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Merry-Go-Round Decades In The Making
February 15, 2010
MAs we
ease into 2010, there is an undercurrent of
restlessness within the NCAA. Change is coming on
all fronts. Whether it’s a government review of the
BCS system, an expansion of the NCAA basketball
tournament field, a potentially historic lawsuit
involving the rights of student-athletes, or the
possibility of various programs shutting down due to
lack of funding, things are going to happen. One
thing that hasn’t happened in awhile is a
good-old-fashion conference merry-go-round, but
there are signs that too could be afoot soon. So
here, just for fun, are several ideas for conference
reconfiguration, most of which make far too much
sense to actually come to fruition:
1) Colorado to Mountain West, TCU to Big 12
Why it makes sense: Colorado was once a football
powerhouse, but so was Army, and those days are long
gone for both. And in men’s basketball, the
Buffaloes simply haven’t been consistently
competitive at any point in their Big 12 or Big 8
history (1 tournament win since 1969!).
Geographically it makes sense, and TCU would bring
plenty of football cache, which frankly is the most
important factor in all conference decisions these
days. With a fertile recruiting field and a history
of good coaching hires, TCU would catch up in
basketball soon enough. The conference waited 30
years for Texas A&M to develop a basketball team, so
there will be no pressure on the Horned Frogs there.
By the way, TCU’s endowment (as of 2008) was larger
than those of Baylor and Kansas, and double Iowa
State’s. Just a little FYI.
Why it won’t happen: You would have to drag
Colorado’s Big 12 membership from its cold, dead
hands, to paraphrase the man who played Moses. The
Buffs would rather go through coach after coach in
football and basketball looking for the winning
formula, but sadly that formula may no longer exist.
2) BYU and Utah to PAC10
Why it makes sense: The PAC10 likes geographically
bonded pairs, so the two Utah schools fit perfectly.
Both have large student bodies, major investments in
sports, and proven success in prime time college
football and men’s and women’s college basketball.
This shift would also greatly weaken the Mountain
West, a thorn in the PAC10’s side the past decade.
Why it won’t happen: Schools like UCLA, Stanford,
and Cal have a hard enough time breathing the same
air as Arizona State and Wazoo. Adding a couple of
tabernacle branch campuses would surely not sit well
with the tree-huggers and legalize-pot folks in
NoCal and the Northwest (I know University of Utah
is NOT affiliated with any church, but play along
here). All kidding aside, while it would make for
some strange bedfellows, there has been a
slow-building push to actually make this change a
reality, so maybe it is not as far-fetched as it
seems.
3) Kentucky to Big East, Penn State to SEC (Big
10 back down to 10)
Why it makes sense: Do you know what the folks call
the area between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, where
Happy Valley is conveniently located? Pennsyltucky…
That’s what. Why not make this a reality, at least
in sports? Penn State is a football school, period,
and it belongs in the SEC East. If Boston College
can be in the ACC, then Penn State can be in the
SEC. The Big 10 can go back to its original ten
teams, and Michigan and Ohio State can both breath a
sigh of relief. Kentucky would hop right into the
Big East with a championship-level basketball team
and a mediocre (but existing) football team that
would suddenly be one of the best in the conference
from day one. Uniting with Louisville makes sense
too.
Why it won’t happen: The Big 10 is looking to add a
team, not subtract a team, for the sake of a
money-making conference championship. Penn State
football is a cash cow, at least while JoePa is
there, so for now why rock the boat. But let’s see
what happens post-Paterno, especially as the
basketball team continues to flounder. As for
Kentucky, the thought of leaving the SEC would
probably not sit well initially, but moving to the
Big East is probably a win-win for everyone. The
Wildcats could replace Louisville with Tennessee as
their annual non-conference rival and not skip a
beat – who else in the SEC would cry over the Cats
leaving??
4) Clemson to the SEC, Vanderbilt to the ACC
Why it makes sense: And whoever would cry about the
Wildcats leaving would quickly turn that frown
upside down if the Tigers arrived instead. Clemson
is another die-hard football school stuck in a
basketball conference. Vanderbilt is a small private
school with hoity-toity academics and a good
basketball team – sound like anyone in the ACC?
Kindred spirits Wake Forest and Duke would welcome
another blue-blood into their clique, as well as a
beatable football foe. This trade is so obvious and
sensible that there is really no logical reason not
to do it…. Which of course means –
Why it won’t happen: It will never happen because
Vandy is too deeply entrenched in the SEC. It’s in
Nashville, for heaven’s sake. It just doesn’t feel
right to move to a league with the Miamis and FSUs
of the world. Too much culture-shock. For Clemson,
moving to the SEC would be like moving from the
kiddie pool to the adult pool – and the Tigers would
relish the challenge. Things worked out ok for South
Carolina when the Gamecocks made the move years ago.
This move really should happen, and maybe if a
Facebook group gets started to push it, and enough
students sign on, it actually will! Facebook users,
this is your call to action.
Ehud Knoll is a sfaff writer for collegeinsider.com.
EMAIL EHUD
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