(05-20-2019 10:37 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(05-10-2019 12:06 PM)TerryD Wrote:  

(05-10-2019 01:21 AM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  The private school in Indiana does what it has always done: march to their own drums. So pencil them out.

Virginia Tech - This is the one football school that I could see joining such a conference. They'd immediately stretch into Virginia and maybe pull in an NC State or another program in the South

West Virginia - makes sense as a twofer with VT

Penn State - would have enough partners in the East to make it work for them

Maryland - as an additive to VT and WVU

Michigan State - Would quickly find its footing even without their in-state rival or the private school in South Bend.

Would this conference try to pull in Wisconsin and Michigan to its orbit? Would Kentucky find this too tempting to pass up?

If Michigan and Wisconsin stay put then they'd eventually add Nebraska and Missouri to get to ten.

Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Illinois
Northwestern
Purdue
Iowa
Indiana
Michigan
Wisconsin

The Ohio Conference might look like this:

Ohio State
Michigan State
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Maryland
West Virginia
Kentucky
Pittsburgh

Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State and occasionally West Virginia would provide some basketball gravitas but it would be clear that football is the prime focus.


The SEC sans Kentucky would look into adding South Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, Arkansas, Louisville or Miami. Big 8 remnants would still merge with part of the SWC but would Iowa State make it or forced to go indy? Perhaps the Texas schools would look different but maybe Arkansas would be part of this if the SEC takes South Carolina. Colorado might still jump West but the PAC then wasn't in a strong enough position to pull them in.

Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Colorado
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
penciling Iowa State here because I don't know how Texas politics would have operated before the 1990s, so I'm assuming that Arkansas would be enough to pacify the Texas group

I would assume that the ACC and the remaining independents would still fight it out in the East. Maybe Navy and Rutgers, as well as Syracuse and Boston College, eventually join the ACC.

The School With No Name (ND) may have joined a conference like this one around the time it was seeking (and was rejected/blackballed) membership in the then Western Conference (Big Ten).

After all, it was actively seeking conference membership at the time.

But, after the rejection, Rockne took them barnstorming across the country, the rest is history and the die was cast for a hundred or more years of independence.

So, for those who dislike ND's current position.....blame Michigan.

If this fantasy league had occurred prior to the barnstorming days, who knows?

So, for those who dislike ND's current position.....blame...ND.
Your denial of their ridiculous setup is confounding. The school was once great so they are allowed to be included in everything without joining a conference. I will never understand why they aren't blocked from the CFP. Under the same logic, the Canadiens should get a berth into the Eastern Conference Finals each year automatically.
I used to want ND to join the Big Ten. Now, I don't care which but just make a decision already.

Football conference membership is not some holy writ from Yahweh or something, it is just a business arrangement that most schools prefer or have to do.

ND has made plenty of decisions:

Football independent, ACC for 24 sports, Big Ten for hockey. There, that is 3 decisions.

ND doesn't want to and will not join the Big Ten in any other sports, most particularly not for football, ever.

That hasn't really been an issue since 1999. Why are you still worried about this?

Do you dislike BYU and Army as well for being football independents and having their other sports in a conference?

IF Michigan had not blackballed them, ND would have joined the Big Ten a hundred years ago and never would have been a football independent, so my initial point stands. Blame Michigan.