Biggest winners & losers 5 years after Realignment

[GoSooners]

I agree for the most part with all of these except West Virginia. Where would they be now if they hadn't joined the Big 12? They would probably be in the Awful Ass Conference with UCONN and Cincy.



Last Updated: Jan 13, 2015



Biggest winners, losers five years after realignment hell broke loose



Stewart Mandel

FOX Sports

Texas is no better off since the realignment madness of 2010 while Texas A&M and Mizzou are winners.






FOX Sports Stewart Mandel
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Five years ago this week, college athletics lost its mind. Or at least it seemed that way in the moment.
On June 10, 2010, Colorado left the Big 12 for the Pac-12 and Boise State joined the Mountain West. The next day, Nebraska officially accepted a Big Ten invitation. And all the while, the entire industry waited for one school, Texas, to decide whether it would follow through on a stunning development that would radically transform one conference, the Pac-10, while rendering another, the Big 12, extinct.
Finally, on the morning of June 14, word came that Texas had decided at the 11[SUP]th[/SUP] hour to stay put, halting the expected exodus of four other Big 12 schools. College sports' conference missile crisis ground to a halt, but the game of musical chairs it touched off would continue for several years. The industry has finally stabilized itself again only now.
Today, 43 FBS schools -- 33.6 percent of the current membership -- compete in a different conference than they did five years ago. Along the way, one league (the WAC) died, while another (the former Big East) lost its name (it's now the American Athletic Conference) and its privileged postseason status. All 10 remaining conferences include at least one team they did not claim in 2010.
Interestingly, Texas, the school once at the epicenter of realignment mania, is arguably no better or worse off today than it was five years ago. On the one hand, staying in the Big 12 allowed the school to launch the Longhorn Network, which, despite its distribution struggles, affords UT an average $15 million in annual revenue. Combined with its roughly $25 million share of Big 12 revenue, the 'Horns easily cash more TV and postseason money than any other school.
On the other hand, Texas' athletic department, a picture of stability for the first decade of this century, has cast away its longtime athletic director (DeLoss Dodds), football coach (Mack Brown) and men's basketball coach (Rick Barnes) all since 2013. Not only have the 'Horns struggled on the field, they've seen three formerly downtrodden in-state programs -- TCU, Baylor and Texas A&M -- steal their thunder.
And two of those, TCU (Big 12) and Texas A&M (SEC), have benefitted immeasurably by jumping to other conferences -- moves that saw their first seeds planted during that tumultuous week in June 2010.







<img src='http://a1.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/ncaa-fb/images/2015/04/23/042315-cfb-UT-TAM-split-pi-mp.vadapt.320.medium.0.jpg' alt='Tyrone Swoopes #18 of the Texas Longhorns drops back to pass against the TCU Horned Frogs at Darrell K Royal -Texas Memorial Stadium on November 27, 2014 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Kyle Allen (10) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the 2014 Liberty Bowl at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports'>

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One could also argue that Nebraska, the original big mover that summer, is no better off in the Big Ten than it was the Big 12. Yes, the Huskers' new home is richer and more stable, but after years of playing second fiddle to Texas and Oklahoma it's now mostly an afterthought to Ohio State and Michigan (and Michigan State and Wisconsin, for that matter.)
But no two schools did more to touch off the mass chaos that followed than Texas and Nebraska.
On July 1, 134-year independent Navy will officially join the American and Charlotte, a two-year-old FCS startup, begins play in Conference USA. They are the last remaining FBS comers and goers currently on the books, marking an end to a half-decade of shuffling.
With some distance, we can now pronounce which schools and conferences benefitted or suffered the most from Realignment Mania. (Note: This is a football-specific ranking. Plenty of basketball programs transformed themselves as well.)
The biggest winners
1) Rutgers. If realignment were a lottery, Rutgers won the Powerball Grand Prize. A long-suffering, financially strapped, crisis-plagued athletic department not only escaped the former Big East's destruction but punched a ticket to the esteemed Big Ten, whose cable network and upcoming Tier 1 negotiations will shower the New Jersey school with new revenue. Its national profile is already growing, and the Scarlet Knights even defied the doomsayers and won eight games in their first season.
Maryland is enjoying much the same benefits, but its fans weren't nearly as jubilant about leaving behind their longtime ACC rivals.







