(07-13-2017 12:46 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  New alternate history scenario! The earliest differences from our timeline are the Big Ten's rejection of Penn State for membership in 1990 and Notre Dame's TV deal not panning out. This leads the Irish to join the Big Ten, while Penn State creates a new eastern conference that prevents the addition of football to the Big East.

Here's a variant on the scenario referenced above wherein all conferences reach 16 football schools. The present-day Division I-A:

B16
East: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State
North: Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin
South: Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue
West: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Protected crossover: Notre Dame/Purdue

EAC
East: Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple
North: Maryland, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
South: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL
West: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech

PAC
East: Houston, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
North: Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
South: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Utah
West: California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

SEC
East: Florida, Georgia, NC State, South Carolina
North: Cincinnati, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South: Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss
West: Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Protected crossovers: Alabama/Tennessee, Auburn/Georgia

SWC
East: Central Florida, East Carolina, South Florida, Wake Forest
North: Kansas State, Louisville, Memphis, Tulsa
South: Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB
West: Baylor, Rice, SMU, TCU

WAC
East: Air Force, BYU, Utah State, Wyoming
North: Boise State, Idaho, Nevada, UNLV
South: New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, UTEP
West: Fresno State, Hawaii, San Diego State, San Jose State

MAC
East: Army, Buffalo, Connecticut, Navy
North: Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Toledo
South: Ball State, Marshall, Miami-OH, Ohio
West: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan

SAC
East: FAU, FIU, Georgia Southern, Georgia State
North: Appalachian State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion
South: Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, Troy, Western Kentucky
West: Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State

Notable annual interconference matchups: BYU/Utah, Cincinnati/Miami-OH, Clemson/South Carolina, Colorado/Colorado State, Florida/Florida State, Georgia/Georgia Tech, Kansas/Kansas State, Navy/Notre Dame, NC State/North Carolina, Notre Dame/USC, Oklahoma/Texas

The initial EAC lineup in 1991 was BC, FSU, Miami, PSU, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, VT, and WVU. The Big 12 formed in 1996 as in our timeline, but Nebraska defected to the Big Ten, and Houston was tapped to replace them. The 6 power conferences were stable for the next 15 years, although there was some movement in the non-power conferences. Unlike in our timeline, the remnant SWC survived and preempted the creation of C-USA and the eastward growth of the WAC.

Then things broke wide open in 2010, when the Pac-10 announced an eastward expansion, into the territory of the increasingly fragile Big 12. Houston, Texas, A&M, and TT joined the newly-renamed PAC (Pacific Athletic Conference) and CSU and Utah from the WAC.

The Big Ten capitalized on the situation by annexing Colorado, ISU, Kansas, and Missouri, becoming the Big 16. The SEC picked off the OK schools while helping themselves to Cincinnati from the SWC and NC State from the small and vulnerable ACC. With the ACC destabilized, the EAC opened its doors to the remaining ACC schools, aside from WF.

The Southern Athletic Conference (SAC) is a Sun Belt analog that formed from the eastern wing of the widely-dispersed Big West after the western wing defected to the WAC. Similar to the Sun Belt, the SAC filled out its ranks by drawing from I-AA. The last independent holdouts, Army and Navy, joined the MAC as football affiliates, leading to eight 16-team I-A conferences.