(08-23-2017 08:52 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  Colorado and Kansas would be fine in terms of geography and staying within the former Big 8 parameters. Oklahoma is a brand that if they're interested in joining would be hard to turn down. My opinion is Colorado opens up ONLY if the PAC gets so behind monetarily that they'd be better off going back to 10 members. Then a combination of Colorado and Utah might be possible. Combined population would be over 8 million, equivalent to the population of New York City. KU and OU would then join the SEC and Texsa can do what it wants.

However, until that is known I can't assume that Colorado would be available or even interested. So we're back to looking at Kansas and Oklahoma.

Nobody knows what the heck Texas will ultimately want to do. In 2018 the Big 10 will be 14 million dollars a year ahead of the PAC in payouts. That's 140 million plus in a decade. That's reason enough for Colorado to leave. Hold Colorado and then future options all the way to California open up. Let's say the PAC was willing to try to make it work at 10 again. It's a mistake, but let's assume. When the final reality of their situation sinks in what do they do? The California 4 and Washington make a lot more sense in the Big 10 at that point than anywhere else. Then Oregon and Utah and Arizona take you to 24 and 4 divisions of 6 essentially making the Big 10 a coast to coast conference of AAU schools.

I know sounds unwieldy and far fetched right? Last year Slive did an interview on a Birmingham radio station. He said when the rights deals were up that he expected realignment might take a direction that led to very, very large conferences. He intimated that leverage and future rights deals for content might take it in that direction.

If that proved to be true, what is the logical direction for the Big 10 to grow in? The most Big 10 like schools are in the West, not down the East coast. Texas is a huge iffy proposal for any conference. Kansas and Iowa State are essentially Big 10 schools and will always be there if you call on them. Colorado is the key to the Big 10's best future. I think the PAC knew that when they took them. Hold Colorado and you can stop expansion from bridging to the West. And even if the Big 10 never expanded beyond Colorado having the Buffs is still key to moving into Texas. If you hold both Colorado and Kansas then you hold enough games close enough for the Horns that taking two Texas schools would make it possible to have a 6 team SW division if you toss in Nebraska and Iowa. They might go for that.

It's really the same thinking the SEC is having. Take Texa-homa and add Arkansas and Missouri and you have a 6 team division the Horns could join.

It's going to take something like that to land them. But boy there is room for regret for either of our conferences if we succeeded with it.