University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst recently made this statement: "One of the things I think we're all resigned to is that regionalism is pretty much over." She was referring to the shifting dynamics of college football conferences and the endless rumors about which school is going where. I think that while she may believe that what she said is true, it's more accurate to say that the Big East hopes that it's true.
'Regionalism' is still alive and kicking, as far as I can tell. Let's take a look, case by case.
ACC-The two new schools that will arrive in a couple of years are Pittsburgh and Syracuse. So all 14 teams will be on the Atlantic Coast or at least in states that are on the Eastern Seaboard.
Big Ten-Penn State, as an Eastern team, is the only one that seems out of place. Newcomer Nebraska is a Northern school and a team that borders Iowa. Penn State, for its part, borders Ohio. So while Notre Dame would be a better fit than Penn State, I'd say the Big Ten still works as is. It's probably time to change the name of the conference to the Big North, but that's another story for another time.
Big 12-At least one good thing happened here-Texas Christian abandoned its ridiculous plan to join the Big East and instead will join the much more appropriate Big 12. Missouri will hopefully stay for two reasons-1) Missouri is not a Southern school, nor a Southern state. It doesn't fit in the SEC. 2) The Tigers would not succeed in the SEC. Regular beatings could be expected. Now, to get back up to 12 teams (assuming Missouri stays put) Houston and Southern Methodist should be brought in before THEY decide that being in the Big East makes sense (which it doesn't).
Conference USA/MWC potential merger-I'm not sure what to make of this conglomeration, or what good it would do. This would certainly be a cross-regional affair. It seems a little too far-reaching to me, both literally and figuratively. At this point, I'm not taking it seriously.
PAC-12-The new schools, Colorado and Utah, are nowhere near the Pacific coast. Arizona and Arizona State are landlocked too, for that matter. At least all these schools are in the West, though.
SEC-I'm disappointed that the SEC didn't stick to its guns and stay at 12 teams. The addition of Texas A&M, though, is the addition of a Southern school. So I could live with it. Hopefully the 14th team won't be Missouri, but rather one of the ACC schools. Which will of course prompt the ACC to look for another team.
As of now, nobody's really too out of place. The Big East's notion of inviting such schools as Air Force, Boise State, Houston, and Southen Methodist is a desperation move to keep the Big East relevant. Nobody else is reaching clear across the country to add schools. Apparently the Big East's decision-makers can't find anybody east of the Mississippi that could help make a stronger conference. Wasn't the Big East the conference that kicked Temple out for being terrible? Now the Owls would contend for the league title.
I like what Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim said-"If conference commissioners were the founding fathers of this country, we would have Guatemala, Uruguay, and Argentina in the United States." I couldn't have said it better. It's time for fans to start voicing their opinions on this-and not just on Internet forums and Twitter. Maybe some kind of 'Occupy the NCAA' movement could get started. Not that people would really miss work and leave their families to gather in one place over this, but I'm sure someone could come up with a creative idea.
After all, this isn't the NFL, which has Dallas in the NFC East, Baltimore in the AFC North, and Indianapolis in the AFC South. If the Big East has it's way, though, college football fans might get stuck with similar silliness.
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