Conference Expansion Challenge...Rivalries.

In my last post, I mentioned geography and travel costs as a challenge to conference expansion.  In review, the three things that killed the 16-member WAC were the travel costs, geography and the loss of some old time rivalries.  Let's begin with a review of how the 16-team WAC worked.  The conference broke into four quadrants:

Quadrant 1:
Fresno State
Hawaii
San Jose State
San Diego State

Quadrant 2:
Brigham Young
New Mexico
UTEP
Utah

Quadrant 3:
Air Force
Colorado State
UNLV
Wyoming

Quadrant 4:
TCU
Tulsa
SMU
Rice

In a four-year cycle, Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 3 formed the Pacific division while Quadrant 2 and Quadrant 4 formed the Mountain Division.  The result, lower attendance.  The quadrants were arranged to keep the biggest rivalries together.  But the lesser rivalries were forgotten.  Wyoming, Colorado State and Hawaii were not able to keep long time rivals against BYU and Utah.  Regular games against San Jose state just did not fit the bill.  Rice fans just could not get excited about BYU and Utah, no the other hand.

How do you not make the same mistake with Big 10 expansion?  SEC expansion or others?  It may be impossible to avoid a complete loss of rivalry.  What makes a big rivalry?  There are three things that are really needed: Proximity, Reciprocity and Success of both teams.  

Even when conference rivals are in the same division, a rivalry can lose steam.  One such example, Nebraska and Colorado.  In the 1990s, close to the time where both teams won National Championships, it was one of the most intense rivalries in college football.  Now-a-days, where Nebraska success has lost and beginning to find again it's old form and Colorado's success is no what it used to be, the rivalry has lost a lot of steam.

It's not the super-big, named rivalries that suffer with conference alignments.  For example, even though Colorado State and Colorado have not been in the same conference in decades, the rivalry has found a way to continue.  BYU and UTEP, on the other hand, have not found a way to renew their rivalry since the Cougars jumped out of the WAC.  BYU/Hawaii play about every ten years now.  The teams learn to hate each other, the fans learn to disdain each other, but not enough for the rivalry to survive being in a different conference.

The reasons vary, but the bottom line is that a football team only has three or four non-conference games every season, and getting together every year for teams not in the same conference is not logistically possible.  The rivalry has to be a priority for both schools.  Sooner or later, fans will adjust and become interested in the new conference members and new rivalries will blossom.  Who could have thought back in the old 16-member WAC that TCU and BYU would ever develop a rivalry?

For the relevant present, Notre Dame has built a lot of rivalries over the years.  Many of these will not be possible if they join the Big 10.  But it is not Notre Dame who will suffer if the Irish are in the Big 10.  It is likely the schools that count on seeing the Irish come to their stadium 2 or 3 times or more every decade.  It is schools like USC, Boston College, Air Force, Army and Navy that could suffer at the gate without seeing the Irish on a regular basis.  In South Bend, it will only take a consistent winner to keep the turnstile whirling.  On the other hand,   These games will still happen, but without the regularity that they have now.  Even some big-10 type rivalries will suffer with Notre Dame in the Big 10.  Northwestern and Notre Dame will likely end up in different divisions.  Notre Dame and Northwestern, for example would likely end up in different divisions.

The news is not all bad, Michigan, Michigan State and others local Notre Dame rivals will like seeing the Irish annually.  Rivalries like this will likely intensify with more on the line.

On the other side of the coin, however, if a university relies on a team like Notre Dame coming to town to sell a few extra tickets, something is definitely wrong.  BYU is another team that seems to have rivals everywhere they go.  It seems that success breeds a following and it breeds contempt as well.  Now-a-days, the Utah Utes are also selling a few extra tickets everywhere they go to play.  The fans want to see their team knock the big boys off their perch.  It is also easier for fans to travel when your team is successful.  Again, on the other hand, lack of success certainly leads to fan disinterest and a loss of rivalry.