Swagger Opinion on Rumored Conference Moves

Florida State and Clemson to the Big 12?

That is a lateral move for these schools and perhaps a step down.  Why?  How many schools has the ACC lost in this conference realignment?  The SEC could have added Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State or Virginia Tech but they raided the Big 12.

The new Big 12 commissioner stated that he was concerned about the distance that West Virginia is from the rest of the conference indicating that the next expansion may be in that direction...read Cincinnati and or Louisville.

BYU back to the Mountain West

There is a better chance that the Beatles will get together again.  The mtn, BYU's main beef with the MWC is gone, but so is Utah, TCU and Boise State.  If BSU and SDSU go back to the MWC, then they will be at 12 and may not expand further.

If BYU does not get into the Big 12, which seems likely, and if the Big East Westward expansion fails, which is also probable, I see BYU and Boise State hooking up to form a new conference instead of either joining the MWC.  This gives BYU a chance to start a new conference without so many of the weaker football programs that brought the cred of the MWC down...read no Colorado State and no Wyoming.  UNLV and New Mexico, probably because they at least bring NCAA tournament bids to the table.  Colorado State and Wyoming no.

If Boise State can make the Big East work, or if BSU returns to the MWC, then I see BYU remaining independent.

BYU to the Big 12

There are three hurdles to getting BYU into the Big 12.  First, the no Sunday play.  The Big 12 has figured out how to play sports on weekends so that athletes do not miss any class.  You play a Friday night game and a Sunday afternoon game.  Most Big 12 schools have classes on either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday.  (I know this because I am a graduate of the University of Nebraska system.)  Rarely are there classes on Friday.  You can leave for the Friday night game on Thursday night, and you can travel home from the Sunday afternoon game on Sunday night.  No class missed.  The Big 12 schools are less willing to give this arrangement up.  But if you have class on Thursday/Saturday/Monday, you have a day of the week with no class nor game, and a little downtime for athletes might be welcome.  The second obstacle is BYU TV and the ESPN contract and how that is used.  And the third obstacle is BYU being another outlying school for the rest of the conference.