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CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
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Nerdlinger Offline
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CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
Come up with your own! It can be realistic or not.

Here's a somewhat plausible one based in an alternate timeline in which the Paterno all-sports (incl. FB) conference manifested in the mid-70s. This league claimed the "Big East" name before the real-life Big East even formed. Later it would pick off most of the ACC schools to dominate the Eastern Seaboard. This Big East Conference as of today:

[Image: XKKgg6Z.png]

There are 18 conference games in basketball and 8 in football. The first 3 columns after the name of the school are protected opponents (PO) in both football and basketball. For basketball that means those 3 opponents are played twice each year (home and away), while the other 12 are played once. For football it means an annual matchup. The 4th column contains an additional protected annual opponent in football, and the 5th column is a "semiprotected" opponent that is played 2 years out of 3. The remaining football opponents are played once every 3 years.
(This post was last modified: 10-18-2020 01:00 AM by Nerdlinger.)
10-17-2020 01:23 PM
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Michael in Raleigh Offline
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Post: #2
RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern Seaboard Conference
Miami Dolphins
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Washington
Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants
New York Jets
Buffalo Bills
New Wngland Patriots
10-17-2020 04:31 PM
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Nerdlinger Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
OK, I didn't think I had to specify college sports, but just retitled the thread.
10-17-2020 05:16 PM
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Fighting Muskie Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
So where do WF and N.C. St go?
10-17-2020 09:43 PM
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Fighting Muskie Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
I always thought the ACC’s 9 + the 7 original BE fb schools not named Temple made a great 16 team conference.

Dumping WF for Penn St is a huge upgrade. I’m not sure ND jumps on this though.
10-17-2020 09:46 PM
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virgosports Offline
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Post: #6
RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
Penn st
Maryland
Rutgers
UConn
Temple
Wvirginia
Syracuse
Pittsburg
Boston college
Notre dame/navy (Olympic/fob)
Georgetown*
Villanova*
10-17-2020 10:01 PM
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Nerdlinger Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-17-2020 09:43 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  So where do WF and N.C. St go?

NC State gets picked up by the SEC, while Wake Forest goes down with the ACC ship as it becomes an Arescoesque non-power conference.
10-17-2020 10:12 PM
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BePcr07 Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
The ultimate would probably include Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina with maybe another couple SEC schools. I digress...

How would this eventually transform the rest of the conferences?

ACC is the 16-school conference suggested by the OP.
SEC at 14 agrees to release Missouri and picks up North Carolina St, Louisville, and TCU for 16.
B1G at 11 picks up Missouri, Iowa St, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas for 16.
PAC at 12 picks up Texas Tech, Oklahoma St, Kansas St, and BYU (football-only) for 16.
AAC adds Baylor, Wake Forest, and Army (football-only) for 14.

ACC
Atlantic: Boston College, Miami, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
Coastal: Clemson, Duke, Florida St, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Penn St, Virginia

SEC
East: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina St, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
West: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi St, TCU, Texas A&M

B1G
East: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan St, Minnesota, Ohio St, Purdue, Wisconsin
West: Iowa, Iowa St, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Texas

PAC
East: Arizona, Arizona St, BYU, Colorado, Kansas St, Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, Utah
West: California, Oregon, Oregon St, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington St

AAC
East: Army, Central Florida, Cincinnati, East Carolina, South Florida, Temple, Wake Forest
West: Baylor, Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa
(This post was last modified: 10-17-2020 10:13 PM by BePcr07.)
10-17-2020 10:12 PM
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Michael in Raleigh Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-17-2020 05:16 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  OK, I didn't think I had to specify college sports, but just retitled the thread.

