The BCS is not causing conference realignment

The landscape of college football is continuing to morph right before our eyes. Right before this season we learned of Texas A&M's desire for SEC football and West Virginia and TCU have recently joined the Big 12. Just today we learn of the Big East trying to stay intact by inviting 6 teams to play football in their conference. Typically, the media blames the BCS for this because they need someone to blame and many already dislike the BCS. However, the BCS has not caused conference realignment. Conferences have always been trying to expand, long before the BCS existed, and the primary reason is television money.

September Recap

September Recap

Three teams tower above the rest after an exciting first month of the 2011 college football season. LSU and Alabama are the clear-cut best teams, and Oklahoma comes in just behind those SEC teams. Many other teams have the potential for greatness but have lacked the schedule strength to accurately judge their quality. Schedule strength is a familiar demon for Boise State, but Wisconsin is about to begin their conference schedule after beating up on some lesser opponents to help new star Russell Wilson get used to his new team. Oklahoma State and Stanford have begun conference play with a bang and should be contenders but still have some questions to answer before they can be considered among the nation's elite. LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma have already answered the call and seem to be poised and ready to take on the brunt of their conference schedule.

Sic 'em Bears!

Riding the high off of an exciting victory against TCU, Baylor is proving to be the deafening voice of the little guy in the never-ending conference realignment saga. In an interesting turn of events, Baylor has threatened legal action against Texas A&M if the Aggies leave the Big 12 and has brought conference realignment to a halt, at least temporarily. Hats off to the Bears for resisting the seemingly inevitable flow of teams switching conferences. The band in Waco need to stand their ground because they have nothing to lose, and hopefully this will slow the potential march towards the much-ballyhooed “super-conferences.”

The Big 12 should add some little teams

The Big 12 needs someone, anyone. A conference that was on the verge of being dismantled just last summer is again on the brink of losing a key member, and doesn't appear to have any sort of plan about how to remain intact. Sure, they can hope that the SEC doesn't actually invite Texas A&M, but with the Aggie brass sending a formal letter to the Big 12 asking about how to properly leave their current conference, the writing is  all over the wall.  The Big 12 has logical options within Texas, but may look too hard for a big name program.

Miami vs SMU

With the litany of accusations hurled against “The U” by Yahoo! Sports and Nevin Shapiro, the drumbeat for the NCAA “Death Penalty” has already begun. The level of detail combined with the library of photographs are extremely damning, especially when one of the photos contains the convicted felon Shapiro alongside University President Donna Shalala and head basketball coach Frank Haith. Will Miami face the “Death Penalty” and be forced to shut down their football program for at least one season? It is obviously too early to say conclusively, but all signs point to a resounding YES.