When I last posted here (Friday), The Pac 12 had 12 teams, the Big East had 16 (eight in football), the ACC had 12 and the Big 12 had 10.
Oh, how a weekend can change everything.
Instead of taking the weekend to enjoy football, mow the lawn or watch a child’s soccer game, officials from at least a dozen athletic departments were busy either filing for or discussion options to move to new conferences.
In the coming weeks, you’ll hear all about how Pittsburgh and Syracuse’s move to the ACC, Texas A&M’s shift to the SEC and the big four in the Big 12′s move out west will impact the college football landscape. What you won’t hear is how it will impact college basketball, which may actually have a bigger impact based on the schools jumping ship.
Let’s start with the out-of-nowhere move. Saturday both Pittsburgh and Syracuse filed applications to join the ACC and have been unanimously accepted. While the football programs at both schools are average, the basketball programs are top notch. Pitt and ‘Cuse regularly compete for the Big East top spot, and now both are in the ACC, maybe as early as 2013. With Duke, North Carolina and Maryland already there, the ACC may take over as the nation’s top basketball conference. Also rumored to be headed to the ACC is UConn, though nothing has been officially filed in Stoors yet.
Pittsburgh and Syracuse give the ACC 14 teams, but 16 would make for better balance, so don’t expect the conference to finish going after depleted Big East schools. The problem is, they want schools with FBS football programs. Although schools like Georgetown, Villanova, St. Johns and Marquette all have respectable men’s basketball programs, they’re out of luck because they either don’t have football teams at all, or they don’t have D1-A football programs.
And we all know football makes the money.
But the ACC is a weak football conference, and the acquisitions of Pitt and Syracuse may be a sign they’re trying to promote hoops. If this is the case, going after Kansas and Kansas State may make the most sense. Both schools will likely be without a conference in two years (more on that below), and will jump at the chance to join a power conference, as they certainly won’t be getting invites from the Pac 12, Big Ten or SEC. Both have highly-touted basketball programs, and the ACC would expand its presence all the way out to the Great Plains. It would also give the conference the 16 teams it undoubtedly wants to achieve.
Rutgers and UConn may be the more realistic choices, however, as both schools are rumored to be in the market. If the ACC had a choice, it would probably take Louisville over Rutgers – if focusing on creating a basketball super-conference is indeed the goal.
Meanwhile, rumors are also in the works for Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to head west as part of an expanded Pac 16. Oklahoma has expressed interest in joining the Pac 12 for weeks, and it would only make sense for the Pac 12 to take four schools, as it would keep divisions and scheduling aligned for football. In basketball, the Pac 12 hasn’t been strong and won’t get much stronger. Of the four alleged newcomers, only the Longhorns made the tournament a season ago. But remember, it’s all about football, and the conference would be adding three teams currently ranked in the top 25. As a side note, those four schools went a combined 43-6 in 2009 (not counting bowl games).
The move makes sense in several ways. Rivalry games would stay intact for the schools, and with Texas A&M all but officially out, the Big 12 looks to be depleted. However, a similar move was thwarted last year when Texas decided against taking half of the Big 12 west in favor of keeping the conference united. Second time is a charm? We will likely know soon.
If Texas A&M does join the SEC in 2013, the conference will be looking for a 14th team fast. Again, it’s all about football, so likely contenders would include Missouri from a dismantled Big 12, or possibly Florida State from the ACC, though the ‘Noles would be in a tough position with the ACC additions coming.
In basketball, the Aggies, a tournament regular, would get to play Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt regularly.
Rumor is if the four Big 12 teams bolt for the Pac 12, the new Pac 16 would be set up into four divisions, at least for football. Those divisions would likely be:
East: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State
West: California, Stanford, USC, UCLA
South, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State
The schools would play the other three in their division every year, plus six other teams – likely two from each division on a two-year rotating basis.
However, in basketball, it’s more likely all 16 teams would be in one division, or possible two (north and west combined, east and south combined). Either way, the addition of the four new teams isn’t going to make the basketball conference a whole lot better.
That’s not true in the ACC though, where the additions of Big East powerhouses will make for a very interesting schedule. The conference will likely stay as one division for basketball, even with a 16 team league, meaning we get Duke vs Syracuse, North Carolina vs Pittsburgh, Maryland vs Syracuse, Pitt vs Duke, Syracuse vs North Carolina…the list goes on. In my dream world, adding Kansas and Kansas State becomes a reality and makes for even more marquee matchups. Kansas plays Duke every year. Kansas plays North Carolina every year. Pitt plays Kansas State, Kansas State plays Syracuse. Kansas plays Pitt.
Every night would bring a great game.
This is all hypothetical right now, but it surely seems the football world won’t be the only one that changes forever.
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