If the current state of college athletics makes you roll your eyes at the money involved, the lack of tradition and the general state of unrest, then wait until you read about this. Because the Boston Globe is reporting that they've acquired a document with a potential plan for a megaconference involving some of the names that can't quite get to the adult table.
The Big East, the Mountain West and Conference USA are all considering a proposal to bring them all together under a 32-team conference. They're also considering expansion into London and Toronto. Okay, that last line is a joke, but the 32-team deal is true. Four divisions of eight teams. Perhaps they could be named Big USA. Or just call it what it is: The Mine's Bigger Than Yours 32.
From the Globe, the proposed divisions would go something like this:
In the 32-team format, the West Division would consist of Boise State, Hawaii, UNLV, Nevada, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and San Jose State.
The Mountain Division would consist of Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, UTEP, SMU, Tulsa and Houston.
The Central Division would consist of Marshall, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, UAB, Rice, Temple and Louisiana Tech.
And the Big East Division would consist of Louisville, UConn, Rutgers, Cincinnati, South Florida, Central Florida, East Carolina and Navy. West Virginia is not included in this plan, with the assumption being the Mountaineers would be headed to the Big 12 to replace Missouri which will presumably wind up in the SEC along with Texas A&M.
The one aspect of the article is that it also assumes that Missouri is headed to the SEC and the West Virginia Mountaineers are going to replace them. Lots of movement ahead. Missouri is only the tip of another iceberg.