I was just messing with ya.
10-17-2020 10:19 PM
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Renandpat Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
If players aren't paid, these fantasy threads are worse than those which keep them broke
10-17-2020 10:21 PM
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BePcr07 Offline
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RE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-17-2020 10:21 PM)Renandpat Wrote:  If players aren't paid, these fantasy threads are worse than those which keep them broke

That’s a discussion for a different thread. No need to hijack this hyper-realistic realignment thread.
10-17-2020 10:24 PM
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Fighting Muskie Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
The ACC has too much of a country club mentality back then to make this a reality.

the scenario I think would have been the most interesting is if around 1952-53 if instead of coming to an agreement with UNC and forming a breakaway conference if SC and Clemson had gained entry into the SEC while Maryland became more closely associated with the Eastern Independents to their North.

Then I think the chances of a Paterno Conference become a greater reality and I think that group could poach the SoCon’s best.
10-19-2020 08:02 AM
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Nerdlinger Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-19-2020 08:02 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  The ACC has too much of a country club mentality back then to make this a reality.

the scenario I think would have been the most interesting is if around 1952-53 if instead of coming to an agreement with UNC and forming a breakaway conference if SC and Clemson had gained entry into the SEC while Maryland became more closely associated with the Eastern Independents to their North.

Then I think the chances of a Paterno Conference become a greater reality and I think that group could poach the SoCon’s best.

The scenario presented in the OP involves ACC defections later than the '70s -- more like in the 2000s and 2010s. The alternate Big East in this timeline is a strong football-first conference that manages to attract both Miami and Florida State in the early '90s, leaving the ACC without a dominant football school and resulting in the general irrelevance of the conference. Maryland is actually first to defect to the Big East, along with Clemson and Georgia Tech in the 2000s. After NC State wisely accepts an SEC invite in the 2010s, the Big East drops Temple (for similar reasons as it did in 2005 in our timeline) and invites the old school ACC core of Duke, UNC, and UVA, who begrudgingly accept.

Big East (1976): Boston College, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia

ACC (1976): Clemson, Duke, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (1992): Boston College, Florida State, Miami-FL, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

ACC (1992): Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (2005)
Eastern: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami-FL, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
Seaboard: Syracuse, Clemson, Penn State, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Temple, West Virginia

ACC (2005): Cincinnati, Duke, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, South Florida, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (2015): see OP

ACC (2015)
East: Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, South Florida, Temple, Wake Forest
West: Baylor, Navy*, Rice, SMU, TCU, Tulane

Notes
Cincinnati to Big Ten
Houston to Pac-16
Louisville to SEC
03-wink
(This post was last modified: 10-19-2020 10:00 AM by Nerdlinger.)
10-19-2020 09:49 AM
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CitrusUCF Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
Actually, I'd just go back to 1953 when the ACC could have gone to 12 and instead of Penn included Penn State:

Penn State
Maryland
Virginia
Wake Forest
UNC
Duke
NC State
South Carolina
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Florida
10-19-2020 10:30 AM
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Fighting Muskie Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-19-2020 10:30 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Actually, I'd just go back to 1953 when the ACC could have gone to 12 and instead of Penn included Penn State:

Penn State
Maryland
Virginia
Wake Forest
UNC
Duke
NC State
South Carolina
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Florida

That would not have worked in 1953. Penn St would not have joined a segregated conference.

Having the Georgia schools and Florida in there would be pretty cool. Was there any actual talk with those schools in the 50s or is this purely for fun speculation?
10-19-2020 11:16 AM
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ChrisLords Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
I figure the ultimate North Eastern conference would have to have Army and Navy in it as football only members. So 14 all sports, 2 FB only members.

I'd go with 4-team pods because I like playing every one every 2 years.

BC, UConn, Cuse, Rutgers
Temple, Army, Maryland, Navy
Penn State, Pitt, WVU, ND,
Cincy, Louisville, Kentucky, Memphis

Plenty of good basketball. One strong division in Football. Not remotely balanced or realistic.
10-19-2020 11:26 AM
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ken d Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
North: Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pitt, NC State and Virginia

South: Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, Duke

Louisville goes to SEC East (bringing them to 12). Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest go to AAC (bringing them to 14).
10-19-2020 12:02 PM
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CitrusUCF Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-19-2020 11:16 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  
(10-19-2020 10:30 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Actually, I'd just go back to 1953 when the ACC could have gone to 12 and instead of Penn included Penn State:

Penn State
Maryland
Virginia
Wake Forest
UNC
Duke
NC State
South Carolina
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Florida

That would not have worked in 1953. Penn St would not have joined a segregated conference.

