My Dream Conference

I need to preface today’s post.  I am not claiming any inside information.  I do not have any secret, unnamed sources.  I am not trying to start or encourage any rumors.  The following is just a combination of my own wild speculation and wishing thinking.  I just decided to combine interesting ideas I’ve heard or read about with my own private musings.

As the Big XII continues to slowly crumble into an eventual pile of dust, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would like to see happen over the next few months.  What schools would I like to see aligned with my hometown Jayhawks?  Most, if not all of these ideas, are going to be impossible.  They will never happen.  I understand all of this but it is a fun exercise.

The first thing that needs to happen is the current ten schools need to resolve their issues.  Some are real; some are childish.  It doesn’t matter.  These schools have a great geographical center with many long time rivals and they need each, whether they know it or not.  The teams causing the most problems are probably going to be worse off wherever they may go.  The quicker these programs realize this, the quicker some sort of stability can be gained back. 

Secondly, once a stable and trusting relationship can be re-established among the members, they need to convince Notre Dame to join the Big XII.  I know this is a lost cause but it could actually make sense for the Irish to step off their pedestal before it topples.  With the present setup of the conference, the Irish can keep their NBC revenues in the Big XII when that would never happen in any other BCS conference. 

Next, convince Arkansas that their most natural rivals already play in the Big XII and not the SEC.  I cannot imagine Dallas Cowboys owner and Hog alumnus, Jerry Jones, wouldn’t be thrilled for the possible renewal of the Longhorn/Razorback rivalry.  Bring in Arkansas and now there are 12 teams in the Big XII.  Is this where they should stop?  I don’t think so.  If these twelve teams make up one conference, suddenly the power would shift back to the Big XII.

The conference should ride the momentum of adding a couple of big boys to get ahead of the curve and expand to 16.  I’ve heard that the Big XII also owns the naming rights of Big XIIII and Big XVI.  I don’t know if this is true but it certainly would be logical to me to try to fill out one of those lofty names.

There are so many schools out there but I tried to think about what schools I would like to see in my conference and that would add TVs for the all important television contracts.  I think Pittsburg would be a nice fit.  It would open up a strong recruiting center and bring in a lot of viewers.  The Panthers have strong football and basketball programs and would be a great place in which to travel.  If Pittsburg leaves, maybe Louisville could be swayed to follow.  The Big XII would certainly be an upgrade for both programs in football and the conference is suddenly looking very appealing from a basketball point of view as well.  The football side of things is really looking up and I think the conference could now add a school more known for its roundball prowess.  Surely Memphis would leap at the chance the upgrade their league quickly. 

Now if these schools would join the conference, Arkansas would be added to the old South division and Notre Dame, Pittsburg, Louisville, and Memphis to the old North.  The South still needs another school.  The geographically logical choice would be TCU.  Or maybe Houston instead.  To me, these schools would be last resorts.  The conference already has the state of Texas nailed down.  I would like to add BYU.  Like Notre Dame, they need a football conference.  They have historically solid football and basketball programs and I think it would be beneficial to the league overall.

As a basketball fan, this lay out really excites me.  What a powerhouse basketball conference this would be.  Every single game would be a battle.  And it wouldn’t be too shabby on the gridiron either.  The Big XII (Big XVI?) would suddenly wield a big stick nationally in the top two team sports.  It would be the best basketball league by far and potentially the second best football conference.  Think of the revenues that could be generated with the new markets.  From a fan’s viewpoint, who wouldn’t be excited?

It is all a pipe dream, of course.  Texas and Texas A&M do not look like they can mend fences.  OU suddenly thinks it is too good for everyone else.  Of course, I am not convinced the Pac-12 wants to expand.  From everything I’ve read, all of the schools are happy with present alignment.  I’m not even sure the SEC is very enamored with A&M.  The Big East (which would itself dissolve if my scenario ever played out) and the ACC do not make sense for anyone geographically.  The Big Ten doesn’t appear eager to add anyone other than maybe Notre Dame.  There may not be anywhere for the discontents to go.

This is an extremely fun topic to discuss and argue about and to speculate about.  Ultimately, we the fans, just have to wait it out and let the situation resolve itself.  Hopefully, it will be sooner (no pun intended) rather than later.

I recently passed the 1000 viewer mark on my sports blog site.  I want to thank all of the people who read my ramblings and have supported me in this endeavor over the past several months.  Thank you all very much.

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