Imagining radical college basketball conference realignment as March Madness begins | Toppmeyer

Greedy conference commissioners, television deals and college football’s moneymaking clout sparked such persistent realignment that we need a cheat sheet to identify what teams are in which conference.

Rutgers and Southern Cal soon will be conference brethren, because, you know, Los Angeles and Piscataway, New Jersey, share a lot in common.

The Big 12 spans from Orlando to Provo, Utah, but skips over Missouri. Go figure. Flyover country, right?

What if college football and its riches didn’t fuel realignment? Envision an alignment driven by men’s basketball.

That’s what I set out to do. I’m clearing the slate and creating 12 hoops conferences. I focused on protecting and creating rivalries. Geography mattered in my model. Identity, too. No more super conferences. I limited each league to no more than 10 teams.

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Not every Division I team is reflected here, but I tried to include most of the schools you’re most familiar with. What do you think?

Maybe, this still needs work, but I think I’m already laps ahead of Washington and Maryland playing some Big Ten hoops on a weeknight.

My alignment:

Big East

Boston College, UConn, Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova, Creighton, Marquette

The first seven schools are charter members of the Big East, the O.G. Villanova joined shortly after. Marquette and Creighton are more newbies to the Big East, but they fit the culture perfectly.

Appalachia

Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Davidson, VCU

Several existing rivalries are captured here, like Kentucky-Louisville, Kentucky-Tennessee and the Iron Bowl of Basketball. I also think there’s groundwork for new rivalries. Kentucky and West Virginia share a culture. Pittsburgh meets…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/imagining-radical-college-basketball-conference-100729755.html

Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-03-19 10:07:29

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