Here are some good reads from around the web about the changing landscape of college sports...

Notre Dame should jump to ACC...and fast (Dan Wetzel, Yahoo.com)
If I’m Notre Dame today, and I see the Big East in mid-implosion, see that the ACC has essentially left a spot for me (temporarily) and see the long-term demographic trends for the Midwest, I’m spending the afternoon having a long, soul-searching look in the independence mirror. And then I’m starting negotiations to join the ACC, not the Big Ten, my persistent local suitor and the one everyone assumes I’ll eventually marry...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Pac-12's decision to stay at 12 schools a good thing (Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle)
For one day, sanity ruled. Whether it'll last for a decade or an hour is beside the point. What the Pac-12's announcement that it wouldn't be expanding at this time did was force Texas and Oklahoma to reconsider their options, and to perhaps do the right thing...COMPLETE ARTICLE

College football realignment not good for game (Woody Paige, Denver Post)
ColossalConferences. The Mega4ce. The Big 16, the Pac-16, the ACC 16 and the SEC Sweet 16. The Super Sixty-Four playing to de- termine a national champion in The GARGANTU1 BOWL! hat's incredible. That's inevitable. And Colorado State, Fresno State, Iowa State and Sam Houston State are powerless to stop the future state of college football...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Big 12 needs to say ‘bye-bye’ to Beebe (Sam Mellinger, Kansas City Star)
This should be it, then. No more. The Big 12 deserves a clean break, so stop the charade and move on. And this isn’t about ending the conference, though that day may be fast approaching. This is about ending the run of commissioner Dan Beebe...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Time for 'basketball' schools to unite? (Dana O'Neil, ESPN.com)
The conference stands at its most critical crossroads, with administrators from football-only members meeting in New York City on Tuesday night and other conferences eyeing the league for more raiding. The general consensus is that to survive, the Big East has to find other football schools to bolster its ranks. But what if there was another direction? What if, instead of becoming an Ellis Island for woebegone football, the Big East went back to its roots and formed a basketball superconference...COMPLETE ARTICLE

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What started as a major overhaul to college sports now appears just to be another money-motivated burp of a few power schools.

Texas, who seemingly was the central piece in the realignment puzzle, opted to stay in the Big 12 rather than joining the PAC-10.

The move came down to the TV rights. The PAC-10 is planning to create a model similar to the Big Ten’s, but under that plan Texas would not be able to secure its own local TV rights. With a new deal with FOX looming and the ability to create the Longhorn Network of whatever they decide to call it, Texas was best off staying put.

The decision by Texas and the other Big 12 South schools to stay should stave off any further radical realignment.

If the PAC-10 doesn't expand to 16 and Notre Dame sticks to its stated goal of remaining independent in football, the Big Ten may opt to remain at 12 teams. That would keep the Big East safe.

With Texas A&M still in the Big 12 and no obvious reason to get bigger, the SEC likely will remain at 12 schools. That would keep the ACC safe.

Now if they could only figure out a way to implement a playoff format in college football everything would be alright.

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It now appears imminent that Nebraska will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten, according to ESPN.com.

The move is likely the first of several changes ahead in the college sports landscape as the larger conferences begin to reposition to become “power conferences”.

A Big 12 source told the website officials from Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, in a move sensing Nebraska's determination to join the Big Ten, have already met to pledge their solidarity. The first choice is to save the Big 12, but if that's not possible, officials from those schools are prepared to merge with the Pac-10.

The source said the meetings included the chancellors, presidents and athletic directors from the three schools. Not present was a Baylor contingent. Baylor is locked in a battle with Colorado for what is presumed to be the sixth spot along with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State that would create a 16-team super-conference with the Pac-10 schools.

RUMOR TRACKER (CollegeSportsInfo.com)

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The Big Ten (or 11 with Penn State) has been talking expansion for months, but the debate would be which school would be the best fit.

Should they add one team? Or would three make more sense?

After many scuffled at the talk of Texas fleeing the Big 12 to join Big Ten, it now appears like at least a possibility.

The Lawrence Journal-World out of Kansas reported today that a source with ties to the Big Ten said that while most people’s attention has been trained on the conference stealing Missouri, the Big Ten has engaged in “preliminary exchanges” with a much bigger fish from the Big 12.

“There have been preliminary exchanges between the Big Ten and Texas,” the source told the paper on Wednesday. “People will deny that, but it’s accurate.”

What would have seemed impossible just a few years back, has been changed by the Big Ten Network.

Per St. Louis Business Journal the Big 12 doled out $103 million in revenue during the academic year that ended June 30, 2008, according to the most recent Internal Revenue Service filings available. The conference disburses some of its money based on the number of television appearances each school makes. Texas led the way with $10.2 million.

The Big Ten, by comparison, passed along nearly $207 million to its members in 2008. Each member school received about $18.8 million. Accounting for a 12th school, the disbursements would still top $17 million each. That number is estimated to grow to more than $20 million this year, even accounting for a 12th school, as the Big Ten television revenue continues to increase from various rights agreements and its 51 percent ownership of the new Big Ten Network.

By adding the Longhorns the Big Ten would hit a homerun and Texas has already proved over and over that money talks.  It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

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As we continue our series previewing the college football conferences here on GetSportsInfo, it's time to take a look at the star-studded Big 12. 

Favorite: Oklahoma

A lot of people are ready to write Oklahoma off after losing five bowl games in six years, including three National Championships, but if you look at the Sooners there's no reason to dismiss them so quickly. Sam Bradford deciding to come back and compete for a National Championship instead of cashing his check from the Jets makes the Sooners one of the top teams in the nation instantly. Bradford is a special player and the offense shouldn't lose anything coming off a year in which they averaged 51 points per contest. They have a backfield that could be the best in the nation with a 1-2 rushing punch of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown and the coaches are high on the offensive line despite having to replace four of the five positions.  

