Posted this elsewhere but it is perhaps more relevant here:



Criteria I used in creating this:
- Plausibility
- COVID-19 financials
- Ending the disconnect between conferences organized by media market and conferences organized by fan interest / geography.
- Scheduling
- Making more money for everybody particularly at the struggling gate




Southern Conference 2.0
Rival divisions: Atlantic-Deep South, Gulf-Plains

FB Scheduling: Round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Game (#1 vs #2). Teams #3-#9 compete in a challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

BB Scheduling: Home/home round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. One home/home progressing through rival division. Six team double-bye division tournament.

Baseball Scheduling: Weekend series with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Pool Play (#1-#4). Teams #5-9 compete in a 3-game series challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

Non-Revenue Sport Scheduling: Each division has a 9-team scheduling alliance of teams automatically scheduled by the conference but not counting in any standings for conference titles in non-revenue sports. It's primarily here to alleviate scheduling work and greatly reduce travel costs while also "spreading the big brands" to cities/areas with demand that don't normally get that demand satisfied if possible. Rarely when spoiled for (DC Metro area in particular) I opted for the most "name brand" programs with high academic credentials as well.


Divisions:
Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky

Deep South: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

Gulf: Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor

Plains: Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State



Non-Revenue Sports Scheduling Alliance Members:
Atlantic: Georgetown, Navy, Old Dominion, VCU, Radford, William & Mary, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Northern Kentucky

Deep South: UNC Charlotte, Furman, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UAB, Central Florida, South Florida, Middle Tennessee

Gulf: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tulane, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Arkansas State, Memphis, Houston, Rice

Plains: SMU, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, UMKC, St Louis, SE Missouri State

(04-23-2020 06:00 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Posted this elsewhere but it is perhaps more relevant here:



Criteria I used in creating this:
- Plausibility
- COVID-19 financials
- Ending the disconnect between conferences organized by media market and conferences organized by fan interest / geography.
- Scheduling
- Making more money for everybody particularly at the struggling gate




Southern Conference 2.0
Rival divisions: Atlantic-Deep South, Gulf-Plains

FB Scheduling: Round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Game (#1 vs #2). Teams #3-#9 compete in a challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

BB Scheduling: Home/home round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. One home/home progressing through rival division. Six team double-bye division tournament.

Baseball Scheduling: Weekend series with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Pool Play (#1-#4). Teams #5-9 compete in a 3-game series challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

Non-Revenue Sport Scheduling: Each division has a 9-team scheduling alliance of teams automatically scheduled by the conference but not counting in any standings for conference titles in non-revenue sports. It's primarily here to alleviate scheduling work and greatly reduce travel costs while also "spreading the big brands" to cities/areas with demand that don't normally get that demand satisfied if possible. Rarely when spoiled for (DC Metro area in particular) I opted for the most "name brand" programs with high academic credentials as well.


Divisions:
Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky

Deep South: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

Gulf: Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor

Plains: Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State



Non-Revenue Sports Scheduling Alliance Members:
Atlantic: Georgetown, Navy, Old Dominion, VCU, Radford, William & Mary, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Northern Kentucky

Deep South: UNC Charlotte, Furman, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UAB, Central Florida, South Florida, Middle Tennessee

Gulf: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tulane, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Arkansas State, Memphis, Houston, Rice

Plains: SMU, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, UMKC, St Louis, SE Missouri State

You're walking a line there between trying to generate more games without airplane travel for Olympic sports teams, on the one hand, and on the other hand trying to let Olympic sports coaches in power conferences have the status-based recruiting pitch, "You'll be competing in the SEC/ACC/Big 12."

I think the latter is the reason why P5 schools will be very resistant to doing anything with Olympic sports that the coaches think would dilute their conference branding. A Boston College softball coach wants to be able to pitch recruits the idea that being in the ACC means that playing softball at BC is "better" than playing softball at UMass.