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2) TCU. Upon the Southwest Conference's demise in 1996, TCU spent 15 years as conference nomads, putting in stints in the WAC, Conference USA, Mountain West and very nearly joining the Big East. The big boy in their state thumbed their nose at the small private school. But now the Horned Frogs enjoy Power 5 status in the very same conference as Texas and have already claimed their first Big 12 championship. It's good to be Gary Patterson
3) Utah. Like TCU, Utah's BCS success while still in the Mountain West helped garner a move up to the big leagues. When then-Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott failed to woo Texas and Co., he plucked Utah and Colorado for a more modest but ultimately lucrative 12-team product. Also like TCU, Utah initially struggled in its move up before breaking through with a top-25 finish last season. The program has also dramatically upgraded its facilities.
4) Texas A&M and Missouri. Neither seemed like natural fits upon joining the SEC, but fans of the existing teams embraced them. For A&M, a perfect storm in 2012 of Kevin Sumlin's arrival, Johnny Manziel's ascendance and beating Alabama greatly emboldened the Aggies' fan base. The school approved an expansive renovation of Kyle Field the next year. And while Mizzou won two Big 12 division titles under Gary Pinkel, its consecutive SEC East crowns garnered newfound respect nationally.
5) Louisville. All of AD Tom Jurich's substantial efforts in upgrading the program over 15-plus years stood in jeopardy when the Big East began imploding and the Big 12 passed over the Cardinals for West Virginia. But Maryland's unexpected exit from the ACC provided another opportunity to move up to a Power 5 league, and this one made more sense for Louisville. Its first season included a win at partial member Notre Dame.
The biggest losers
1) Cincinnati and Connecticut. Two schools that enjoyed unprecedented football success in the decade pre-realignment -- the Bearcats reached consecutive BCS bowls in 2008 and '09, while the Huskies, a I-AA program not long ago, went in 2010 -- have been relegated to second-tier status in the American. Both have lobbied unsuccessfully for better landing spots, most logically the ACC. While they can still contend for a New Year's Six bowl by winning their conference, they're likely to be frozen out of the College Football Playoff and now face recruiting disadvantages.
Cincinnati's best hope now is that the Big 12 eventually decides to add two, but that does not appear imminent. UConn ... may be stuck.







<img src='http://a1.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/ncaa-fb/images/2015/04/21/042115-CFB-dalvin-cook-Leonard-Fournette-LN-PI.vadapt.320.medium.0.jpg' alt='Oct 4, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports Nov 27, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) rushes during the second quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports'>

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2) BYU. A well-intentioned decision at the time to take football independent has largely backfired. While BYU gained exposure by making its own deal with ESPN, it got stuck in FBS no-man's-land when the CFP replaced the BCS. Whereas Mountain West champ Boise State made the Fiesta Bowl last year with two losses, BYU, not considered part of the Group of 5, needs to finish in the top 10 to have any chance at a major bowl. It's also missing out on lucrative CFP revenue. The MWC distributed $23.5 million to members this year; BYU split less than $1 million with Army and Navy.
The situation is dire enough that coach Bronco Mendenhall recently said joining a Power 5 league "has to happen within three [years]." He better hope the Big 12 keeps missing the playoff.
3) West Virginia. By late 2011, then-AD Oliver Luck knew he had to get WVU out of the Big East, but landing an invite from the SEC or ACC proved unrealistic. Instead, the school began a clunky marriage with the Big 12, where it's nowhere near any of the other members. The Mountaineers, which went to three BCS bowls their last six years in the Big East, have gone 16-18 in four seasons of Big 12 play, with coach Dana Holgorsen running a similar Air Raid offense as half the league but without the same recruiting benefit of having the state of Texas in its backyard.
4) Idaho and New Mexico State. When the dominoes finally stopped falling, the last two WAC members left standing found themselves temporarily without a home. Both played the 2013 season as independents before the Sun Belt finally threw them both a life raft. It's hardly an ideal solution. The Vandals will make four trips of at least 2,000 miles this football season, while the Aggies will play just five games in their own stadium.
5) Boise State. To be fair, the Broncos are in a better spot than they were in the now-defunct WAC. But while fellow BCS crashers Utah and TCU moved up to the Power 5, Boise, despite all those wins over Oklahoma/Oregon, etc., is still stuck on the outside -- and the gap between Power 5 and Group of 5 is only growing. Furthermore, rising into the top four of the polls, as the Kellen Moore-led Broncos did in 2010, will be close to impossible in the selection committee strength-of-schedule era.

 

[cloverleaf]

I feel sorry for teams like Idaho and New Mexico.

I believe both schools would be better off dropping down to the FBS programs.

Poor Idaho has a $4 million athletic budget and must travel four times for at least 2000 miles this season.

