YOU Can Be The Next Commissioner Of The Big12 Conference! Just Apply Online. Here Is My Realignment Plan To Fix College Football

Executive Summary

We value the mission of higher education, and intercollegiate athletics.  We know academics and athletics can continue to complement and amplify each other for the benefit of student-athletes, faculty, staff, alumni – and the world at large.  We value the extraordinary potential of our student-athletes.  We value the collegiality, camaraderie and alignment of our Presidents & AD’s. These values and priorities are essential to the culture and future of the Big 12. That said, there are changes and challenges facing higher education, intercollegiate athletics and the Big 12.  We view these as opportunities and seek a Big 12 Commissioner who has a record of being opportunistic, aggressive, innovative and fearless.  Extraordinary times require extraordinary leadership. Specifically, the Big 12 needs a:

The Big12 is constantly in shambles despite being the geographic home to world capital of football, Texas. I love College Football more than just about anything, and maybe this is my nostalgia talking and me being an old man now, but it was better when I was a kid in so many ways. Realignment, more than anything else has killed some of the best parts of college football. The fact that WVU-Pitt, A&M-Texas, Nebraska-Colorado and some of these other traditional rivalries don't exist anymore is a crime against America. I want to re-realign. I want to put things back the way they were while keeping conference championship games and the playoffs. Make geography matter again. 

This is how I would realign

BigTen: 10 teams

Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa

The BigTen goes back to 10 total teams. Nebraska, Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State are out. The first three on that list were never really good fits for anything except the bottom line and while Penn State is a good fit and a good member of the conference they are needed elsewhere

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ACC: 10 teams

Clemson, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami, Wake Forest, North Carolina State,

This conference looks a little soft on paper, but the ACC was never a football league anyways. This brings Maryland back into the fold and if Clemson, Florida State, and Miami can ever all get going at the same time this league will have 3 traditional powers. UNC has also turned into a top 40 football school. Wake is having a golden era right now too. 

Big East: 10 teams

Penn State, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Cincinnati, UCF, Louisville

One of my favorite 30for30s is "Requiem For The Big East". It broke down the rise and ultimate death of the BigEast and their former commissioner basically said that it came down to the decision not to let Penn State join the league because the basketball schools voted against it. This is an opportunity to right that wrong and many others. Admittedly this league isn't as strong in traditional power houses, but similar to the ACC if Penn State, VaTech, Pitt, and WVU are all jockeying for positions in the top 40 and Cincy and others ascend it's a pretty good league with a viable path to the playoff/conference championship because you wouldn't be bumping up against an Alabama or Ohio State every year. 

Pac-10: 10 teams

USC, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Cal, Arizona, Arizona State

Back the way it was. This league has sucked for seriously a decade now thanks to poor management at the top and expansion that didn't really help anyone involved. USC appears to finally be on the right track and a rising tide lifts all boats. 

SEC: 12 Teams

Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky

The SEC is selling it's soul with their expansion and this new proposed system of 4 pods or divisions or whatever. It is honestly gross. I want this league to go back to what it was when I was a kid. I want almost all of these teams to play each other every year. 

Southwest Conference: 10 Teams

Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, SMU, Houston, Memphis

This is the way God intended this part of the country to align. The Texas schools. The Oklahoma schools. Memphis replaces Arkansas from old Southwest Conference and adds to the basketball season. All the rivalries. The tradition.

Great Plaines: 10 Teams

Utah, BYU, Utah State, Nebraska, Colorado, Boise State, Kansas State, Kansas, Iowa State, Missouri

Admittedly the weakest conference as currently constituted, but you can sell teams on a path to the playoff and a conference championship that wouldn't be possible in their current situations (except for Utah). 

Independents:

Notre Dame

Business as usual.

Playoff Format

We've been told we are going to 12 teams. I'd prefer 6-8, but 12 appears to be the number and that works for this realignment because I'd give all 7 conference winners and auto-bid and then have 5 at-large bids determined by some sort of committee. I'd also do the seeding strictly by committee as well. If you win the Great Plaines that doesn't mean you're the 7 seed. It might mean you're 12th. Alabama and Georgia can be 1-2 if that is how the year shakes out. 

Scheduling:

Every team listed here plays 9 conference games. That means the leagues with 10 members play everyone in their league once. Top 2 teams play for the championship. 3 non conference games allow for games against Notre Dame, out of conference rivalry, a creampuff or a resume builder.

I am aware that this will never happen because everything is about money these days and I don't think that is always the right course of action. Just because conferences CAN form a super league with 20 teams doesn't mean that they should. Certain traditions should be preserved. I'd also be curious about how much different the money would be overall for college football. You'd add 8 playoff teams, two more conference championship games that matter. Could you do some sort of over-arching rev share among the 73 teams?