Ten years ago, the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska left the Big 12 Conference, creating a domino effect across the college athletics landscape, before the realignment fervor largely settled in 2014. Since that move, the Big Ten, ACC, and SEC have become 14-member institutions, while the Pac 12 is now at 12 members, and the Big 12 only with ten members. The Big East has ceased to exist as a football conference.
Subsequently, leagues have seen great windfalls from cable revenue. These coveted cable deals led most moves for these schools and leagues, creating large footprints for these cable-viewing audiences.
Today, the Big Ten Conference stretches from Nebraska to New Jersey, and the SEC from Texas to South Carolina. These large geographic footprints make sense TV-wise, but create Saturday football match-ups that leave much to be desired, not to mention rigorous mid-week travel for sports not on the gridiron.
Since the last round of conference realignment, the demand for cable subscriptions has plummeted as new streaming services have begun to dominate the college sports landscape. No longer are conferences looking simply for subscriptions, but actually looking for viewers and ratings for specific match-ups and dates on a calendar. Suddenly, a Nebraska vs Rutgers matchup isn’t so coveted.
The time to return conferences to some geographic and cultural sensibility is now.
The following scenario returns college football to six power conferences with 12 members each. Conferences larger than 12 members often struggle to create cohesion across divisions, while leagues smaller than 12 cannot create a legitimate conference championship game. The leagues were developed with the following factors in mind:
Geography
Proximity to other member schools, historical rivalries, potential for new rivalries and common metropolitan areas where fans live.
School Type & Culture
Whether a school is public or private, but also if a school is more of a statewide-oriented or city-oriented school.
Balance of competition
While some geographic areas are simply too talent-rich to be completely balanced, some moves were made to ensure that leagues had enough perennial programs to warrant “Power Six” status.
The New Alignment
Pac 12
This new alignment of the Pac 12 Conference includes the additions of Boise State, BYU, San Diego State, and UNLV.
BYU is argued by many to be capable of a jump already to a Power Five level, and fits well in this current alignment. San Diego State is located in a major metropolitan area, which lost the Chargers and could use a team to watch in the fall. UNLV has phenomenal facilities for major sports and existing rivalries with BYU and San Diego State.
North Division
Boise State
BYU
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
South Division
California
San Diego State
Stanford
UCLA
UNLV
USC
The Pac 12 in this configuration would not need any protected rivalry games.
This alignment includes and restores the following rivalries:
BYU vs UNLV
Boise State vs BYU
UNLV vs San Diego State
Potential for new geographic rivalries:
Washington State vs Boise State
San Diego State vs USC & UCLA
Everybody vs UNLV (Vegas trip!)
Football championship game location: Santa Clara, CA (Levi’s Stadium)
Conference basketball tournament location: Las Vegas
Big 12
This league could have been named the Southwest Conference as well, given the history behind the name and the geography of members. Colorado has not found success in its current Pac 12 home, while Arizona and Arizona State are often rumored to be looking for greener pastures due to cultural and political fit, along with lackluster national exposure.
The Big 12 currently has a relatively small geographic footprint, so adding these mountain timezone schools to the league enhances that footprint without being ridiculous or creating travel nightmares.
West Division
Colorado
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Utah
East Division
Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
TCU
Texas
Texas Tech
Protected cross-division games:
Texas vs Oklahoma (Red River Shootout)
Potential for new geographic rivalries:
Colorado vs Arizona & Arizona State
Utah vs Arizona & Arizona State
Football championship game location: Dallas or Phoenix
Basketball tournament location: Kansas City
Big Ten
This Big Ten alignment consists of Midwestern “state schools,” while geographically sharing a footprint with the Big East, featuring more city-oriented, private, and East Coast schools.
Former Big Eight and Big 12 schools Missouri and Iowa State (coupled with Nebraska) have historic rivalries, along with geographic locations conducive to easy travel, meaningful games, and metropolitan areas where fans exist together with other Big Ten schools.
