RE: Pac-16 Play-by-Play: How would realignment have shaken out in a Pac-16 scenario?
Reassessment: It's likely that if the Pac-16 had happened, it would have been for the 2011 season. This means A&M and Missouri join the SEC a year early. The 3 remaining Big 12 schools could have fled to the Big East, but without Kansas, I feel that the BE would have had little incentive to make such a move. So the Big 12 attempts to rebuild.
Assuming there are no takers from the Big East, then CUSA and the MWC are the obvious targets. The Big 12 invites TCU before the BE can, along with UCF, Houston, Memphis, Utah, BYU, Boise, SDSU, and, for football only, AFA and Navy (Navy can't commit until 2013). Despite the obscene travel distances (Orlando to San Diego), no one turns down the invite. The depleted MWC quickly reloads, finishing off WAC FB 2 years earlier than in our timeline.
Big 12 (2011)
East: Baylor, Central Florida, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, Memphis
West: Air Force*, Boise State, BYU, San Diego State, TCU, Utah
CUSA (2011)
East: East Carolina, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss, UAB
West: Louisiana Tech, Rice, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, UTEP
MWC (2011)
FB: Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii*, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
NFB: Air Force
Sun Belt (2011)
FB: Arkansas State, FAU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, North Texas, Troy, Western Kentucky
NFB: Denver, Little Rock, South Alabama
The ACC invites Pitt and Syracuse for 2013, followed later by non-FB Notre Dame. The Big East has been beaten to the punch for Houston and TCU, but Navy FB, UCF, and Memphis accept BE invites for 2013, as do Rice, SMU, and Temple. The C7 still break off with the BE name, leaving behind the newly renamed AAC. The Big 12 restocks with Colorado State and Tulsa.
AAC (2013)
East: Central Florida, Connecticut, Rutgers, South Florida, Temple, West Virginia
West: Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Navy*, Rice, SMU
Big 12 (2013)
East: Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, Tulsa
West: Air Force*, Boise State, BYU, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah
CUSA (2013)
East: East Carolina, FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, UAB
West: Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Southern Miss, Tulane, UTEP, UTSA
NFB: Charlotte, Old Dominion
MWC (2013)
FB: Fresno State, Hawaii*, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
NFB: Air Force
Sun Belt (2013)
FB: Arkansas State, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, Western Kentucky
NFB: Little Rock, Texas-Arlington
Next it's the Big Ten's turn, and they add Rutgers and Maryland for 2014 as in our timeline. The ACC chooses Louisville as a replacement over West Virginia and UConn. The AAC adds ECU and Tulane.
AAC (2014)
East: Central Florida, Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida, Temple, West Virginia
West: Cincinnati, Memphis, Navy*, Rice, SMU, Tulane
CUSA (2014)
East: FAU, FIU, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, UAB, Western Kentucky
West: Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Southern Miss, UTEP, UTSA
NFB: Charlotte
Sun Belt (2014)
FB: Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy
NFB: Little Rock, Texas-Arlington
Unfortunately for the AAC and Big 12, neither receives a bowl tie-in for the NY6, though the CFP doesn't strictly move to P4 champs only. The MWC and Sun Belt, each with 9 FB teams, get clever and manage to have a joint CCG without even playing each other in the regular season. The ACC, Big Ten, MAC, and SEC end up the same as in our timeline. Wichita State joins the AAC in 2017. UConn leaves the AAC for the Big East, UAB replaces them, and CUSA calls up Jacksonville State from the FCS.
(This post was last modified: 11-20-2020 08:45 AM by Nerdlinger.)
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