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The trickle down effect is underway. I've always felt that the WWC would eventually decide to go to 12 teams by adding Hawaii, Fresno, Boise & UTEP. If the ACC gets this thing rolling, look out...

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I still say the best thing for SMU to come out of all of this would be a new (watered down w/o the larger public schools) SWC.

I don't know - the whole realignment idea that's supposed to start with the ACC adding Miami or Syracuse or some other team from the Big East might never get off the ground, after the ACC's real power broker - Coach K - said yesterday what a bad idea it is, and that the two-division system would be horrible for the ACC's "best sport" .... basketball.

His objection might be a bigger hurdle than you imagine.

Don't you think they might remind him that the conference tourney would be bigger and make more money? It appears that 12 team leagues are the best way to make money. That is reaqlly all that will drive the decision.

If Coach K doesn't like it he can come and coach SMU.

Talk of MWC (ie the goats) expanding is in the air. With Wyoming talking about going to d-1aa that might promt them to do something with Fresno and Hawaii or who knows who else.

Duke may be in the weakest bargaining position of all the schools. Their football program is extremely weak. Their relationship with the ACC is symbiotic. The ACC wants their basketball team and would like to dump their football team, but if they weren't in the ACC, who thinks that they could recruit as easily as they do now. With NC State and UNC in favor of expansion, the Carolina veto is severed. Thus, Duke would have to find three schools to join in vetoing an addition. Wake might join, but who else? U Va. might join. But not Maryland, Clemson, Ga. Tech, or FSU. Also, if FSU, Clemson and Ga. Tech were to leave the ACC, what would become of the ACC BCS status.

Miami hold the key to all this expansion talk. Without them, the ACC has no real motivation to change. Miami is currently a "hot" football commodity and this expansion talk is all about negotiating a new TV contract, hosting a football championship game and positioning for a berth in the BCS Championship game if they add the 5th game.

The trickle down effect could be incredible. I would expect the Big 10 and Pac 10 to immediately follow suit. Big 10 covets Notre Dame, but that's the one program in college football that has proven it can profit as an independent. Penn State wants Pitt. Pac 10 has always courted Colorado. If Colorado left the Big XII, would Big XII north view Iowa as a target? Or Illinois? If Big 10 lose one school, do they look then to W.Va (another Pitt/Penn St rival)?

Again, this is all fun stuff when you begin to speculate what the BCS conferences might do to protect their piece of the pie, but for SMU and all the mid-major conferences, it's an opportunity to realign more regionally against similarly positioned programs. I expect the Big East and CUSA (because of their schools concentration in the east) might try to salvage a group worthy of BCS consideration, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I was in either of their shoes.