Obituaries: The Big 12 and the Big East
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Calling hours will continue throughout 2011, with burial in 2012, next to the Southwest Conference.
Gordon Gecko will provide the eulogies.
Gordon Gecko will provide the eulogies.
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<< <i>Calling hours will continue throughout 2011, with burial in 2012, next to the Southwest Conference.
Gordon Gecko will provide the eulogies. >>
Don't know what's worse: UT's money grab without full disclosure or every other B12 school holding out their hand and demanding, "Where's mine?".
Also saw a proposed scenario where C-USA and MWC form a quasi-alliance and have their 2 conference champs play each other for the remaining BCS qualifying spot opened up by Big-12/Big East 2 spots becoming just one.
Interesting times right now. Curious if things will continue to happen and change, or just fizzle out like last year.
All that said, the only good thing that can come from all of the realignment is if, when the dust settles, a playoff emerges where the winners of the superconferences play each other. That is the ONLY acceptable outcome to this madness. For one, it is the only fair way to decide a champion. For two, it would eliminate the scandalous position that is "bowl committee chairman"....you know - the guys that collect $500k for doing pretty much nothing. For three, I truly think that the casual college football fan (like myself) is so turned off by this realignment that a playoff is the only way to get those fans back.
At the end of the day, it's all about money, and as the bowl ratings show, interest in bowl games is waning every year. Trust me - I'm not watching the Poinsettia Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, or the Papa John's Bowl...but if there is a 3-week playoff to decide the championship, you better believe I will be tuned in for every game.
Having four super conferences [SEC, ACC, Big Ten (or 16) and the PAC 12 (of 16)] would promote a D-1 playoff to choose a National Champion with the four conference champions being given automatic berths in an 8 team filed [how the other four berths are selected would have to be decided, with a system in place that requires at least one or two of these berths being filled by teams from outside the four super conferences]. The 8 teams play opening round games the first weekend after Christmas, followed by the four winners playing round two the following weekend (on or around New Years day) and the two winners play for the title in the first or second weekend in January.
To those who would complain about the destruction of long time rivalry games, time heals all wounds. I do not think very many people today care much about the two Arizona schools that used to be in the WAC no longer playing Utah, BYU, Colorado State, Air Force, New Mexico, UTEP every year (in fact none of those schools are in the WAC any longer).
Further, for those who bemoan the loss of the Big 12 (formerly Big 8) and the Big East, how many people today complain about the demise of the Southwest Conference?
Life goes on and as Rafiki in "The Lion King" (my 12th grade son and I went to see that movie last Friday since he wanted to take a trip down memory lane) says:...................... "Change is good".
<< <i>So I assume that the PAC 12 will, upon expanding to 16 schools with Texas, Texas Tech, OU and Oklahoma State split into an East and West Division. If so, the Pacific Coast schools in Cal., Oregon and Wash. will be in the West Division, with the two Arizona schools, Utah, Colorado and the four new schools being in the East Division. Makes sense to me. The two Arizona schools used to be in the WAC prior to 1978 or 1979. >>
Yeah, the West division wil be the "PAC 8"
Wasn't it the successor to the an earlier conference (PCL?)?
<< <i>So I assume that the PAC 12 will, upon expanding to 16 schools with Texas, Texas Tech, OU and Oklahoma State split into an East and West Division. If so, the Pacific Coast schools in Cal., Oregon and Wash. will be in the West Division, with the two Arizona schools, Utah, Colorado and the four new schools being in the East Division >>
A story I read said if Pac-16 existed, they were thinking about 4 "Pods" instead of 2 "Divisions", so that a team would always play their 3 other "pod-mates" and would rotate the remaining games among the other 12 conference teams for flexibilty in scheduling. IF you had 7 division games each year, that would only leave 1-2 more conference games from among the 8 teams in the other division--meaning there might teams in your conference that you might only play once or twice a DECADE if there were two eight team divisions.
For the Big East, football has always been lousy. The real tragedy is the dismantling of the toughest basketball league in the NCAA.
