Not to be outdone, the Big Ten announced this summer that it was expanding to 16 teams as well by adding UCLA and USC. Last year, the Southeastern Conference announced it would add Texas and Oklahoma to form a 16-team megaconference. It’s difficult to imagine, then, how the founders of the country’s oldest athletics conference would have reacted to the recent realignment news that has shaken college sports to its core. They agreed in writing, according to an account in the next day’s Chicago Tribune, “to keep inter-collegiate athletic contests within their proper bounds.” One of those bounds was geographic: For the purposes of travel and tradition, schools largely played the regional rivals that populated their conferences. In 1896, a group of administrators from Midwestern colleges met in Chicago to settle the rules for what was then called the Western Conference, which would later be known as the Big Ten. Commissioner Keith Gill, who was just profiled in the Washington Post, is proving why he’s one of the best leaders among all Group of Five conferences.PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY SCHERER / GETTY IMAGES It’s a very exciting time to be a Sun Belt football fan. You could have a healthy argument about which of these two Group of Five conferences has the best overall roster of teams. The Sun Belt would have a legitimate argument that their conference rivals the quality in the Mountain West Conference. Marshall and Southern Miss are two programs that have national recognition and have been around since the 1960s. James Madison has won two national championships in the FCS and invests heavily in their athletics. If the Sun Belt comes out of conference realignment without losing any teams and adding four really quality programs, I think it catapults them to the top of the Group of Five in terms of quality football teams. Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss are all rumored to be joining the Sun Belt, with a possible invitation to FCS member James Madison as well.
Right now, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, and Troy all call the Sun Belt home. Sun Belt football quietly winning the Group of Five realignment war So, it’s a total win for the Sun Belt to be able to hang on these very desirable teams and not lose them to the AAC or any other conference for that matter.
GROUP OF 5 CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT PLUS
Plus they made sense as a geographical partner for Memphis. The Red Wolves have enjoyed success in recent years, appearing in nine straight bowl games and have been a popular spot for downtrodden coaches to rehabilitate their image and resume.
These teams have been ranked, have enjoyed success against ranked teams, and/or enjoy passionate fan bases.Įven Arkansas State would have made sense for the American. The Sun Belt has several desirable teams that I thought would be ideal fits in the American Athletic Conference during this round of conference realignment.Īppalachian State, Coastal Carolina, and Louisiana, in particular, made total sense to join the AAC. If you would have told me at the beginning of conference realignment, that Sun Belt football would come out unscathed, adding teams and making an argument for being the premier Group of Five conference, I would have called you crazy.
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