Is moving conferences good for teams?

[IEATHAM0555]

If you take a look at Penn State's record since they entered the Big Ten their program has gone down...Miami seemed to get weaker and they are playing a tougher schedule...yes they did loose alot of players to the NFL and it is hard to keep winning like they were...but do you think it was a good idea to go to the ACC

[Head Roadie]

Miami made a good move, it makes more sense geographically for them. Boston College is the "strange" addition to the ACC. WVU would have been a better fit but the ACC wanted the big TV market in the Northeast that Morgantown doesn't provide.

The moves are not done...The Big East is quickly becoming the Little Mideast and the Big 11 can't be far behind in needing/wanting a 12th team and the playoff bucks that would be generated.

Some speculation....WVU for Vandy in the SEC, The Big 10 adding 1 or 3 teams from among Missouri, Pitt, Syracuse, and N.Dame and the demise of the Big East as a football conference are my personal predictions.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Those teams left for much greener pastures. The ACC as of next season will be the dominant conference, and deserves 2 BCS bids, regardless. It's not realistic to think you can play competition like that and win every week. As for the SEC, I think Auburn is the best team right now, but it will be a very different game when they lock up with Tennessee again. The ACC features one bad team: Duke. The rest of that conference is VERY solid. If you took Wake Forest or NC State out of there and stuck them in the Big East they'd dominate it. A 8-3 ACC winner will crush just about anyone else in the nation.

Vanderbilt will NEVER leave the SEC. They make wayyyy too much money off shared revenue from the conference and bowl bids.

It's not realistic that Missouri would leave the Big 12. They play in the Big 12 North which is a joke now, and they are having more success on the field and having very strong recruiting classes. They have the opportunity to win the Big 12 North, and some even said they start their domination as of this year. They might still win it, but this season in a big disappointment for the Tigers.

I would love to see Syracuse or Pitt in the Big Ten. I think a better selection, believe it or not, is Iowa State. They have an in-state rivalry with Iowa, and they are usually an okay team. A team taken out of the Big 12 North opens a spot for Boise State or Utah. Those teams are ready to move up. If you saw them this season, you'd agree with that. Especially Utah.

Notre Dame isn't going anywhere. They make too much money on their own, why share it?

At the end of the season I am going to post a huge post about conference realignments. I would love to get into a big discussion about this topic, especially since it is going to become more and more apparent in the near future that you must play that extra game (conference championship).

[AUSTIN_22:22]

imo...

miami will be fine. their record may have a few more losses on it in their off years in the acc, but they will still get all the top players out of hs. they are a factory for nfl players. i don't think they are the best college team, but when it comes to producing players for the pros, they have it down to a science.

the big east is all about basketball in the future. the acc has weakened its roundball league by adding the annual cellar-dwellers, va tech and miami, along w/ BC. clearing out the bad teams and adding the top conference usa teams makes the big east look like they completely gave up on football but decided being the best basketball league is not such a bad thing.

i think the big ten will wait for notre dame to give up its independent status until there is peace in the middle east, maybe even longer. they need notre dame to compete w/ the acc and sec as far as football strength is concerned. they want the 12th team to qualify for a conference championship game, but they want notre dame even more.

[HOLLYWOOD]

some very interesting comments here. It is a good idea to leave a conference for better competition more money, etc. I don't agree that every team in the ACC is good-Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Maryland are not that great year in and year out!!

[Head Roadie]

Like you guys, I find this topic very interesting and it's fun to speculate.
Three things I've read I disagree with. 1. SEC is still top conference top to bottom, ACC is/will be #2. 2. Vandy won't leave the SEC, they'll be removed if they don't pick up the pace in the major sports (foot/bask) soon. 3. TheBig 10 prides itself on academic excellence as well and Missouri is the Big 12 team they've coveted on/off for some time....beside ND it's said to be the team they want the most and the advantages of Missouri going Big 10 outweigh the temporary down cycle of the Big 12 North. Iowa State does not fit the Big 10 mold.

