“Rivals”: OU, A&M, Arkansas, LSU
Indy Schools: BYU, Notre Dame
Service Academies: Army, Navy, Air Force
Texas Schools: Texas Tech, Houston/Rice, SMU/TCU, UTEP/UTSA

done.

Remember when the Big 12 was the top dog in the nation? It happened around the time when OU was in the NCG every other year and Texas was there on the off years. They both had #1 or #2 recruiting classes every year, which only made the brand stronger by creating more interest. Contrast that to this year, where the highest recruiting class in the conference was OU, at #15 nationally. The SEC, which is a good conference but not as good as it or ESPN thinks it is, has been selling itself perfectly and they had 7 schools in the Top 14 for recruiting. What does that do? It brings in the big-name recruits and creates interest in the product, which in turn creates sponsorship deals for the school and television deals for games. Also known as monetary gain. Bowlsby isn’t looking at what is good in the long run, only what is good right now. Yes, the Big 12 has a sweet deal right now, but as the conference is constantly outdone by others who are selling their brand more effectively they will be left behind because of their lack of action. They need to grab some up-and-comers and get back into the game when it comes to revenue-generating ideas. If not, they’ll decend into irrelevancy (much like this year and last).

The BIG 12 is making major $ for all of its schools–in fact Texas makes more than any school in any league by being part of the BIG 12–why would they have any desire to leave that? They don’t. Neither does Oklahoma or anyone else. That’s why they all signed GOR’s-something the ACC can’t get done. That’s why they all also signed GOR’s and the contract to play against the best from the SEC in the Sugar Bowl, and even the SEC commisioner recently talked about they and the BIG 12 creating this bowl so that in 10, 20 or 30 years it will have equaled or surpassed the tradition of the Rose.

The truth is only the ACC is vulnerable, college football is changing and consolidating and the ACC isn’t going to be around in its current form by the time the current BIG 12 GOR’s end.

on WVU–WVU helped to save the BIG 12 when the conference had lost several members and needed schools to save their tv contract and the conference itself. They paid millions and endured much negative publicity in order to move to the league and help the conference. If WVU needs some help in return with things like scheduling–it’s a minor assist from a league that in part owes its continued success to WVU.

OU and oSu want to join Stanford and the PAC

A BCS Final Four is all that is needed to accomplish a 16 team playoff and here’s why -

The question of playoffs isn’t about how – its about who is included and that’s about REALIGNMENT:

We can use a Four- 20 team Super Conferences. 16 teams will work just as well in this scenario but 16 is exclusionary and the advent of a playoff systems is being driving by litigation more than anything else so expect 4 x 20 = 80 teams in FBS.

REALIGNMENT:
Once this GOR is over OU and oSu are heading west to the join Stanford and the Pac 20, who will join them is the question. The Longhorns would love to join forces with ND; but the Irish will be joining the B20 and Huskers will NOT allow ND and Texas to join the B20 together as a power couple.

What you are seeing now is the inclusion process. Which schools are INCLUDED. Which is why OU, oSu and FL St are stay put – for now. They real power players are being patient while the at risk school gain access to new monies and grow their programs.
There will be 60 teams east of the Rockies in 3 conferences leaving only 20 teams West of the Rockies. The SEC and B12 by virtue of the Champions Bowl have told us that the B12 will survive to be the 4th conference.

Below is the final destination – an 80 team playoff that ends in a final four.

PLAYOFF SYSTEM:
The final four will be two BCS bowls separated by the Rose Bowl. The following weekend will be the championship game. The Rose Bowl is mandatory because its contact is the lynch pin that keep the NCAA out of College post season finances.

The final four will include the conference champion’s.

The conference championship games will be played the weekend after the Division Championship games.

ALL the current non BCS bowl game will continue as usual.

This issue is literally: Realignment + a Division Championship Game + Conference Championship Game + a Final Four. We already have: A conference championship weekend, the beginning of realignment and the advent of a final four. Add in a Divison Championship weekend and here we go…

Again – this system will work just as well with 16 teams with four 4 team divisions but 16 x 4 = 64 teams. Too few for the lawyers – 80 will work for now.

