Well, yesterday (Jun. 30) was the last day for any teams and conferences to hook up and expand in time for 2005. It was just a day over a year ago that Miami and Va. Tech jumped ship to the ACC and led all of college Division I-A to the mad scramble. All of us had dreams of moving to the Big East, MWC, or Conference USA. Some dreams came true, and for others they rode it out and hoped for the best. Well, if anything great came out of the past year, it is that conferece's all of a sudden became more regional for the most part. The WAC is now westernized (with La. Tech here to keep us company), and Conference USA has two nice regional divisions. I never liked the 14 team MAC, it just seemed 2 teams out of place. But now they are a nice even 12 along with the ACC, Big 12, and Conference USA. And for those leagues that have non-playing football schools, wake up and ditch them. I think Conference USA will benefit from have a solid foundation of 12 teams that play in all major sports. The Big East will eventually wake up and realize this.

As for the future, I see the Big 11 (10) and Notre Dame someday finally getting married. The Pac-10 will continue to be the rebel that stay's at 10. And the Big East football schools will eventually divorce the Basketball only schools and look to the MAC and Conference USA, along with begging for Army and Navy to bring their tradition to go with 2 other nice schools that will give them a 33% better chance of having at least one team go 10-1 and try to save their butts in the BCS (the more teams you have, the better your chances one team won't suck).

As for the WAC, pray that the Pac-10 doesn't raid two schools out of Utah to keep up with the BCS Jones's and that Conference USA doesn't swipe La. Tech and the MWC comes calling to BSU, FSU, Hawaii and Nevada to get them back to 10. That would leave Utah St., Idaho, San Jose St. and New Mexico St. in a pickle (Can you say western Sun Belt Division).

That is why the WAC has to continue to expand up to 12 teams. It is protectionaganist future losses. UC-Davis and Montana are IMHO the obvious next choices. You don't have to add them next week but I would get them in place by the end of 2005 to start play by 2008. After that Montana State, Sac State and portland State would be great choices. Since these schools are AA it will take a little longer but it is very doable.

sawtooth79 Wrote:As for the future, I see the Big 11 (10) and Notre Dame someday finally getting married.

This will never happen, ND will stay Ind. forever. Why should they join a conf lets take a look at it.

1) They have their own TV contract and just signed a new 1.
2) They have their own BCS bid if they win enough games
3) They have the option of "ELECTIVE" scheduling
4) They don't have to share their money
5) They can have a lower SOS and still get in, in a cof they can't


Trust me ND will stay Ind. forever.

I agree with you Herd. As long as ND has that nice television contract, they don't need anyone else. The only way they would join the Big 10 is if they suffer a ratings drop before the next contract extension deadline. Then the Irish might consider joining a conference. The Big 10, although the most logical fit, isn't even a slam dunk if they do join a conference. The ACC has also expressed interest in Notre Dame even though they already have 12 members. However, to add Notre Dame, I don't think there would be a problem to go to 13 to include them, or kick someone else out. The Big East would love to have them too, but that dream has probably faded.

As far as expansion goes, it is neither simple nor logical. I don't worry about the Pac-10 expanding, or even the Mtn. West. IMHO the western shuffle is done. However, the Big East is the biggest wild card right now, they could cause a problem expanding from Conf-USA and or Army and Navy. I don't think they would bother with the MAC. But beyond that, it is all speculation and should be treated as such until someone receives an invite. The ripple that started the 2003-2004 conference realignment shuffle has run its course and is done for now.

sawtooth79 Wrote:Well, yesterday (Jun. 30) was the last day for any teams and conferences to hook up and expand in time for 2005. It was just a day over a year ago that Miami and Va. Tech jumped ship to the ACC and led all of college Division I-A to the mad scramble. All of us had dreams of moving to the Big East, MWC, or Conference USA. Some dreams came true, and for others they rode it out and hoped for the best. Well, if anything great came out of the past year, it is that conferece's all of a sudden became more regional for the most part. The WAC is now westernized (with La. Tech here to keep us company), and Conference USA has two nice regional divisions. I never liked the 14 team MAC, it just seemed 2 teams out of place. But now they are a nice even 12 along with the ACC, Big 12, and Conference USA. And for those leagues that have non-playing football schools, wake up and ditch them. I think Conference USA will benefit from have a solid foundation of 12 teams that play in all major sports. The Big East will eventually wake up and realize this.

As for the future, I see the Big 11 (10) and Notre Dame someday finally getting married. The Pac-10 will continue to be the rebel that stay's at 10. And the Big East football schools will eventually divorce the Basketball only schools and look to the MAC and Conference USA, along with begging for Army and Navy to bring their tradition to go with 2 other nice schools that will give them a 33% better chance of having at least one team go 10-1 and try to save their butts in the BCS (the more teams you have, the better your chances one team won't suck).

As for the WAC, pray that the Pac-10 doesn't raid two schools out of Utah to keep up with the BCS Jones's and that Conference USA doesn't swipe La. Tech and the MWC comes calling to BSU, FSU, Hawaii and Nevada to get them back to 10. That would leave Utah St., Idaho, San Jose St. and New Mexico St. in a pickle (Can you say western Sun Belt Division).

If two Utah schools left the MWC for the PAC-10, the remaining MWC schools would be the hurtin turkies, not the WAC. Why would anyone in the WAC want to go to a MWC that doesn't include Utah and BYU? The WAC would obviously be stronger than the MWC at that point, and it may be that MWC teams such as UNLV would want to come the other way.

HerdZoned Wrote:

sawtooth79 Wrote:As for the future, I see the Big 11 (10) and Notre Dame someday finally getting married.

This will never happen, ND will stay Ind. forever. Why should they join a conf lets take a look at it.

1) They have their own TV contract and just signed a new 1.
2) They have their own BCS bid if they win enough games
3) They have the option of "ELECTIVE" scheduling
4) They don't have to share their money
5) They can have a lower SOS and still get in, in a cof they can't


Trust me ND will stay Ind. forever.

How can you be so sure? What does your crystal ball tell you about the college football landscape fifty years from now, or even six when ND's newly signed deal expires. Now I agree with you that as of right now, there is no incentive for ND football to join a conference, but the same was true of Penn State, FSU, and Miami twenty years ago.

ND has been IND for over 100 YRS. They will never sell themselves to a conf. . Theres always a station out there that will be willing to give them a contract if it's not NBC. It's the mystique of ND. Even if the value isn't there. They will always have their "own" money, so why join a conf and share it with 12 other schools.

Do you think that Denver should join the WAC even though they don't have a football team? My answer is hell no. They must have football to join the WAC.

In the future here is what I see
1. Pac 12: welcome unr/unlv
2. MWC 12: welcome boise/hawaii/fresno/houston
3. WAC: becomes western sunbelt conference
idaho/nmsu/sjsu/nmsu with rest of sunbelt4.
4. ND joins big 10 (12)
5. Big 12 stays same
6. Out east I have no clue!

Big Bad Wolf Wrote:In the future here is what I see
1. Pac 12: welcome unr/unlv
2. MWC 12: welcome boise/hawaii/fresno/houston
3. WAC: becomes western sunbelt conference
idaho/nmsu/sjsu/nmsu with rest of sunbelt4.
4. ND joins big 10 (12)
5. Big 12 stays same
6. Out east I have no clue!

Pac10 expands to add UNLV and Nevada? LOL! :laugh: