Rules:

1. State your favorite school.

2. Pick 13 other schools, then divide them into 2 divisions for a 14-team conference (since this seems to be the trend now for P5 conferences)

3. Tell us why you chose each school.

4. List a handful of "honorable mention" schools that either just missed the cuts, OR would seem like obvious choices to some (but that you decided to pass on)

5. You can consider any factors you want, but I will suggest thinking about your rivals, other rivalries within the conference, geography/demographics, football and basketball strength, prestige, academics, etc.

I will begin:

I root for Cincinnati.

North Division:

Cincinnati
Connecticut - Chose them for our Big East ties and to have the Syracuse rivalry.
Louisville - Our biggest rival outside of Xavier. Elite basketball and helps football as well.
Penn State - Closest traditional football power to Cincinnati that won't compete with us for recruits or make division too strong in basketball. Interesting rivalry possibilities.
Pittsburgh - Love the backyard brawl and the connection with the Big East "city" schools.
Syracuse - All about the Big East history and UConn rivalry.
West Virginia - Strong brands in both football and basketball, rivalry with Pitt.

South Division:

Clemson - Chose them over South Carolina for better academics and football history.
Duke - Having the Duke-UNC rivalry in conference would be amazing. Elite basketball and academics.
Florida - Great history in both sports. Best academics in Florida. Great recruiting grounds in Florida.
Georgia - Rivalry with Florida, great football, solid academics. Georgia is an excellent state for high school talent.
North Carolina - Duke rivalry, academic and basketball prestige.
Tennessee - Excellent football tradition, strong academics, great geographic fit.
Virginia Tech - Bridges the gap between the north and south with excellent football and strong academics.

Honorable Mentions:

Ohio State/Notre Dame - Both recruit strong in Cincinnati -- being in a separate power conference would help us compete better for top recruits.
Indiana/Kentucky - Conference is probably already too strong in basketball, so no room for more blue bloods. Plus, too many basketball schools in a small area with Cincinnati and Louisville.
Memphis - Love our rivalry with Memphis, but doesn't fit geographically or academically in this conference. Also, conference would be too imbalanced between basketball and football.
Michigan/Michigan State - Love their programs, but would almost have to be a package deal and there is no room for them.[/b]

I like playing this game. Louisville and Liberty.

The Colonial Frontier Conference (CFC, Frontier14)

East
Liberty - where I graduated, great school, border state of KY, in the mountains
Old Dominion - great coastal location, great recruiting, good tourism, large population, cool name, border state for KY
Va. Tech - in the mountains, border state for KY
Pittsburgh - established conference rivals, river city
West Virginia - established conference rivals, in the mountains, border state for KY
Cincinnati - rival of UofL, border state of KY, big city on the river, good recruiting
Tennessee - near mountains, border state of KY, I like orange, established conference rivals
Miami - great coastal location, sunny Florida, great location, established conference rivals, great recruiting, big city

West
Louisville - where I was born and raised
Kentucky - largest rival of UofL
WKU - long time rival of UofL
Indiana - near UofL, border state for KY
Notre Dame - border state for KY, adds nationwide fan base and interest
Vanderbilt - close to Louisville, large city, good tourism, established conference rivals
Memphis - long time rival for UofL, big city
USF - great coastal location, sunny Florida, great location, great recruiting, big city

Miami is my team. I created two 'ideal' conferences for us, one of which is grossly unrealistic in the present reality but wouldn't be terribly far off if we go by the historical strength of Redhawk/Redskin athletics. The second is what our 'ideal' conference would look like in 2014 if we were to go by peer schools of our present athletic program, where our revenue sports have gone to s*** the past ten years (unless you count hockey).

Miami Valley Conference
Miami
UC
Louisville
Memphis
Marshall
Pitt
Buffalo
Toledo
Temple
Xavier (no football, but with 10 football teams we could just go to nine conference games)
Dayton (same as Xavier)
Butler (same)

Central American Conference
Miami
Ohio U
Buffalo
Akron
Toledo
NIU
WKU
Marshall
MTSU
Arkansas State

(11-12-2014 09:44 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Central American Conference

Ha! and with a name like that, when you want to expand you can invite Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guadalupe.

(11-12-2014 09:55 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(11-12-2014 09:44 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Central American Conference

Ha! and with a name like that, when you want to expand you can invite Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guadalupe.

