Grading Conference Realignment

[heitclone]

First thing I got from the write-up was that two teams that moved from the B12 are doing better in the SEC than they were in the B12. Could this possibly be interpreted as an indication that the SEC prowess has been overblown? It may not be true, but it at least should have been noted as a topic for discussion.

A&M is better than the have been recently but they were one of the better teams in the big 12 when it first formed. Mizzou was a top 5 team for a few years in a row and playing for big 12 titles as well, IMO both have picked up right where they left off. Mizzou would have had a down year last year even if they were in the big 12.

 

[Wesley]

I don't really understand that article premise. Would A&M not have won a lot of games with Johnny Manziel in the Big 12? Would Colorado have sucked any less if they hadn't left?

It will be very interested After Manziel. He is the team. their defense is average and the offense totally depends on the mad scrambles and deep pinpoint passing of manziel. They have good receivers.

 

[Newell]

Very short sighted article. Missouri is coming off a big year in football with a starting offense and defense consisting entirely of Big XII recruits. The recruits Missouri is getting from Georgia, Florida and Tennessee are recruits which Georgia, Florida and Tennessee didn't offer. Take a look in 3 or 4 years and you will get a better read on where Missouri is going forward.

For basketball, the SEC is weak and Missouri should be a power in the conference.

For non-revenue sports, wrestling which was the most consistently good sport is now in the MAC because nobody else in the SEC has wrestling. Other non-revenue sports are relegated to traveling second class to distant locations. The softball coach wrote an article last year detailing a 5 plane ride, 7 bus ride, 11 stops in 7 cities road trip to play 2 games.

West Virginia is the oddball in the Big XII. They would have been far better off in the ACC. TV money isn't quite as good as the Big XII but like Missouri travel expenses are eating up the extra TV revenue and they have nothing remotely resembling a rivalry.

 

[swarthmoreCY]

First thing I got from the write-up was that two teams that moved from the B12 are doing better in the SEC than they were in the B12. Could this possibly be interpreted as an indication that the SEC prowess has been overblown? It may not be true, but it at least should have been noted as a topic for discussion.

Combined, MU and A$M would likely would have had more losses in the Big 12 over the last two years imo.

 

[Stormin]

Bottom line is that SEC is a bit overrated. Overall the some of the biggest winners were the Forgotten 5 of the Big XII. Mizzou has done well by moving but may end up regretting it. And ISU now has revenue sharing in the New Big XII with big contracts. Nebraska and Colorado are the biggest losers in the whole deal IMO.

 

[Al_4_State]

The Big 12 may have lost two high profile programs, but the increased media exposure and massive television contracts make it very hard to call the Big 12 a "loser" with a straight face.

 

[Al_4_State]

And just look at Baylor this year. Who's to say that A&M last year or Mizzou this year wouldn't have run the table in the Big 12 and been in line for a NC shot? The television package at the time they left was bad, but that still would have improved to its current excellent state if they had stayed. I don't understand this concept that they got such an upgrade in exposure. If anything it "exposed" how overblown the difference in talent between Big 12 and SEC was prior to realignment, but nobody wants to go and discuss that in hindsight.

I think everyone save ESPN and SEC fans has realized that the gap between the SEC and Big 12 is far narrower than advertised.

 

[KnappShack]

The Pac 12 should be nominated for the loser category.

Instead of making a bold raid of the Big 12 they only landed Utah and Colorado. Throw years of tradition and close rivalries out the window for a mid major and a Buffs athletic department that always seemed to struggle to keep the lights on? Congratulations, Pac.

 

[Clonehomer]

The Pac 12 should be nominated for the loser category.

Instead of making a bold raid of the Big 12 they only landed Utah and Colorado. Throw years of tradition and close rivalries out the window for a mid major and a Buffs athletic department that always seemed to struggle to keep the lights on? Congratulations, Pac.

Not to mention that the expansion that they spurred on has now left them without any more room to grow. If 16 team conferences are the future, they'll have no where to go.

 

[norcalcy]

Bottom line is that SEC is a bit overrated. Overall the some of the biggest winners were the Forgotten 5 of the Big XII. Mizzou has done well by moving but may end up regretting it. And ISU now has revenue sharing in the New Big XII with big contracts. Nebraska and Colorado are the biggest losers in the whole deal IMO.

You can just see the air going out of the Big Red balloon. They messed up royally leaving the natural geographic and cultural fit of the Big XII and joining the Rust Belt Conference. I can't wait for that first classic Nebraska - Rutgers matchup in Piscataway, NJ. Has Game of the Century written all over it. Colorado is just as geographically isolated in the PAC 12 as they were in the Big XII. Here on the west coast, I see as many Big XII tv games as I do Pac 12 games. We came out of realignment pretty well. Now we have to capitalize and prove that we belong in the group of 64.

