Thanks for bearing with me gentlemen. I found myself unexpectedly spending my evening helping a family from church whose home was damaged in the storms that blew through the Midwest last night move.

I wanted to clarify some things that came up in a PM. Your first 4 picks do not need to come from the same conference, just contiguous states and it need not be 4 states--you could pick 4 Texas schools for instance. I'm also not picky on the order so long as by the 4th pick they all touch--you could pick USC, then Washington so long as with your 3rd or 4th pick you add an Oregon school to connect them. Be careful though and be smart--don't find yourself grabbing UAB in the 4th round because you have to connect FSU to Ole Miss and LSU because Alabama, Auburn, Tenn, and Vandy are all gone. My justification is that a conference should have a base footprint.

My plan is a 12 round draft. You are then free to make trades, subject to the commissioner (my) approval. Should anyone dip below 12 schools as a result of trades they will have first pick in a supplemental draft, essentially a waiver wire for those familiar with fantasy sports. After everyone is back to 12 if you feel you want more schools we will use the same supplemental process. Be careful not to delude your product if you chose to go beyond 12. Going beyond 12 is purely optional. I'm setting 16 as a maximum limit.

A note regarding Army and Navy--if you select them there is the understanding that they are fb only affiliates and their other sports stay in the Patriot.

Don't feel compelled to act as an agent or representative of any current existing conference.

Criteria for judging--what I'm looking for is a quality athletic conference, particularly in football. Academics and basketball helps. So does sound geography, institutional fit, preservation of established rivalries, and creativity. Build a conference that would be marketable to the networks.

As a reminder the draft is Thursday at 8:30 pm EASTERN. Central folks that's 7:30 for you, 6:30 mountain, 5:30 pacific. I have RSVPs from everyone but ghostofclt!

Draft Order (as determined by lots)

Odd #ed Rounds:
1. Ghostofclt!
2. ChrisLords
3.Templefootballfan
4. Cyniclone
5. Jrj84105
6. JRsec

Even #ed Rounds:
7. JRsec
8. jrj84105
9. Cyniclone
10. Templefootballfan
11. ChrisLords
12. Ghostofclt!