Could it Happen? Most Probably Not

For years I have made the argument that Notre Dame should join a conference. Well, it doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon. However, something else that irks me just as badly is closer to happening. The Big 10 (which is really 11) is in the process of searching for a new team, bringing them to 12. I have always thought that all BCS Conferences should have a Conference Championship game. With the Big 10 moving towards this, we are getting close. If the Pac 10 would just add Boise State we would have a lot of problems solved.

Back on point, a lot has been made of these talks by the Big 10. Mostly, people are speculating who will join this conference. A popular thought is Mizzo, and I’ll get back to this later, because that could help fulfill another of my fantasies for the SEC. But first things first.

If I’m the Big 10, my top choice would be Notre Dame, for obvious reasons. This just ain’t gonna happen, so we won’t dwell. But it would be due time for ND to join up and come down from their high horse.

With ND out of the equation, several teams are good possibilities to fill up the conference. (As I’m working on this and several other things, I notice T Kyle has beaten me to the punch. I’ll finish up with my thoughts, but you can read him here and see what he has to say. I’m glad to announce that we largely agree on some things I’ll get to later.)

I personally feel that Rutgers would make great sense for the Big 10. It would get them a pretty good team with very good academics and access to the Big Apple and a huge tv market. Pitt is another good choice, but if money is what the Big 10 is after in terms of television deals then they might shy away since Penn State is the mothership of college football in Pennsylvania. Ohio State will never go for adding Cincinnati. I think Louisville would be a decent fit, but they’re not overly competitive in the football arena.

Now, we finally return to Missouri. When I first heard this, I wondered why Mizzo would ever choose to leave the Big 12. Upon further reflection, I came to the conclusion that it may just make sense for them. Mizzo is a team that could feasibly come in and be an annual contender in the Big 10 (or whatever they would call the new conference.) I think it would be within reason for Mizzo to expect at least 1 BCS bid out of every 5 years in the conference. Financially they would be potentially better off by leaving their current situation. They have pretty decent regional ties to the Big 10, but would be the southernmost school and would make for some long road trips for fans. On the flip side, it would be a shorter trip from Missouri to Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State, and a few others than it currently is for Penn State. In fact, geographically Missouri makes better sense than Penn State currently does or Rutgers potentially would.

So, on to the fun part. What if Missouri did join the Big 10? Well, the Big 12 would have to pick up another school. They could make this simply by picking up TCU. TCU is a big-time team and could challenge most of the schools in the conference on a yearly basis. ORRRR, they could take Arkansas, re-kindling some of the Southwest Conference ties from days gone by. This is where the trickle down effect starts.

For obvious reasons, Arkansas would make perfect sense to join the Big 12. (I’m just having fun now, so feel free to visit elsewhere unless you really have nothing better to do.) Arkansas would probably refuse to leave the SEC, and I couldn’t blame them. We are where the money is at, and about every 5-6 years Arkansas gets competitive in the West. They have access to bountiful recruiting grounds in the SEC and are tied to the most dominant football conference in the land. But let’s pretend.

Arkansas goes to the Big 12, so we get to pick up another school. Enter Clemson. I’ve said since I was a freshman in college that Clemson is more of an SEC school than an ACC school. They are the Land Grant University of South Carolina, have SEC ties, and make a better fit than many of the current schools. That would be a very smooth transition for everyone. We could move UT to the West, where they have natural rivalries with Alabama and Auburn anyway. Clemson would fall into an SEC East schedule, and with games against UGA, UF, USC and Vandy every year would make for some very good matchups. While we are at it, we could ship Vanderbilt to the ACC in return for NC State (another Land Grant Institution) and take one of the North Carolina schools out of the ACC (they have 3 for crying out loud.) The ACC could then add Rutgers, which meets academic standards the ACC would have. They’ve already got Boston College, so it would not be that much of a stretch to add them, plus it would keep them purely coastal. (Of course, Vandy would keep them from being truly coastal, but work with me here. They’re close enough, and much closer than Louisville)

So, we would essentially look like this:

Missouri to the Big 10, Arkansas to the Big 12, Clemson and NC State to the SEC, Vandy and Rutgers to the ACC. It all works geographically, academically, and athletically.

Of course, none of this will ever happen for the simple reason that Arkansas would never leave the SEC. But isn’t it fun to speculate and fantasize?  

ucheedawg