The Future Of College Sports

Dan Wetzel of YahooSports has a column about the conference musical chairs in college sports.

Wetzel writes: “The merry-go-round will affect everything and nearly everyone in college sports. Would the ACC try to raid the Big East (Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh) in an aggressive effort to get bigger before the SEC tries to pillage? Is West Virginia also on the SEC wish list or could the most powerful league push toward 16 schools?

“And how long does the Big Ten sit idle? Are we destined for four, 16-team mega-conferences that break away from everyone else?

” ‘I don’t think there is a guarantee we even have an NCAA at the end of this,’ said one college sports administrator. ‘I can tell you, no one knows what’s going to happen, but no one thinks it’s for the overall good of the sport.’ “

For Sunday’s column, I wrote about the proposed Pac-16 and what it might mean for Washington State and Oregon State. I’m not sure expansion would be good for them. Yes, it would mean more money, but it would push the Cougars and the Beavers further down in the pecking order within their own conference.

For years, I have thought that college sports eventually would move toward four super-conferences. I’m just surprised it has taken this long.