If MEGA-Conferences are the new idea, then why not just go all out?!

[rockdog]

If we are going to have Mega-Conferences all over the place, why don't we just set up four regional conferences consisting of 30 teams a piece? This not only helps all conferences become more attractive locally, but it also will help all those colleges get those BIG $$$ TV CONTRACTS. Not only will this idea be beneficial to everyone, but since the universities are still "iffy" about a tournament, it would allow the BCS to actually do rather well. Schools could no longer complain about being left out of the equation because everyone would now be part of the equation.

I have set up the MEGA-Conferences up in four regions: East, Central, South, and West. Each conference has around 29-31 teams. The teams are organized into four divisions within each Mega-Conference. Conferences could schedule within their divisions however they like and plan a championship game however they like.

I have it set up this way...(I will post one division per post...)

East
----------
1. Army
2. Boston College
3. Buffalo
4. Clemson
5. Connecticut
6. Duke
7. East Carolina
8. Kentucky
9. Louisville
10. Marshall
11. Maryland
12. Memphis
13. Middle Tennessee State
14. Navy
15. NC State
16. North Carolina
17. Penn State
18. Pittsburgh
19. Rutgers
20. South Carolina
21. Syracuse
22. Temple
23. Tennessee
24. Vanderbilt
25. Virginia
26. Virginia Tech
27. Wake Forest
28. Western Kentucky
29. West Virginia


NORTH
Army
Boston College
Buffalo
Connecticut
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Temple

SOUTH
Clemson
Duke
NC State
North Carolina
South Carolina
Wake Forest


EAST
East Carolina
Marshall
Maryland
Navy
Rutgers
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

WEST
Kentucky
Louisville
Memphis
Middle Tennessee
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Western Kentucky

[rockdog]

and now the Central
----------
1. Akron
2. Ball State
3. Bowling Green
4. Central Michigan
5. Cincinnati
6. Eastern Michigan
7. Illinois
8. Indiana
9. Iowa
10. Iowa State
11. Kansas
12. Kansas State
13. Kent State
14. Miami (OH)
15. Michigan
16. Michigan State
17. Minnesota
18. Missouri
19. Nebraska
20. Notre Dame
21. Northern Illinois
22. Northwestern
23. Ohio
24. Ohio State
25. Oklahoma
26. Oklahoma State
27. Purdue
28. Toledo
29. Tulsa
30. Western Michigan
31. Wisconsin

North
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Western Michigan
Wisconsin


South
Ball State
Illinois
Indiana
Kent State
Notre Dame
Northern Illinois
Northwestern
Purdue

East
Akron
Bowling Green
Cincinnati
Miami (OH)
Ohio
Ohio State
Toledo


West
Iowa
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Tulsa

[rockdog]

and now the South

South
---------
1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. Arkansas State
4. Auburn
5. Florida
6. Florida Atlantic
7. Florida International
8. Florida State
9. Georgia
10. Georgia Tech
11. Houston
12. LA Tech
13. LSU
14. Miami
15. Mississippi State
16. North Texas
17. Ole Miss
18. Rice
19. SMU
20. South Florida
21. Southern Miss
22. TCU
23. Texas A&M
24. Texas
25. Troy
26. Tulane
27. UAB
28. UCF
29. ULL
30. ULM

North
Arkansas
Arkansas State
LA Tech
LSU
Tulane
ULL
ULM

South
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Southern Miss
TROY
UAB

East
Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Florida State
Miami
South Florida
UCF

West
Houston
North Texas
Rice
SMU
TCU
Texas A&M
Texas

[rockdog]

and now the WEST

West
----------
1. Air Force
2. Arizona
3. Arizona State
4. Baylor
5. Boise State
6. BYU
7. CAL
8. Colorado
9. Colorado State
10. Fresno State
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Nevada
14. New Mexico
15. New Mexico State
16. Oregon
17. Oregon State
18. San Diego State
19. San Jose State
20. Stanford
21. Texas Tech
22. UCLA
23. USC
24. UNLV
25. Utah
26. Utah State
27. UTEP
28. Washington
29. Washington State
30. Wyoming

North
Boise State
Idaho
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Wyoming

South
Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Texas Tech
UTEP

East
Air Force
BYU
Colorado
Colorado State
Nevada
UNLV
Utah
Utah State

West
CAL
Fresno State
Hawaii
San Diego State
San Jose State
Stanford
UCLA
USC

[rockdog]

Sorry about the formatting. I had it all saved in tables, etc., but it wouldn't post that way.

Yes, I was bored.

What do you all think though...

[garddawg]

Remember that realignment is 'Cat-Herding'. And right now the cats are ready to scamper in all directions.

I'm sure even the people who are in the know aren't sure what the options are yet.

[rockdog]

I just see this option as a more lucrative and competitive deal. You also have regional matchups that have previously been hard to make happen for whatever reasons. You no longer will have a team with a soft schedule or a team that people say doesn't belong play for the national title.

Regional rivalries will be at an all time high, and this option may even boost national attendance because most games are in driving range. The new divisions will also give smaller schools the chance to help budget concerns by helping them filling up their stadium with some of the bigger named schools.

If the best truly rises to the top, this option lets us see the come to be.

[rockdog]

Bump...

