NCAA Sports- 10 Years from Now....

This is my vision of the NCAA in football and basketball, 10 years from now. What will the world of college sports look like in 2021? Does it matter, since the world is ending next year? Well, let's say it doesn't end. Here are some small (and one big) assumptions heading into my prognostication: 1- That there is still a NCAA with all the teams we have now (that is the big assumption). 2- That the ACC will not lose any of its current members, such as Florida State, Miami or Clemson, to the SEC. 3- That the remainder of the Big East football schools merges with the remainder of the Big XII football schools once they are done being raided. 4- That Notre Dame remains independent in football. That's all I can think of right now. Let's gaze into the crystal ball (insert Wayne's World dream sequence hand movement now...)

FOOTBALL

Another banner year for the SEC! Despite having only 14 members, unlike the other big conferences, the SEC has once again produced your BCS National Champion (that's right, there is still a BCS. It is a never-ending nightmare). It is amazing to think they the SEC has produced 9 out of the last 10 champs, the only exception being when Boise State pulled off the biggest upset of all time in 2011. Of course, after that year, the big conference refused to schedule BSU, but still, they got the one they wanted, but couldn't win their conference this year for the auto-bid.

This year it was the Mississippi State Bulldogs under coach Nick Saban, who can't seem to stay at one place too long. Why, after winning the 2013 title with Alabama, he jumped to Florida, won a title there in 2017, and then moved on to MSU. Some speculate that if Urban Meyer didn't get the Georgia job after Mark Richt was fired in 2012, Saban would have left the Crimson Tide that very year. Rumors persist now that Saban is in talks with another SEC team, most likely the Aggies of Texas A&M.

The success of the PAC-16 cannot be forgotten of course. The Oklahoma Sooners did lose the BCS title game, sure, but their undefeated season before that was quite impressive. No doubt they deserved to go after beating USC, Texas, Colorado, Stanford and Washington State all on the road. Luckily they escaped the trap game at home against the Oregon Ducks, whose new Nike "Invisiline" uniforms made them almost completely invisible to the naked eye. Those uniforms, while called unfair by some, are still preferable to the eye-searing neon yellow home jerseys of the Ducks, which have been linked to the rise of strokes and seizures in the Eugene, Oregon area.

USC ended up with the Rose Bowl bid and faced Big Ten champion Nebraska. The game received surprisingly low ratings, and more and more calls are being made for the Big Ten to finally change its name, now that is has 16 teams. Clearly, the sub-"Big Ten" academic standards brought in by additions Missouri, Toledo, Temple and Ohio University have rubbed off on the conference that hasn't gotten its math right since the early 1990s.

The Orange Bowl saw a match-up of the old failed Big East teams, with upset ACC Champion Pitt losing to AEC (All Encompassing Conference) champion USF. The Bulls managed to get the home field advantage by running through their geographically-challenged conference, including the upset of Boise State in the AEC Championship game.

Still- lucrative Independent Notre Dame lost in the Sugar Bowl to SEC at-large Georgia. The game was of course held in Atlanta this year following the devastation to Louisiana cause by Hurricanes Joaquin and Mindy (Look them up. Real 2021 hurricane names. I am calling it first!).

The final BCS game, the Cash for Gold Fiesta Bowl, pitted ACC at large Florida State against Big Ten (why won't they change their name to 16 already!) at large Minnesota, who had a fantastic year on the arm of Heisman Trophy winning freshman Elijah Warner, son of NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Warner, nicknamed Storm, which also happens to be his middle name, threw for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Golden Gophers pummeled the Seminoles 35-10.


