(03-28-2013 02:52 PM)Wedge Wrote: (03-28-2013 02:15 PM)JRsec Wrote: Don't be so literal. Most folks posting here don't believe the rumor. I know I don't. But if taken as a hypothetical problem then the answer would be "if" (operative word here) Miami is moving "then" (another operative word) it is because they know of other movement that will happen.
Also as a hypothetical, Miami isn't going to agree to be the only southeastern school in the Big 12, nor would a prideful program like Texas put itself in a situation where the Aggies could say, "Ha ha, Horns, your league couldn't get Florida or Florida State and you had to settle for South Florida and Central Florida." It's far-fetched under any circumstances, but the only way it would ever be workable is to do something like the Pac tried to do, and poach 4-6 teams at once so that the newbies have a block of neighbors when they join a relatively faraway league.
If the Big 12 had any designs on ever doing such a thing, they'd be trying to get at least Miami/FSU/GT/Clemson together, which is very unlikely because the B12 doesn't have the gravitational pull of the SEC or Big Ten.
Wedge, in your hypothetical there is only one reason for the Big 12 to expand to only 12 with Miami being one of them. That reason would be that the Big 10 and SEC would each have moved to 20 off of the ACC leaving only Miami as any kind of name left to take.
Let's assume a really wild idea here for a moment. Let's say the Big 10 gets Georgia Tech, Virginia, Duke, Boston College (or Connecticut), Clemson, and Florida State and the SEC gets Virginia Tech, North Carolina, N.C. State (requirement for UNC), Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia.
Both stand at 20 each. The PAC takes Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Miami to get to 20. By eliminating the extra conference the divided share of the playoff money now increases all 60 teams earnings by 2 million more per year. We have three large market conferences comprising large swaths of the nation, each with 4 regional divisions of 5, and with the PAC having access into both Texas and Florida. The playoffs would be largely internal within the 3 conferences and each year there would be 3 conference champs and 1 at large for the playoffs.
Miami has to fly everywhere anyway so their location has less relevance to realignment geography than any other continental school. Notre Dame would be able to remain a hybrid by affiliating with a division of one conference and playing the remainder against the other two conferences. They would play 5 games against their division (which is their entry into the playoffs) and alternate 4 and 3 games against the other two conferences. Each conference would play 10 conference games and 2 out of conference games each year.
Like I said a wild idea, but the only reason I could think of for just Miami to join the Big 12.