#CACtion

North-
Marshall
WVU
Pitt
Cinci
Louisville
UK
Ohio

South-
ECU
VT
Virginia
USM
Memphis
UAB
Maryland

Not sure what to call it. All the names that make sense are taken. Maybe the Southern Appalachian Conference? #SACtion?

NIU's "If All Programs Had Generaly Equal NCAA Division One Athletics + FBS Football & A Hugely Engaged Fan Base."

The Big Midwest Athletic Conference.

Conference HQ on Michigan Ave, all championship games played at a new multi-purpose retractable roof stadium located at the end of Navy Pier. All games receive front page sports coverage in the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. Each school has at least two dedicated bars within the city limits, one in Lincoln Park and one in the Loop.



University of Illinois-Dekalb
Illinois State University
University of Illinois-Chicago
DePaul University

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse

University of Iowa at Cedar Falls
Iowa State University

Butler University
Notre Dame

St. Louis University
Missouri State University

Louisville
Cincinnati

University of Michigan-Mt. Pleasant
University of Michigan-Kalamazoo

Houston
Texas
Texas A&M
TCU
Baylor
SMU
Rice
Texas State
UTEP
North Texas

#TEXACTION

1) Ohio

2) & 3)

Divisions

West
Missouri State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Northern Illinois-Ohio fans will take anything in MVC country
Illinois State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Indiana State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Ball State-Ohio fans remember the basketball tradition
Western Kentucky-Ohio fans luv WKU basketball
Middle Tennessee-Ohio fans think this is a good school

East
Toledo-Ohio fans know this is a good sports school
Miami-Traditional Ohio rival
Marshall-Traditional Ohio rival
Appalachian St-Another Appalachian school to play
Ohio-Got to add yourself
Akron-Ohio fans hate Akron
Buffalo-Buffalo fans hate Ohio

This is not what I want but I'm speaking for Ohio fans who want a mega-MVC deluxe conference worthy of 3 NCAA automatic bids a year. Ohio had 11,180 for an exhibition basketball game last weekend and funds basketball at the MVC level.

4) Honorable Mentions

-Directional Michigans. No respect for the directional michigans.
-Bowling Green. Nobody should go to that ugly campus.
-Kent State. Bowling Green of Northeast Ohio.
-James Madison-Only Midwest/Mid South schools apply.

(11-12-2014 10:54 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  1) Ohio

2) & 3)

Divisions

West
Missouri State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Northern Illinois-Ohio fans will take anything in MVC country
Illinois State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Indiana State-Ohio fans have MVC envy
Ball State-Ohio fans remember the basketball tradition
Western Kentucky-Ohio fans luv WKU basketball
Middle Tennessee-Ohio fans think this is a good school

East
Toledo-Ohio fans know this is a good sports school
Miami-Traditional Ohio rival
Marshall-Traditional Ohio rival
Appalachian St-Another Appalachian school to play
Ohio-Got to add yourself
Akron-Ohio fans hate Akron
Buffalo-Buffalo fans hate Ohio

This is not what I want but I'm speaking for Ohio fans who want a mega-MVC deluxe conference worthy of 3 NCAA automatic bids a year. Ohio had 11,180 for an exhibition basketball game last weekend and funds basketball at the MVC level.

4) Honorable Mentions

-Directional Michigans. No respect for the directional michigans.
-Bowling Green. Nobody should go to that ugly campus.
-Kent State. Bowling Green of Northeast Ohio.
-James Madison-Only Midwest/Mid South schools apply.

HEY!!! Kent state does not have an ugly campus (lol)! Ok back to your regularly scheduled program.

Big Outback Conference (FBS)
North Dakota
North Dakota St
Montana
Mont St
E Wash
Idaho
Wyoming
Denver (non-FB)
NMSU
NAU
Utah St
Nevada

New Horizons Hockey
North Dakota
Neb Omaha
Minn Duluth
St Thomas
Iowa St
Marquette

Denver
Colo St
Ariz St
Ariz
Utah
UNLV

For Hawaii that's easy: the Pac-14, consisting of the current Pac-12 plus Hawaii and BYU. Unfortunately "fictional" is an understatement with respect to that happening.

(11-12-2014 11:40 PM)NoDak Wrote:  Big Outback Conference (FBS)
North Dakota
North Dakota St
Montana
Mont St
E Wash
Idaho
Wyoming
Denver (non-FB)
NMSU
NAU
Utah St
Nevada

New Horizons Hockey
North Dakota
Neb Omaha
Minn Duluth
St Thomas
Iowa St
Marquette

Denver
Colo St
Ariz St
Ariz
Utah
UNLV

I doubt that Wyoming, Utah State, or Nevada want anything to do with that football conference. Denver might be a bit upset with that hockey division considering that none of the other schools play the game.

