This has been the most upside down week in college football due to realignment talks. Everyone has been living in fear due to what may happen, in which our beloved conferences are/were on the brink of turning into 16 team Super Conferences. I’ve had many discussions with people who firmly believe that we are on the brink of Armageddon in College Football. In light of this past week’s events I’d like to believe that we have stepped it back from DEFCON 2 to DEFCON 3. Below I’d like to take you on a journey…and finish up with why the PAC-12 saved the day.
ACC:
Well, I’ve got to just go ahead and get this out there…Everyone be afraid. John Swofford has really done it this time by creating one of the strongest football conferences ever assembled by adding Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Wait, what’s that Chancellor Nancy Cantor of Syracuse? This is all about Olympic sports?
"I would say that our concerns are really forward looking with respect to the ACC. The issues for us is that we have increasingly strong Olympic sports across the board, women sports -- the ACC is a wonderful match for that for us. And we really are obviously very excited about that."
I won’t go into the sheer comedic value of this statement, as Gene Wojciechowski covers this in his article on ESPN. What I will get into is just how awful of a move this is. What do you gain by adding either? If you wanted to be ballsy, go after West Virginia. That would have at least added SOME credibility to your conference quality wise. UGH – It’s hard enough already talking about how easy it is for the ACC on the gridiron, and how they get an automatic BCS game, I’ll never know. But again, it doesn’t help your case when you take 2 from a conference that has long had a question mark about their quality as well. Hey Cincy and Uconn, you guys want to buy some BCS tickets?
I rank this move about a 6 out of 10, and I’ll give them credit where it’s due by bumping up current ACC team’s buyouts to leave the conference, and a preemptive move to 14 teams. In basketball, this will be great. But if you are trying to pack the stands and drive attendance to your games…it’s a fail. How many road trips will the SC/NC/GA/FL schools take to Pittsburg and Syracuse? Not many….
Big East-
Oh John Marinatto, it’s time for you to make yourself a history. You are now Davy Crockett defending the Alamo. I know you had a conference last night in NYC, and I know that you’ve been given the thumbs up from all remaining conferences about their commitment to you and the Big East. I do want to this down in a football/basketball sense, because we all know the Georgetown/Providence/.etc schools don’t field a football team.
Football: OK, so you have been depleted by 2 schools that have had better days, but with the schools that you are talking about adding…you could make the Big East a better conference. By looking at Army and Navy, you would have 2 of the 3 service academies, and keep things for the most part regional. This would guarantee you a national game on CBS at the end of the year, and bring their tradition and pageantry to your conference. Many have thought about bringing East Carolina up from C-USA, and this could be a great move as well. They have shown they can compete with the big boys (see Virginia Tech / South Carolina from this year), and have a loyal fan base that will travel. (Due to the fact there aint shit to do in Greenville, NC…but I digress).
Basketball: It’s hard to imagine the Big East being void of Syracuse and Pitt…but more so Syracuse. The ‘Cuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim will feel right at home in the ACC and their exposure. BUT COME ON. Syracuse/Uconn is a hell of a rivalry. Not to mention ALL OF THE OTHER BASKETBALL SCHOOLS! The Big East in basketball is the SEC in football…and to an extent the ACC in basketball. Quick, SEC football - what comes to mind? Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Georgia. ACC basketball? North Carolina and Duke. Big East basketball? Georgetown, Syracuse, Villanova, Uconn. It’s all about recognition, and unfortunately the Big East has lost one of their greats. This will be the hardest spot to fill, as you won’t find any school with this much tradition sitting around and waiting.
If the Big East gets their act together, I see it helping out in football, and irreplaceable talent in basketball. 5 out of 10
SEC – Hold it right there Texas A&M. I know that we said we were all about having you, but now that your brothers and sisters are apologizing, we may not want you to join our family just yet. I’m not fully convinced that Mike Slive wants TAMU in the SEC just yet. To be honest, I’m not sure he knows what he wants in general. If the Big 12 makes it with no teams jet setting to other conferences, then does he want to be the one to pull the lynchpin? We all know the ACC is up to 14 teams, but come on. 12 SEC schools are better than 14 ACC schools. The SEC has always been on the forefront of Conference development, by adding South Carolina and Arkansas in 1992, and being the first conference to have a 12 team, 2 division leagues with a championship game. Look for these guys to jump to 14 teams…but there is always the chance TAMU stays put in the Big 12. However, if they do make the move…and the SEC goes after Missouri (as indicated), one report has Auburn making the move to the East. Chaos.
PAC 12: Well wouldn’t you look at that. Commissioner Larry Scott has proven that he has quite the brain on his shoulders, and that more is not always best. Finally, someone has some sense and says no to expansion. It’s not that Oklahoma wouldn’t have been a good fit out west; it’s more about what makes sense at the time. These guys just expanded, so why do it again. Also, why would you want to be the bad guy who makes the monumental shift to stealing big names from other top conferences? I applaud his hands off approach when it comes to adding in existing Big 12 members. Let those idiots fight it out amongst themselves…and then go from there. Patience is a virtue, and I firmly believe this is what gives Larry Scott a bump to being one of the top Commissioners in big time college athletics today.
Big 12 – LIVE AT 6, ...We have a hostage situation in Las Colinas! Commissioner Beebe has a gun held to his head by what appears to be a horse mascot by the name of Boomer or Sooner. We can’t get an official ID; stay tuned to NEWS 5 ALIVE 5 SUPERDOPPLER 4000X!!! What balls Oklahoma has. They pretty much are standing up to Beebe and demanding that he be fired, and Texas give up a chunk of their objectives with the Longhorn Network. (No high school games, no Big 12 conference games) If these are not met, they may jet off to another conference. I firmly believe that OK has been bluffing the entire time to just stick it to the Big 12’s darling Longhorns. Of course, many see Nebraska’s move as the initial F YOU to the conference…and setting the dominoes to fall one way or the other. Many, many people in Alabama could see TAMU staying put (as well as other Big 12 schools) if their demands are met.
In times like these, it’s best to exercise caution, and if we follow Larry Scott’s method…college football remain safe and viable for years to come.
-Gamblin Boss
No comments:
Post a Comment