I thought this might generate interest

[champion110]

I think the "now" AQ conferences would fight it. Eats into their income. HOWEVER, it does make sense for all the non-AQ teams to start forming a mega conference of their own. Easier to fight for an AQ spot that way.

[StrayDawg]

I just see this option as a more lucrative and competitive deal. You also have regional matchups that have previously been hard to make happen for whatever reasons. You no longer will have a team with a soft schedule or a team that people say doesn't belong play for the national title.

Regional rivalries will be at an all time high, and this option may even boost national attendance because most games are in driving range. The new divisions will also give smaller schools the chance to help budget concerns by helping them filling up their stadium with some of the bigger named schools.

If the best truly rises to the top, this option lets us see the come to be.

BC$ commissioners are on record (albeit many years ago) saying that their goal is to keep as much money for themselves as possible. Your plan is more lucrative, but the wealth would be divided among people with whom the fat cats don't wish to share.

It's not a bad idea, but they would never let it happen. Especially since "they" are the ones extending the invitations.

[tenacious_dog]

If the "4 x 16" major conference idea happens, I think the fight of the "have nots" may not change very much. Bowls will still be looking for teams that have a winning record or at least a .500 record. The bottom half of the 4 x 16 conferences aren't going to qualify. The "have nots" need to continue improving their quality and if/when they meet a 4 x 16 team in a bowl, they have to beat their brains in.

Plus it is likely some current BCS teams will end up in a "have not" conference. To keep from having lawsuits, with those former BCS teams leading the charge, there's going to be some device for the "have not" conferences to have a shot at a national championship.

At the end of the day, this whole thing is a money grab. Once its done there's only one big money grab left. A true playoff championship series.

I could see an 8 team playoff with the 4 x 16 champions, the next 2 highest rated 4 x 16 teams, and 2 teams from the "have not" conferences.

But my biggest concern is that we get in a good, geographically friendly conference. I'm looking forward to traveling to a meaningful away game where we kick the crap out of the opposition on their home turf!

Go Dawgs!

[LookingForResults]

If the "4 x 16" major conference idea happens, I think the fight of the "have nots" may not change very much. Bowls will still be looking for teams that have a winning record or at least a .500 record. The bottom half of the 4 x 16 conferences aren't going to qualify. The "have nots" need to continue improving their quality and if/when they meet a 4 x 16 team in a bowl, they have to beat their brains in.

Plus it is likely some current BCS teams will end up in a "have not" conference. To keep from having lawsuits, with those former BCS teams leading the charge, there's going to be some device for the "have not" conferences to have a shot at a national championship.

At the end of the day, this whole thing is a money grab. Once its done there's only one big money grab left. A true playoff championship series.

I could see an 8 team playoff with the 4 x 16 champions, the next 2 highest rated 4 x 16 teams, and 2 teams from the "have not" conferences.

But my biggest concern is that we get in a good, geographically friendly conference. I'm looking forward to traveling to a meaningful away game where we kick the crap out of the opposition on their home turf!

Go Dawgs!

Excellent outlook and expectation TD; and a goal that we will achieve if we stay focused! If we try to reach too high and in so doing offend the girl that wants to date us, we could find ourselves with no date at all!

[champion110]

I still say that we need to be aiming for a 16 team conference - even a non-AQ one. Find a Commish in the non-AQ ranks that believes we could compete for an AQ spot with the right mixture of teams. That will put us in the best situation (outside of being able to join an AQ team). See my post above.

[rockdog]

I still say that we need to be aiming for a 16 team conference - even a non-AQ one. Find a Commish in the non-AQ ranks that believes we could compete for an AQ spot with the right mixture of teams. That will put us in the best situation (outside of being able to join an AQ team). See my post above.

That's my point though. Instead of repositioning every ten years or so, we should ALL push for 4 mega conferences. Everyone is AQ. If money is a concern, we should have a trickle down model. Produce better results - get better pay days. If you finish 12-0, you should get a bigger piece of the pie. If you finish 1-11, your slice should not be as much. Every mega conference should get a slice of the TV deal though. This helps with competitive balance, but it also allows the best to truly be the best.

This makes bowl games incredibly more intriguing, and it only allows repositioning in conferences due to the addition of more FBS teams.

I know this format is not happening, but in the long run - this is the model we all should pursuing.

(This is something that should be realistically considering for the BIG MOVE after the ones that seem to be coming soon. I'm not suggesting this should be happening now...well it should but that won't be happening.)

[champion110]

That's my point though. Instead of repositioning every ten years or so, we should ALL push for 4 mega conferences. Everyone is AQ. If money is a concern, we should have a trickle down model. Produce better results - get better pay days. If you finish 12-0, you should get a bigger piece of the pie. If you finish 1-11, your slice should not be as much. Every mega conference should get a slice of the TV deal though. This helps with competitive balance, but it also allows the best to truly be the best.

This makes bowl games incredibly more intriguing, and it only allows repositioning in conferences due to the addition of more FBS teams.

I know this format is not happening, but in the long run - this is the model we all should pursuing.

(This is something that should be realistically considering for the BIG MOVE after the ones that seem to be coming soon. I'm not suggesting this should be happening now...well it should but that won't be happening.)

I agree with out, but outside of the chance that ALL non-AQ programs will stick together and try this, we need to be looking for a conference with aims toward AQ and willing to form that 16 team conference now.