Big 12 Champ vs SEC Champ starting in 2014..FULL STORY

[FirstTimer]

Bye bye Sugar Bowl

The champions of the Big 12 and SEC conferences will meet in a bowl game annually, sources have told ESPN.com.

The agreement will begin with the 2014 season, with the champions of each conference meeting provided that neither team is in the BCS national championship game.

The style of the agreement will be similar to the one the Rose Bowl has with the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences.

The site of this bowl game is still undetermined. The Big 12 and SEC conferences are expected to make an official announcement at noon ET.

[NAHSTE]

So we already have too many bowl games as it is, and they decide to invent yet another one out of thin air? Why not just rotate the Cotton and Sugar Bowl for this? For fuck's sake, stop ruining college football.

[FirstTimer]

This shit is getting ridiculous though. Between trying to rework the post season and the conference landscape changing..too much shit is happening at once

[G-men]

This shit is getting ridiculous though. Between trying to rework the post season and the conference landscape changing..too much shit is happening at once

Agreed. Besides the lack of a playoff, I had absolutely no problem with the way things were four years ago.

[JeremyHight]

So we already have too many bowl games as it is, and they decide to invent yet another one out of thin air? Why not just rotate the Cotton and Sugar Bowl for this? For fuck's sake, stop ruining college football.

I think they are going to play this at one of the existing bowls. If not, there would have to be a major change in the makeup of the BCS Bowls as any new BCS Bowls have not even been hinted at.

[NAHSTE]

I think they are going to play this at one of the existing bowls. If not, there would have to be a major change in the makeup of the BCS Bowls as any new BCS Bowls have not even been hinted at.

They said the site and host city has yet to be determined. They also went ahead and claimed dibs on the NYD primetime time slot. So all signs point to a brand new, made-for-TV event. JUST WHAT COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEEDED MORE OF.

[FirstTimer]

The Big 12 and the Southeastern conferences have announced a deal that will pit their football regular-season champions against each other in a New Year's Day bowl game for five years beginning in 2014, positioning themselves for the expected switch to a four-team playoff.

In fact, SEC commissioner Mike Slive all but said that scenario is coming in Friday's announcement of the agreement between two of the most successful BCS conferences.

"A new January bowl tradition is born," Slive said in a statement. "This new game will provide a great matchup between the two most successful conferences in the BCS era and will complement the exciting postseason atmosphere created by the new four-team model.

“

Slive A new January bowl tradition is born. This new game will provide a great matchup between the two most successful conferences in the BCS era.
” -- SEC commissioner Mike Slive

"Most importantly, it will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans with an outstanding bowl experience."

If one or both of the league champions are selected to play in the playoff, another team would be selected for the Big 12-SEC bowl showdown on Jan. 1.

The move will establish the equivalent of the Pac 12 vs. Big Ten Rose Bowl, minus nearly a century of tradition. Those two conferences have pushed for a new format preserving that matchup for the Rose Bowl, which Slive has indicated he doesn't favor.

But the spawning of conference-king matchups could grow even further, as a source told ESPN's Joe Schad the Big East would be open to a champion challenge bowl with the ACC.

Specific details for the Big 12-SEC matchup, including host sites, will be announced later.

"Our goal is to provide the fans across the country with a New Year's Day prime-time tradition," acting Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said. "This is a landmark agreement between two of the most successful football conferences during the BCS era to stage a postseason event. The creation of this game featuring the champions of the Big 12 and SEC will have tremendous resonance in college football."





BCS executive director Bill Hancock has said 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director will present a "small number" of options -- two to seven configurations -- for a four-team playoff to their leagues at conference meetings this summer.

SEC teams have won the past six BCS national titles, including Alabama's victory over LSU in January. The Big 12 and SEC each has had a top-4 team in the final standings in 11 of the 14 seasons since the BCS was created, the most of any league.

The two league champions have met twice in BCS bowl games since 1998, both in BCS championship games. In 2010, Alabama defeated Texas 37-21 in Pasadena, Calif., and in 2009, Florida defeated Oklahoma 24-14 in Miami.