 

[groundhog11]

Every time these winners and losers come out they always mention WVU as a loser?.. Not sure why...go to a p5 conference,making double money, better teams coming to Morgantown...helped the Morgantown economy...teams and alums are flying into town, filling up visitors section...in the big east only Louisville brought fans...

i think tcu,Utah,WVU are all winners by getting to a solid,safe p5 conference...

 

[groundhog11]

The loser I see is Nebraska....other than making more money what has the move got them? They are in a terrible west division, lose their rivals in the big12 and have to be dropping on the recruiting front by losing Texas...

 

[RunLeeRun]

The loser I see is Nebraska....other than making more money what has the move got them? They are in a terrible west division, lose their rivals in the big12 and have to be dropping on the recruiting front by losing Texas...

Nebraska was in a terrible division in the Big 12 as well. Just getting away from Texas and her monthly is a win in my book. Nebraska lost its rival in 1996. The common opponents that NU dominated were nice because many of them were close and NU fans could pack the stadium as if it were a home game. They are a bit further now, but honestly the game has turned more toward hi definition broadcast. I have yet to see any compelling evidence that Nebraska cant recruit Texas. Nebraska has recruited California better than any non-Pac 12 team (excluding Notre Dame) and they have no affiliation to that state.

 

[RunLeeRun]

For the moment, it does only seem to have been a lateral move by NU, lets see in another 5.

Im calling Colorado a loser. Football-wise they dont fit. They cant keep up with the offenses....perhaps the big 12 would treat them no better as of late, but they wouldnt be the absolute punching bag of the league and theyd have more money. Now that the Big 12 seems stable, CU might havd gone in the wrong direction.

 

[GoSooners]

I think the biggest loser of them all is BYU. And it's all because of their religious beliefs. If you think the Big 12 or the Pac-12 should have let BYU in, think again. BYU won't play on Sunday, but look at what we have in college baseball alone. The Big 12 Tournament had Sunday play, the regionals and super regionals had Sunday play, the CWS also has Sunday play. You can't tell me that all of these institutions would have kowtowed to BYU.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I agree that BYU is the biggest loser but the Big 12 comes in a close second. No one knows for sure what the next two seasons will bring, but if the Big 12 continues to get snubbed by the Playoff Committee (and all indications is that it will get snubbed, if possible), then they are forced to expand. Taking Cincinnati would not be the end of the world, but who will be the 12th team? I would much rather see the Big 12 expand on their own than be forced to either expand or become the 1/2 of the Power 4 and 1/2 Conferences, but that is exactly what could happen. Remember, the SEC has no love lost for the Big 12, nor does the Big 10 or Pac 12. That makes it tough on the Big 12.

 

[CoachCB]

B12 F'd up by not keeping minimum of 12 teams.

Missouri and A&M are hands down the biggest "winners" in all of this (along w/ the SEC).

Nebraska should have stayed put. The rivalries they had in the B12 should have meant more to them than a little extra money.

Maryland made a mistake, but may come out okay in a few years.

The ACC did alright, as they are up and down the entire eastern seaboard.

Rutgers did well and they should fit in fine in the B10. Too bad Schiano left, he was good for Rutgers.

 

[GoSooners]

Coach, I've always wondered what would have happened to Texas A&M had they not joined the SEC when they did. The first season they were in the SEC they had the best team they've ever had with Manziel. It was also a time in the Big 12 that both Baylor and TCU hadn't yet became the powers they are today. A&M was clearly better than OU because they showed it in their bowl game against the Sooners. If Texas A&M had stayed in the Big 12 they more than likely would have run the table and gone undefeated. And they probably would have played Alabama for the National Championship. A team they had already beat on their home field earlier that season. I think a National Championship would have been a big feather in the hat of that program. Since Manziel, the last 2 years A&M has started to slip back into mediocrity.

 

[RunLeeRun]

Nebraska should have stayed put. The rivalries they had in the B12 should have meant more to them than a little extra money.

It was 5 years ago, so it's easy to not remember how everything went down, but there was no option to stay. 6 Big 12 teams were on the cusp of going to the Pac 10 and Nebraska wasnt included. It was only then that Nebraska pushed to explore a Big Ten offer. That the Pac 16 deal didnt go down comes down to the flightyness of Texas. NU was staring down the reality of the Mountain West or worse and the uncertainty of what Texas was up to. By then it was clear that any marriage between Nebraska and Texas couldnt be salvaged. And for the record, Nebraska has only EVER had 1 rival. The formation of the Big 12 all but killed that off.