Basketball

Once again, the ACC has produced the NCAA Basketball champion. Following an impressive season, Coach Mike Hopkins and the Syracuse Orange beat AEC Champ Kansas in the finals, a repeat of the result when the teams played for the title 18 years ago (A boy can dream. Shut up). The ACC was strong on top this year, once again putting 5 teams in the top 15 for most of the season. Syracuse, Pitt, UNC, Duke and UConn all dominated the conference, which only managed one more at large bid due to the weakness of the rest of the conference. Some ACC fans are beginning to regret adding perennial Big East powerhouses a decade ago, since they (along with Duke and UNC) have without question been the class of the conference for ten years. Virginia Tech feels especially bad, having once again missed out on the NCAA tournament. Their old assertion that beating Duke in Blacksburg should be enough is even less credible now that they have a 10 year losing streak when playing in Syracuse, Durham, and Storrs. Programs such as Maryland, UVA and Clemson look to bounce back following strong recruiting years, though they admit it is difficult to keep up with the ACC's "Big 5".

The most impressive conference top to bottom this year might have been the CAC, the Catholic Athletic Conference. When it formed 9 years ago following the demise of the Big East, there were some that felt that the competition wouldn't be up to par with other conferences. However, the basketball-only castoffs found great talent and tournament pedigree when they added Xavier and St. Joseph's to the mix. The "Cathedral Conference", as some call it, sent 7 of its 10 members to the tournament, led by league champ Georgetown. The Hoyas, along with Villanova, Xavier, St. Johns, Marquette, Notre Dame and DePaul, gave the super-conferences fits in the tournament. 3 of the teams made it to the Sweet 16, and the Hoyas' run to the Final Four was very impressive. Unfortunately, they ran into that Orange squad that could not be stopped.

The PAC-16 and Big Ten (DAMNIT! DO I REALLY HAVE TO KEEP CALLING THEM THAT?! IT IS SIMPLE MATH!) have seen their basketball product suffer in recent years due to the massive amount of money spent on their football programs. Still, there are some bright spots, first in Michigan State and Northwestern, both of whom made it to the Sweet 16. For the Pac, it was the Cardinal of Stanford that pushed into the Elite 8, and the impressive showings from UCLA and Oklahoma State bode well for next season.

The Mountaineers of West Virginia and the Kentucky Wildcats continue to dominate a weak SEC. While both teams are middle of the pack in football, they are the only two who have been crowned conference champions in the past decade. This has blossomed into a heated rivalry, combining the blind support of the Cat faithful with the blind-drunk craziness of the WVU fanbase. There are rumors that Kentucky may soon have to give back its 2014 and 2015 NCAA Titles, however, because recently retired coach John Calipari is under investigation for providing illegal benefits to recruits and players alike. We will keep you posted.

And who can forget the magical run of the William & Mary Tribe? Their Cinderella story romp through the NCAA tournament left the CAA champ with memories that will last a lifetime. They were just one buzzer-beater away from upsetting #1 seed Kansas in the Final Four, but their players can still be proud of the job they have done. Just another example of how the CAA produces some of the best upset picks.

When we come back, we will have our Sunday Conversation with Super Bowl Champion QB Matthew Stafford. What do the Lions need in the draft? How do they replace future Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson after his recent retirement? We will find out after this...



It gets kind of hazy after that. But there you go. A vision of what college sports could be like 10 years from now. Some programs thriving in their new situation. Some expressing buyer's remorse after their conference grew. Somehow Notre Dame still being independent and relevant. It could happen. Here is a rundown of the 6 conferences mentioned:

ACC: BC, Clemson, Duke, FSU, GTech, UMD, Miami, UNC, NC State, UVA, VTech, Wake, Cuse, Pitt, Rutgers, UConn

B1G 10 (Sigh...): Michigan, MSU, Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Toledo, Temple, Ohio

PAC-16: Arizona, ASU, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, WSU, Oklahoma, OK State, Texas, Texas Tech

SEC: Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, Texas A&M, UGA, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vandy, Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU, WVU

AEC: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, KState, Cincinnati, Louisville, USF, TCU, UCF, East Carolina, Houston, Boise State

Cathedral Conference: Depaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame (except football), Providence, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Villanova, Xavier, St. Josephs



Very few geographic rivals. Too much travel for other sports. Money trumping tradition, academics and common sense. The new NCAA, ladies and gents... at least, as long as there is an NCAA...