The move is especially noteworthy for the Big 12, which was scrambling to hold itself together just two years ago after losing four teams.

Nebraska left for the Big Ten, Colorado went to the Pac-12 and, as of July 1, Missouri and Texas A&M will be in the SEC. The Big 12 is adding TCU and West Virginia this year to remain at 10 member schools.



"This agreement reinforces that the Big 12 is exactly what we've been saying for some time -- a strong, stable, vibrant conference that is at the forefront of intercollegiate athletics," said Dr. Sheahon Zenger, Kansas' athletic director.

Jayhawks coach Charlie Weis agreed.

"What a great day for the Big 12," he said, "To be matched with the champion of the SEC places the two most successful conferences in the BCS era head-to-head. All Big 12 fans should be happy today."

Sources told ESPN's Schad that no conference or bowl partner was blindsided by the announcement, that they were advised in advance it was happening.

The concept has been discussed for at least three years, the sources said. The conclusion that a Final Four of football was in the works allowed for the announcement because they knew what the BCS structure would look like.

"This is another example of the strength and stability of the Big 12 Conference," Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement. "In the last month alone we have introduced this game and a new commissioner that is absolutely right for this league. In addition, we are in the process of formulating one of the top TV deals in college sports. The Big 12 is strong, stable and united."

[Warner2BruceTD]

So basically, this new game pits the two league champs against each other, but only if theye fail to qualify for the tournament. In other words, nobody will care because they will essesntially be also rans.

The game could also pit second place teams against each other if the first place teams qualify for the tournament. In other words, nobody will care because they will essentially be also rans.

In other words, nobody will care because there is no scenario that gives this game any meaning. Another pointless game in the sport where every game supposedly counts.

[Rudi]

Fuck college football man. fuck it all.

[Atlas]

you guys realize this is just posturing by the sec/b12, right? its just another step to the 4 16 team conferences... over the next few years everything will fall into place, and the B12 just gave the finger to the ACC and Swofford...

[Fight'On]

It will be interesting to see how it ends up playing out. As long as the Trojans have a seat at the big boy table.

[FirstTimer]

you guys realize this is just posturing by the sec/b12, right? its just another step to the 4 16 team conferences... over the next few years everything will fall into place, and the B12 just gave the finger to the ACC and Swofford...

To this point:

It might not be the start of Armageddon in college football, but Friday's announcement that the Big 12 and SEC are forming a partnership, which would pit their champions in a future New Year's Day bowl game, has sent even more conference realignment ripples throughout the sport.


Some industry insiders suggested Friday that the Big 12 and SEC are only protecting themselves in case the sport is eventually reduced to four power conferences. Given the current state of the Big East, further contraction to four megaconferences seems more possible than ever before.

If the Big East can't survive on life support, where will its teams go? And if the Big 12's latest power move makes it even more appealing to a school such as Florida State, would the ACC survive without one of its most high-profile members?

"This could be Day 1 of Armageddon in terms of four-conference conglomeration," a college football power broker told ESPN.com on Friday.

The Big 12 and SEC's version of the Rose Bowl won't have a midafternoon kickoff in front of the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains in Pasadena, Calif. It won't have more than 100 years of tradition and won't be called the "Granddaddy of Them All."

But the new Big 12-SEC bowl game might end up being a better football game. Since the BCS era began in 1998, Big 12 and SEC teams have combined to appear in 12 of the last 14 BCS National Championship Games and won 10 times. If you haven't heard, the SEC has won six BCS national championships in a row.

Starting on New Year's Day 2015, the champions of the Big 12 and SEC will meet in a New Year's Day bowl game. Acting Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said the leagues hope to play the game on New Year's Day night, but the site of the game is still to be determined.

The game might be played at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., or the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, which have been the traditional BCS hosts for the Big 12 and SEC, respectively. Or the new Big 12-SEC bowl game could be offered to the highest bidder -- i.e. Atlanta or Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.