(11-13-2014 12:55 AM)lew240z Wrote:  

(11-12-2014 11:40 PM)NoDak Wrote:  Big Outback Conference (FBS)
North Dakota
North Dakota St
Montana
Mont St
E Wash
Idaho
Wyoming
Denver (non-FB)
NMSU
NAU
Utah St
Nevada

New Horizons Hockey
North Dakota
Neb Omaha
Minn Duluth
St Thomas
Iowa St
Marquette

Denver
Colo St
Ariz St
Ariz
Utah
UNLV

I doubt that Wyoming, Utah State, or Nevada want anything to do with that football conference. Denver might be a bit upset with that hockey division considering that none of the other schools play the game.

The whole premise of this topic is what is your dream conference, not what is possible now. Wyoming, USU and Nevada would fight it tooth and nail. It would only happen if the MWC blew up and left those three schools behind.

Ariz St is considering hockey now,. Denver would love P5 schools out west to consider adding hockey. Colo St probably isn't an option, but only included them so the PAC12 doesn't get ideas of sponsoring it. Texas and Oklahoma would be better options.

I cheer for Stanford.

I really like my school's conference, but adding two members to turn the Pac-12 into the Pac-14 is nearly impossible because of our double-protected-rivalry scheme we have going to preserve all the intra-CA games every year. Keeping the four CA schools split between two divisions would basically eliminate other inter-divisional games for us. So right off the bat I'm going to start this thought exercise by having Cal/Stanford/UCLA/USC in the same division. Washington absolutely needs to come with us, and their fantastic rivalry with the Ducks means that Oregon's coming, too. That just leaves one spot open for the last two Pac-8 members, Wazzu and Oregon State. But I'm going in a different direction and grabbing the University of British Columbia to create a West Coast (CA+Cascadia) division.

Western Division:
Cal - Our main rival, best public school on the planet, discovered Californium and Berkelium
Stanford
UCLA - Most NCAA team titles, really great school
USC - Cal may be our rival, but USC is the enemy. They are the only school besides UCLA and Stanford to have 100+ NCAA team titles. Song Girls.
Washington - Along with Cal, the only school that has had continuous membership in the Pac-12 and all its predecessor conferences. Sailgating.
Oregon - Really great rivalry with UW and has been slowly building one with Stanford, too.
UBC - This is my wildcard. They are a good school, already have a rugby rivalry with Cal, and probably can be convinced to hate on UW.

My eastern division will simply be an attempt to mirror the components of my kickass western division. Four spots will go to the population/recruiting goldmine that is the state of Texas and the other three spots will go to three regionally connected state flagships. The latter three are easy: Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Two of the four Lone Star spots will go to UT and TAMU, who like the UC schools form the backbone of a giant state's educational system. Rice will come in to bolster our nerd cred even more and try to be an eastern Stanford. And the last spot (I'm going to cheat on geography here) will go to Oklahoma as the analogue to USC. That is, a football giant whose academic credentials are largely unimportant.

Eastern Division:
Arizona - Basketball
Utah - They're not BYU
Colorado - Boulder might as well be in CA. Ralphie.
Texas - Austin would fit into CA, too. They have a Silicon Valley vibe. Like Colorado, this flirtation has been long-running and will eventually be consummated.
Texas A&M - Good school. Hates UT. But mostly I want to see the Cadets march on Telegraph.
Rice - Nerds with a scatter band
Oklahoma - Red River Shootout

Honorable Mention:
The three booted schools -- Wazzu, Oregon State and ASU.
Texas Tech, TCU

TL;DR: I'm going to prune the _____ State schools and add Texas+Friends and, strangely enough, UBC.

