NCAA Football '11-'12

[Barrister]

Also - is there any reason why 16 is a magic number?

I understand the importancee of 12 (championship game), but what does 16 get you in college football land?

[jimmy olsen]

Why would Big 12 or ACC fold up shop however?

They are BCS conferences, and any member of those conferences have an excellent shot at a BCS bowl game.  They can just re-stock with members, some teams will rise to the top because of playing a weak in-conference opposition, and the world will go on?

I mean - isn't that what happened when the ACC poached some of the best teams away from the Big East several years ago?

IIRC there's actually a litmis test every few years. If you don't pass your automatic BCS bid is taken away from you. They probably can't restock enough to pass the next test without the Big 12 or Big East taking in the teams from the other. The MWC, WAC and CUSA just don't have enough teams with potential to do it.

From what I've read the nonfootball teams in the Big East have had it and are going to form their own Basketball league, so that would leave the Big 12 the survivor by default.

[Valmy]

Why would Big 12 or ACC fold up shop however?

They are BCS conferences, and any member of those conferences have an excellent shot at a BCS bowl game.  They can just re-stock with members, some teams will rise to the top because of playing a weak in-conference opposition, and the world will go on?

I mean - isn't that what happened when the ACC poached some of the best teams away from the Big East several years ago?

The ACC is not going to.  They are going to be stronger than ever.

[Valmy]

Also - is there any reason why 16 is a magic number?

I understand the importancee of 12 (championship game), but what does 16 get you in college football land?

Dude I have no idea.  This whole process is ridiculous I will be so glad when it is over.  I mean 16 teams is practically its own league.

[Valmy]

there's actually a litmis test every few years. If you don't pass your automatic BCS bid is taken away from you. They probably can't restock enough to pass the next test without the Big 12 or Big East taking in the teams from the other. The MWC, WAC and CUSA just don't have enough teams with potential to do it.

From what I've read the nonfootball teams in the Big East have had it and are going to form their own Basketball league, so that would leave the Big 12 the survivor by default.

It is amazing a guy who supposedly doesn't give a crap about College Sports at all except to scout for the pros is reading so much about conference re-alignment.

[jimmy olsen]

Also - is there any reason why 16 is a magic number?

I understand the importancee of 12 (championship game), but what does 16 get you in college football land?

Dude I have no idea.  This whole process is ridiculous.  I mean 16 teams is practically its own league.

1st of all it's more money.

Further consideration. Each 8 team division is like its own sub-conference. Makes scheduling easier, less cupcakes and more competition, theoretically makes a playoff easier.

[Ed Anger]

The fake Dan Beebe on Twitter is apparently 'drunk'. 

[Valmy]

The fake Dan Beebe on Twitter is apparently 'drunk'. 

Fake Dan Beebe is smarter than the real one.

[jimmy olsen]

there's actually a litmis test every few years. If you don't pass your automatic BCS bid is taken away from you. They probably can't restock enough to pass the next test without the Big 12 or Big East taking in the teams from the other. The MWC, WAC and CUSA just don't have enough teams with potential to do it.

From what I've read the nonfootball teams in the Big East have had it and are going to form their own Basketball league, so that would leave the Big 12 the survivor by default.

It is amazing a guy who supposedly doesn't give a crap about College Sports at all except to scout for the pros is reading so much about conference re-alignment.

That's the secondary reason I watch it. The first is that I love the game of football, when I'm back home if there's a game it's on tv, even if it's division IAA. From a competitive stand point I think this will make the game better.

The traditions of the game don't mean anything to me because I grew up in an area of the country without big time college football. The team I follow, Notre Dame is an independent. If they get invited to the Big 10 nothing changes (maybe the game with USC goes away, but that's not a big deal to me).

[Barrister]

Why would Big 12 or ACC fold up shop however?

They are BCS conferences, and any member of those conferences have an excellent shot at a BCS bowl game.  They can just re-stock with members, some teams will rise to the top because of playing a weak in-conference opposition, and the world will go on?

I mean - isn't that what happened when the ACC poached some of the best teams away from the Big East several years ago?

The ACC is not going to.  They are going to be stronger than ever.

My mistake - meant Big East.

I've never heard of a "litmus test" for BCS conferences though.

[Eddie Teach]

How is Boise St screwed? Wherever they end up is bound to be better than the WAC.

[Berkut]

Also - is there any reason why 16 is a magic number?

I understand the importancee of 12 (championship game), but what does 16 get you in college football land?

Dude I have no idea.  This whole process is ridiculous I will be so glad when it is over.  I mean 16 teams is practically its own league.

I thought grumbler made a good point when he said that it isn't really going to be 4 16 team leagues, it will be 8 8 team leagues.

16 works because it is the largest number that makes for nice divisions, and the larger the number, the larger the TV cash. This consolidation is inevitable, I think, just because everyone wants to make the pot of cash as large as possible. The real gaming is in getting the right 16 teams for your conference.

[Berkut]

Hmmm, the Pac-16 is apparently considering (if this all happens of course) not two 8 team divisions at all.

Rather they are supposedly considering 4 4 team pods.

Arizona
Arizona State
Utah
Colorado

Texas
Texas Tech
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

USC
UCLS
Cal
Standford

Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State

Each year you play the 3 other teams in your pod, and 2 teams from each of the other three pods for a 9 game conference schedule.

Each year you pair the pods to create 8 team divisions, but every two years you swap them out, so you get a home and home.

Needless to say, while the Pac-16 is a pretty neat idea in theory, in a practical sense, it probably is a screw job for Arizona in football at least.

[Barrister]

I dunno - sounds like the weakest pod in the conference.   Wouldn't that be an advantage for Zona?

[Berkut]

I dunno - sounds like the weakest pod in the conference.   Wouldn't that be an advantage for Zona?

Nah, it isn't about the strength of your pod, it is about the desirablity and marketability of your pod mates, since that is who you will be playing the most, and hence that is where you will be traveling the most.

In other words, right now Arizona gets a trip to Southern California every single year. Southern California is where the bulk of Arizona's recruits come from (there and Texas for Arizona). Under almost any new system, Arizona will no longer be visiting Southern California every year.