Southern Conference 2.0 - Thinned (Dropped one team per division, any lower and you can't hold a title game.)
Rival divisions: Atlantic-Deep South, Gulf-Plains

FB Scheduling: Round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Game (#1 vs #2). Teams #3-#9 compete in a challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

BB Scheduling: Home/home round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. One home/home progressing through rival division. Six team double-bye division tournament.

Baseball Scheduling: Weekend series with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Pool Play (#1-#4). Teams #5-9 compete in a 3-game series challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

Non-Revenue Sport Scheduling: Each division has a 9-team scheduling alliance of teams automatically scheduled by the conference but not counting in any standings for conference titles in non-revenue sports. It's primarily here to alleviate scheduling work and greatly reduce travel costs while also "spreading the big brands" to cities/areas with demand that don't normally get that demand satisfied if possible. Rarely when spoiled for (DC Metro area in particular) I opted for the most "name brand" programs with high academic credentials as well.


Divisions:
Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky

Deep South: Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

Gulf: Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M

Plains: Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State



Non-Revenue Sports Scheduling Alliance Members:
Atlantic: Georgetown, Navy, Old Dominion, VCU, Radford, William & Mary, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Northern Kentucky

Deep South: UNC Charlotte, Furman, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UAB, Central Florida, South Florida, Middle Tennessee

Gulf: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tulane, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Arkansas State, Memphis, Houston, Rice

Plains: SMU, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, UMKC, St Louis, SE Missouri State

(04-29-2020 02:53 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Southern Conference 2.0 - Thinned (Dropped one team per division, any lower and you can't hold a title game.)
Rival divisions: Atlantic-Deep South, Gulf-Plains

FB Scheduling: Round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Game (#1 vs #2). Teams #3-#9 compete in a challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

BB Scheduling: Home/home round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. One home/home progressing through rival division. Six team double-bye division tournament.

Baseball Scheduling: Weekend series with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Pool Play (#1-#4). Teams #5-9 compete in a 3-game series challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

Non-Revenue Sport Scheduling: Each division has a 9-team scheduling alliance of teams automatically scheduled by the conference but not counting in any standings for conference titles in non-revenue sports. It's primarily here to alleviate scheduling work and greatly reduce travel costs while also "spreading the big brands" to cities/areas with demand that don't normally get that demand satisfied if possible. Rarely when spoiled for (DC Metro area in particular) I opted for the most "name brand" programs with high academic credentials as well.


Divisions:
Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky

Deep South: Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

Gulf: Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M

Plains: Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State



Non-Revenue Sports Scheduling Alliance Members:
Atlantic: Georgetown, Navy, Old Dominion, VCU, Radford, William & Mary, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Northern Kentucky

Deep South: UNC Charlotte, Furman, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UAB, Central Florida, South Florida, Middle Tennessee

Gulf: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tulane, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Arkansas State, Memphis, Houston, Rice

Plains: SMU, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, UMKC, St Louis, SE Missouri State

If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 02:53 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  Southern Conference 2.0 - Thinned (Dropped one team per division, any lower and you can't hold a title game.)
Rival divisions: Atlantic-Deep South, Gulf-Plains

FB Scheduling: Round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Game (#1 vs #2). Teams #3-#9 compete in a challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

BB Scheduling: Home/home round robin with division and one permanent rival out of division. One home/home progressing through rival division. Six team double-bye division tournament.

Baseball Scheduling: Weekend series with division and one permanent rival out of division. Division Title Pool Play (#1-#4). Teams #5-9 compete in a 3-game series challenge the same weekend against their rival division.

Non-Revenue Sport Scheduling: Each division has a 9-team scheduling alliance of teams automatically scheduled by the conference but not counting in any standings for conference titles in non-revenue sports. It's primarily here to alleviate scheduling work and greatly reduce travel costs while also "spreading the big brands" to cities/areas with demand that don't normally get that demand satisfied if possible. Rarely when spoiled for (DC Metro area in particular) I opted for the most "name brand" programs with high academic credentials as well.


