General20
Basketball Maven
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2011
- Messages
- 1,802
- Like
- 12,249
Even with the news that the Pac - whatever is not expanding to 16 (yet), I dont believe expansion is quite finished.
I dont believe the SEC is going to stay at 13 teams. While you dont need an even number of teams, 13 seems like an awkward number. Plus, even though the SEC is having tremendous on-field success, they have good reason to expand - namely the fact that their conference is not in a lot of good tv markets (maybe a better way to put it would be that the conference is in a lot of bad tv markets).
To me it makes good logical sense for the SEC to spread to one more (possibly three more) big tv markets.
If you look at a possible raid of the ACC, their choices would be Florida St., Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson (none of the Carolina teams are leaving and the rest are too far north). I'm not sure how Florida St. (in Tallahassee) or Clemson really help on the TV side of things. Georgia Tech is located in Atlanta but I'm not sure they give anything more than Georgia already produces.
The only team that makes sense (TV wise) is Miami, but they are a very undesirable choice when you factor in the news that they recently got caught with their hand in the metaphorical sex-yacht jar.
Missouri makes good logical sense, as they can bring in the St. Louis market, and I'd lay money on them moving to the SEC before long.
As for moving to 16? West Virginia has already been turned down, Louisville is in a state already owned by Kentucky, and none of the other Big 12 teams (unless they can convince Oklahoma or Texas to move) make any sense. So it seams to me that the SEC will add Missouri then stand pat for a while.
As for the rest? Texas is going to stay in the Big 12 as long as possible. Notre Dame is going to stay independent as long as possible, and the conferences that want those two schools (namely the B1G, the Pac -whatever, and the ACC) are not going to expand further until the door is officially closed on the big fish.
That puts the superconfrences in a stalemate position . . . for now. It leaves the Big 12 with 8 teams, and the Big East with 7. I'm not sure how many teams the Big 12 would like to have, but I think Louisville and West Virginia would be likely candidates for them (I've heard Texas does not want TCU included) . . . and if I were them I'd jump off the sinking Big East ship.
So, for the short term (in the long term the Big 12 is screwed), they seem to be in a position where they can solidify themselves. As for the Big East, and other smaller conferences. I think blood is in the water. I think a few smaller conferences will try to merge or improve each other in some way, to overtake the Big East's spot at the table. If the Big East is looking at a world where they have only UConn, Rutgers, TCU, South Florida, Cincinnati. They are not going to be able to fill a roster with very desirable candidates. Maybe the likes of Navy, East Carolina, Central Florida . . . if they are lucky. It may even get worse than that. Whether that is good enough for a BCS bid, I'm not sure, but I'd guess not.
My point, is, I suppose. Even without the formation of the superconfrences . . . yet. Change is coming and SU is in a better spot now than they were before.
I dont believe the SEC is going to stay at 13 teams. While you dont need an even number of teams, 13 seems like an awkward number. Plus, even though the SEC is having tremendous on-field success, they have good reason to expand - namely the fact that their conference is not in a lot of good tv markets (maybe a better way to put it would be that the conference is in a lot of bad tv markets).
To me it makes good logical sense for the SEC to spread to one more (possibly three more) big tv markets.
If you look at a possible raid of the ACC, their choices would be Florida St., Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson (none of the Carolina teams are leaving and the rest are too far north). I'm not sure how Florida St. (in Tallahassee) or Clemson really help on the TV side of things. Georgia Tech is located in Atlanta but I'm not sure they give anything more than Georgia already produces.
The only team that makes sense (TV wise) is Miami, but they are a very undesirable choice when you factor in the news that they recently got caught with their hand in the metaphorical sex-yacht jar.
Missouri makes good logical sense, as they can bring in the St. Louis market, and I'd lay money on them moving to the SEC before long.
As for moving to 16? West Virginia has already been turned down, Louisville is in a state already owned by Kentucky, and none of the other Big 12 teams (unless they can convince Oklahoma or Texas to move) make any sense. So it seams to me that the SEC will add Missouri then stand pat for a while.
As for the rest? Texas is going to stay in the Big 12 as long as possible. Notre Dame is going to stay independent as long as possible, and the conferences that want those two schools (namely the B1G, the Pac -whatever, and the ACC) are not going to expand further until the door is officially closed on the big fish.
That puts the superconfrences in a stalemate position . . . for now. It leaves the Big 12 with 8 teams, and the Big East with 7. I'm not sure how many teams the Big 12 would like to have, but I think Louisville and West Virginia would be likely candidates for them (I've heard Texas does not want TCU included) . . . and if I were them I'd jump off the sinking Big East ship.
So, for the short term (in the long term the Big 12 is screwed), they seem to be in a position where they can solidify themselves. As for the Big East, and other smaller conferences. I think blood is in the water. I think a few smaller conferences will try to merge or improve each other in some way, to overtake the Big East's spot at the table. If the Big East is looking at a world where they have only UConn, Rutgers, TCU, South Florida, Cincinnati. They are not going to be able to fill a roster with very desirable candidates. Maybe the likes of Navy, East Carolina, Central Florida . . . if they are lucky. It may even get worse than that. Whether that is good enough for a BCS bid, I'm not sure, but I'd guess not.
My point, is, I suppose. Even without the formation of the superconfrences . . . yet. Change is coming and SU is in a better spot now than they were before.