1. Conference –SEC
Division -East
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)
Division- West
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)

2. Conference – Pac 20
Division –North
E (5 teams)
W (5 teams)
Division- South
E (5 teams)
W (5 teams)
3. Conference – ACC
Division -East
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)
Division- West
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)

4. Conference B10 (B20)
Division -East
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)
Division- West
N (5 teams)
S (5 teams)

Kids I am spot on. All that is left is the conclusion of realignment which is ultimately about spliting up the money.

Missouri was somewhat of a stretch for the SEC. I worry a lot more about these possible VA & NC adds. A house of cards! I hope the SEC comes to it’s senses and takes FSU and Clemson. The Big 12 can have VT, UVA, UNC, NCST and Duke to go with UVW. That whole bunch would be about as stable as Texas for the long term.

Yes, West Virginia would like to see more eastern teams in the conference and would like some accommodation in scheduling because of the distances involved and yes, the major sports are suffering this year due to a lot of underclassmen but the school has much in common with the league, much more than they had with the Big East.

WVU is a major land grant institution, located in an area that has no major sports to compete with, has a national following despite it’s low population base due to emigration of West Virginians to other states and draws sports fans from a wide area. The majority of the Big Twelve resides in smaller cities with avid fanbases, where the Big East resides in Metropolitan areas that are dominated by professional sports. Also, West Virginians are hard working, God fearing people with very similar values to those working in rural America. In addition, it has energy as one of it’s most important segments of it’s economy as does Texas and Oklahoma.

It has great value being near the Capitol of the United States and has influence there despite it’s population base. Many government workers who are in power now reside in the eastern panhandle and has a great media following in the large population centers of the north-east corridor.

West Virginia was a superior pick to anyone else available for all of these reasons and wants to be a part of the Big Twelve, something Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M did not.

Those who call the Big Twelve unstable are looking at the past and not the future. West Virginia is a valuable asset proven by the new contract and the GOR will keep the Big Twelve stable and may be the door that opens the Southeast to the rest of the conference.

As far as the rest of the schools go,this whole “lets pocket as much money as we can and don’t worry about anything else”.attitude will bite every one in the butt.It already is.Some people say we are “competitive”.I disagree.9 conference game scheduling has shut our last two champions out of the ncg.Somebody is gonna say “all they had to do was win out”.Yea,but why?Alabama didn’t have to win out.Because they have a championship game where they can impress voters one more time.They also have one more guaranteed W on their schedule,a week off essentially.Look at how crappy we were ranked by the human pollsters last year.The brand is hurting.If you want to point at our 9 bowl teams,I’ll point at the fact that they were all in downgraded slots.OU should’ve played Florida.OSU should’ve played A&M…again,the brand is hurting.

Each of the Power 5 conferences receive the same amount of money from they playoff system, so the Big 12, with only 10 teams, distributes money of that money per school.

Just say the Big Ten gets UVA & UNC, the SEC gets VT & NCSU, and the Big 12 gets FSU, Clemson, GT, Miami, ND/UC, & UL. The ACC will be hit so hard that it will take in the best of the rest to get back to 16, with BC, Syracuse, Pitt, UConn, and possibly UC as its best FB programs. The SEC, Big Ten, & Big 12 would get their contracts readjusted to retain the current per-school pay, as the networks would just be transferring money that would normally go to the ACC to the other conferences.

The ACC will be dropped from the Power 5 and replace the Big East in the Little 5, possibly freeing up the Orange Bowl bid for the Big 12. That playoff money the ACC would be getting would instead be distributed evenly between the Power 4, allowing the Big 12 to pay its 16 schools nearly as much as it pays its 10 schools; actually, it’s close enough that a 4-team conference championship & the Orange Bowl tie would make up the slack.

So, yes, please expand!
FSU, ND, Clemson, Miami, GT, Louisville are the preferred. Cincy, NCSU, VT, UVA, UNC, & Pitt would all be welcomed if it could get us to 16.