Divisions:
Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, Kentucky

Deep South: Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

Gulf: Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M

Plains: Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State



Non-Revenue Sports Scheduling Alliance Members:
Atlantic: Georgetown, Navy, Old Dominion, VCU, Radford, William & Mary, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Northern Kentucky

Deep South: UNC Charlotte, Furman, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UAB, Central Florida, South Florida, Middle Tennessee

Gulf: Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tulane, Southern Miss, LA Tech, Arkansas State, Memphis, Houston, Rice

Plains: SMU, North Texas, Tulsa, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, UMKC, St Louis, SE Missouri State

If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

Really like the Southern Conference 2.0...nice compact groupings between Atlantic, South, Gulf and Plains.


The Mountain to Mohamed version, not so much. The alignments only make sense for the current BIG, SEC and B12 schools.
Lots of ACC schools would be dramatically worse-off. UVA, WFU, BC and Syracuse lose “power” status. Duke, UNC and Miami are isolated from the B12 core. Pittsburgh had the opportunity to join the B12 in 2010...they choose to join the current ACC instead.

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

The divisions are geographically based? You have two coast to coast conferences and the third is East Coast to Texas. If you are listing rows for divisions, Miami's in a division with four Texas schools.

(04-29-2020 06:23 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

The divisions are geographically based? You have two coast to coast conferences and the third is East Coast to Texas. If you are listing rows for divisions, Miami's in a division with four Texas schools.

Find me a division where Miami doesn't have to fly? End of story. And yes the divisions are geographically aligned. Coast to Coast is irrelevant the core of your games are played annually within driving distance for most fans of most schools.

Coast to Coast? Maybe but all 5 in the western division of the Big 10 have been historically tied together. Colorado with Nebraska is hardly out kilter with that division.

The SEC and Big 10 aren't moving backwards. And with the disparity in what they pay out in revenue for media rights there will be parties interested in finding that security and which don't detract from that value. And as long as networks can monetize the moves effectively they are more likely than not to occur. Two P conferences would be way too large. 3 of 20 can play a 10 game conference schedule which is more content value for the networks who pay them, and with that they can play 4 divisional games, rotate the other division annually, keep one permanent conference rival alternating another on years when their divisions match up in scheduling, and still have 2 game left to play OOC but against another P school.

Twelve P games for each of the 60 schools, plus a spring game moved to mid August for a pre-season contest against a G5 or FCS school gives everyone 7 season tickets to sell, boosts the quality of owning a season book, and provides the networks with wall to wall content.

Whether we get there in 2024 or late doesn't matter. That's what's coming.

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

Then you would have to slot in Virginia in where UNC and Duke are, which you didn't.

Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame decides to go full in then it would be down to between Pitt and UVa, as WVU is already in the Big 12. But it's also possible that both can be included as ND is stubborn when it comes to football status.

(04-29-2020 07:43 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

Then you would have to slot in Virginia in where UNC and Duke are, which you didn't.

Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame decides to go full in then it would be down to between Pitt and UVa, as WVU is already in the Big 12. But it's also possible that both can be included as ND is stubborn when it comes to football status.

Good catch. Virginia over Syracuse.

(04-29-2020 06:39 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 06:23 PM)schmolik Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  If Mohammed won't come to the Mountain (Texas to Chapel Hill) then perhaps the Mountain will come to Mohammed.

Big 10/PAC (Union-Pacific)
California, California Los Angeles, Southern Cal, Stanford, Washington
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State
Indiana, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State
Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas A&M

Big 12:
Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Oregon, Utah
Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech

If Notre Dame wants to be a partial only in the Big 12 move Syracuse into their divisional slot.

The divisions are geographically based, the strength is relatively well distributed, and if ESPN could acquire all of the rights to the Big 12 this is workable and more importantly everyone makes more, some by a little and some by a lot.

