FanPost

Expansion to 9 12-team Conferences

This is my plan for conference expansion.  When it's all over, 16 teams will have changed conference. 7 teams will be promoted from non-BCS to BCS conferences.  The Mountain West's 'Big 3', 3 CUSA East teams & Temple.  The 6 12-team league BCS conference winners & 2 at-large teams will play in a 8 team playoff.  The quarterfinals will be played at the Orange, Sugar, Fiesta & Rose bowls.  Winners will advance to the semifinals & then the NCAA College Football Championship.  Other teams will continue to play in the existing bowl games like the Cotton & Papajohns.com.

 

Current TV deals for each conference & payout:

* Big Ten: $242 million ($22 mil each)
* SEC: $205 million ($17.08 mill each)
* ACC: $155 million ($12.9 mil each) (new deal)
* Big 12: $78 million ($6.5 mil each)
* Pac-10: $58 million ($5.8 mil each)
* Big East: $2.8 million per football school

(the numbers after each school are its ranking 1-120 after last season)


Big Ten decides to add a 12th team to play a conference championship game.  After being rejected by Notre Dame again, they add Missouri for the St. Louis & Kansas City TV markets. Conference is divided into East & West.

East West
Indiana 83 Illinois 99
Michigan 80 Iowa 8
Michigan State 62 Minnesota 70
Ohio State 5 Missouri 46
Penn State 9 Northwestern 40
Purdue 72 Wisconsin 14

Now the only major conference besides the Big East without a championship game, the Pac-10 decides to expand to 12.  They add Colorado & Utah for the Denver & Salt Lake City TV markets. Division follows the ACC model instead of North & South - separating teams from their natural rival.

 

Pacific Coastal
Arizona 35 Arizona State 77
California 41 Oregon State 36
UCLA 58 USC 21
Colorado 96 Stanford 29
Oregon 12 Utah 19
Washington 76 Washington State 115

The Big 12 must replace the 2 North division teams it lost so it adds Texas Christian & Brigham Young. Oklahoma agrees to move to the North divisions for more balance in the conference.

 

North South
BYU 10 Baylor 79
Iowa State 57 Oklahoma State 33
Kansas 74 Texas 4
Kansas State 63 Texas A&M 64
Nebraska 16 Texas Christian 6
Oklahoma 26 Texas Tech 22

The SEC & ACC sit out this round of conference expansion but the Big East must add 4 teams to stay relevant.  They promoted Cincinnati, Louisville & South Florida from Conference USA in 2005 and continue now by adding Central Florida, East Carolina & Memphis. The 12th team is Temple, a Big East football-only member from 1991-2004.  The 6 former C-USA schools form the South division & the older Big East teams form the North.

 

North South
UConn 32 UCF 61
Pitt 15 Cincinnati 7
Rutgers 28 East Carolina 38
Syracuse 91 Memphis 112
Temple 60 Louisville 90
West Virginia 27 South Florida 44

The Big East spins off its' 8 non-football schools (including Notre Dame) into a different non-affiliated league.

The Mountain West was raid of its' 'Big 3' by the Big 12 & Pac-10, leaving the conference with 6 teams. There were plans to add Boise State as the 10th team & possible expansion to 12 for a championship game.  MWC agrees to merge back with the Western Athletic Conference to form a 12 team league. 

The WAC kicks out it's 3 newest teams from 2005 - Idaho, New Mexico State & Utah State. Louisiana Tech leaves to join a conference back East & is replaced by Texas El-Paso, a former member from 1967-2005. The reunited conference is split into the Mountain West teams' division & the newer WAC teams.

 

Mountain West Western Athletic
Air Force 45 Boise State 2
Colorado State 104 Fresno State 51
UNLV 86 Hawaii 75
New Mexico 118 Nevada 52
San Diego State 97 San Jose State 111
Wyoming 59 UTEP 102

 

There are 8 conference games, copying the ACC's model: 5 division games, 1 permanent out of division rival, & rotate the other 2 out of division games.

Air Force & Hawaii - Air Force has the jets to fly this far every other year

Colorado State & UTEP - both joined the WAC in 1967

UNLV & Nevada - The Battle for Nevada & the Fremont Cannon

New Mexico & San Jose State - Spanish sounding places

San Diego State & Fresno State - student bodies hate each other

Wyoming & Boise State - closet in geography


C-USA is left scrambling after losing another 3 teams so it welcomes Louisiana Tech from the WAC as its' 10th team. Then promotes Middle Tennessee State & North Texas from the Sunbelt.

 

East West
UAB 88 Houston 39
Florida Atlantic 95 North Texas 116
Louisiana Tech 98 Rice 113
Marshall 65 SMU 49
MTSU 37 Tulane 109
Southern Miss 68

Tulsa 81

The Mid-Atlantic Conference is left unchanged except for getting rid of it's 13th team: football-only member Temple.

Notre Dame, Navy & Army remain Independent.

The Sun Belt adds the 3 WAC cast-offs so it has a large chunk of land to cover but its' 9 teams get to remain in 1-A football:

 

Arkansas State 103
FIU 108
Idaho 50
Lousiana-Lafayette 92
Lousiana-Monroe 94
New Mexico State 114
Troy 53
Utah State 101

Western Kentucky 120

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