(12-17-2015 02:42 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote: Big 12 West:
Baylor
Iowa State
Kansas State
Texas Tech
TCU
Houston
Big 12 East:
West Virginia
UCF
USF
Memphis
Cincy
ECU/Tulane/UConn
That's how that would play out.
Absurd.
There is no way you'll convince me that Manhattan, Kansas, Ames, Iowa, Waco, Texas, etc, are going to control that situation.
First off, what are they going to offer? A spot in a brand new non-BCS conference (with no contracts), which they are going to maintain as the "Big 12".
You actually think in this new non-BCS universe, they are going to prefer outposts in Ames, Iowa, over Philadelphia, Pa (Temple)? You actually think Baylor is going to hold more value than NAVY? You really think TCU's fanbase is going to offset ECU's? You think Kansas State is going to be more valuable than UCONN?
Seriously, the AAC will have the highground because Aresco branded it around major metropolitans. With that continued branding effort on ESPN, I simply see no way that the AAC as a whole are going to be pushed around in that deal.
Those leftover Big 12 pieces simply don't command enough eyeballs. They aren't big enough brands to exist out of the shadow of UT/OU. On the outside, they certainly wont drive a new contract because they are more valuable properties than Navy (???)
The number most definitely would be 16, and the fault line runs through the Texas privates. The Metro structure would hold firm and I don't see Waco/Fort Worth pushing out Dallas. Due to the metro structure of the American, those two schools would go to the MWC and the AAC would stay at 16 (which would be the norm for the conferences after the movement).
If they kept the old Big 12 contracts, it would be a different deal. But that's a huge if... and doesn't align with history.