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Message: [QUOTE="Shrmdougluvr, post: 421388, member: 396"] Sorry about the new thread. Since I updated my MAC OS, i have virtually been unable to post, or its simply been sooo slow it's not worth the trouble ("first world problem"). I wanted to make a few quick points: [LIST=1] [*]Maryland leaving the ACC doesnt mean squat from an actual membership standpoint (they are easily replaceable), but as most people have mentioned, it simply highlights the simplicity with which one school can bolt a conference for more fertile pastures. [*] I think SYracuse will be ok in the end, though I wouldnt bet my house on it like some here would. Even if we end up in the Big Ten, i think the football program is really going to suffer. SU needed the ACC to sell to our Georgia and Florida recruits. [*]To me, this is the biggest point that almost no one else made (though I think KingOtto was more or less making the point), the first time around Texas was the golden goose that drove expansion, and it still continues to be due to its massive footprint and geographic neutral location. TM noted that there are really only three power conferences- SEC, B1G and PAC 12. THIS IS THE KEY- THERE IS NO WAY THE PAC 12 GETS TO 16 (or i think likely 2o) WITHOUT RAIDING THE BIG 12. Sooner or later (no pun intended), that conference is done. Moreover, unlike the ACC, the Big 12 can be poached by all three power conferences. That is why it makes no sense for FSU or Clemson to jump there at the moment. To that end, the ACC is at least as stable, if not more stable then the Big 12. What is most beneficial for the ACC is that the PAC 12 be the next to act. That is essential to the ACC's long term solvency. [/LIST] If I am the ACC, i do the following- offer Texas and Notre Dame absolutely anything they want to become members. No SEC or B1G teams are going to leave their cash-cow conferences, and no existing Big East teams do enough to lockdown all other ACC members. Texas and/or Notre Dame as full partners is the only way to guarantee future stability. To me, I am most inclined to believe things will go the way TM suggested earlier- 3 conferences of 20. ALthough their will be some demographic overlap, the power of those three conferences and their drawing power will make up for having the split the baby with a few extra leeches. My last thought is that I am not sure at all if even 3 power conferences will last 20-25 years. OSU, Florida, Texas, Notre Dame, etc. will always be carrying the water for lesser athletic departments. Eventually, they may all enjoy having complete autonomy more than being influenced by Purdue, Miss. St., ISU, etc. In addition, i truly question how successful these conference networks will be in places with marginal interest (e.g., B1g Ten network in NJ). What made the power conferences what they are is not demographics (sparsely populated southern, plains and midwestern states), and obviously not academics (or else the SEC and Big 12 wouldnt be viable). It is the like characteristics they share with their fellow members. The commonalities between schools like Miss St and Ole Miss, and Alabama and Auburn (just examples), is what fueled their unparalleled level of competition, and what fostered so much devotion and interest from fans (plus the southern and midwestern cultures i think breed more into these than the NE and West Coast). How jazzed up are people in Nebraska going to be to see a game against Maryland. Fans will lose interest, and when that occurs, tv stations will lose eyeballs. I guess mega conferences with pods of 4 or 5 will do best to combat this, but i still have doubts. This is what i see- three mega conferences of 20 or 22 schools. PAC 20, BIG 20, and SEC. Pods of 5. This allows round robin in each pod, then rotating pods each year (kind of like the NFL). 8 conference games then a semi-final and conference final before national playoffs. The pods will also serve to keep regional rivalries based on commonalities alive, and will save athletic budgets on travel. Some teams with good programs will likely be left out (ISU, Cincy, USF, etc.), hopefully SU will come along for the ride and reap the financial windfall. [/QUOTE]

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