As soon as one of the Big three (Syr, Pitt, WVU) leave the Big East, the BE will be dead in football. The mistake, my opinion, that Big East commish Mike Tranghese made was this....he should have seen it coming and I think could have avoided it by proposing a Big East/ACC merger in Football only. Call themselves the Big Atlantic or whatever, but to have maintained two 8 team divisions of a bigger entity in football and create a championship game could have saved the BE and allowed both conferences to maintain their identity and separatism in basketball and the non-rev sports. It would have allowed them to share the pie that is out there. Now, the ACC gets it all and the Big East is floundering, at least football-wise.

Who will hold out longer, the Big 10 or Notre Dame? This is even money IMO.

If ND gives in, and they actually did "consider" overtures from the ACC, then the Big10 will sit with 12.....if ND outlasts the Big 10's waiting game look for that conference to single-handidly blow up the Big East by taking Syr and Pitt to go with Mizzou and form a 14 team superconference.

Just my thoughts...interested in other opinions.

[IEATHAM0555]

First off...the ACC would get hammered if they went game for game with the SEC...Vandy can't leave the SEC because teh SEC needs them for academics...Kentucky would be the only other school I can see them pulling out....but they are needed for basketball...if you took Arkansas and put them in the ACC they would be a dominant team...but in the SEC they have trouble when they play against powerhouses like LSU Tenn Auburn and Georgia....ALSO..I can't see Notre Dame wanting to get into a conference...staying out of conference allows them to play a schedule that can fit them better and improve their chances of making a big bowl...they don't need money from the conferences to join nor do they need money from other teams bowl bids...they make way more money than any other team from their national television and radio deals..

[The Ancient Enemy]

Guys, Vanderbilt is not that bad of a football team. Yeah, they do bad in the conference, but stick Vanderbilt in the MAC and see what happens. They also have a QB that will definitely get drafted, as Jay Cutler is awesome. Let's also not short-change Wake Forest. Wake has been on the verge of many victories this season, and hasn't been able to catch a break. they DID beat Boston College, though. They have proven over the past 2 seasosn that they are a program on the rise. As far as Georgia Tech, their defense is ranked in the top 20 in the nation, Reggie Ball is awesome, and so is PJ Daniels. I'm wondering you guys are still talking trash on Georgia Tech if they win that close game against Virginia Tech. Arkansas is a good program, but there's no way they'd be "dominant" on a consitent basis when they have to play Miami, Va Tech, Florida State, UVA, Clemson, NC State, and then you have teams who have proven they cannot be taken lightly, like Ga Tech and Wake Forest. These teams in the ACC and SEC are better than you think they are.

[Head Roadie]

Correct...Cutler is very good and I felt that this was the year Vandy could win 2 or 3 in the SEC, but despite their best talent in years, it isn't happening....it just doesn't look like they can compete. They are far and away the blemish on the SEC's bevvy of fine teams.

ACC is very good, but not as deep. After Vandy and Miss St (who beat Fla) only Ole Miss, SCar and Fla can be considered "average" this year.

The ACC has a poor Duke team and then Wake, NC St, NC, Md, Clem, GT have to be considered average even though capable of springing the big one (upset).

Good teams include FSU, VaTech, Mia, UVA whereas the SEC has Aub, LSU, Tenn, Ga, Alab, Ark who can pretty much equal the 4 top ACC teams. My point, SEC still has upper hand but ACC is #2 and on the move.

[HOLLYWOOD]

I like some of the thinking here and Head Roadie had an excellent point about the ACC and Big East!! They need to make a bunch of huge conferences like joining the Big East with ACC, Big 10 and Big 12, SEC alone for now. PAC-10 and Mountain West and WAC with alternating schedules so everyone will play everyone in 2 years or 3 years!! Have a championship game then you will know who is in the BCS from all the winners of the conferences and still have bowl games!!