Realigning the Conferences

Apropos of nothing, I wanted to weigh in quickly on the college football realignment that is going on, first with some ideas about how it might impact the MAC, and then with some general thoughts.

The last time this happened, there was a lot of chatter through the MAC, and while there has been some this time, it seems to be less.  Last time, people were talking about MAC teams moving UP into a BCS conference, notably the Big East.  Teams mentioned included Toledo and Miami.  Obviously, with recent success, Buffalo might start to think that way, and, for that matter, Akron has some new facilities and is in a quasi-metro area.

This time, however, is different.  This is not about people moving up into the big conferences...it is about the big conferences consolidating their hold on college football.

If you count Conference USA as a step up (and you might), well, that might be a possibility.

The scenario everyone talks about is 4 super conferences with 64 teams.  Meaning that Big East football goes away along with the Big 12, and you end up with an Eastern Conference (the ACC), Southern (the SEC), Midwest (the Big "10"), and West (the Pac 10).

Right now, the 6 BCS conferences have 65 teams in them.  So, once the chairs are rearranged and the music stops, it looks like they are set for teams.  Could Utah or BYU move up?  Sure, but far more likely is the MWC absorbing Boise and putting the WAC into minor league status.

I don't think any C-USA teams are moving up.  The C-USA could, however, do what the MWC can do, which would be to cherry pick a couple MAC teams and become the AAA level of the FBS.  This would appear to me to be the biggest risk facing the MAC today, and I would suggest the Buffalo, UT, and Akron would be the most likely targets to step up because of their presence in metro areas.

In the big picture, I just find myself sad at what we are seeing.  This is all being driven by the desire to make more money, and to get larger footprints for things like The Big Ten Network.  From a competitive standpoint, and from a fan's standpoint, college football is incredibly compelling right now, and only risks becoming less so with these changes.

The thing that sets college football apart is that the regular season matters.  Every game matters.  You don't get second chances.

This is slowly going to go away.  For example, a 16-team Big 10 would have 4 divisions of 4 teams, with a semi-final and a final.  (Oh yeah, remember how a tourney would be too many games for the student athletes to handle?  Guess not?  The real objection:  a tourney would not be carried on the Big Ten Network....or the existence of the NCAA.  You pick).

Once you have that, then the regular season begins to take on less meaning.  The OSU-Michigan game will diminish in drama, as both teams will likely be in the "post-season" most times, win or lose.  From a fan's standpoint, I just think it will be less appealing.  (They wouldn't put those two teams in the same division would they?)

Not that we won't watch.  Because we will.

So, back to the MAC.  Let's say C-USA wanted to go to 16 as well.  With 12 now, they could look to Buffalo, UT, Akron, and let's charitably say that instead of Miami they grab Navy, Troy, Florida Atlantic or Florida International to bulk up their Southern presence.  (Could Temple transfer their football-only presence into C-USA?)

That leaves the MAC with...

• BG
• Temple
• CMU
• EMU
• WMU
• NIU
• Ball State
• Kent
• OU
• Miami

Which is a couple south of what is needed to have a conference championship game under current rules.  I suppose at that point, the MAC could raid the Sun Belt for a couple teams, but at the end of the day, under that scenario, I think we're on the road to relegation to third-class status or even FCS.

I know that the argument will be made that the teams need other FBS teams to fill out their schedules.  A couple points on that.  First, that is based on the existing structure (requiring a certain number of games against FBS competition, rules that the big schools can change anytime they feel like it), and second, because the larger conferences will have less need for games to fill the schedule out, and less need for patsies, because they will have internal playoff structures that will determine who plays in BCS bowls and for the BCS title.

This is a Bowling Green blog.  I don't see anyway we have any appeal to any conference other than the MAC.  I have always said that the best thing for Bowling Green is to play in a MAC that is intact as it is today and that is improving and getting better.  I still think that.

I wonder if the MAC wouldn't jump in and try to get to 16 teams itself, as a way to keep all its teams on board.  Army, Navy, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee?  North Florida is looking to be FCS, is that an option?  Could this happen?

Much speculation, but here is the final take away.  The rich and powerful schools are going to do what they have always done, only in a more brazen and less subtle way than before.  They are going to use their power and money to get more of both for themselves, and we can only fight over the stuff they didn't want.  I don't believe that it ends with the MAC in a better position, and as always seems to be the case, we find ourselves hoping we can just stay in the position we are in.