Here is my idea for radical realignment for college sports:
A couple of months ago, John Calipari proposed a system of creating four unique superconferences. These conferences would basically break up some major conferences, namely the Big East and Big Twelve, and create a radical realignment. These conferences would ultimately play for a football playoff and all teams would be eligible for a basketball tournament.
I decided to create my own version of this and expand it even further. Basically, how to fix college sports, I've created four separate conferences:
Western Conference: Pac-12 teams, Big 12
Northern Conference: Big Ten teams, Big East, as well as Iowa State
Eastern Conference: ACC teams and remaining Big East
Southern Conference: SEC teams, Houston, UCF, and Louisville
The Western Conference breaks down as follows:
Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
Boise State
California
Colorado
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
UCLA
USC
Utah
Washington
Washington State
Now to simplify it, each team will be in 4 divisions of 4-5 teams each. The winner of each conference would ultimately play in a playoff format in college football to determine a champion:
California division:
California
Stanford
UCLA
USC
Pacific Northwest division:
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
Texas Division:
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Baylor
Utah
Desert Division:
Arizona
Arizona State
Colorado
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Onto the Northern Conference:
Cincinnati
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Iowa State
Marquette
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Purdue
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Geographical breakdown:
Central Division:
Illinois
Indiana
Northwestern
Purdue
Notre Dame
Great Lakes Division:
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan State
Marquette*
Northeastern Division:
Penn State
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Cincinnati
Northern Division:
Iowa
Iowa State
Ohio State
Nebraska
Next up, the Eastern Conference:
Boston College
Clemson
Connecticut
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami
UNC
North Carolina State
Providence
Rutgers
South Florida
Syracuse
Villanova
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Northeastern Division:
Boston College
Connecticut
Syracuse
Rutgers
Providence
Carolina Division:
Duke
UNC
North Carolina State
Wake Forest
Clemson
Southeastern Division:
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Miami
South Florida
Eastern Division:
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Villanova
And last but not least, the Southern Conference:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
Central Florida
Florida
Georgia
Houston
Kansas
Kansas State
Kentucky
Louisville
LSU
Missouri
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Southern Division:
Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
UCF
Houston
Central Division:
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Alabama
Auburn
Midwestern Division:
Kentucky
Louisville
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Kansas Division:
Missouri
Kansas
Kansas State
Arkansas
Enjoy and pick apart as you please.