"The two conferences may just build their own bowl," Neinas said, in an interview published on big12sports.com on Friday. "I wouldn't say that's the primary idea, but the point is the two conferences are working together and will explore it thoroughly and come to an agreement as to what we feel is in the best interest of the two conferences moving forward. It's a true partnership."

It sure seems to be a short trip from bitterness to partnership these days. Not too long ago, the Big 12 was peeved the SEC raided its league for Missouri and Texas A&M, which are joining the SEC this coming season. Now the SEC is helping the Big 12 re-establish its power in college football.

"It's a time when postseason football is undergoing some changes," Neinas said. "It's an opportunity for two conferences, both of which are very proud of their football programs, to get together in a partnership and establish what should be an exciting and high-quality annual postseason game."

What's the ACC going to do? Is its champion going to play the Big East champion in the postseason? That matchup has really worked out well for the Orange Bowl. Maybe they'll increase the stakes by giving the winner an at-large invitation to the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Where's Notre Dame? Will this latest merger of power finally force the Fighting Irish to do something? Like maybe join a conference? ACC commissioner John Swofford's first phone call Friday should have been to Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick. The ACC and Notre Dame might really need each other if they're going to survive in the post-BCS era.



And what about the depleted Big East? It's pretty clear the Big East is no longer sitting at the same table with the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, after it lost Pittsburgh, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia to other leagues. Now the Big East might not even be sitting in the same room as the other BCS conferences.

"Right now, you'd have to make an honest assessment and say since the BCS era has begun the two conferences which have produced the teams to play for the national championship more than any other are the Big 12 Conference and the SEC," Neinas said. "The quality of play is well-established and as the postseason unfolds, what better way to conclude New Year's Day than with a prime-time game between the champions of these two conferences?"

Will this merger cause another round of conference expansion? It's too early to tell. But the Big 12 probably never looked better to Florida State. And how long will the Big 12 sacrifice millions of dollars in lost revenue by having only 10 teams and not playing a conference championship game?

Odds are we'll probably never see the champions of the Big 12 and SEC play each other in a New Year's Day bowl game. The chances of seeing even one of them playing in the new bowl game are probably slim to none because the champions of those leagues will undoubtedly be participants in the aforementioned four-team playoff. If that happens, the No. 2 teams from those conferences would play in the new bowl game.

Two of college football's strongest conferences just got even stronger. And the ACC, Big East and possibly Notre Dame lost much of their footing in the post-BCS landscape.

[St. Francisco]

An interesting article I read last night to go along with this discussion.

http://www.burntorangenation.com/2012/5/20/3033183/welcome-to-the-superconference-era-of-college-football

Here's the summary for the TL;DR guys: This guy theorizes that this agreement represents a sesimic shift in the college football landscape where teams would take power from the bowls, and form what will essentially be their own playoff. With the Big XII and SEC playing their bowl, and the Big Ten and PAC-12 playing their bowl, the four conferences could then agree on a final bowl pitting those two champions together to form their own playoff, which would in turn put the nail in the coffin of the Big East and ACC, and bring about four super conferences over time.

It seems like only yesterday that I was addressing, with somewhat of a bemused detachment, the rumored interest Florida State was purported to have in joining the Big 12.

OK, it wasn't quite yesterday: it was a whole five days ago. Since then, a seismic shift in college football has occurred. I think it's difficult to overstate the significance of the announcement that the champions of the Big 12 and SEC will be meeting annually in a new, conference-controlled bowl game beginning with the 2014 season. (The current BCS contracts run through the 2013 season.)

I think aloud and ramble on for several thousand words about what I think this all means, and where we're heading, after the jump.



Let me be clear that pretty much all that follows is personal conjecture as I try to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Let me also be clear that I, like pretty much everyone else who follows realignment-related news more closely than a sane person should, have been wrong pretty much every step of the way with my realignment-related prognostications. (How's that Big 10 working out for Texas, Hopkins?) But at least I'll admit that I don't know what I'm talking about, and, as the following days and weeks unfold, I would take any media report based upon anonymous sourcing with an enormous grain of salt, even if that media source is writing under the assumed name of a deity and is claiming ties with someone pretty high up within the Texas administration.
That being said, the thought I can't escape is that this new Big 12-SEC bowl game (to which, for simplicity's sake, I'll refer to as the "Champions Bowl" from here on out) only makes sense if the Big 12 and the SEC are prepared to offer up their actual champions each and every year.

