Conference Realignment - May 1

[DoubleJayAlum]

The MAC wants 18 football schools, fwiw.

Why would any conference want 18 teams? Too big and unruly.

[MVCfans]

Here are Andrew's thoughts on different scenarios that could play out impacting the Valley.

The MVC Report - MVC Realignment Pressure Points

[Khan4Cats]

The MAC wants 18 football schools, fwiw.

Why would any conference want 18 teams? Too big and unruly.

An 18 team football conference would make sense. Two separate, 9 team divisions. Divides equally into 4 home and 4 road games for each school with 4 non-conference games and a championship game. For other sports, it makes absolutely no sense (look at the Big East for how screwed up a mega-conference is for scheduling purposes in other sports).
Could it happen? Yes. Look at the 5 MVC schools that play in the MVFC (ISU, ISU, UNI, SIU, MSU) as football members in a bigger MAC and there you have it.
Will it happen? I don't think so unless the restructuring of the Division 1 football landscape happens with the BcS conference schools forming a new upper tier and dropping the MAC/CUSA/MWC/WAC/Sun-Belt into a different level. That might cause top-notch FCS conferences like the CAA, MVFC, Big Sky and Southern to look to move up to a newly constituted second tier. And if that happens, I see the MVFC schools staying together more and not joing a conference.

But who really know what the heck is going to happen? Who would have thunk 5 years ago that West Virginia would be in the Big XII, Nebraska in the Big 10, Notre Dame in the ACC, San Diego State in the Big East....

[valleychamp]

Khan, I'd argue that separation has already taken place. The upper tier of the BCS is quite clearly playing on a different level than the rest. There may or may not ever be a "formal" separation, but it pretty much has already taken place with the way that the FBS/BCS is set up.

[TheAsianSensation]

There's an informal separation already, but I'm thinking of a very literal separation here.

You can already see it with reports about them adding a 7th "BCS" game onto the addition 6 that are going to be a part of the new playoff system, which provides more guaranteed access to the lower 5 conferences. We'll just repeat the cycle of the bottom 5 slowly getting more guaranteed access followed by the top 5 getting fed up again and breaking the mold again to get their power back.

Also, the NCAA-proposed stipend for athletes could serve as a natural splitting point if they need it.

[PantherSigEp]

There's an informal separation already, but I'm thinking of a very literal separation here.

I think that could qualify as murder

[Turner]

Rutgers and Maryland to Big Ten. UConn to replace Maryland in ACC.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Rutgers and Maryland to Big Ten. UConn to replace Maryland in ACC.

If this is true, Delaney has given up trying to make the bIg 10 relevant in football.

[Jet915]

Rutgers and Maryland to Big Ten. UConn to replace Maryland in ACC.

If this is true, Delaney has given up trying to make the bIg 10 relevant in football.

Why would the Big Ten want Maryland and Rutgers? Maryland brings some value in basketball but both teams don't bring much to the table IMO. Well, if it leads to the further demise of the Big East, I'm all for that.

[DoubleJayAlum]

How about this:

UConn to the ACC.

Big East responds by adding UMass, a school looking to move its football up a notch and bringing the greater Boston area market with it.

A10 responds to the UMass loss by ousting Fordham (who subsequently joins the much more suitable Patriot League) and adding Creighton and Wichita State, expanding its footprint in the Central time zone.

The MVC could then consider Southern University and Florida A&M. AceDad can then preach at the remaining schools about how a no vote on admission makes you all racists.