Around the Nation, Part 1: The PAC-12 via Texas

This is the story of how the University of Texas is actively trying to destroy college football. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but hear me out. Over the past year, there was exciting talk about the former PAC-10 becoming the first 'super-conference' in the country, with the possible addition of six new teams. This would have been accomplished by essentially melting the majority of the Big 12 into the PAC-10. Unfortunately, as they often do, the powers in Austin threw up a Texas sized roadblock and proclaimed that they would not leave the conference. As the most powerful brand in the country (yes, it's the truth, Notre Dame), Texas let the rumors about leaving the Big 12 linger, then used that leverage to secure a twenty year, 300 million dollar TV deal with ESPN to air a 'Longhorn exclusive' network. In other words, Texas is now simply an independent school which uses the Big 12 as a scheduling partner. This would be fine, if it hadn't caused three other teams that were seriously considering switching conferences (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M) to stay put in the Big 12. So what's wrong with this? A lot. As a college football fan, I am praying for the day that so called 'super-conferences' come to fruition for a number of reasons. The primary reason is that such a move would signal the death of arguably the stupidest, most ill conceived, and unfair system in the world today: The BCS. Seriously. Find me a more unfair system this side of sub-Saharan Africa, and I'll give you a dollar. Second, this sets up a terrible precedent. Current football heads such as Orville Redenbacher E. Gordon Gee are all about perpetuating a glass ceiling, which they stand on top of. This is mainly why teams such as TCU and Boise St. scare the silly out of them. When the powers can't contrive a way to have the juggernaut mid-majors play each other (2010 Fiesta Bowl), they manage to convince voters and the BCS computers that the BCS Busters play inferior opponents (as Gee infamously proclaimed last year, "the Little Sisters of the Poor") and, therefore, a one loss power conference team is more deserving of a prestigious BCS Bowl slot than a one loss non-power school. 

I thought things were on the verge of changing least year until Boise's heartbreaking loss to Nevada. Although TCU dominated supposed heavyweight Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, they ultimately made a decision to move into the Big East in 2012 to try and get a larger slice of the pie. This move is good in the sense that it's still a small step toward super-conferences,  but a hollow one in that the title of BCS Buster now sits squarely on the shoulder of one lonely program in Idaho. Super-conferences would require some sort of playoff system where the product you put on the field is the only factor that determines how good you really are. 

                                                                                

Where the Texas precedent becomes dangerous is recruiting. Imagine you are a 12 year old Pop-Warner player. You come home from a game, plop on your couch, and after watching your favorite cartoon show, you decide to turn to the 24 hour Longhorn Network to catch up on your other favorite show, The Bevo the Steer, Texas Power Hour. When that becomes boring, you switch to Gordon Gee's Story Time on the Buckeye Channel and maybe before bed, you take a peek at the programming on the NSS (Nick Saban's Statue) Network. Where then, does this leave the Boises, Utes, and the Toledos of the world? How would super-conferences alleviate this? As scheduling goes now, teams play a majority of games against divisional opponents. Most majors play a few bribed cupcakes early in the season to make them feel good about themselves; a few, like USC, balance that out by playing tough out of conference power teams. At the end of the year, the problem is still the same. USC, with one hand tied behind its back, will still be better than Washington State. Ohio State will still sleep walk through Indiana. It becomes predictable. In super conferences, I believe the trickle down theory that has applied to the nation's university system will carry over instead of the trickle sideways that currently occurs. As more and more applicants came to prestigious universities across the country, they became more selective. As their acceptance rates shrunk, there were extremely smart students who didn't get into their first choice schools. But they had to go somewhere. That somewhere turned out to be state universities, which is why average SAT scores and GPA requirements have increased drastically at most public schools and have, in turn, made them more selective and boosted their reputation.

College football teams have to be selective as well, they have only a set number of roster spots and a certain number of scholarships they can give depending on their program's academic status. In a super conference, what's not to say that a pretty good recruit, who isn't necessarily a star, doesn't get an offer from Michigan and really wants to prove them wrong. In today's set up, unless he gets an offer from Ohio State or Wisconsin, chances are he probably won't get a chance to actually compete against them. What if powerful former mid-major Nevada was in the Big 16? Or up and coming Tulsa? The greater number of attractive teams you have in one conference, the more equitable the sharing of talent becomes, the harder it is for teams like Texas and Ohio State to have a stranglehold on recruiting, and the better the end product. With super-conferences, going undefeated in a season would be almost impossible to do. If power conferences feel they are superior to mid majors then, as a fan, I want them to show me that on the field instead of hiding behind decimal points on a weekly print out.

Standing up for the little guy since 1297