Reason: If the Big 12 is forced to make a decision and Texas refuses to move, or the ACC refuses to cooperate with what ESPN wants to do then ESPN has the leverage externally (double the revenues in the Big 10 and SEC) and internally (the ability to broker beneficial moves) to make this happen.

Then what they do is to trade a less competitive ACC (in terms of market domination, football interest, and in content value in too few top football brands) for a new conference constructed to enhance both the basketball brands of the ACC and the football brands of the Big 12.

Add Kansas/Texas/Oklahoma hoops to North Carolina, Duke and Virginia and voila ESPN makes more money. Add Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville to the SEC and you get a big boost in value for Clemson and F.S.U. and even Va Tech vs the SEC lineup, and a solid middle add in N.C. State which improves SEC hoops and Louisville provides the Duke kind of add for Kentucky in hoops and they add decent football and solid baseball as does N.C. State. Georgia Tech simply renews old rivalries and solidifies the Deep South for the SEC will adding academics.

FOX goes after total control of the West Coast/ Northeast viewing market and will be satisfied with this kind of a move.

So ESPN gets what they want and FOX does as well. If N.D. doesn't want to go all in they get a partial deal with the Big 12 and Syracuse slides into the divisional spot.

From there each of the 3 conferences has semifinals with the divisional champs (giving meaning to the regular season) and their 3 champs get automatic bids for the CFP. The fourth CFP slots keeps everyone's hopes alive late into the season as it is awarded to the best at large and will be paired against the #1 seed. If N.D. agrees to only have a shot at the at large then so be it. Four of the weakest revenue producers in the P5 are out (B.C., Wake, Ore St., Wash St.). Wake might be able to wangle a partial deal as well with the Big 12 if Notre Dame gets one.

The divisions are geographically based? You have two coast to coast conferences and the third is East Coast to Texas. If you are listing rows for divisions, Miami's in a division with four Texas schools.

Find me a division where Miami doesn't have to fly? End of story. And yes the divisions are geographically aligned. Coast to Coast is irrelevant the core of your games are played annually within driving distance for most fans of most schools.

Coast to Coast? Maybe but all 5 in the western division of the Big 10 have been historically tied together. Colorado with Nebraska is hardly out kilter with that division.

The SEC and Big 10 aren't moving backwards. And with the disparity in what they pay out in revenue for media rights there will be parties interested in finding that security and which don't detract from that value. And as long as networks can monetize the moves effectively they are more likely than not to occur. Two P conferences would be way too large. 3 of 20 can play a 10 game conference schedule which is more content value for the networks who pay them, and with that they can play 4 divisional games, rotate the other division annually, keep one permanent conference rival alternating another on years when their divisions match up in scheduling, and still have 2 game left to play OOC but against another P school.

Twelve P games for each of the 60 schools, plus a spring game moved to mid August for a pre-season contest against a G5 or FCS school gives everyone 7 season tickets to sell, boosts the quality of owning a season book, and provides the networks with wall to wall content.

Whether we get there in 2024 or late doesn't matter. That's what's coming.

I'm not saying it won't, it just goes against the premise of the original thread. A conference with schools mostly East of the Mississippi doesn't add five West Coast schools and a conference with several Texas schools don't merge with Atlantic Coast schools if "geography were a bigger criteria in conference alignment". If your premise is market value and making ESPN and/or other networks happy or to do what would improve the SEC/Big Ten the most, knock yourself out.

If we want a 3 by 20 and we want the 3rd conference to be competitive to the SEC and Big Ten, rather than "merge the Big 12 and ACC", I'd rather merge the Pac 12 and Big 12 and split the ACC among the Big Ten and SEC.

Pac 12/Big 12:
UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Texas Tech
California, Stanford, Oregon, Washington, Colorado
Texas, Baylor, TCU, Utah, BYU
Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big Ten:
Penn State, Pitt, Ohio State, Boston College, Syracuse
Rutgers, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke
Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa, Nebraska

SEC:
Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State
Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech
Clemson, South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, NC State

The divisions/quads certainly can be juggled.