 

[CoachCB]

Coach, I've always wondered what would have happened to Texas A&M had they not joined the SEC when they did. The first season they were in the SEC they had the best team they've ever had with Manziel. It was also a time in the Big 12 that both Baylor and TCU hadn't yet became the powers they are today. A&M was clearly better than OU because they showed it in their bowl game against the Sooners. If Texas A&M had stayed in the Big 12 they more than likely would have run the table and gone undefeated. And they probably would have played Alabama for the National Championship. A team they had already beat on their home field earlier that season. I think a National Championship would have been a big feather in the hat of that program. Since Manziel, the last 2 years A&M has started to slip back into mediocrity.

Very good points, but I think they are very happy where they are now. They need a defense and they'll be back to 9-3 or better.

Lee, sure things were rocky and uncertain 5 years ago....but I still think they should have waited it out. The B10 would have GLADLY taken them anytime Nebraska wanted in. They were desperate (and still are to a degree; they let Rutgers in).

 

[GoSooners]

The formation of the Big 12 was a rocky marriage from the very beginning. Because of the constant disagreements between the north and the south few people around here thought it would last as long as it did...As for Colorado, they should have been in the Pac-12 all along. They are much more of a Pac-12 type of school than Big 12. Missouri came out good, but they really wanted to be in the Big 10. In the long run, that probably would have been a better fit for them. The last 2 years have been a good run for Mizzou, but when Georgia, Florida and Tennessee come back to where they are supposed to be, I believe Mizzou will be left in the dust. I think the Tigers would stay very competitive in the Big 10 for here on out. The jury is still out on Texas A&M. Yes, they are making more money, but not THAT much more. I think a National Championship would have been more valuable to them in the long run and made them a wanted school for here on out. But they wanted to get out from under Texas coattails. Hard to blame them too much for that.

 

[GoSooners]

I agree that BYU is the biggest loser but the Big 12 comes in a close second. No one knows for sure what the next two seasons will bring, but if the Big 12 continues to get snubbed by the Playoff Committee (and all indications is that it will get snubbed, if possible), then they are forced to expand. Taking Cincinnati would not be the end of the world, but who will be the 12th team? I would much rather see the Big 12 expand on their own than be forced to either expand or become the 1/2 of the Power 4 and 1/2 Conferences, but that is exactly what could happen. Remember, the SEC has no love lost for the Big 12, nor does the Big 10 or Pac 12. That makes it tough on the Big 12.

BYU was the biggest loser and nobody else even comes close. The MWC which they were a part of before they came up with the brilliant idea to go independent, distributed $23 million to it's members last year. BYU split less than $1 million with Army and Navy. The Mormons fk'd up, especially in the long run. They left millions upon millions on the table just by leaving the MWC. The Big 12 comes out losers (maybe) when it comes to the playoffs, but at least the revenue distribution for each school is still very good. To me, any school that increased it's tv revenue was a winner. That's why we had so much movement so quickly. The school that I'm keeping a close eye on is Notre Dame. If they were to join the ACC full time, I have a feeling OU and Texas would drop the Big 12 like a hot potato and join the ACC. The ACC has no network (yet) so the LHN isn't currently an issue. I can see ESPN talking Texas into making it the ACC Networkand making everybody rich with those Florida, Texas east coast subscribers...

 

[sendacash]

While I would have preferred that Colorado had remained in the BIG-12 to maintain rivalries and traditions, Colorado's hand was for the most part forced by some politicians down in Texas who were trying to exclude them from any BIG-12/PAC-10 merger. Leave it up to some nosy politicos down in Tejas to screw up a good thing, which is pretty much par for the course down there. Remember that the PAC-10 gave Texas an invitation to join the PAC before the BIG-12 was formed and I would not be totally shocked to see that marriage eventually consummated one day.

 

[WinOne]

While I would have preferred that Colorado had remained in the BIG-12 to maintain rivalries and traditions, Colorado's hand was for the most part forced by some politicians down in Texas who were trying to exclude them from any BIG-12/PAC-10 merger. Leave it up to some nosy politicos down in Tejas to screw up a good thing, which is pretty much par for the course down there. Remember that the PAC-10 gave Texas an invitation to join the PAC before the BIG-12 was formed and I would not be totally shocked to see that marriage eventually consummated one day.

CU was going to the in the PAC12 no matter what happened. CU is a research institution and the PAC presidents who "empowered" Larry Scott knew this. It would have been a win-win for the conference from an athletic and academic perspective because the conference still does a ton of collaborative research with Texas. It would have opened up doors academically for the other schools in the deal but UT and CU were the initial targets by the Presidents. Know this for a fact. OU/OSU with Tech or Utah was cream on top of the Sundae.