SUPERCONFERENCES!

With the SEC adding Texas A&M any day now, the term "superconference" is being bandied about quite a bit.  It used to be that the SEC already was a superconference with their 12-team membership and championship game, but times have changed, and now their is serious talk about 16-team leagues.  So what will this drastic change to the college football landscape look like?  Lucky for you, I love doing this.



SEC

Adding A&M will give the SEC 13 teams, so 3 more schools will be needed to form a superconference.  Virginia Tech has been mentioned as a possible target, but politics will probably prevent that from happening, and since the SEC has come out and said they will not target any school that shares a state with any current member school, you can also count out Florida State and Clemson.  Since the Aggies' departure likely signals the beginning-of-the-end for the Big 12, Missouri jumps ship to the SEC along with A&M.  While Virginia Tech may reject overtures from the SEC (or vice versa, I'm not sure of the nature of the tension between the conference and the school), the Virginia Cavaliers would make a tremendous addition to the SEC (in the Vanderbilt vain; also, Virginia's campus just looks like an SEC school).  Rounding out the new members will be West Virginia, who lack the academic standards of the other SEC members, but will be a good athletic addition.  

East
Florida
South Carolina
Georgia
Tennessee
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
West Virginia
Virginia

West
Alabama
LSU
Arkansas
Mississippi State
Auburn
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Missouri

PAC-16

If Texas A&M's departure is the omen of the Big 12's demise, Texas's departure to the new PAC-16 will be the nail in the former conference's coffin.  With Texas gone, Oklahoma tags along, and Oklahoma State has already made it clear that they will follow the Sooners' lead.  Needing one more member, the PAC-16 will reach out to independent BYU, forming new divisions that will find the new East division comprised entirely of original PAC-10 members, with only Arizona and Arizona State missing.

West
Oregon
Stanford
Oregon State
California
Washington
Washington State
USC
UCLA

East
Arizona State
Utah
Arizona
Colorado
Texas
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
BYU

BIG TEN

Oh, man, is this conference awesome.  Afraid that they will be squeezed out of the next BCS negotiations without affiliation with a superconference, Notre Dame finally joins the Big Ten.  Virginia Tech, fearful that the ACC is being left in the dust by rest of the BCS (except the Big East), follows Notre Dame's lead, bringing Boston College along with them.  Rutgers is added to further the Big Ten's recruiting footprint in the fertile Western Pennsylvania/New Jersey area, while also giving the conference greater exposure in New York City.  I started this post as a lark to kill time during a Denver-Oakland Monday Night Football game I don't really care that much about, but after seeing how the Big Ten turned out, I desperately hope this will happen, and soon.

Leaders
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Penn State
Illinois
Purdue
Indiana
Rutgers
Virginia Tech

Legends
Nebraska
Michigan State
Iowa
Northwestern
Michigan
Minnesota
Notre Dame
Boston College

BIG ACC

With members of both conferences poached by the SEC and the Big Ten, the ACC and Big East decide to join forces to try to keep up with those two behemoths.  The divisional alignment will be split down original conference membership, with Miami returning to the Big East.  This isn't that exciting for football, but imagine how unreal this conference will be in basketball.  It could probably break off from the rest of the NCAA and be just fine.

Big East
Pittsburgh
Connecticut
Syracuse
TCU
Cincinnati
South Florida
Louisville
Miami (FL)

ACC
Florida State
Clemson
NC State
Maryland
Wake Forest
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Duke

CONFERENCE USA

This is where this exercise gets a little fantastical, as I don't really think the rest of the conferences necessarily need to be 16-team superconferences, but let's have some fun.  Besides, Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State are going to need somewhere to go after the Big 12 dissolves.  Also, Louisiana Tech makes way more sense in the C-USA than the Mountain West; this is a move that should happen in real life.

East
Southern Miss
UCF
East Carolina
UAB
Marshall
Memphis
Iowa State
Louisiana Tech

West
Houston
Tulsa
SMU
Rice
UTEP

Kansas
Kansas State

Tulane

MOUNTAIN WEST

The new MWC will absorb Baylor and Texas Tech from the Big 12, which should make things a little tougher for Boise State.  The entirety of the WAC, sans Louisiana Tech and the new FCS-to-FBS members coming next year, will also be folded into the Mountain West.

Mountain
Baylor
Texas Tech
Boise State
Air Force
Colorado State
Wyoming
Idaho
Utah State

West
Fresno State
Nevada
Hawaii
San Diego State
New Mexico
UNLV
San Jose State
New Mexico State

MAC

The MAC will add Independents Army and Navy, while Youngstown State will make the leap from the FCS.  The new members will cause a little bit of divisional realignment, as Bowling Green and Miami move from the East to the West.

East
Temple
Ohio
Akron
Kent State
Buffalo
Army
Navy
Youngstown State

West
Western Michigan
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Ball State
Bowling Green
Toledo
Northern Illinois
Miami (OH)


SUN BELT

Most of the Sun Belt schools are glorified FCS schools, so it makes sense that nearly half of the expanded membership roll will be made up of FCS schools making the leap up to the FBS.  Texas-San Antonio, Texas-Arlington, Seattle, Denver, and Texas State-San Marcos are already moving up to join the WAC next year, while Tennessee State will join Appalachian State in the bold move in the East division.  Appalachian State will probably already be one of the top teams in the conference.

East
Troy
FIU
Middle Tennessee
Florida Atlantic
Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana-Lafayette
Appalachian State
Tennessee State

West
Texas-San Antonio
Texas State-San Marcos
Denver
Seattle
Texas-Arlington
Arkansas State
North Texas
Western Kentucky