Schmolik

In a 3 x 20 geographic alignment where the BIG and SEC break-up the ACC, a different set of groupings...

BIG
West - UNL, IA, MN, Wisc and NW
North - Ill, Ind, Pur, Mich and MSU
East - OSU, Pitt, PSU, Syr and Rutgers
South - UMD, UVA, UNC, Duke and GT

SEC
West - TAMU, LSU, Ole Miss, Ark and MO
Central - MsSt, Ala, Aub, Tenn and Vandy
East - KY, Louisville, VT, NCSt and SC
South - Clemson, UGA, FSU, UF and Miami

B12&PAC
South - TX, TTU, Bay, TCU and OU
Plains - CO, ISU, KsSt, KU and Okie St
Northwest - Wash, OR, OrSt, Cal and Stanford
West - UCLA, USC, AZ, ASU and Utah

Apologies to WFU, BC, WVU and WSU who don’t get homes.

Here's my geographic P3x20. Rather than a North-South-West divide, I went for East-Central-West.

Atlantic Coast Conference
East: Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
North: Boston College, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
South: Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL
West: Clemson, Duke, NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina
Protected crossovers: Clemson/Florida State, Duke/Georgia Tech, Georgia/South Carolina, North Carolina/Virginia, Pittsburgh/West Virginia

Big Central Conference
East: Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee
North: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Purdue
South: Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Protected crossovers: Alabama/LSU, Tennessee/Vanderbilt

Pac-West Conference
East: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
North: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska
South: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC
West: California, Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Washington
Protected crossovers: California/UCLA, Nebraska/Oklahoma, Stanford/USC

SOL: Baylor, Oregon State, TCU, Wake Forest, Washington State

Notable annual interconference P3 matchups
Auburn/Georgia, Iowa/Iowa State, Michigan/Ohio State, Notre Dame/USC

(04-30-2020 09:49 AM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  Schmolik

In a 3 x 20 geographic alignment where the BIG and SEC break-up the ACC, a different set of groupings...

BIG
West - UNL, IA, MN, Wisc and NW
North - Ill, Ind, Pur, Mich and MSU
East - OSU, Pitt, PSU, Syr and Rutgers
South - UMD, UVA, UNC, Duke and GT

SEC
West - TAMU, LSU, Ole Miss, Ark and MO
Central - MsSt, Ala, Aub, Tenn and Vandy
East - KY, Louisville, VT, NCSt and SC
South - Clemson, UGA, FSU, UF and Miami

B12&PAC
South - TX, TTU, Bay, TCU and OU
Plains - CO, ISU, KsSt, KU and Okie St
Northwest - Wash, OR, OrSt, Cal and Stanford
West - UCLA, USC, AZ, ASU and Utah

Apologies to WFU, BC, WVU and WSU who don’t get homes.

If GT's choice is between UVA, UNC, and Duke in the B1G ... and literally everybody else in the SEC ... we'll take the SEC.

JR knows I wouldn't want VT to jump to the SEC with only 1 other team, but this...

SEC:
Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville, South Carolina, Virginia Tech
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State

I could get behind an SEC where the Hokies played Clemson, Kentucky, Louisville and South Carolina every year and perhaps Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State often, if not annually (I just don't care much about playing the Gulf Coast teams West of Tallahassee). In fact, make it a 9-game schedule with those teams and I know I'd be happy... MAKE IT SO!

(04-30-2020 11:26 AM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(04-30-2020 09:49 AM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  Schmolik

In a 3 x 20 geographic alignment where the BIG and SEC break-up the ACC, a different set of groupings...