On defense is where Oklahoma could really see improvements however. Last year the offense came up short in some offensive shootouts because the defense couldn't stop anybody, but this year the Sooners could actually hold teams in check. The defensive line boasts quite possibly the most dominant front seven in college football. They could quite possibly have six legitimate draft picks on the front line alone. Couple that with Ryan Reynolds, Keenan Clayton and Travis Lewis at the linebacker positions and no one is going to have succcess running the football. The secondary will not be near as talented as the front seven, but they should be better than last year and not near as much of a weakness especially with the pressure being provided up front. 

Sleeper: Missouri

Everyone is expecting Missouri to slip back into mediocrity, and with good reason after losing players such as Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Jeff Wolfert, Jeremy Maclin, Stryker Sulak, Ziggy Hood, William Moore, Brock Christopher, and Tommy Saunders. However, the future is not as grim as many believe. Head Coach Gary Pinkel and his staff have done an unbelievable job when it comes to recruiting. They haven't let a single big recruit slip out of Missouri and have even been able to steal some top talents out of places like Texas and other locations with big name programs to actually upgrade the talent of the team. They will be young and will have a lot of potential that has to be realized before success will come, but this team has maybe as much talent as any in the conference.  New starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert will have to replace legend Chase Daniel, but he will actually allow the offense to do things that they couldn't with Daniel. He has more upside than Daniel did and with that flexibility he provides them it's not out of the question to say he could have Tigers fans forgetting about their beloved Daniel. 

Overrated: Texas

Now before everyone gets all pissed off about that, know that I'm not saying Texas won't be good and win a lot of games... Because they are and they will. However, when anything less than winning a Big 12 title and ending up in Pasadena in early January is acceptable there is a big chance that this team is overrated and won't achieve those standards. Oklahoma is better, Oklahoma State has the potential and maturity to pull an upset, unlike last year, and going to Missouri could be a letdown game for the Longhorns if the Red River rivalry doesn't go in their favor. 

Final Take: 

The Big 12 is not as good as the SEC is top to bottom, but it is a heck of a lot more fun to watch. With stars on every roster in this conference, Saturdays should consist of bigtime offensive shootouts on a regular basis. The Big 12 could boast seven of the top ten draft choices in next year's NFL draft.

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Let the Madness begin! The brackets have been drawn and the guessing is over...or is it? Now comes the fun part, filling out the brackets. Here are some my opening observations....

*The No. 1 Seeds - The selection committee got it right here with Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut all getting tabbed with the honor.

*Big East Rocks - They didn't the mega seeds that many expected earlier in the season as only seven of the 16 teams made the tournament rather than the 8 or 9 some had speculated earlier. Still, three No. 1 seeds from the conference is quite a  statement.

*SEC Letdown - The conference had one of its worst years ever and only because Mississippi State made an improbable run to the conference tournament championship did it get three teams in. LSU and Tennessee earned at large bids, but only a No. 8 and and No. 9 respecitvely.

*Big 10 Overrated - Penn State didn't get in, but the Big Ten get seven teams in. Still, I don't think the conference is really that good. Outside of Michigan State I expect early exits for all of the teams and even the Spartans proved to be vulnerable.

*Conference Breakdown - ACC (7 teams in), Big East (7), Big Ten (7), Big 12 (6), Pac 10 (5), SEC (3), Atlantic 10 (3), Horizon (2), MVC (2), Moutain West (2), WCC (2)

*Buckeye Pride - Five of the 13 Division I schools in Ohio made the NCAA Tournament - Akron, Dayton, Cleveland State, Ohio State, and Xavier.

*Last At-Large Ins - Arizona (12 seed), Wisconsin (12), Dayton (11), Maryland (10), Michigan (10) and Minnesota (10)

*Notable snubs - San Diego State (35th in RPI), Creighton (40), Saint Mary's (48), Auburn (63), Penn State (70)

*Where are they now? - The tournament is missing some of its regulars this season. Amongst the casualties are Arkansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Florida, Indiana, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.

*Know Your Bracket - Understanding the history of the bracket could go long way towards helping you win your bracket. Consider a few of these numbers: six of the last eight final four teams were No. 1 seeds; Since 2000, only two teams that weren't a #1 or #2 seed have gone on to win a national championship (both No. 3 seeds - Florida in '06 & Syracuse in '03). Check out all of the TOURNAMENT HISTORY BY SEEDS and come up with your own trends.

*Local Love - Here's where the local teams are headed...
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. (Play-in game): #16 Morehead State (19-15) vs. #16 Alabama State (22-9) - Dayton, OH
Thursday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Gonzaga (26-5) vs. #13 Akron (23-12) - Portland, OR
Thursday, 9:55 p.m. - #5 Illinois (24-9) vs. Western Kentucky (24-8) - Portland, OR
Friday, 3:00 p.m. - #6 West Virginia (23-11) vs.#11 Dayton (26-7) - Minneapolis, MN
Friday, 7:10 p.m. - #1 Louisville (28-5) vs. #16 Morehead St/Alabama St winner - Dayton, OH
Friday, 7:25 p.m. - #4 Xavier (25-7) vs. #13 Portland State (23-9) - Boise, ID
Friday, 9:40 p.m. - #8 Ohio State (22-10) vs. #9 Sienna (26-7) - Dayton, OH

COMPLETE BRACKET

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Let's look at the breakdown from the big six conferences and the # of teams from each: 

Big East = 8 (half of its 16 teams)
Pac-10 = 6
Big 12 = 6
SEC = 6
Big Ten = 4
ACC = 4

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