If the Big 12 Didn't Add the 4 New Schools, the Future Would Be Grim | Realignment | Pat Crakes

Pat Crakes, Crakes Media (Former Fox Sports Executive) joins 365 Sports Radio to discuss the Big 12 adding the 4 New Teams.

Join David Smoak, Paul Catalina and Craig Smoak on 365 Sports Radio weekdays from 3-6 for discussions and interviews about college sports!

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Please watch: "Top 5 Realignment Thoughts of the Day | Conference Realignment | TV Deals | ACC"
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[RCmack]

The Big XII might add Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado next. SMU and Memphis are other Big XII options.
Many Colorado fans want the Buffaloes in the Big XII but the administration wants them to stay in the USC/UCLA-less Pac 12.

[zachjones]

First Cincy makes the CFP and now they’re helping to save a Power 5 football conference? Slow down guys! You don’t have to do it all in one year!

[kevinpedersen]

The PAC12 cannot find two schools (let alone four) that match the caliber of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.

[joekhatib]

Oh give me a break, I heard you on two national radio broadcasts last August Pat saying the Big XII even if they added teams was probably dead meat!!! 😉

[mynumberoneguy]

If the B1G and SEC conferences decide to go to 24 or 30 teams. That will be the beginning of the end to the ACC, B12 and PAC12. The other schools on the outside looking in right now better use the next 4 years to get their weight up. Meaning facilities, stadium size, etc.

[dallasshipley]

The Big 12 needs to get Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah and get some ACC teams

[nirmalp]

LDS birthrate is the highest in the country. BYU is brilliant addition long and short term. The rest add nothing. More mouths to feed for nothing in exchange. If you don't pay them full freight I guess their sheer existence to get to 12 teams is better than 9.

[WilliamSwank]

none of this matters unless you are a fan of the Big 12 forgoet this talk go play some football!

[buckeyeintexas]

The leftovers can play with the other group of 8 conferences. Only the BIG and SEC will matter when this is over. 8 spots in the playoffs for the BIG and SEC and let the leftovers have the rest

[westernciviccapital]

No matta... THE FULL PICTURE IS IN!  -August 11, 2022
ND TO STAY INDEPENDENT;
MIAMI IS IN, JOINING THE SEC!
(They're going to 25)

THE NEW FULL MEMO ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL REALIGNMENT...

Please remember, as Commissioner Warren said, these things are planned well in advance...

To the B1G (FOX):  Pitt, Stanford, Cal, Washington, Utah, Oregon, Kansas, Arizona and Colorado for 25 (all here mentioned are AAU schools).

To the SEC (ESPN):  NC(aau), Duke(aau), UVA(aau), Clemson, Florida St., West Virginia, Georgia Tech(aau), Miami and Virginia Tech for 25.

Notre Dame (NBC) (and BYU?) will stay independent with playoff access.

NOTE:  Divisions are only for the purpose of assuring regional play and reducing travel, and could be annually flexible by school requests.  These divisions are likely to be more relevant in non football sports. The football teams with the top 4 (at least, could go to 8 [flexibility?], culminating with the Rose Bowl) conference records will go to the conference semifinals in early or mid December regardless of their divisions, and the conference championships are to be played on New Year's Day (B1G/Rose, SEC/Sugar, Third25/Cotton).

B1G25 Southern Pacific division

Cal
USC
UCLA
Arizona
Utah

B1G25 Northern Pacific division

Colorado
Nebraska
Stanford
Oregon
Washington

B1G25 Great Plains division

Minnesota
Iowa
Kansas
Wisconsin
Illinois

B1G25 Great Lakes division

Indiana
Purdue
Northwestern
Michigan
Michigan State

B1G25 Union division

Rutgers
Maryland
Penn State
Pitt
Ohio State


Meet the SEC25:

Knowing that Pitt is going B1G, and 8 more ACC schools are going to the SEC, that's more than enough schools than needed to break the ACC contract.

Given the continuing regional continuity of the SEC, divisions will be even less significant than in the B1G.  Maintaining certain rivalries and neighborly games will be more a matter of game "reservation" than divisional assignments.  Again, the 4 (or 8, or a flexibility to assure fair access) best conference records of the SEC to play in semifinals in early December.


Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Arkansas
Kentucky
Missouri
LSU
Miss State
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Alabama
Auburn
Florida
Florida St.
Georgia
Georgia Tech
South Carolina
Clemson
North Carolina
Duke
UVA
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Miami

The rest to comprise TheThird25 conference with access relegation to playoff eligible divisions (similar to Euro soccer leagues) with guaranteed football playoff slots for their top teams every year. (Realignment for non football sports in this third conference, as membership could include 40 or so schools, with likely only 25 members of which will start the football season with access to the national playoff, more permanent regional sub conferences will be needed, and allowing these regional divisions to develop organically is expected to be one of the final components, and possibly most time consuming, such that the networks/B1G/SEC intend to allow the third conference a couple years of organization before defining a final playoff structure.)

This third conference is going to be full of badass non AAU schools from coast to coast, will have playoff access, and likely compete well for national titles moving forward.

And now be introduced to TheThird25 Conference:

TheThird25 (Apple/Amazon/Innovative Media Delivery, -and maybe CBS)

(Assuming BYU stays independent)

1) Oklahoma St.
2) Washington St.
3) TCU
4) Arizona St.
5) Kansas St.
6) Baylor
7) Boise St.
8) San Diego St.
9) NC St.
10) Tulane (AAU school)
11) Rice (AAU school)
12) UCF(disney/espn)
13) Louisville
14) Cincinnati
15) Houston
16) Boston College

To finish TheThird25:

Utah State
Syracuse
Hawaii
Oregon State
Fresno State
Iowa State
Texas Tech
SMU
Memphis and/or Southern Miss or Wake Forrest or Colorado State or Tulsa or Wyoming or New Mexico or UConn or Nevada or UTEP or Army or Navy or Air Force... etc. Relegation clearly required.

The Eligible76 (77 - BYU?)

So that makes 76 teams with playoff access each year: B1G25, SEC25, TheThird25 (with relegation beyond 25), and independent Notre Dame (and BYU?).

B1G/SEC to play 9 of 11 regular season games in conference (4 division, 1 each in the other 4 divisions, plus 1 reserved/rivalry game =9), and 2 non conference games (1 allowed to be an opponent beyond the eligible76).

How can this happen?

Quite simply. -and in the end likely a value booster for all schools through the 3 mega conferences...

Except for the 32 currrent legacy members of the B1G/SEC, revenue sharing as we've known it is finished.  The rest will be taken on and paid in accord with their relative fanbase/marketshare and other values brought to the table.

And they're selling this beautifully.... This has to be the single best dudes' soap opera to run the sportswire in some time.  This is intentional.

It's a done deal, but milking the interest is just the first part of this brilliant college football marketing campaign.  -or, blame capitalism. ✌🤠✌

Look for something called the "Independent Invitational" game to be played in early December alongside the conference semifinals, and to be managed by The Playoff Commission, playing Notre Dame (and/or BYU?) and possibly service academies against a team hoping to make a playoff or better bowl claim, or any other 2 teams the Commission may deem appropriate in a given year in order to help clarify and minimize their playoff selections upcoming after the bowls. (It has been proposed that any Division 1 school relegated beyond the eligible76 could achieve instant transcendence with an undefeated (11-0) season -w/10 D1 wins- and a likely invitation to the Independent Invitational prior to major bowl selection.)

The bowls will play out during the holidays and could have playoff selection implications depending on the year.

PLAYOFF FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY
(setting an arbitrary number of playoff slots before the season plays out is a failed model):

The concept of yearly playoff flexibility should be incorporated.  Every year is different; setting an arbitrary number of playoff slots before the season plays out inevitably rubs against fairness for the next team left out.

After the 3 Conference championships on New Year's Day (yielding 3 guaranteed advanced playoff births) the Playoff Commission should call no less than 4 teams, but up to 16, or any (even odd) number in between, such that no eligible undefeated team is left out (an "objective, measurable, clear and articulable delineation between the last team to qualify, and all remaining eligible teams..."), and playing such few games as necessary to answer but one question:

Who is number 1?

[AspAve]

New additions to leagues temporarilly saving a conference is nothing new. Texas schools saved the Big8 from eventual extinction. The 4 noobs saved the Big12 this time, but how long will the band aid last?