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...

A Thought for the New ACC

So... We moved to the ACC. I hate it. Won't get into it here. It caused me to get very, very mad because I have lived for the Big East my entire life, with my parents being Georgetown alums and going to Syracuse myself. But it happened. (Good luck to Cuse getting a penny more from me for a good long while) And the expansion of the ACC isn't over, nor is their raiding of the Big East. For arguments' sake, and going off of everything I have read, UConn and at least one other Big East team will join. I have heard Rutgers wants in the Big Ten (12...) and that WVU is thinking about the SEC. So, I am not sure what team will be going to the ACC, but let us assume for a second that the team will come from somewhere above the Mason/Dixon line. They want to expand north, so I think that is a safe assumption.

It would be unfair to thrust these new north east teams into a division with the likes of Miami, FSU or Georgia Tech. Similarly, it wouldn't be fair to make these warm weather schools go to Storrs, Cuse (indoors, but still), or Pitt at the end of November. So, I say we re-align the divisions. We lose this "Coastal" and "Atlantic" hullabaloo, and just go to ACC North and ACC South. Two 8-team divisions for a total of 16 teams. The winner of each gets to play in the ACC Title game, which I say we move from Florida to a fairer (geographical, not weather-wise) location, such as Fed-Ex Field outside of DC or M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The makeup of these two divisions are as follows:

ACC North

1. Syracuse
2. Pitt
3. UConn
4. 4th Big East team
5. Maryland
6. Boston College
7. UVA
8. Virginia Tech

ACC South

1. UNC
2. Duke
3. Georgia Tech
4. Miami
5. Florida State
6. Georgia Tech
7. Clemson
8. NC State

That's my thought. I am sure the ACC will mess it up. Here are some fun quotes from my man Jim Boeheim about the expansion:

Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim, one day after his university and Pittsburgh officially became ACC members, said he believes Connecticut and possibly Rutgers will also join the ACC.

"I think UConn will be in the ACC, if I had to guess," Boeheim said today during a speech at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham. "I think Rutgers could be. I think some people are thinking of leaving. ... Why would Florida State want to go to the SEC when you're in the ACC and you win banners? Doesn't make sense."

Boeheim said there will be a "mad scramble" in the next few months around the country as super conferences emerge.

"It's kind of like a dance," he said. "You don't want to be the one standing up at the end with no chair to sit in."

Boeheim, who has been at Syracuse for 50 years as a player or coach, is a traditionalist. He prefers 10-team conferences based on geography and rivalries in which every team plays each other once in football and twice in basketball.

"If conference commissioners were the founding fathers of this country, we would have Guatemala, Uruguay and Argentina in the United States," Boeheim said. "This audience knows why we are doing this. There's two reasons: Money and football.

"We're going to end up with mega conferences and 10 years from now either I'm going to be dead wrong -- and I'll be the first to admit it -- or everybody is going to be like, why did we do this again? Why is Alabama playing Texas A&M this week and going to Texas Tech next weekend? And why is Syracuse going to Miami in basketball this week and next week they're going to play Florida State?"

During an interview prior to his speech, Boeheim was skeptical that conference realignment will actually result in more money for most schools once costs are considered.

"It's interesting because 30 years ago schools made X amount of money," he said. "Twenty years ago, they made 2X. Ten years ago, they made 4X. Now they're going to make 6X. And you know what? They're going to end up breaking even, just like they did 30 years ago.

"At the end of the day, there's a school with a billion-dollar budget and they're talking about making an extra $4 million. What does that really mean when your school's budget is a billion dollars? It's just what has happened. People feel like they have to get these mega conferences. Whether they're right or wrong, we won't know for a while."

How out of the loop was Boeheim on the ACC discussions? He said if someone had told him Thursday night that Syracuse was headed to the ACC, "I would have said you were crazy."

Syracuse is a charter member of the Big East, which was founded as a basketball conference in 1979. Boeheim said he's sure Syracuse will continue to try to play Georgetown and St. John's.

"We've played St. John's for the 50 years I've been at Syracuse, and Georgetown for 40, so yeah, there's some nostalgia there," Boeheim said. "There's some heartbreak, no question about it. But it is what it is. Things do change. The Big East changed over the years. It's not that frustrating now because we have a 17-team basketball conference. If we had a nice, 10-team league, I'd be more upset. But we don't have that anymore. We have Marquette, DePaul, TCU coming in and who knows who else coming in."

Boeheim said he expects the ACC Tournament will mostly be held in the South and occasionally come to Madison Square Garden in New York, where the Big East has annually held its tournament.

"It's a great place for a tournament," he said. "Where would you want to go to to a tournament for five days? Let's see: Greensboro, North Carolina, or New York City? Jeez. Let me think about that one and get back to you."

Are You Ready For Some Football?!

Well, just finished watching an amazing opening game, in which the Green Bay Packers beat Drew Brees and the Saints, 42-34. It was exciting, thrilling, back and forth- everything that football should be... Well, there was very little defense, but still. Football is back! Time for my predictions for your division winner and wild cards, and my eventual conference champions, leading to the Super Bowl pick! I base this on nothing at all, just my gut feeling. Here you go-

NFC EAST- Philadelphia Eagles (proceeds to vomit all over himself)
NFC SOUTH- Atlanta Falcons (Spoiler, not the only team from this division)
NFC NORTH- Green Bay Packers (Duh)
NFC WEST- St. Louis Rams (and Robbie Griffin goes wild!)
Wild Card 1- New Orleans Saints
Wild Card 2- Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Like I said, based on nothing but my own gut. I hate that the Eagles are the favorite, but they are. The Rams will make it by actually going over .500. Bradford has some receivers now, so it will be a nice year for him. Green Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta will be back in the show. Tampa will take the next step and beat out Detroit, Minnesota and Arizona for the last Wild Card Spot. I think the NFC Championship game will be a rematch of the game we just watched- New Orleans and Green Bay in Lambeau. I think the result will be the same as well. Packers 28 Saints 20.

AFC EAST- New England Patriots (Too good)
AFC South- Houston Texans (Caviat- my friend Pete picked the Texans. He is cursed. So somehow this pick will be wrong)
AFC North- Pittsburgh Steelers (Consistent)
AFC West- San Diego Chargers (Their year??)
Wild Card 1- New York Jets
Wild Card 2- Baltimore Ravens

Roughly the same cast of characters as we have had in recent years, with the exception of Houston. But I think that it is time for the Patriots to get back to the big game, beating the Chargers in the AFC Championship game, 17-16.

So there it is. Pats/Packers in the Super Bowl. No Favre, Bledsoe, Martin or Howard in this game though. It will be a shootout between two great QBs. Call me crazy, but I think that this Pack squad can go back to back. 35-31, they repeat as the Super Bowl Champs!

I picked them last year, can lightning strike twice? We shall see. Enjoy football everyone!