Let me offer the symmetry and the subsequent advantages of 20.

Accessing growing markets and new regions seems to be the consistent goal of conference expansion. Regardless of whether we're using the cable-centric market model or a more content-focused model, the goal is to get more eyeballs on your product. So with that in mind, I think there's room for variance in one's approach.

I've always liked 20 because you don't have to worry about dividing into 3 subsets. The math gets a little weird when you do that and it also limits the ability to tap multiple new regions.

Texas and Oklahoma are the key properties to gain here. The money is most efficiently distributed when those 2 and no more are added, but there are political concerns and the practical reality that those schools exist in a different region and therefore appeal to a different flavor of fan who might prefer to watch a few more regional rivals rather than more games against SEC East schools, for example.

So just go to 18, right? Oklahoma State is a decent content property and fits in pretty well culturally. I think ESPN would rather us take Kansas as the 18th school for a variety of reasons so I think that would be the 18th.

The primary issue with 18 is that it's more congruent to be able to divide into divisions of 4. I'm not sure we'd have conference semis as that would require a shuffling of the regular season schedule, but if you go past 16 then you might as well tap more geographical regions on your way to a looser divisional structure. That and creating a little more infrequency between major brands increases the chances of landing multiple teams in a college football playoff.

Does the money work at 20 though? Well, I think you're entering a critical territory where the amount of content under one roof would demand a higher premium from networks. Especially if you increased the number of conference games...

So does that mean networks would work against that sort of growth? Well, maybe not if it meant creating a product that was unquestionably the most watchable league across all platforms. College athletics is so disjointed that there's only 2 ways for a network entity to control the product.

1. Take all the best brands from across the country and stick them in a super league that would garner interest from all corners of the country.

2. Create the next best thing by sticking as many strong brands as you can under one roof so that other leagues can't really compete for the same amount of airtime.

One might say the latter destroys balance, but the truth is that balance has been gone for a long time. The leagues are not equal and there's no simple or fair way to make them equal. So the laws of economics would suggest we will continue down our current path until we have a greater and greater conglomerate.

So with that, I propose a slight variation on what I suggested before:

We go to 20 with the 4 mentioned earlier and we use another 2 slots to spread our wings a little further.

19. West Virginia is a strong regional brand that attracts students from both the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. It's the simplest and cheapest way to tap those regions of the country and do it without compromising the quality of product. WVU has pretty well proven this year they can build a strong program in a good league with resources. Non-conference games with them from a variety of opponents in the region would help expand the SEC brand. They are SEC-like in passion and would provide a good rival for Kentucky. The coming focus on content as opposed to market size is actually WVU's strength. They have a good following outside their home market and while it would be better if the state of WV had a strong economy and larger population, what matters most if that people will watch them. The tech of modern broadcasting will render the location of those eyeballs less and less relevant.

20. Colorado is a brand that could expand our base of interest into the Mountain West and the West Coast. That and the growing state of CO provides a good base of support by itself. Games with CU would be good for ratings across the Southwest as well considering long time conference rivals of OU, OSU, KU, and MU would be in the fold. It's also likely that CU would be available given the PAC's trouble. I'm not suggesting that CU would love to be in the SEC first and foremost, but from a strategic standpoint I think it works for us. If there was mutual interest then I think 20 is very viable.