Conference Realignment
October 29, 2009
The big story in college football this year has been realignment. Personally I'm all for realignments. My spine was realigned recently. Even cars can get realigned. That's how the rambling wreck of Georgia Tech was built.
It all started when the SEC started seeking new teams for its northern division. In an effort to increase the scholastic standing of both the SEC and the Southwest Conference, the SEC went after Texas A&M. They were rebuffed and had to settle for adding R Kansas.
The Pac-8 then reached out to try to lure the University of Texas at Austin. That didn't work out either, so they instead got Colorado College and the University of Texas at Houston. CC and U.T.A.H. should add a lot to the west coast league. USC has also been making noise. Their new athletic director Hayden Fry is urging Southern Cal to go independent. That's a good idea. I've always said that the only two teams that could have their own TV network are Notre Dame and the Song Girls.
Once the Pac-8 failed to attract UT Austin, other leagues jumped in. The Big Ten won the battle and most of the Big Eight, like Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, have joined the Aggies in the Big Ten. Meanwhile Nebraska stayed in the Big Eight and lured in a bunch of former Big Ten teams like Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State to form a new dozen-team league called the Big 12.
As for me, nobody made me an offer, so I'm just going to sit at home and bob for my own apples.