Much has been written in the days following the announcement of the creation of the Champions Bowl about how, in practice, it would be anything but a bowl game of champions. And under most of the discussed four-team playoff formats, that would be true. Most of these proposals seem to have had the playoff participants playing in games independent of the current bowl system.

Simply plugging the Champions Bowl into the world which would be created by these proposals means that, more often than not*, one league champion, if not both, would not participate in the Champions Bowl because they would be participating in the separate playoff games instead, making the Champions Bowl into nothing more than a warmed-over Cotton Bowl. (In fact, superimposing most of the proposed playoff structures onto last season produces a Champions Bowl which was, in fact, last year's Cotton Bowl.) And in years in which both champs were eligible, the game wouldn't be a particularly attractive one, matching, at best, #5 vs. #6 (and that in only the most fluky of circumstances).

(*I think it's important here to reiterate one of my long-standing mantras when it comes to realignment-related discussions: everything is cyclical, and it's important to keep this in mind when determining what would be the best course of action for Texas and the Big 12 to pursue. I deliberately wrote "more often than not" rather than much stronger wording I've read elsewhere -- "always", "virtually always", etc. -- because, even though the SEC has proven to be the strongest conference in recent years and the Big 12 has proven to be a strong number two, there is absolutely no guarantee that the balance of power won't shift back towards the Pac 12 and/or the Big 10 at some point in the future. We should prepare simultaneously for scenarios in which we are preeminent and in which we are not.)

The conclusion I find inescapable is that the Big 12 and SEC would not have agreed to create -- and control! -- the Champions Bowl while simultaneously agreeing to leave an extremely large amount of money on the table by not guaranteeing to their future television partner that the Champions Bowl will, in fact, match the champion of the SEC against the champion of the Big 12. It makes virtually no sense (or cents, as it were) otherwise.

And if that conclusion I've reached is correct, what we've witnessed in the past few days is an absolute game-changer in college football and, of course, college athletics in general.

What we will have witnessed, more importantly than the creation of a really cool bowl game, is the final shifting of the balance of power from the bowl games themselves to the conferences -- more specifically, the power conferences. It's striking to consider, in the wake of the creation of the Champions Bowl, why this took so long to happen, why the Mike Slives of the world didn't seize control of their teams' postseasons sooner.

And now that the seal on multi-conference creation and control of bowl games has been broken, I tend to think things could get even more interesting very quickly. It's hard to imagine Jim Delany and Larry Scott sitting back and not seizing similar control of their champions' bowl game for the financial betterment of their member schools. (Oh, sure, it will still be called the "Rose Bowl Game," and it will still be played in the Rose Bowl . . . in much the same way SBC bought AT&T and kept the name.)

But who controls the financials of the Rose Bowl is merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. What I think is a likely next step -- almost what has to be the next step -- is the creation of a new and additional bowl game, controlled jointly by the Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC, which would pit the winner of the Rose Bowl against the winner of the Champions Bowl. (I'll just call it the "Awesome Bowl" for now.)

Just imagine the financials on that one. And then just imagine what incentive any of the big power conferences would have to share any of that extraordinarily huge sum of money with anyone else.

Let me put it this way: Mike Slive has been pretty adamant about creating a four-team playoff** beginning with the 2014 season. I guess no one has had the presence of mind to try and pin Slive down as to which teams would actually be eligible for that playoff -- or, more precisely, "playoff".

(**If you think about it, what will have been created is not a four-team playoff but, in fact, an eight-team playoff, once the Big 12 inevitably expands to at least 12 and again stages a conference championship game, with the de facto quarterfinal games being the four championship games of the power conferences. An eight-team playoff featuring the eight division winners of the four power conferences, playing on a predetermined bracket, as it were.)