Iowa, The Big Midwest state flagship conference

North
Iowa - my school
Iowa State- in state FBS rival
Minnesota - border school, state flagship
Wisconsin - border school, state flagship
Illinois - border school, state flagship
Ohio State - midwest, state flagship
Michigan - midwest, state flagship

south
Nebraska - border school, state flagship
Mizzou - border school, state flagship
Kansas - border school, state flagship
Oklahoma - great football, state flagship
TEXAS - state flagship, large state
kentucky - state flagship, great basketball
Indiana - state flagship, great basketball

Others considered: Mich State, Purdue, Northwestern, Penn State, Notre Dame, Louisville, Tennessee, Kansas State, Okie State, Texas A&M, Colorado, SDSU, NDSU, NIU, UNI

My ideal League

North
Indiana
Purdue
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Iowa

South
Louisville
Kentucky
Tennessee
South Carolina
Clemson
Virginia
Virginia Tech

Football Blue Bloods - Notre Dame,Ohio St, Michigan, Tennessee, Clemson

Basketball Blue Bloods - Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan St

Rivalries
ND/Purdue
ND/Indiana
ND/Michigan
Michigan/Mich St
Ohio St/Michigan
UofL/UK
UofL/Indiana
UK/Tenn
USC/Clemson
UVA/VT

1) UConn
2)
Northeast 1 Division

ND/BC/Pitt/Syracuse/Cinci/WVU/Navy

Northeast 2 Division

PSU/RU/UMD/VPI/UConn/Temple/Army

3) I chose each school because I could drive to every away game.

Each division is also contiguous

4) UMass, Buffalo

1. ECU

2.
Northwest - Memphis, Louisville, Cincy, WVU, Pitt, Cuse, Navy
Southeast - ECU, SC, VT, NCSU, UNC, Clemson, FSU

3. For me it's a hybird of teams we've played the most as an Indy / teams that were part of the proposed Super Metro Conference. As far as Clemson goes, I've always wanted to play them.

I liked your western division even before I saw you had my school (Rice) in the west. Being an "eastern Stanford" is a very good model for our athletics and we're moving that direction. We've tried in the past to be a western Harvard but that didn't help so much in football.

I mainly wanted to point out that besides Californium and Berkelium that you mentioned, did Cal not also discover Gold and Barium?

(11-13-2014 06:14 AM)GiveEmTheAxe Wrote:  I cheer for Stanford.

I really like my school's conference, but adding two members to turn the Pac-12 into the Pac-14 is nearly impossible because of our double-protected-rivalry scheme we have going to preserve all the intra-CA games every year. Keeping the four CA schools split between two divisions would basically eliminate other inter-divisional games for us. So right off the bat I'm going to start this thought exercise by having Cal/Stanford/UCLA/USC in the same division. Washington absolutely needs to come with us, and their fantastic rivalry with the Ducks means that Oregon's coming, too. That just leaves one spot open for the last two Pac-8 members, Wazzu and Oregon State. But I'm going in a different direction and grabbing the University of British Columbia to create a West Coast (CA+Cascadia) division.

Western Division:
Cal - Our main rival, best public school on the planet, discovered Californium and Berkelium
Stanford
UCLA - Most NCAA team titles, really great school
USC - Cal may be our rival, but USC is the enemy. They are the only school besides UCLA and Stanford to have 100+ NCAA team titles. Song Girls.
Washington - Along with Cal, the only school that has had continuous membership in the Pac-12 and all its predecessor conferences. Sailgating.
Oregon - Really great rivalry with UW and has been slowly building one with Stanford, too.
UBC - This is my wildcard. They are a good school, already have a rugby rivalry with Cal, and probably can be convinced to hate on UW.

My eastern division will simply be an attempt to mirror the components of my kickass western division. Four spots will go to the population/recruiting goldmine that is the state of Texas and the other three spots will go to three regionally connected state flagships. The latter three are easy: Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Two of the four Lone Star spots will go to UT and TAMU, who like the UC schools form the backbone of a giant state's educational system. Rice will come in to bolster our nerd cred even more and try to be an eastern Stanford. And the last spot (I'm going to cheat on geography here) will go to Oklahoma as the analogue to USC. That is, a football giant whose academic credentials are largely unimportant.

Eastern Division:
Arizona - Basketball
Utah - They're not BYU
Colorado - Boulder might as well be in CA. Ralphie.
Texas - Austin would fit into CA, too. They have a Silicon Valley vibe. Like Colorado, this flirtation has been long-running and will eventually be consummated.
Texas A&M - Good school. Hates UT. But mostly I want to see the Cadets march on Telegraph.
Rice - Nerds with a scatter band
Oklahoma - Red River Shootout

Honorable Mention:
The three booted schools -- Wazzu, Oregon State and ASU.
Texas Tech, TCU

TL;DR: I'm going to prune the _____ State schools and add Texas+Friends and, strangely enough, UBC.