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MEGA Conference Realignment and lawsuits Megathread: Stories, Tales, Lies, and Exaggerations

Hold My Beer said:
Too much beer and not enough sleep? Or too much sleep and not enough beer? It's one or the other.

Banghead GIF by Ant Hodges


Those brain farts aside, I've been consistent the last couple years in suggesting the SEC and B1G will both end up with 24 schools (25 could work, too, if the P2 goes from 9 to 10 conference games)

I think UNC, UVA, FSU, Clemson, NC State, VA Tech, GA Tech and Duke will end up in the SEC. I believe Miami and WVU could end up in the SEC.

I also believe Mizzou will jump to the B1G like they wanted to back in 2011 prior to settling for the SEC. Big Ten also will take KU, ND, Cal and Stanford. Miami could end up in that 24 as well as all know (and many here seem to prefer). Colorado and/or ASU could fill out the additions depending on what happens with the Canes



Agree.

If enough progress is made by congress on passing legislation to give teeth to NCAA rules, we could see ACC schools announcing their departures by this coming June in order to move to the SEC or B1G by Fall 2027. Wouldn't be shocked by that at all.
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I've said it before, I'll say it again.

If the SEC is serious about shutting off the southeast for Big 10 expansion...then they should stop pusillanimous-footing around and go JUMBO.

FL: Miami-F$U
GA: GaTech
SC: Climpson
NC: UNC and NC State
VA: UVa and VaTech

7 southern state schools, 1 private school.

The Big 10 likely has to settle for Notre Dame and Duke and Cal and Stanford, and then possibly USF and Wake-OR-UCF.

The SEC goes from 16 to 24 in one shot. The SEC blocks the Big 10 from southeastern expansion (unless the Big 10 gambles on the Rutgers-like combo of UCF-USF-Duke-Wake, assuming ND wants to stay Indy). All 13 stars on the Confederate battle flag are represented. And the SEC truly lives up to the name of the SOUTHEASTERN Conference.

The challenge has been announced. SEC, it's your turn...
 
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Hold My Beer said:
View attachment 359835

In this matter, soon means ACC schools deemed worthy of an SEC and/or B1G invitation (such as Miami) will be in their new conference homes by either Fall 2027 or Fall 2028.

So we've got either one or two more football seasons of Jim Phillips interrupting the broadcast to brag about the ACC's latest championships in quidditch and pickleball
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Fall 2027 is too soon.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
I've said it before, I'll say it again.

If the SEC is serious about shutting off the southeast for Big 10 expansion...then they should stop pusillanimous-footing around and go JUMBO.

FL: Miami-F$U
GA: GaTech
SC: Climpson
NC: UNC and NC State
VA: UVa and VaTech

7 southern state schools, 1 private school.

The Big 10 likely has to settle for Notre Dame and Duke and Cal and Stanford, and then possibly USF and Wake-OR-UCF.

The SEC goes from 16 to 24 in one shot. The SEC blocks the Big 10 from southeastern expansion (unless the Big 10 gambles on the Rutgers-like combo of UCF-USF-Duke-Wake, assuming ND wants to stay Indy). All 13 stars on the Confederate battle flag are represented. And the SEC truly lives up to the name of the SOUTHEASTERN Conference.

The challenge has been announced. SEC, it's your turn...
Click to expand...
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I'm sure many here were aware, but just wanted to mention it here again as part of any SEC vs. B1G "best fit" discussions:

UM undergrad enrollment (Fall 2025)
Florida: 32%
All other states: 60%
International: 8%

Among that 60% from other states (the linked info appears to be pre-2025, so these rounded-up numbers are gonna be slightly different)
NJ: 11%
NY: 11%
International: 8%
Mass: 4%
Cali: 4%
ILL: 4%
PA: 4%
Conn: 4%
Md: 3%
GA: 2%
TX: 2%
VA: 2%
Mich: 2%

Every other state was roughly 1% or less

So about 40 percent of students would be from states in the current and likely future SEC footprint.

Just for comparison's sake:
Duke
NC: 14%
International: 10%
CA: 11%
NY: 10%
FL: 9%
TX: 7%
VA: 6%
NJ: 5%

Georgia Tech
GA: 58%
International: 8%
FL: 6%
 
TheOriginalCane said:
If the SEC is serious about shutting off the southeast for Big 10 expansion...then they should stop pusillanimous-footing around and go JUMBO.

FL: Miami-F$U
GA: GaTech
SC: Climpson
NC: UNC and NC State
VA: UVa and VaTech

7 southern state schools, 1 private school.

The Big 10 likely has to settle for Notre Dame and Duke and Cal and Stanford, and then possibly USF and Wake-OR-UCF.

The SEC goes from 16 to 24 in one shot. The SEC blocks the Big 10 from southeastern expansion (unless the Big 10 gambles on the Rutgers-like combo of UCF-USF-Duke-Wake, assuming ND wants to stay Indy). All 13 stars on the Confederate battle flag are represented. And the SEC truly lives up to the name of the SOUTHEASTERN Conference.
Click to expand...

Here's a quote from ESPN's Pete Thamel on the GameDay podcast from back in December 2023:

"I would think the SEC would be happy to sit at 16 for a while because they really like their footprint," Thamel said. "There's enough intimacy. They have a region right now. The only thing that disrupts that is if they have to play defense they don't want the Big Ten to come into their region."

What does staying regional and relatively compact mean to Greg Sankey? Quite a bit.

From 2023 (ESPN):

"Our longest trip will be from Columbia, SC to Austin, Texas," Sankey said in 2023. "That's actually shorter than what will be the shortest trip for the LA schools when they move to the Big Ten"

From 2025 (On3):

Sankey will go to bat for his conference, the SEC, seven days a week and twice on Sunday. The SEC commissioner wants to maintain regional ties to college athletics amid all of the change across the country.

He noticed the changes across other Power Four conferences going coast to coast. Notably the Big Ten, which went to 18 teams and added four west coast schools from the old Pac-12.

Regional rivalries are a fabric of college football and college athletics in general. Sankey wants to keep it that way.

“I’ve been in the airport in Dallas and Chicago watching other conferences — volleyball teams, it was last fall — transiting the conference,” Sankey said. “That’s not the way we’re functioning. I think if you want to challenge yourself at a high level, spend your time in academic commitments and athletic preparation rather than on airplanes. There’s now one place to be and that’s the Southeastern Conference.”
 
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