Let's talk about the competing conferences
As far as I see it, the C7's main competition at this point will come from the MWC and nBE. Those teams will make up a new "tier" of teams that can challenge the BCS football conferences and are clearly above every other conference in basketball.
What moves do you think those conferences will attempt in order to challenge the C7? I think it is fairly evident that the C7 will launch with much better public perception and visibility, but ultimately success will come down to the basketball courts.
The MWC will be focused first and foremost on continuing to be a mediocre football conference instead of an elite basketball conference. Thus, most conference realignment talks will be about Tulsa and UTEP instead of a possible basketball school to balance Hawaii (fooball only). However, I think they seriously consider BYU (with the intention to add in all sports), Gonzaga, and maybe Wichita State. The first two probably would decline at this point in time because they like their current arrangements more, but who knows what could happen in the future.
Meanwhile, the nBE is harder to predict. They seem like a collection of leftover quality teams that can't find a major conference and mediocre teams like Tulane. I think they have to try and add teams for all-sports first, so they will look to attract UMass and the same Texas schools as the MWC, but they might be interested in taking whatever teams that the C7 doesn't. A team like VCU may be very appealing to UConn and Cincinnati, who will still want to be competitive in the basketball world.
Next, you have to consider the competition between the C7 and the tier directly below them. In my opinion, that tier consists of three conferences: the A-10, MVC, and WCC. These are all leagues that will have some quality teams from year to year, but also have a large number of sub-200 RPI drags that prevent the conference from having better success. In general, these teams will have the opportunity to get at-large bids but the majority of the conference will not enjoy the post-season.
After the C7 raids the A-10 (and maybe Creighton from the MVC), I think you will see a power struggle between those two conferences. Depending on the teams taken, you might see SLU and Dayton go to the Valley or Wichita State and Creighton go to the A-10. The mostly likely scenario is that this doesn't happen, but it is a possibility. If it happened, the teams with incoming strength might be slightly more competitive with the C7. If not, you'll see the Missouri Valley look to the Horizon league (Valpo, the Dakotas), and the A-10 look to teams like George Mason.
Finally, you have the power conferences. The only conference that will really care about the C7 will be the ACC, which is on the verge of being eaten by the SEC and Big 12. They have a lot of programs that care more about basketball than football, while other BCS conferences definitely view basketball as a secondary consideration in conference realignment.
What will happen when/if the ACC gets eaten? You will probably see teams like FSU and Clemson join the Big 12, while the SEC has reportedly had an interest in the expanding to North Carolina. I'm not sure whether North Carolina and Duke are a package deal or not, but it is possibly that both either join the B1G or the SEC or that they split. NCState is another possible Big 12 defection.
The C7 really is going to be isolated from all the major conference movement, but it will interesting to see which teams are left standing at the end (not sure where they go, maybe they rejoin the nBE). The only problem I see for the C7 is that the BCS conferences might consolidate too much power if they reduce down to four 16-team conferences. The SEC and B1G might become very powerful in basketball by acquiring the ACC basketball schools.
Anyway, this post was created just to talk about the wider ramifications of conference realignment and the conferences the C7 will be competing with. A lot of this is just throwing thoughts out to the wind, not necessarily a bible for what is about to happen.
What are your thoughts on this? How do you see the power balance working out in the end? What will the other conferences do?
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