The New Conferences
I was talking with a friend of mine and he said that there would be no way for every team in Div. 1 A football to play in a conference that would not only have a conference championship, but also made sense geographically. So, I sat down and took the challenge. Bellow is the result. There are 10 conferences of 12 teams each. Every team except for Army and Navy are members of a conference as well as four teams from Div. 1 AA (Delaware, App St, UMass, and North Dakota St). The SEC and Big 12 remained exactly the same, but there is a bit of a shakeup in the rest???
Note: Divisions are purely geographical. They can be changed any way deemed necessary
Big 10 - Big Midwest
East Division:
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan State Spartans
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Purdue Boilermakers
West Division:
Indiana Hooisers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Northwestern Wildcats
Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois Fighting Illini
It's amazing how adding one team (ND) completely changes the conference. The East is loaded with tradition, but the West has a couple teams that can make some noise, plus Wisc. I would see the championship being OSU v. Wisc.
Atlantic Coast Conference - ACC
North Division:
Maryland Terrapins
Virginia Tech Hokies
Virginia Cavaliers
North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina State Wolfpack
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
South Division:
Florida State Seminoles
Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Clemson Tigers
South Florida Bulls
Duke Blue Devils
The loss of BC is made up for by the gain of USF. The divisions are fairly even, though the south may have the greater long-term potential. This year's CG would probably be VT v. Clemson.
Big East - Big East
North Division:
Pittsburgh Panthers
Boston College Eagles
Syracuse Orangemen
Buffalo Bulls
Connecticut Huskies
Massachusetts Minutemen
South Division:
West Virginia Mountaineers
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Louisville Cardinals
Cincinnati Bearcats
Delaware Fighting Hens
Marshall Thundering Herd
Here it gets interesting. The BE is rehauled. Additions of Buffalo from the MAC, Marshall from C-USA, and Delaware and UMass from D1AA give the conference new dimensions. The south is loaded with talent, and includes teams in Cincy and Del that could seriously surprise ppl. The north may be dominated by BC for now, but look for UConn and UMass (a good possible rivalry) to continue to build and Pitt to challenge for the crown. This year's CG would be WV v. Pitt (who beats BC in a thriller) in a repeat of the Backyards Brawl, god I love college football.
Pacific 10 - Pacific Coast Conference
North Division:
Washington Huskies
Washington State Cougars
Oregon Ducks
Oregon State Beavers
Boise State Broncos
Brigham Young Cougars
South Division:
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona State Sun Devils
California Golden Bears
UCLA Bruins
USC Trojans
Stanford Cardinal
The addition of Boise St from the WAC and BYU from the MWC injects this conference with some youth. These two additions could very easily win the north as early as this year, competing for divisional dominance with Oregon, while the south becomes a bloody battleground. ASU, USC, and Cal fight for dominance. CG would be USC v. BYU (what a game!!!)
Mid-American Conference - MAC
West Division:
Ball State Cardinals
Bowling Green Falcons
Northern Illinois Huskies
Toledo Rockets
Western Michigan Broncos
Miami (OH) Redhawks
East Division:
Akron Zips
Central Michigan Chippewas
Kent State Golden Flashes
Ohio Wildcats
Temple Owls
Eastern Michigan Eagles
Not much changes, the loss of Buffalo brings them to an even 12 teams. CG would be BSU v. CM
New Conference - Dixie Belt (name not important)
East Division:
Florida Atlantic Owls
Florida International Golden Panthers
Central Florida Knights
Appalachian State Mountaineers
East Carolina Pirates
Alabama-Birmingham Blazers
West Division:
Troy Trojans
Tulane Green Wave
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajun
Memphis Tigers
This conference will be interesting, as will all the new conferences. This so mainly because of the new dynamics that will form. The east seems to be loaded. ECU, UCF, and FAU are all capable of winning the conference right now, and App St could very well throw their hat into the ring as well. UAB will make noise, while FIU will continue to be the punching bag. In the west, it seems to be Troy's to lose, though Southern Miss could very well make a case. The rest will fight for the scraps, though ULM has shown promise. In the end, the CG will feature ECU v. Troy.
Mountain West + Western Athletic - Big West
Mountain Division:
Air Force Falcons
New Mexico Lobos
Wyoming Cowboys
New Mexico State Aggies
Colorado State Rams
Utah Utes
Pacific Division:
Hawaii Warriors
Idaho Vandals
San Jose State Spartans
San Diego State Aztecs
Fresno State Bulldogs
UNLV Rebels
Putting these two conferences together seems to make the most sense out of all the other changes. There are so many natural rivals and possible matchups that this is actually realistic (kinda). The North would feature wide open and speedy offenses. Air Force will be happy to see BYU off of their conference schedule, and should take advantage, they don't seem to have too much comeptition against them. In the south, Fresno St seems like the top dog with Hawaii lurking in the corner, though SDS could make a run. The natural rivalries of NMS v. NM and SDS v. SJS should make this conference exciting. The CG would be Air Force v. Fresno St
New Conference - Southcentral Conference
West Division:
Texas Christian Horned Frogs
Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Southern Methodist Mustangs
Rice Owls
UTEP Miners
North Texas Mean Green
East Division:
Houston Cougars
Arkansas State Indians
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
North Dakota State Bison
This conference does have one odd spot, namely ND St, but compared to how far many of these teams used to have to travel (ie LTech to Hawaii!!!) it isn't that bad. In the EAst, TCU should be tops, with Tulsa giving them all they can handle. North Texas will like having a few more bottom feeders to contend with, while this offers an opportunity for SMU and UTEP to build back up. In the west, Houston should be favored, though i wouldn't count out the Bison of NDSU. MiddTenn could also make some noise. In the end, the CG would be TCU v. Houston.
As always, let me know what you think. Give me feedback, bash my opinions, call me an idiot. You never know, you just may convince me to change my mind.
Faces at the U.S. Open
