(07-19-2017 09:52 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(07-19-2017 12:09 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  Well you can believe as you wish. I don't have any facts, just guesses.

But my guess is that the SEC doesn't want the ACC to get any more powerful in football than it already is. Arguable, its top three programs are already better than the in-state SEC competitors in three core SEC states. And a state in core SEC country (N Carolina) doesn't have any SEC teams, only ACC teams.


If you're willing to share your "end around" hypothesis, I'm sure people will like to read it.

Ok, very well then, the end around hypothesis: a conference can have more than one division if that conference goes to 16 teams. Sixteen team conferences have to have pods for scheduling. There is no way around it. The Big Ten can try to say pod scheduling isn't needed, but they will run into very fierce opposition on this. The only way the Big Ten can really avoid pod scheduling is to prop up the Big 12 & keep it alive. Do that, and the SEC has no reason to expand, and pod scheduling goes away.

It all depends on who the Big Ten adds to get to 16. If they add Tex and Ok, I believe a simple east-west divisional setup would be perfect.