Why have more than 10 unless you want a championship game, and then you only need 12 teams.

I think that many fans are genuine about their affection for the 10 team model. The big question appears to be whether or not the economics of college sports would allow the Big 12 to sustain it.

Add Cincy!!!

http://youtu.be/0lbUaVLfrD0

You're asking the wrong folks, dude. We have no power...

(08-19-2013 07:57 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  You're asking the wrong folks, dude. We have no power...

Unless, of course, we're all actually college presidents who are using this board to spread rumors and innuendos about realignment in the course of our Machiavellian scheming.

But I wouldn't count on that.

(08-19-2013 01:31 PM)BewareThePhog Wrote:  I think that many fans are genuine about their affection for the 10 team model. The big question appears to be whether or not the economics of college sports would allow the Big 12 to sustain it.

Have you thought about 9 team conferences? That would allow 4 home, 4 away conference games and then 4 OOC games so you can avoid the 5th away game in conference each year. Without a need for divisions, an odd number of teams really doesn't matter.

You forget about greed.

(08-20-2013 01:03 PM)bigblueblindness Wrote:  

(08-19-2013 01:31 PM)BewareThePhog Wrote:  I think that many fans are genuine about their affection for the 10 team model. The big question appears to be whether or not the economics of college sports would allow the Big 12 to sustain it.

Have you thought about 9 team conferences? That would allow 4 home, 4 away conference games and then 4 OOC games so you can avoid the 5th away game in conference each year. Without a need for divisions, an odd number of teams really doesn't matter.

I really haven't thought too much about that, largely because circumstances haven't put that on my radar. I grew up a Big 8 guy so I was quite used to that model, and then of course the Big 12 took us well past that and got us into the divisional setup. While I liked the Big 8, I did enjoy the expansion since it broadened the conference a bit - for me, 8 teams is a bit too small. 10 is a good number to keep everyone close while avoiding the feeling that you're just playing the same few teams over and over.

9 might also work, but history has swept us past that and I don't think there's much of a chance that we'd fall back there. You'd put some interesting notions together in the "Ideal Conference" thread on the CR board, but I just don't see it happening at this point, with even 10 being largely a matter of having limited attractive options more than being our conference's ultimate preference.