JockStocks: Does Conference Expansion Make Sense?

First of all, if the Big Ten raids the Big 12 (Nebraska, Missouri) and the Big East (Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame in basketball) and takes the biggest independent off the board (Notre Dame in football). Of course, these conferences would need to find replacements -- or they could be raided by other conferences. Reportedly, the ACC would be in play for the likes of Cincinnati and South Florida (Big East Conference) and the SEC would like to head over to the Big 12 and try to woo Texas, Oklahoma, and maybe even Texas A&M.

Last week, ESPN theorized that the PAC 10 would expand eastward and snatch the likes of Colorado and Oklahoma State from the bloody remains of the Big 12. We are looking at the possibility of several "mega conferences," which would leave some of the smaller conferences in worse position and some conferences would disappear completely.

Clearly, the big winner in this sort of alignment would be the Big Ten and possibly the PAC 10. These two conferences do not have a conference championship game like the Big 12, SEC, and ACC. So, not only would these conferences add revenue by adding more teams, but they would both also add revenue by adding a championship game -- and that is what college athletics is all about now: big bucks. For the record, I am all for realignment. It will be a welcome change to the current conference infrastructure and it would be the closest thing that college football fans will ever see to a championship tournament.

Think about it, if Ohio State University (from the newly formed Big Ten East) has to face Nebraska (from the Big Ten West) in a championship game (sponsored by Dr Pepper) to see which team gets the conference's BCS spot. You have two of the better teams in the country facing each other, acting as a veritable play-in game for the BCS. Do I like the BCS? No, but it isn't changing anytime soon. Remember that college football is about money, not fan satisfaction. Do fans want bigger conferences? Maybe not. Will some teams get left out unfairly? Yes. But things will sort themselves out in board rooms.

What about TV money? Clearly, mega-conferences would benefit television stations, with ABC/ESPN coming out as the biggest winner. That said, let's not forget that the Big Ten Network would stand to get more money as well. Imagine the television audience for an Ohio State/Notre Dame, Penn State/Pittsburgh, or Nebraska/Michigan match-up. There is a lot of money out there for networks, and you can sure bet that they will take advantage of the situation.

No matter what the outcome of this expansion chatter, it definitely has fans and experts talking about the possibilities. Right now, I would say that if college football was a stock, I would be buying.