To be clear, the creators and controllers of the Awesome Bowl wouldn't claim that they were staging a national championship game, either real or mythical. How could they, with at least half of the FBS (depending on how realignment after the creation of the Awesome Bowl shook out) ineligible to compete for it? But they would know, and we would know, and the pollsters would know, that the winner of the Awesome Bowl will almost certainly be considered champions of any particular college football season.***

(***There's the obvious problem with that assumption in that a completely dominant team outside the Awesome Bowl's reach could emerge in any particular season, though the odds of that would be very slim, especially with the realignment which would almost certainly occur after the Awesome Bowl's creation. There's also the thorny issue that, as is the case with almost any playoff system, a completely unworthy team, based upon regular season performance, could win the Awesome Bowl. Superimpose the Awesome Bowl upon last season, and suddenly a 6-6 UCLA team -- champions of the Pac 12 South only through USC's ineligibility -- would have found itself a mere three wins away from being "champs" of, well, something. Cuing Brooklyn Horn's outrage . . . now!)

And with this, the long-theorized advent of a college football universe of four power conferences and everyone else will have take fruition. And I think it's safe to assume that pretty much every school within that "everyone else" category will be doing whatever it can to become a member of a power conference.

But it won't necessarily be the symmetrical 4x16 structure (four conferences with 16 teams each) which many have presumed. There's no logical reason why there would have to be exactly 64 teams competing in those four conferences. As of today, there will be 48 teams competing in the four power conferences come 2014. Are there really 16 additional schools which bring enough to the table to be considered for addition to one of the four power conferences, at least as of today? I don't think so.

Disregarding Notre Dame for a moment (I will deal with the Irish separately and more extensively shortly), there are very few schools outside the new power conference structure which strike me as no-brainer admits. In fact, I think there are only three which make complete sense from a football-centric perspective: Florida State, Virginia Tech and BYU.**** And of those three, one might have struck a deal with a Cavalier-cloked devil to get itself in the ACC nearly a decade ago and might find it hard to escape on its own, and the other might have its own Notre Dame-esque reasons for wanting to retain independence. So, at the end of the day, Florida State might be the only no-brainer making an immediate move into a power conference.

(****For the purposes of this discussion, let's not get bogged down on which schools may or may not be no-brainers, because, so long as the universe of no-brainer schools is a limited one, it really doesn't matter for these purposes which schools they might be [Clemson instead of BYU, for example]. If, on the other hand, the argument is that the universe of no-brainer schools is much larger than I'm arguing it is, then by all means let's have that discussion.)

Beyond those schools, there are a number of schools which would make some sense but strike me as being a bit problematic from a football-centric perspective. I'm primarily talking about a good chunk of the ACC -- Miami, UNC, UVa, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Clemson, maybe NCSU and Pittsburgh -- but perhaps Louisville as well. I think that many who obsess about realignment assume to quickly that the spare parts of the ACC would be gobbled up by the other power conferences, but I'm not entirely sure. Does it make sense for the Big 10 to dilute (my choice of word) its football brand by making Maryland and Virginia its 13th and 14th members?***** Does it similarly make sense for the SEC to make UNC and NCSU its 15th and 16th members? And, more relevantly for us, apart from the reality that adding FSU (which I think the Big 12 will, and that's all I have to say about that particular rumor right now) almost certainly (but not absolutely certainly) dictates that a 12th team be added pretty quickly as well, do any of those schools strike anyone as must-haves?

Not to me.

(*****I can just see any number of Frank The Tank realignment-obsessed readers seeing this and claiming that I'm completely discounting market penetration and television network footprints and any other number of non-football related items which make those schools no-brainer must-haves. Of course the Big 10 would want to add the crucial Richmond market to its Big 10 Network footprint! To that, I respond: when it was time to expand, the Big 10 took all of those network footprint concerns under consideration and wound up with -- wait for it -- Nebraska. Football bona fides still kind of count just a little in all this.)

