Here We Go Again...

God damn it. Forgive my profanity but I seriously thought we were done with this conference re-alignment merry-go-round and then the Big Ten has to go and open up the whole can of worms all over again. Ever since I heard this rumor yesterday, I really, really hoped that the old Terps on the Maryland Board of Regents would put the kybosh on this but apparently, the lure of the Big Ten's money was just too good to pass up. They were invited to join the Big Ten and have voted to do so- unanimously. Rutgers is expected to follow suit tomorrow bringing the Big Ten up to 14 schools and making our conference name even more completely ridiculous than it already is. (No, we shouldn't change it. Screw that.)

I've got nothing against Maryland and Rutgers but I don't get it. I mean I get it (money talks), but I don't get it at the same time. There's not a lot of tradition, football wise there (though adding Maryland hoops is a good move for the B1G, football pays the bills) though I suppose the allure of having 'the birthplace of college football' in your conference (Rutgers) might look good on some flyer somewhere other than that, I fail to see what these two schools bring to the overall B1G Ten brand.

I liked the Nebraska add. Notre Dame wasn't ready to come in from the cold yet (and won't be for at least a decade, given the year they're having) so it made sense. It was a small, conservative move that brought an established college football name with decades of tradition into the B1G Ten fold. Made perfect sense. Small moves and we up our game a bit.

Maryland... had to cut seven sports earlier this year, their athletic department was that strapped for cash. They may have access to sometimes hideous Under Armor swag but they haven't been a football powerhouse, even within their conference.

Rutgers (and let's leave aside the frankly delusional idea that NYC will start caring about college football when you've got the Jets, Giants, Knicks, Nets, Rangers and hell even the Islanders- even when those last two aren't even playing- that would probably matter before college football. Sorry) brings... nothing much of anything to the table from what I can see. (Well, Ohio State will no longer have the most pretentious name in the conference. Yes, THE Ohio State University will be eclipsed nicely by Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey) Yes, they're a solid Big East team this year and I suppose, as an Iowa fan, it'd be nice to see Coach Stringer bring her team back to Carver Hawkeye to play a basketball game or two.

We have become the Big United Conference of Media Markets and these moves are about money, pure and simple and while I'm cynical enough to understand that more things that I'd like are motivated by money, I still find it distasteful.

But are there upsides? Well, I'm assuming we'll have to re-jigger our divisional boundaries again. Maybe we get Wisconsin back? Though I'm betting most everything will stay the same and we'll get either Rutgers or Maryland instead. Penn State should be happy- they've got neighbors!

Maryland, Rutgers (I'm assuming I'm not jumping the gun on this one)- welcome aboard!

All right, leaving all that aside, what do I think happens now? Well, it's going to be a bumpy road for the ACC I think. If the Big 12 is smart (and I think they are) they invite Clemson and Florida State and if they're feeling ambitious, Louisville and Cincy too. The Pac 12 is going to be interesting to watch what they do... the television deal for the Big 12 means that Larry Scott's secret plan to blow everything to shit by grabbing Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State seems less likely now- but not entirely impossible and I'm betting they'd be looking to match the Big Ten's move to 14 by adding two. (Some combination of BYU, Air Force, Boise State or San Diego State... Nevada, UNLV, Fresno State or Colorado State are lesser possibilities.)

So bumpy road ahead... right now, it's easy for the ACC. Maryland goes, UCONN leaves the Big East and comes aboard. That pretty much means that the Big East is done as a major football conference, to me. But if the Big 12 snatches Clemson and Florida State then things get a little weird. They get weirder if the Big 12 goes for the brass ring and snatches Louisville and Cincy to get some friends for West Virginia. Then the ACC is at 12 members while the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC are at 14 (I'm betting the Pac-12 gets in on this action quick, too.) If the Big 12 just wants to be the Big 12 again and are satisfied with Florida State and Clemson then Louisville and Cincy are prime candidates for moves to the ACC. (And that's assuming the ACC doesn't pre-empt any shenanigans by inviting them both anyway.)

But we'll see... here we go again.