BIG
West - UNL, IA, MN, Wisc and NW
North - Ill, Ind, Pur, Mich and MSU
East - OSU, Pitt, PSU, Syr and Rutgers
South - UMD, UVA, UNC, Duke and GT

SEC
West - TAMU, LSU, Ole Miss, Ark and MO
Central - MsSt, Ala, Aub, Tenn and Vandy
East - KY, Louisville, VT, NCSt and SC
South - Clemson, UGA, FSU, UF and Miami

B12&PAC
South - TX, TTU, Bay, TCU and OU
Plains - CO, ISU, KsSt, KU and Okie St
Northwest - Wash, OR, OrSt, Cal and Stanford
West - UCLA, USC, AZ, ASU and Utah

Apologies to WFU, BC, WVU and WSU who don’t get homes.

If GT's choice is between UVA, UNC, and Duke in the B1G ... and literally everybody else in the SEC ... we'll take the SEC.

I know...I was merely trying to find a landing spot for UMiami :)

The NCAA would not allow a conference to have 4 divisions.

(05-26-2020 03:07 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  The NCAA would not allow a conference to have 4 divisions.

I like the system that allows for conference championship semifinals...which would require a rule change. This systems leads to FOUR power conferences and the CFP becomes an easy P4 champs-only system.

The CONFERENCE semifinal games provide a path to the CFP for the non-division-winner wild card.

Here's my P4. Fairly simple, straightforward and realistic moves so that each conference ends up with 15-18 members in 3 divisions.

BIG TEN (15)
Penn State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland, *Pitt
Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska

SEC (18)
Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi St., Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas
Texas A&M, Missouri, *Texas, *Oklahoma, *Kansas, *Texas Tech

ACC (15)
Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, NC State
^Notre Dame, Boston College, Syracuse, Wake Forest, *West Virginia
Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Louisville

PAC (18)
California, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado
*TCU, *Baylor, *Oklahoma State, *Kansas State, *Iowa State, ^BYU


2019 Conference Championship tournaments and CFP might have looked like this:

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
December 6-7

ACC
NR Virginia Tech(Wild Card) AT #3 Clemson
#23 Virginia AT #15 Notre Dame

B1G
#14 Michigan(Wild Card) AT #1 Ohio State
#10 Penn State AT #8 Wisconsin

PAC
#22 USC(Wild Card) AT #5 Utah
#13 Oregon AT #7 Baylor

SEC
#9 Florida(Wild Card) AT #2 LSU
#6 Oklahoma AT #4 Georgia

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
December 13-14

ACC
Charlotte: #3 Clemson v. #15 Notre Dame

B1G
Indianapolis: #1 Ohio State v. #8 Wisconsin

PAC
Las Vegas: #5 Utah v. #7 Baylor

SEC
Atlanta: #2 LSU v. #4 Georgia

CFP SEMIFINALS
December 28

FIESTA BOWL
#1 Ohio State v. #5 Utah

PEACH BOWL
#2 LSU v. #3 Clemson

NY6 Consolation
Rose: #7 Baylor(PAC) v. #8 Wisconsin(B1G)
Sugar:#4 Georgia(SEC) v. #10 Penn State(B1G)
Orange: #9 Florida(SEC) v. #15 Notre Dame(ACC)
Cotton: #6 Oklahoma(SEC) v. #17 Memphis(G5)

(05-26-2020 03:07 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  The NCAA would not allow a conference to have 4 divisions.

If the power conferences want 4 divisions, they will get 4 divisions. The NCAA doesn't own the conferences. They all might be under a contract but contracts expire and can be terminated. It would be a bad move for the NCAA to say "no." The best answer is usually "let's find a solution that makes everyone happy." Ultimately, the conferences - read, the schools - hold all the power.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
Kansas and Kansas State
Virginia and Virginia Tech
must be in the same conference because of politicals.

(05-29-2020 11:37 AM)David Krysakowski Wrote:  Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
Kansas and Kansas State
Virginia and Virginia Tech
must be in the same conference because of politicals.

Damn the politicals, David Krysakowski State!