(04-21-2018 08:31 PM)Big Ron Buckeye Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 08:32 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Get everyone to sign a severely strict NDA and invite Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas

I concur with one exception. Lose Purdue and Northwestern. That way we stay at 16. We dont really lose anything athletically or geographically with those two gone.

Northwestern and possibly Purdue as well wouldn't be homeless for long - the ACC

(04-22-2018 08:13 AM)TerpsNPhoenix Wrote:  I've skimmed back over the thread and I'm still really curious about how this will work out. The obvious and easiest way is to go to 16 and send Purdue east. Then we have two 8 team divisions. At that point you almost can't have locked games with the other division if you want to play everyone in a reasonable amount of time. The B1G (or any conference for that matter) would have to go to 10 conference games and likely advocate for 13 games per season.

Another option would be pods of 4 (probably geographically). It's difficult to come up with pods that are going to please everyone (and impossible to please everyone). Schools I'd try to keep together (and then you have to decide who to break up)

Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa
Illinois, Northwestern
Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State
Indiana, Purdue
Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers

So for me

Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern
Michigan St, Michigan, Ohio St, Penn St
Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers

I broke up Illinois and Northwestern and that Michigan (St)/Ohio St/PSU pod is crazy. I though about keeping Illinois and Northwestern together by putting Nebraska with the Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin pod but then they lose the traditional battle with Oklahoma and Kansas to a lesser extent.

The more I look at this the more I come to believe that we need to have 3 or perhaps 4 locked games and just rotate through everyone else. Many of the locked games would probably be very similar to the pods but I think it would provide more flexibility.

The problem with pods and the locked games is getting approval of the NCAA. Do you go to 16 first (most likely) or try to push NCAA legislation and telegraph your move(s) to everyone else? These next few upcoming years should be interesting.

Propose a change to NCAA rules allowing a conference of 14 teams or more to hold a championship game between division winners without playing every team in their own division - so long as they play at least 8 conference games, with at least 5 of those being in your division. You'll get the ACC and SEC to agree immediately, and it will pass.