This isn't to say that some, if not many or most, of those schools won't find their way eventually into a power conference. It's just that there's no reason to expect that there will be a rapid disintegration of the ACC after its banishment into "everybody else" purgatory, even if Florida State leaves and takes a Clemson or Miami or Virginia Tech with it. What I would expect to happen is that the ACC will retrench and double-down on its "premier basketball conference" branding by poaching UConn and perhaps Louisville (academic concerns notwithstanding) to go along with recent additions Syracuse and Pittsburgh. It will continue to play football at a pretty good level (better than most people give it credit for, in my estimation) for a few years at least, and its champion will still have the perk of the Orange Bowl or something similar, but the reality of being an "everybody else" will slowly but surely send it into a Big East-esque death spiral, at least as far as football is concerned.

But enough about the ACC and the Big East leftovers. What about the biggest prize out there, Notre Dame?

In short, I think the seismic shift we've seen this week means the death knell for Notre Dame's independence.

Yes, we all know Notre Dame treasures its independence. More specifically, it values its football independence. Notre Dame has actually proven itself pragmatic when it comes to giving up independence when it becomes practical to do so: witness its joining the Big East in all sports save football for the past 17 years.

Up until now, it hasn't had to give up football independence to remain relevant. So long as the bowl games themselves retained a disproportionate amount of power in determining who their participants were going to be, the wheel has been greased to Notre Dame's benefit in terms of access to the best bowl games.

But with last week's announcement of the creation of the Champions Bowl, controlled by the conferences, the future is clear. The conferences are calling the shots now, not the bowls.

In short, Notre Dame has lost its protectors of its viability as an independent. For what possible incentive do Mike Slive and Jim Delany have to ensure Notre Dame access to the Awesome Bowl? Even if my Awesome Bowl hypothesis is off-base, it's nevertheless clear that power has shifted, and not in any way a fan of Notre Dame's independence can be pleased with.

So Notre Dame will have a decision to make. Bowls outside the control of the power conferences will continue to exist, and Notre Dame will continue to have access to good bowl games disproportionate to its level of performance on the field. But will Notre Dame content itself with being a team which can go to the Orange Bowl most years to do battle with an 9-4 Maryland team, or will it try to be a team which can compete for, and play for, national championships?

If Notre Dame chooses the latter course -- and I think (and hope!) that it will -- then it has no choice but join a conference.

But let's not get too carried away just yet. Yes, I declared Domer Law dead last week, and, yes, I just laid out why I think Notre Dame's joining a conference is inevitable, and sooner rather than later. But that doesn't mean that the Irish joining the Big 12 is inevitable. Yes, the Big 12 offers the Irish some powerful inducements (go ahead and start your own network, Irish!), but the Big 10 is logical for any number of reasons, and don't count out an imaginative conference commissioner like Larry Scott to figure out some way to lure the Irish into the Pac-Whatever. (It's hard to imagine that, when this is all said and done, the net of Scott's wheeling and dealing will be merely Colorado and Utah.)

But so long as the Irish are on the table, it's a good reminder for any conference, including the Big 12, not to add any other additional school just because they're kinda sorta attractive and throwing itself at your feet (is the SEC kicking itself about Mizzou yet?), another reason why realignment won't necessarily happen extremely rapidly with the dawn of the superconference.

Let's be clear: there are a world of intangibles out there (the biggest, in my estimation, being what ESPN will have to $ay about all of this), and, if there's anything we've learned over the last couple of years, it's that this will continue to unfold in completely unpredictable matters.

But what I think we can say with certainty is that everything in college football has just changed, even if the only tangible evidence over the next few months to come is a Seminole move to the Big 12. Whether it's for the better, only time will tell.

[FirstTimer]

ND to the Big 10 will never happen.

ND's top choice given the current landscape is the ACC.

If all of it shakes down as it's expected to....they will go to the Big12.

[NAHSTE]

ND to the Big 10 will never happen.

ND's top choice given the current landscape is the ACC.

If all of it shakes down as it's expected to....they will go to the Big12.

The ACC is one pussy hair away from total meltdown. All it takes is FSU going to the big 12, the SEC poaching a few teams ... and boom.