Mega-conferences

The college football landscape is about to change dramatically, and I'm not sure what I think about it. I grew up in SEC country, and for some time now the SEC has been considered the top conference in the land. With 5 of the last 7 BCS National Champions coming from the SEC, it's hard to argue against the conference's dominance. As a fan of the LSU Tigers, an SEC Western division school, I am perfectly happy with the conference, aside from the inclusion of Vanderbilt University, who consistently rests at the bottom of the SEC.

The Big 12, another power conference, and one that has seen nearly as much success as the SEC in recent years, looks to be evaporating. Nebraska has accepted an invitation to join the Big 10, and Colorado has jumped to the PAC 10. That said, it's only a matter of time before Texas makes a move, and then the dominoes will fall, and the Big 12 will be no longer.

In my opinion, the SEC can only gain good things from this turn of events. We either pick up, say, a Texas A&M or an Oklahoma, or we raid the ACC and get Virginia Tech and Fla State. Either way, the rich get richer, and the competitive level of the SEC incredibly goes up a notch.

For fans, this paves the way for 3 major conferences: The SEC, The PAC 16, and The Big 16, and there will probably be one or two more mega-conferences that emerge from all of this (The Mountain West has reportedly already added Boise St). The good thing is that this should pave the way for a playoff system. The bad news is that many of the mid-major schools like Utah and TCU may find it even more difficult to compete for national prominence.

Oh yeah, and how about those sanctions at USC? 30 lost scholarships over three years, with a cap of only 15 a year, plus forfeiting some losses and no postseason for the next few years? Wow!! That 2003 BCS National Championship for LSU is starting to look more and more unanimous with each passing day. Sweet redemption!

I can't wait to see how it all plays out. All I can say is Geaux Tigers and Go SEC!!!

Here's an interesting article by Tony Barhart about how it all might shake out.

Here's another article about Texas A&M to the SEC. Good stuff.