Conference realignment why

Under current head coach James Franklin, Penn State is still one of the top programs in the conference and nationally. The formation of the Big 12 is also linked with the death of the Southwest Conference, one of the oldest leagues in college sports. After Arkansas left the SWC in , it opened the floodgates for the eight remaining schools -- all in Texas -- to look for better opportunities. The league was hit hard by member schools being sanctioned by the NCAA -- most notably SMU football receiving the "Death Penalty" in and -- that hurt those programs and the rest of the league.

Television revenue was down since SMU games were banned from being broadcast and the league lacked national championship contenders. Not only were they joining a stable environment, but would be side-by-side some of the most relevant programs in college football. At the time, Nebraska won three national championships in four years, and Colorado was suddenly one of the best programs nationally. Not to mention the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry would now be in-house.

The new Big 12 would split into North and South divisions and would continue to be a power nationally. The SWC was no more. Sound familiar? It wouldn't last very long. The conference was too big -- both in member size and geographically -- to function.

The Mountain West was formed and began play in Hawaii, which now was at a traveling disadvantage, left for the MWC as well. After the season, the WAC The conference is up to 12 teams after adding former WAC schools. The ACC wanted to bulk up its football resume again and had their sights set on adding Miami -- who had went in the previous four seasons and won a national championship. Their invitation to Miami was met with anger by the Hurricanes' current conference, the Big East, and lawsuits began to fly.

That made for the uncomfortable situation of Virginia Tech part of a lawsuit against the ACC's expansion and then jumping onto the league's roster. The league added the two schools with hopes to petition the NCAA for an team league to hold a conference championship game. Boston College originally was supposed to join the league with Miami and Syracuse, only to have Virginia Tech subbed in for Syracuse at the last minute, and at least one ACC school voted "no" on an offer to BC.

Boston College was also a defendant in a lawsuit by fellow members of the Big East but was taken off when they were left at the alter the Big East offered to add BC to the list of plaintiffs. The league formed two non-geographical divisions the "Atlantic" and "Coastal" and was finally able to host a league championship game. The Big East needed to replace the three schools and would invite five schools to join their league.

Twenty years after the Big Ten shook up college athletics by adding Penn State, the conference did it again, prying Nebraska from the Big 12 and creating a team Big Ten yeah. This allowed the league to split into two divisions the infamous "Leaders" and "Legends" divisions before coming to their senses and just going by geography in and hold a conference championship game. At the time, Nebraska was an amazing get. The Cornhuskers were dominant under Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne in the s through the s, winning five national championships and many Big 8 and Big 12 titles.

It hasn't stayed that way, however, as the program has struggled with its identity since switching leagues. Nebraska has struggled in recent seasons and hasn't been to a Big Ten title game since , in which they lost In any event, the move began another conference arms race. The Pac was poised to make a big move. Colorado saw Nebraska, their biggest rival, leave and felt the Big 12 becoming unstable.

They quickly accepted the invitation. Texas leveraged the Pac's overture into a better deal back with the Big 12, and the other four schools stuck with the Longhorns. With not many options in the west to expand, the Pac invited Mountain West member Utah to become the final member of the newly named Pac It has been a mixed bag.

The Pac missed on its conference network, which keeps a lot of games off the air nationally. While Utah took a major step up in conference affiliation, Colorado has suffered a bit from the lack of exposure and watched as the Big 12 began doling out more money to their members.

Over a decade later, the move is still debated among fans. Texas spurned the Pac and was launching its Longhorn Network which was seen by fellow conference members as a huge advantage the Horns were going to have in recruiting and financial status.

While the SEC wasn't pining to expand an already stout league, adding a team from the Lone Star State is an offer they couldn't refuse. Publicly, it seemed like a done deal but there were the expected lawsuits and hard feelings that attached themselves to a move this big. Missouri was a bit of a different fit. Geographically, they did fit with Kentucky and Arkansas, but culturally it was a different story.

