, half of which participate in Big East Football.

2) I never said that a BCS Conference would expand to 16 schools, I was just throwing out something to discuss for FUN. It was purely hypothetical.

3) I didn't suggest that the Big East was likely to ever have a 16-team football conference. Again, it was meant for fun discussion. And I was more talking about the conferences that already had 12 football members which is why I said: "In particular, a conference that is already at 12 teams like the Big 12, ACC, or SEC."

[GatorGrad]

My point is that your idea is total nonsense. There is no way any D-IA conference, BCS or otherwise, would ever seriously expanding to 16 football members. The Big East, for reasons buckeyejim pointed out, is the least likely.

Hmmmm...as buckeyejim ALSO pointed out, the WAC did in fact have a 16-team football conference for a few years in the 90's. So much for "there is no way any DI-A conference, BCS or otherwise, would ever seriously expanding to 16 football members."

It's happened before, and it could happen again. You never know. The WAC failed because when you combine two mid major conferences into one, that doesn't make for a strong conference. The WAC expanded hoping to gain an automatic bid into the BCS (then called the Bowl Alliance.) All they did was expand and then had to split revenue 16-ways instead of 8. The plan didn't work as each school was now making less money. That's why the MWC schools left and formed their own conference.

But what if the SEC, for example, was someday able to convince schools like Texas, Texas AM, FSU, and Clemson to join the SEC? A 16-team conference could work if the financials made sense. If the four schools being added would increase TV, sponsorship, and bowl revenue by enough to increase the per school distribution, then I could see this happening. Again, I'm not saying it would...or that it's likely...but it could. It's happened before. It could happen again.