NCAA Conference Draft

So, with all of the recent realignment news in the NCAA (Maryland and Rutgers to the Big 10 (14), rumors of possibly Louisville, UCONN and Cincy to the ACC, or Flroida State and Clemson to the SEC or Big 10, etc...)  my favorite basketball coach had a fun idea.  Sure, Jim Boeheim said the idea in the middle of a rant about teams moving conferences and never being satisfied, but he had a dandy of a notion.  He said (jokingly) that there should just be a few conferences that draft schools.  I, being a fan of all things related to sports drafts, LOVE THIS IDEA!  It would solve all the pain of your team leaving its conference because of football TV money and media markets.  The NCAA doesn't really care about traditional rivalries anymore anyway.  What, is Maryland/Iowa the next Michigan/Ohio State?  I think not.  So, I present to you my grand vision for the 1st ever NCAA Conference Draft!

Some explanation of the system first.  Everyone seems to think that 4 16-team conferences is the way to go.  It isn't.  Let's face it, this entire thing is driven by football, not basketball.  64 isn't a magic number in the BCS era like it is in March Madness.  Also, 64 just isn't round and certain enough.  No, we have to go to 80.  We will have 5 16-team conferences.  They, I'm sure, will be given fun names later.  For now, we will call them by their region.  Hypothetically, and just for the sake of my explanation, let's say that the conference headquarters are located in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and LA, and those are the markets that they would like to control.  This explains why each region is mainly full of regional schools.  We have the North-East, South-East, Mid-West, South (sounds better than Mid South) and West conferences.  These are their conferences for football and basketball.  There is no independence allowed for a school.  You have to be within a conference to play games against them (this also means no more scheduling FCS schools, SEC).  For basketball, schools from other conferences would be allowed to play for the tournament as they are now.  We, much like the schools, are concentrating mainly on football.  Football money, football influence, football viewers.

The draft will have 16 rounds.  The draft order was selected via a blind random lottery by my friend Andrew Fertig, who does not care about college sports and was therefore my Ernst & Young, guaranteeing no cheating or bias in the draft lottery selection.  The results of the lottery are as followed:

1. Mid-West
2. West
3. North-East
4. South-East
5. South

This is not a snake draft.  It will work like the NFL or NBA's.  So, without further explanation, let's see Round 1!

1. Mid-West: Notre Dame
2. West: Oregon
3. North-East: Ohio State
4. South-East: Florida
5. South: Texas

No huge surprises here.  Notre Dame, whether you like it or not, is the most important NCAA football school in terms of money, influence, fan base and brand name.  The Mid-West is ecstatic that they got the #1 pick and are the conference that the Irish finally call home.  Oregon is the pick in the West.  Why not USC, you ask?  Simple: Nike.  Nike's money makes Oregon the more important school.  The NE-ers are crushed that they lost Notre Dame, knowing they were the perfect fit for the NY market, so they rush to get a hold of Ohio State, setting a wide footprint already.  SE chooses the Gators because of their brand importance and history in all sports, and because of Tim Tebow.  The South gets its first pick in the Longhorns.

Round 2

1. MW- Michigan
2. W- USC
3. NE- Florida State
4. SE- Alabama
5. S- LSU

The NE figures it can wait a while to get its local schools, so it takes the 2nd biggest draw in the sunshine state.  MW gets a traditional Notre Dame rival and Midwest favorite in Michigan.  The W keeps USC.  Bama and LSU are now in different conferences.

Round 3

1. MW- Oklahoma
2. W- UCLA
3. NE- Kentucky
4. SE- Texas A&M
5. S- Miami

Only surprise is Kentucky, which the NE takes for basketball, and to get a foot in a southern state.  Crafty people up there.

Round 4

1. MW- Nebraska
2. W- Stanford
3. NE- Penn State
4. SE- Georgia
5. S- Oklahoma State

Sure, Penn State is in trouble right now.  But they still have a rabid and loyal fan base, and fit into the Northeast profile.  Every other conference makes smart picks.

Round 5

1. MW- Michigan State
2. W- Texas Tech
3. NE- Maryland
4. SE- Tennessee
5. S- South Carolina

Maryland?  What?  It is the same argument as Oregon. Maryland is now Under Armour University.  Can't pass up all that money.  Why do you think they are in the B1G now?  The W extends its reach into Texas, while the others beef up on traditional schools.

It goes on for 11 more rounds.  I could explain each pick, but I actually have things to do, so here is a quick summary for each with some notes on their picks after.

The Mid-West Conference

Notre Dame
Michigan
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Michigan State
Kansas
Wisconsin
Indiana
Illinois
Kansas State
Missouri
Rutgers
Iowa
Minnesota
Cincinnati
Boston College

The MW picks up Rutgers and BC late to extend their reach into the East.  They lock up Illinois so they can protect Chicago.  It is a solid representation, for the most part, of the big football programs in the middle of the country.


The West Conference

Oregon
USC
UCLA
Stanford
Texas Tech
BYU
Arizona State
Washington
Colorado
Boise State
Utah
Cal
Oregon State
Washington State
Air Force
Fresno State

The West has a stranglehold on its region.  11 of the former Pac-12 schools add Boise State, BYU, Air Force, Texas Tech and Fresno State.  It makes sense.


The North-East Conference

Ohio State
Florida State
Kentucky
Penn State
Maryland
UNC
West Virginia
Louisville
Purdue
Syracuse
Northwestern
UVA
UConn
Navy
Pitt
Army

The NE may be the best basketball conference, with enough football clout to warrant respect.  They didn't stick to the North East, but they knew they couldn't and remain on the same level.  They add Army and Navy because they instantly have built in fan bases and a nationally broadcast game in December.  They get Northwestern to attempt to take some viewers away in Chicago.  And, again, Under Armour.


The South-East Conference

Florida
Alabama
Texas A&M
Georgia
Tennessee
Auburn
Clemson
Virginia Tech
Duke
NC State
Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
USF
UCF
Temple
East Carolina

Again, very strong regionally, with a wide footprint and fan base.  Stretching from Florida to Texas and back up to Pennsylvania, the South East has representation in every important football state in its region.


The South Conference

Texas
LSU
Miami
Oklahoma State
South Carolina
Arizona
Ole Miss
Arkansas
Georgia Tech
Baylor
San Diego State
Nevada
TCU
Houston
Southern Miss
Tulsa

The bottom of the country is well represented in the South Conference.  From traditional powers like their first 3 picks, to upstarts like their last 6, the conference stretches from Florida to California while avoiding all those Yankees that just don't get why football is so important.  They also get to play their championship game at Jerry Jones' palace, since (after all) he is an Arkansas alum.



There you go!  That is what the future of NCAA football could, and perhaps should, be.  No more rumors about who is going where.  You have to stay in the conference into which you were drafted.  Maybe, every 15 years or so, there is a new draft.  I imagine that the results would be fairly similar.  What do we end up with?  Conference aligned on regions, for the most part.  That is nice.  However, we lose timeless rivalries, gain many hours of travel for supposed student-athletes, and someone may feel bad if they were picked last or not picked at all.  But hey, no more realignment.

Maybe conferences really aren't the answer.  Maybe the best thing to do is have every school be independent, so they can play numerous rivals every year.  You wouldn't have to worry about your team being 11-1 but missing out on a conference title game because your kicker is a bum.  You could just worry about winning every game in front of you.  And if you make it to a big bowl game, you get to keep all the money for yourself!  One National Title could pay for your entire athletic department for years!  That really sounds like a good solution, doesn't it?  But wait...  That is what Notre Dame does....  Maybe they are smarter than you think.