Thoughts about the MN Independence Party

As many of you know I am a die-hard college sport fan(atic) between today and Friday there will be seismic realignment of big schools, probably the largest shift since the founding of the NCAA (and death of the NAIA).

My friends at the University of Texas tell me that the President of University of Texas, Powers Steering, informed the members of the Athletic Department that University of Nebraska is leaving the Big XII Conference and thus the Big XII Conference will cease to exist in or after 2012 school year. What's amazing about that, at least to me, is the Texas Christian University and University of Arkansas would like to join the Big 12, so even if the University of Missouri were to leave the Big XII Conference there are two geographically consistent major universities that would readily available. However there is little question that University of Texas feels that more money and easier access to it sports could be had in the Pac-10 than a reworked Big XII. Now however the politics of Texas come into play, will Baylor University be included in the move into the Pac-10 or will the University of Colorado. Baylor University has many alumni in powerful positions in Texas Government, not the Governor office at this time like when the Big XII was formed, but none the less people in position to make it extremely miserable for UT (and Texas Tech and Texas A&M) so my guess over the next few days we will see flexing of lots of political muscle in Baylor's regard.

It is widely assumed that University of Missouri and Rutgers University (State University of New Jersey) will also be in the Big Ten stable shortly. The question for the Big Ten is who will be the other two Universities to join the Big Ten, bringing the Big Ten to 16 Schools. Again it widely assumed that an invitation to apply will be offered to Notre Dame and another Big East school. I personally think University of Pittsburg would be a better fit, but others are suggesting Syracuse University or University of Connecticut. If Notre Dame decides not to accept the invitation all bets are off for the other schools, beyond Missouri and Rutgers. University of Maryland, United States Naval Academy, United States Military Academy (AKA West Point) (The Big Ten on AFN every week), Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee (could you imagine Neyland Stadium in the Big Ten, I mean you could have 1.25 million fans at a Big Ten Football games on an early August Saturday) and the list of other suitors is indeed long.

I must assume we will have super conferences by the end of the next week, if not sooner. The Pac-16, the Big Ten. The Big XII will cease to exist, the Big East will also probably cease to exist. The University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Boise State University and maybe Colorado University will be off to join the Mountain West Conference and maybe two other schools making a 16 team conference (cough University of Nevada and Iowa State cough). The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) will need to find some new Division I schools (assuming the loss of Boise State and University of Nevada defection to MWC) which will be the hardest conference to fill. There just aren't enough Big Schools in the West to fill the bill (Texas El Paso?)

Conference USA will get several Big East Schools (three I think – Cincinnati University, Louisville University, and which ever school the Big Ten Doesn't take (Syracuse/Pittsburg) and the Two military academies USMA, USNA) to become a Super Conference (I should note the Two Military Academies would prefer to remain independent even more so than Notre Dame but probably will have no choice if they wish to remain FBS, leaving the ACC and SEC to decide what they want to do, again I assume super conferences of 16 schools. Who remains, West Virginia University, South Florida University, University of Connecticut, and the schools of the Sun Belt.

The ACC and the SEC must decide quickly or they will be left behind. The ACC may target the Military Academies, West Virginia and UConn which is a strong addition to the Conference; however the problem is the SEC, they are in the weakest position to expand, the Texas Schools have already spurned them, South Florida is not necessarily a sports power, so the conference to raid is the ACC, Florida State, University of Miami and a couple of others are nice, but those schools don't bring more TV sets into the conference realm… I think the SEC is in a word in trouble.

Okay enough ranting for a few hours.