<< <i>Further, for those who bemoan the loss of the Big 12 (formerly Big 8) and the Big East, how many people today complain about the demise of the Southwest Conference? >>
While I can't speak for everyone, there's a lot of us who don't fully accept the B12 and wish the SWC was still around. It was a powerhouse back in the day and somewhat comparable, at least locally, to what the SEC is today.
Sure, the image was tarnished due to SMU and UH violations but to think they were the only ones paying players is beyond naive, at best.
<< <i>
<< <i>Further, for those who bemoan the loss of the Big 12 (formerly Big 8) and the Big East, how many people today complain about the demise of the Southwest Conference? >>
While I can't speak for everyone, there's a lot of us who don't fully accept the B12 and wish the SWC was still around. It was a powerhouse back in the day and somewhat comparable, at least locally, to what the SEC is today.
Sure, the image was tarnished due to SMU and UH violations but to think they were the only ones paying players is beyond naive, at best. >>
Agreed. The Big 12 killed the Oklahoma - Nebraska rivalry, and became dominated by the Longhorns. I was certainly not sad about leaving the Big 12 when Nebraska joined the Big 10.
Rutgers got into the Big Ten and still sucks! UConn got left at the altar of the ACC and Big 12. The Big 12 lives on with 10 teams . . . . and Alabama gets an automatic bid into the new CFP.
I am a KState guy so I have to live with the Big 12 which is a mess of a conference. It's really the conference of Texas and all its money and nine teams it allows to be in the conference as long as they play by Texas's rules. A&M and Nebraska left out of disgust.
What happened to UConn is awful - a great basketball program under Calhoun that has been relegated to a nowhere conference while Rutgers gets into the Big Ten and BC gets into the ACC., neither of which can hold a candle to UConn's basketball bona fixes. As Kansas found out, realignment is all about football and no matter how good your basketball program is, the conferences do not care.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Well stated
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Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Well it looks like leaving the Big Twelve was an awful decision for Missouri, Nebraska, and Colorado.
They all suck at football and basketball, and they sometimes had decent teams in the Big Twelve.
Now they've been relegated to obscurity, as they deserve to be.
Does any of this have to do with K- State's inability to become a threat to win a national championship in football?
I don't think so - Snyder has been amazing for the school and we have won the conference title, which is nice. But to think we could ever beat teams like Alabama or Clemson is probably unrealistic.
No, realignment could happen again at the drop of a hat and K-State ( and maybe KU) end up in a non-Power 3 conference. KU wanted into the BIg Ten and the Big Ten wasn't interested. I think it's ridiculous but basketball is a mole hill and football is a mountain as far as the conferences are concerned. Why else would the Big Ten take Nebraska over KU? And don't let the folks in Lincoln tell you it was because they fit better with the Big Ten in academics.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Staying in the Big 12 would not have helped Nebraska at all, unless they restored the NU-OU rivalry, which Texas would not let happen. As for Football, Callahan destroyed the team while they were in the Big 12 and they bounced back somewhat under Pelini until he wore out his welcome. Frost should be able to rebuild from the Riley disaster, but we will see.
I remember when the Big 12 was the Big 8 (Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa State, MIssuori, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Kansas State). I remember when Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado ended the season ranked #1, #2 and #3 in the final College Football poll. I think it was at the end of the 1971, or 1972 season. That was a great year for Big 8 football.
If the current Big 12 disbands, i wonder what conference Kansas (Basketball), Oklahoma (football and basketball) and Texas (football and basketball) will end up joining.
Of course, when it comes to college hoops, with the FBI looking into wrongdoing at many, if not most, of the top D-1 programs, it is hard to say where the game will be in the next year or so. It may be that Rick Pitino at Louisville is just the first of many big name coaches who will end up losing their jobs.
Looks to me like the Big 12 will stay intact and probably add 2 more teams - perhaps Memphis and Houston from the Zombie Big East (aka the American Athletic Conference).
For sure.
IT CAN'T BE A TRUE PLAYOFF UNLESS THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONS ARE INCLUDED