By adding these schools, the league maintains a Midwestern footprint while boasting insanely loyal fanbases. You’ll notice that Rutgers and Maryland are nowhere to be found.
West Division
Iowa
Iowa State
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Wisconsin
East Division
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Purdue
Protected cross-division games:
Minnesota vs Michigan (The Little Brown Jug)
Missouri vs Illinois (The Arch Rivalry)
This alignment also includes and restores the following rivalries:
Iowa State vs Iowa (The CyHawk Game)
Nebraska vs Missouri
Iowa State vs Missouri (The Battle for the Telephone Trophy)
Potential for new geographic rivalries:
Iowa vs Missouri
Iowa State vs Minnesota
Football championship game location: Indianapolis
Basketball conference tournament location: Chicago, Milwaukee or Indianapolis
Big East
This newly reincarnated Big East was formed with two powerhouses in college football in mind: Notre Dame and Penn State. While the Big Ten goes more Midwestern and “state school” oriented, the Big East goes more private school and East Coast-oriented. Moving Penn State, albeit a state school, to the Big East, provides two mainstays to give competitive balance with other leagues.
Moving Northwestern from the Big Ten to the Big East moves them into a league which carries more similar sports, along with other private schools which have similar alumni and fanbases.
Overall, this new Big East Conference creates a cultural and geographic match that suits all members.
West Division
Cincinnati
Louisville
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
East Division
Boston College
Maryland
Penn State
Rutgers
Syracuse
UConn
Protected cross-division games:
Pittsburgh vs Penn State
West Virginia vs Maryland
Notre Dame vs Boston College
This alignment also includes and restores the following rivalries:
Pittsburgh vs West Virginia
Penn State vs Pittsburgh
Louisville vs Cincinnati
Syracuse vs UConn
Potential for new geographic rivalries:
Northwestern vs Notre Dame
Boston College vs UConn
Notre Dame vs Louisville
Penn State vs Maryland & Syracuse
Football championship game location: New York City (Meadowlands, New Jersey)
Conference basketball tournament location: New York City
ACC
This scenario adds the University of Central Florida to the ACC, while losing northern conference members back to the Big East Conference. Many historical rivalries remain as the league is largely unchanged.
North Division
Duke
NC State
North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
South Division
Central Florida
Clemson
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami
South Carolina
Potential for new geographic rivalries:
Central Florida vs Florida State & Miami
Football championship game location: Charlotte
Conference basketball tournament location: Greensboro
SEC
Two key thoughts came to mind while creating this SEC: Texas A&M and the Eastern Division.
Texas A&M has seen a massive uptick in donations, revenue and recruiting power, making them a solid success story in the last round of realignment. The Aggies have found their identity outside of the shadow left by the Unviersity of Texas, and most Aggies are probably okay staying in the SEC while Texas is in the Big 12.
Aligning in divisions has been a challenge since Texas A&M and Missouri joined the league in 2012. Although this scenario leaves Missouri and South Carolina out of the SEC, the alignment of divisions still remains a challenge. Alabama and Auburn perennially compete for the SEC Championship but also play each other during the final game of the season every year. Is the Iron Bowl worth having SEC Powerhouses of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida in the same division? An alternative division arrangement is located below.
West Division
Arkansas
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
East Division
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
Florida
Kentucky
Tennessee
Protected cross-division games (original proposed alignment):
Alabama vs LSU
Tennessee vs Vanderbilt
Alternative Scenario (with protected cross-division games)
Below is an alternative division alignment with competitive balance in mind. This scenario splits Ole Miss and Mississippi State, who do not historically have championship-caliber programs in the same years often.
Alabama vs LSU
Auburn vs Georgia
Ole Miss vs Mississippi State
Tennessee vs Florida
Football championship game location: Atlanta
Conference basketball tournament location: Nashville
While this reconfiguration of conferences doesn’t fix all issues with conferences or bring back every rivalry we currently miss from the past, this six-conference, 12-team configuration fixes many issues we see in college athletics today. As the cable era fades, aligning football for fans and rivalries again will be of utmost importance.