Lots of news lately about possible conference realignments in the NCAA. I see the first official move was made today with Colorado agreeing to join the Pac-10. The Pac-10 is also looking at several other Big 12 schools. The Big Ten is looking at adding members with Nebraska and Notre Dame being mentioned.
So how will this affect college swimming? My gut tells me it's neutral or negative. I think football is the driving force in these realignments and it will just marginalize the non-revenue sports even more than they already are.
Any thoughts?
P.S. by the way, the Pac-10's possible realignment to a 16 team conference by adding six Big 12 teams will only increase the number of men's swim teams to seven in the conference (Texas and TAMU being the new ones). So the conference would go from 5/10 teams fielding men's teams to 7/16.
This is big news and been rumored for a long time. I think it is the end of the Big Twelve if both Nebraska and Mizzou leave as well. That will leave 9 in the B-12. There's no way that 9 can survive in today's collegiate athletics. I suspect, just a hunch, the two big Texas teams will now be shopped/shopping for a new conf. While I'm not generally in favor of conference expansion like this, adding UT and TX A&M to the SEC is a logical fit and would make that conf even more dominant over the rest of the major D1 conferences. TT and Baylor can't survive without the other Texas teams so they will be leaving if the big two do.
I think the best conf would be all the ugly orange schools in a single conference - UT, Tenn, UF, Clemp's Son, SorryExcuse (syracuse), etc - and call it the Butt Ugly conference.
I think the best conf would be all the ugly orange schools in a single conference - UT, Tenn, UF, Clemp's Son, SorryExcuse (syracuse), etc - and call it the Butt Ugly conference.
That's a great idea, but how will you ever tell the teams apart when they are playing each other? :)
I guess it's moot for lots of schools that don't have programs UNLESS it encourages some to restore their programs. I'm not expecting this to occur, however. I think the conference shuffling is 99% about football.
When it is all said and done you will basically have 4 power conferences left - SEC, Big Ten, Pac 10 and the ACC. There's nothing left of the Big East anymore.
The big prize in all of this is Notre Dame and they won't make a move before Texas I bet, could be wrong.
DUKE, unc, Vanderbilt, could start a nerd conference. Slogan "our pocket protectors are better than yours"
If they could abide by Division III (Duke football might be somewhat competitive in Div. III), there's the University Athletic Conference. It was known as "the nerdy nine" until Hopkins dropped out, leaving them with eight members (Brandes, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Emory, Case Western, U of Chicago, Wash U) ... Soon, they'll all be able to beat USC in football.
adding UT and TX A&M to the SEC is a logical fit and would make that conf even more dominant over the rest of the major D1 conferences. TT and Baylor can't survive without the other Texas teams so they will be leaving if the big two do.
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Adding the little ut, Texas A&M, OU and possible Baylor the SEC has been rumored around here. Florida and Alabama would hate having that little ut and OU in the conference.
Right now, Bama and UF are the top football schools, with very little competition for UF in the east. Bama does have some tough opponents in the west. If little ut and A&M were added, both would have major opponents right away.
DUKE, unc, Vanderbilt, could start a nerd conference. Slogan "our pocket protectors are better than yours"
I see the first official move was made today with Colorado agreeing to join the Pac-10.
Moot for Colorado, CU hasn't had men's or women's' swimming, other then club, for a long long time.