 

[Judoka]

I think it is way to early to grade conference realignment for individual schools. Give it another 3-4 years and then we'll have a better idea of how the moves played out for individual schools.

 

[Newell]

Bottom line is that SEC is a bit overrated. Overall the some of the biggest winners were the Forgotten 5 of the Big XII. Mizzou has done well by moving but may end up regretting it. And ISU now has revenue sharing in the New Big XII with big contracts. Nebraska and Colorado are the biggest losers in the whole deal IMO.

Missouri rarely did as well in the Big XII the way they did in the SEC this year and all of their starters on offense and defense were left over recruits from the supposedly inferior Big XII. The offensive line consisted of 1 from Montana, 1 from North Dakota, 2 from Missouri and 1 from Texas and they dominated. The team was a combination of players who attended high school in Texas and the Midwest.

aTm was 4-5 in the Big XII in their final year in the conference.

The SEC has the fan base and that generates a lot of hype but clearly they are overrated.

 

[Al_4_State]

I don't think anyone can argue in any sense that the schools who left the Mountain West or Big East were losers.

I think you have to discuss the teams that switched from one power conference to another in a whole different discussion than you discuss those that jumped up.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

I don't really understand that article premise. Would A&M not have won a lot of games with Johnny Manziel in the Big 12? Would Colorado have sucked any less if they hadn't left?

Those were my exact thoughts as well. Plus, it seems way too early to make judgments on the realignment. How about waiting 10 years to see the true effects in recruiting/fan interest/program visibility etc. take place.

Had they done these last year, Mizzou would have gotten an F most likely with WV and TCU getting much higher ratings.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

Missouri rarely did as well in the Big XII the way they did in the SEC this year and all of their starters on offense and defense were left over recruits from the supposedly inferior Big XII. The offensive line consisted of 1 from Montana, 1 from North Dakota, 2 from Missouri and 1 from Texas and they dominated. The team was a combination of players who attended high school in Texas and the Midwest.

aTm was 4-5 in the Big XII in their final year in the conference.

The SEC has the fan base and that generates a lot of hype but clearly they are overrated.

A&M also has a different coach and the Heisman winner at QB. There's no doubt they would have done just as well and most likely better yet in the wide open Big 12 where defense is not stressed.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

The Big 12 may have lost two high profile programs, but the increased media exposure and massive television contracts make it very hard to call the Big 12 a "loser" with a straight face.

Those TV contracts were going to come regardless, and would have been bigger yet had Nebraska/Colorado/Missouri/A&M all still been here.

 

[Judoka]

A&M also has a different coach and the Heisman winner at QB. There's no doubt they would have done just as well and most likely better yet in the wide open Big 12 where defense is not stressed.

Really, no doubt at all?

I'd say that A&M and Missouri's seasons the last two years, while TCU and WVU have struggled mightily, have shown just how much of a myth SEC superiority is.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

First thing I got from the write-up was that two teams that moved from the B12 are doing better in the SEC than they were in the B12. Could this possibly be interpreted as an indication that the SEC prowess has been overblown? It may not be true, but it at least should have been noted as a topic for discussion.

Look at Missouri's schedule this year. From the West, they missed the three best teams in the regular season (Bama, LSU, Auburn). There's no doubt that a large portion of their success this year was due to playing a ridiculously easy schedule for the SEC's standards. It'd be like if the old Big 12 was in place and their schedule this year did not include OSU, OU or Baylor.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

Really, no doubt at all?

I'd say that A&M and Missouri's seasons the last two years, while TCU and WVU have struggled mightily, have shown just how much of a myth SEC superiority is.

You don't think they could have gone 18-6 in the Big 12 over the past two years? There's not a single team that they could not have beaten either year. The real problem is that people think teams from three years ago are the same as the current team. A&M is nothing like their former self, and using their success with Manziel/Sumlin compared to the trainwreck of Mike Sherman is flawed completely.

In Missouri's case, look at the schedule once again. They lost to the only true top 15 teams they played (SC and Auburn) and they missed out on Bama/LSU/Auburn in the regular season. They're not going 11-1 had they played the West gauntlet.

 

[HoopsTournament]

You can just see the air going out of the Big Red balloon. They messed up royally leaving the natural geographic and cultural fit of the Big XII and joining the Rust Belt Conference. I can't wait for that first classic Nebraska - Rutgers matchup in Piscataway, NJ. Has Game of the Century written all over it. Colorado is just as geographically isolated in the PAC 12 as they were in the Big XII. Here on the west coast, I see as many Big XII tv games as I do Pac 12 games. We came out of realignment pretty well. Now we have to capitalize and prove that we belong in the group of 64.

There is no "group of 64". Never has been, never will be. This is a fiction that the media has invented. I am not saying there won't be super conferences or a split of Divison IA. I am saying that thinking exactly 64 teams will make the cut is fiction.