Having the Georgia schools and Florida in there would be pretty cool. Was there any actual talk with those schools in the 50s or is this purely for fun speculation?

Yes, this nearly came to fruition in the 50s. And UPenn was rumored to join in place of Penn State in this lineup, but they ended up committing to the Ivy League. While Penn State may or may not have joined in the 50s, it's certainly possible they would have joined by the 70s into such a powerhouse conference based on the Eastern Seaboard. But assuming that Penn State never joins, the conference could invite Tennessee or Kentucky and still be the top conference in the country in both sports barring other ahistorical realignments.
10-19-2020 12:22 PM
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Wahoowa84 Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
(10-19-2020 09:49 AM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  
(10-19-2020 08:02 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  The ACC has too much of a country club mentality back then to make this a reality.

the scenario I think would have been the most interesting is if around 1952-53 if instead of coming to an agreement with UNC and forming a breakaway conference if SC and Clemson had gained entry into the SEC while Maryland became more closely associated with the Eastern Independents to their North.

Then I think the chances of a Paterno Conference become a greater reality and I think that group could poach the SoCon’s best.

The scenario presented in the OP involves ACC defections later than the '70s -- more like in the 2000s and 2010s. The alternate Big East in this timeline is a strong football-first conference that manages to attract both Miami and Florida State in the early '90s, leaving the ACC without a dominant football school and resulting in the general irrelevance of the conference. Maryland is actually first to defect to the Big East, along with Clemson and Georgia Tech in the 2000s. After NC State wisely accepts an SEC invite in the 2010s, the Big East drops Temple (for similar reasons as it did in 2005 in our timeline) and invites the old school ACC core of Duke, UNC, and UVA, who begrudgingly accept.

Big East (1976): Boston College, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia

ACC (1976): Clemson, Duke, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (1992): Boston College, Florida State, Miami-FL, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

ACC (1992): Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (2005)
Eastern: Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami-FL, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
Seaboard: Syracuse, Clemson, Penn State, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Temple, West Virginia

ACC (2005): Cincinnati, Duke, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, South Florida, Virginia, Wake Forest

~~~~~~

Big East (2015): see OP

ACC (2015)
East: Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, South Florida, Temple, Wake Forest
West: Baylor, Navy*, Rice, SMU, TCU, Tulane

Notes
Cincinnati to Big Ten
Houston to Pac-16
Louisville to SEC
03-wink

What makes your scenario hard to stomach are not the movements in the 1990s and later...it is that Penn State and Notre Dame would have to have been fully committed to building a conference with their programs at the center.

Yet Notre Dame, 40 years later, still has zero (little) interest in the well being of a conference. Maybe COVID is teaching the Irish that conference participation is not all horrible...but the impact of actions by Fielding Yost to Jim Delaney still seems to weigh heavily on Notre Dame.

Also Penn State looked down on the rest of the east coast football programs. Paterno needed 2:1 scheduling deals and was paranoid about having a competitive edge over his regional rivals.

It takes a lot of self-confidence and foresight to build a conference. Notre Dame and Penn State would have been the right tent-poles, but leaders in those universities were completely opposed to such strategic thinking.
10-19-2020 01:04 PM
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DavidSt Offline
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RE: CHALLENGE: Create the Ultimate Eastern College Sports Conference
Public 16:
Florida State
UCF
USF
Georgia Tech
Clemson
UNC
NC State
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh
Penn. State
Louisville
West Virginia
Temple
UConn
Cincinnati

Private 16:
Miami
Notre Dame
Boston College
Syracuse
Duke
Wake Forest
Vanderbilt
Army football only
Navy football only
Villanova
Richmond
Georgetown
Furman
Mercer
Fordham
Dayton

Boston U.
George Washington

Public and private schools tend to have different agendas.
10-19-2020 01:39 PM
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