As we wait to hear if the rumors of Maryland & Rutgers to the B1G come to fruition, I thought perhaps maybe I was overdue for another of my ramblings on realignment possibilities. So buckle yourself in and I will postulate on some possibilities from my perch in Texas.
If the rumored moves of Maryland & Rutgers do occur, here are how the lineups for the three impacted would likely look as a result:
B1G - 14 for Football & Hoops
- Legends Division
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Leaders Division
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Rutgers
ACC - 13 for Football & 14 for Hoops Starting 2015
- Atlantic Division
Boston College
Clemson
Florida State
North Carolina State
Syracuse
Wake Forest
Coastal Division
Duke
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Notre Dame* (Non-Football Starting 2015)
Big East - 12 for Football & 16 for Hoops
- Central Florida
Cincinnati
Connecticut
DePaul*
Georgetown*
Houston
Louisville
Marquette*
Memphis
Providence*
St. John's*
SMU
South Florida
Seton Hall*
Temple
Villanova*
Football Associates
Boise State
Navy
San Diego State
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Now let's look at what that would likely mean for each of the leagues as they move forward ...
First off, the B1G would be standing at a number of 14 that as we have seen from the SEC can be a little disjointed. With the Rust Belt declining in population, Jim Delaney is obviously looking to the Eastern Time Zone to boost the league's appeal to television executives. With Maryland & Rutgers, the league would make some nice gets with two of the top ten markets in DC & NYC. My hunch is that the league would once again go fishing in ACC waters hoping to land a pair of big fish that would bring significant TV markets while maintaining the academic reputation in which they pride themselves. Academic scandal withstanding, North Carolina is an obvious target along (would bring in 3 Top-50 markets) with Georgia Tech (ATL is currently market #9). Otherwise they either take another stab at Texas & Oklahoma or settle for random ACC/Big East leftovers. They really missed out on Missouri. Theoretically they could just stand at 14 and hope that Notre Dame changes its mind.
As for the ACC, the rumor that most take as an assumption is that if the Terps bolt then the league immediately invites UConn. It makes sense in that it would even out the football numbers and give the new northern contingent another regional rival. I agree that the league really needs to focus on another football addition. Adding Georgetown may help with the losing the DC market in hoops, but football is driving these efforts. The same goes for St. John's in hoops. Having Duke & UNC playing conference games in MSG would be huge. But again, football trumps all. Is it possible that Swofford makes the trip up to Morgantown with hat in hand to invite the 'Eers? I doubt it but anything is possible. I think the UConn option is probably more attractive unless they choose to stand firm.
The Big East is getting much more interesting. They wouldn't have to do anything. They could stand pat and dump the divisional alignment for football and play a round-robin. Hoops would remain a swollen mess. The rumors are already circulating once again that the seven non-football members of the league would like to split off and bring on other non-football powerhouses like Butler. But it doesn't make financial sense right now. The most likely scenario has them dipping down into C-USA for a full member so that they could keep their nice round divisional splits in football & hoops. The C-USA cupboard is pretty bare but East Carolina & ODU look like easy additions.
Unfortunately all these scenarios don't automatically open up room at the bottom of the FBS hierarchy for a school like us. We really need a couple more schools in the top tier on the move to really get the dominoes falling. But it wouldn't take much more movement to make it possible.
- By cruzan_flame13