Originally, Missouri wanted to join the Big Ten but the league took Nebraska and only Nebraska eventually that would change. Missouri was openly flaunting themselves at the Big Ten that when the SEC was looking for a 12th member, Mizzou was ready to take the call. Both have performed well in the SEC. There have been ups and downs since, but neither school would trade a thing.

The Horned Frogs won at least 11 games in six of their seven seasons in the Mountain West, including an undefeated season in West Virginia was another story. While typically a solid program, their marriage to the Big 12 came more out of convenience than anything else. The conference needed a tenth member while the Mountaineers were trying to jump off a sinking ship called the Big East. Geographically it made no sense, but both sides needed to link up to survive.

Nearly a decade after the ACC and Big East clashed over-expansion, the two leagues were at odds again In , both Syracuse and Pittsburgh applied for admission to the ACC the league immediately accepted which put the Big East on life support. Syracuse was ready to join the ACC in but politics or the league's side and pleading on the university's side kept that from happening then.

But with the top three football programs gone, this is a blow to the American in the short term. And it's no secret that the American went after several schools from the Mountain West -- including Boise State -- before taking on its new members from Conference USA. So adding these six may end up devaluing the American, at least for now. For most of its existence, Conference USA's role has been to act as a way station for programs moving either up or down in the college football hierarchy.

Its name is as noncommittal as possible when it comes to specific membership or region. Both recently arranged to leave. C-USA loses programs to conferences greater in the hierarchy and plucks from conferences lower. What we've found with the latest maneuvering is that there might not be anyone lower in the hierarchy anymore.

But it aimed for schools close to major markets and long known for having football potential; in response, the Sun Belt brought in well-supported football programs -- Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern -- and quickly surpassed C-USA from a football perspective. Either way, the Sun Belt will win this round of realignment as it did, in retrospect, the last time around and C-USA will look almost completely different in a few years than it does now.

The MAC has been the quietest of the Group of 5 leagues during the latest realignment flurry as it hasn't had to ward off any suitors. The league's makeup is "solid," a source said, and, unlike some other leagues, MAC schools are fairly similar in location, structure and budget. Even so, the MAC must remain diligent about moves from other leagues, especially those that can offer better financial options, and Steinbrecher said in the statement that it would "continue to monitor the membership landscape.

One of the most puzzling developments of this latest round of realignment was the discussion Air Force and Colorado State had about joining the depleted American Athletic Conference. It's well known throughout the Mountain West that Air Force has not been pleased with the direction of the conference in recent years -- mostly about inconsequential issues in the grand scheme of things -- so when the Academy sought out an alternative option, it wasn't out of left field.

What never made any sense is that Colorado State also considered a move. Had the American not been raided, sure, maybe a move would have resulted in the Rams playing in a more high-profile conference and they would have benefitted from a bigger media rights deal.

But after Cincinnati, Houston and UCF left, they would have been leaving for an inferior conference with more travel and no clear benefits. Just to be Air Force's travel partner? Common sense prevailed and neither school is leaving Skip to main content Skip to navigation.

Conference realignment tracker: Remaining questions, next steps after latest shake-up. NMSU biggest underdogs of season vs. New Mexico State Aggies. UConn Huskies. Gator raid: Georgia flips another Florida recruit. Florida Gators.

Huskers without LB Domann for rest of season. Nebraska Cornhuskers. UGA's Anderson turns self in, charged with rape. Georgia Bulldogs. Aresco: CFP 'double standards' hurting Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bearcats. Coach: Cal followed protocols before outbreak. California Golden Bears. Your email address will not be published.

I see only two viable alternatives for the football program, neither of them very palatable. I would really regret that, but it may be the wisest course to take. Return to the FCS, a place where the school excelled, and where the team could regain some success amongst their true peers. Of my two paths this is the ont I would prefer.

FBS is a dead end for UMass. Donated as much as I could to Alumni Association and yearly fund raising campaigns. This administration has made a laughing stock of the program and the university. Good-bye and good luck. RSS Feed. Submit Search. Close Menu. Navigate Left. Navigate Right.