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I couldn't find a good place that summarized the changes being made for next year, so I looked it all up. Maybe someone else will be interested in this list.

Big East -> Atlantic Coast:
--Boston College

Conference USA -> Big East:
--Louisville
--Cincinnati
--South Florida

Mid-American -> Conference USA:
--Marshall
--UCF
Western Athletic -> Conference USA:
--SMU
--Rice
--Tulsa
--UTEP

Big East -> Independent:
--Temple
Conference USA -> Independent:
--Army

Conference USA -> Mountain West:
--TCU

Sun Belt -> Western Athletic:
--Idaho
--New Mexico State
--Utah State

Division I-AA -> Sun Belt:
--Florida Atlantic
--Florida International

There are those who have suggested that Conference USA is going to be a mediocre conference without the likes of Louisville, etc. But it looks to me like it should be a pretty good conference in hoops and football.

The ACC is now head and shoulders above the rest of the country. The SEC can make a claim that it's close in football, but combine football with basketball and it's not even close.

Corso wrote:There are those who have suggested that Conference USA is going to be a mediocre conference without the likes of Louisville, etc. But it looks to me like it should be a pretty good conference in hoops and football.

The ACC is now head and shoulders above the rest of the country. The SEC can make a claim that it's close in football, but combine football with basketball and it's not even close.

I'd take the Big 12 over the ACC. The top teams in basketball are close to the same level, but the Big 12 has a little less depth. The Big 12 is a far superior football conference though.

SmooPower wrote:Division I-AA -> Sun Belt:
--Florida Atlantic
--Florida International

Neither of these has met the attendance requirements. I believe that is enough to deny their promotion to IA. If this happens, I think the Sun Belt would not have the minimum number of members. Would they fold or is there some sort of probation?

MustangStealth wrote: .... I'd take the Big 12 over the ACC. The top teams in basketball are close to the same level, but the Big 12 has a little less depth. The Big 12 is a far superior football conference though.

I knew I'd get this reaction, and frankly, I wasn't trying to annoy Big 12 types. However:

HOOPS
In this week's ESPN poll:

Big 12
2. Kansas
7. Oklahoma State
15. Texas

ACC
1. Wake Forest
4. Georgia Tech
10. Duke
11. North Carolina
12. Maryland
13. North Carolina State
25. Virginia


FOOTBALL
Big 12
Oklahoma
Texas
Oklahoma State
Anyone else that deserves national respect this year? Colorado's OK, A&M's come on a bit, but those clearly are the big 3.

ACC
Granted - no top team to compete with Oklahoma. But while the Big 12 has the better top 2 this year, and maybe the better top 3, I'd say the ACC has better top-to-bottom teams.

OK, I'll give you a "push" on football . On basketball, there's absolutely no argument.

I think with Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, UVA, BC, NC State and Clemson. That's a pretty deep football conference. Duke=Baylor. Wake Forest=Kansas. UNC=Missouri. For football- I'd rate the SEC, ACC and Big XII neck and neck depending on the year. Big X behind those three. PAC X behind them. And the new Big East wayyy back.

But in basketball - I'd rate the ACC and New BE neck and neck (UConn, Syracuse, ND, Pitt, Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, DePaul, Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown - only St. John's and ND lack NCAA banners). Big XII in third place. Then there is a free for all. SEC, Big X, PAC X all jumbled up. CUSA has several solid programs (Memphis, UCF, Tulsa, UTEP, hopefully SMU). MWC has some good programs (Utah, BYU, UNLV). The A-10 has some good teams, (UNCC, Temple, Xavier, St. Joe's, GW). The rest are pretty much one/two bid conferences.

Going forward, unless the D-1A football schools eventually split off from the 16 team New Big East (NBE) and form a new conference, I rank the NBE as the foremost basketball conference in America.