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For fun reading and the recreation of the Southwest Conference, take a look at Pat Forde's article. "As COVID-19 threatens the 2020 college football season, what if we blew up the system entirely? Welcome to the Forde Bowl Subdivision."

120 schools in 10 new, regional conferences.

https://www.si.com/college/2020/06/29/n ... ealignment

Another realignment thread, another kitten dies. Interesting ideas. If the FCC would remove the must carry rules conference would have no incentives to add states to their footprint and regional would be better. For example, the Big Ten moving into Maryland and New Jersey made no football sense. The PAC-10 into Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

When the next big realignment happens I think there may be fewer rather than more teams in the top leagues. Television will arrange the conferences to suit their needs which means conferences will find ways to weed out schools like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, etc. Small fan bases mean relegation to lesser conferences.

I have mentioned the idea of relegation in the past and like the idea. For example you join conferences with another FBS P-5 Conference and then relegate back and forth. So, for example you could tie the MWC to the Pac-12. Thus, the worst team over a three year stretch gets relegated to the MWC and the best team over a three years stretch moves up. Big 12 with AAC. Same deal. Big Ten with Mid-America Conference. The ACC with CUSA. The SEC with Sunbelt. So for example Kansas might move down while UCF moves up. Wake moves down while Appy State moves up. Arkansas State moves up while Arkansas moves down (that would be funny). And so forth. Never happen, but have always thought that why should a school that contributes nothing to a conference in football keep being a member (as long as we no longer care about rivalries).

Topper wrote:When the next big realignment happens I think there may be fewer rather than more teams in the top leagues. Television will arrange the conferences to suit their needs which means conferences will find ways to weed out schools like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, etc. Small fan bases mean relegation to lesser conferences.

Smaller schools who are already are a part of the P5 aren't going anywhere - it's like Baylor finding a way into the Big XII. Go over to SECrant.com and try to suggest kicking Vandy out; people will shout you down - Honestly, it's laughable. Expect the Vandy's, TCU's, Wake Forests, and so on to be there a long time.

leopold wrote:

Topper wrote:When the next big realignment happens I think there may be fewer rather than more teams in the top leagues. Television will arrange the conferences to suit their needs which means conferences will find ways to weed out schools like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, etc. Small fan bases mean relegation to lesser conferences.

Smaller schools who are already are a part of the P5 aren't going anywhere - it's like Baylor finding a way into the Big XII. Go over to SECrant.com and try to suggest kicking Vandy out; people will shout you down - Honestly, it's laughable. Expect the Vandy's, TCU's, Wake Forests, and so on to be there a long time.

I remember SMU, Houston, Rice and TCU all finding themselves without a major conference a few years ago. The whole thing was orchestrated to create a more attractive TV package. It can happen again. If UT, OU and OklaState leave the Big 12 it would no longer be a major conference as far as the TV Gods are concerned.

I’m just glad Pat Forde went from saying we should be kicked out of the NCAA a few years ago to now putting us back in the de facto Southwest Conference with the likes of Texas, OU and A&M.

It will be interesting to see how the next big realignment plays out in the post-COVID era. The last round was motivated by cable markets, which was short-sighted as everyone is now cutting the cord and getting content delivered through different mediums. I bet the Big Ten wishes it could rescind that invitation to Rutgers (and possibly Maryland). I wonder how happy Nebraska is in the Big Ten; I’m fairly confident Colorado would like a do-over on leaving the Big 12 given the Pac 12’s current issues. Does a CFP expansion (with possible auto bids for power conference champs) motivate ND to finally join a conference (likely the ACC)?

We need to win big and improve TV ratings/attendance over the next several years to put ourselves in the best position possible when the music stops. Fortunately Sonny should take care of the winning. We have some things going for us in terms of being located in one of the fastest growing metros anywhere (that happens to also be a football hotbed) and not being a joke academically. But none of it will matter if we can’t start filling Ford, traveling well and getting more eyeballs. Of course right when Sonny gets things rolling and some momentum going, a global pandemic hits that threatens to cancel the season.

With the de emphasis on cable markets coupled with the COVID scare, I don’t think it’s completely out of the question to see a more regionalized landscape in a few years. Local and traditional rivalries generate interest and therefore ratings. No one wants to see Rutgers and Purdue kickoff at 11 a.m.; conversely, we’ve seen some historical rivalries renewed recently (KU-Missouri, OU-Nebraska, Pitt-WVU to name a few).

As much as I would like to see the return of the SWC and more regional rivalries, I can't imagine a lot of enthusiasm for what will be so many blow out, lopsided games...not to mention the fact that the big boys of college football are not going to be willing to share financially with the little guys.

It would level out materially over time. By the way, right now we’d probably finish in the upper half of the new SWC

Topper wrote:When the next big realignment happens I think there may be fewer rather than more teams in the top leagues. Television will arrange the conferences to suit their needs which means conferences will find ways to weed out schools like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Wake Forest, etc. Small fan bases mean relegation to lesser conferences.

Half of ESPN are Northwestern alumni. Wilbon is a trustee. They aren't going anywhere.