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[QUOTE="SWC75, post: 3038385, member: 289"]
I miss the SWC...

I also miss conferences that represented areas of the country instead of pulling apart old rivalries and trying to create new ones out of TV markets. Everyone in the SWC was a true rival with everyone else in the SWC. You can't say that about any conference now. I have always bemoaned the fact that the Northeast, the most populous area of the country, has no major athletic conference to represent it.

Joe Paterno is a major reason why. he opposed a northeastern conference when he was only the football coach because he didn't want Penn State associated with the east and wanted it free if a long-rumored conference of national powers was created. When he became athletic director, he had to care about their other teams and basically instructed other eastern schools to leave the leagues they were in and join a league he would create. When that failed he wanted 2 for 1 scheduling to load up on home games. When the other schools refused, he left for the Big Ten.

My favorite fantasy is the formation of a conference back in the 50's of Army, Navy, Boston College, Syracuse, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Maryland and possibly Notre Dame. Connecticut, Rutgers and Temple could have been added years alter to push it to 12 with two divisions and a title game. The "basketball onlys" could form their own conference and play a yearly challenge vs. the football schools.
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