Wake me when its over

All you need to know about the idiocy of the current conference realignment craze in college sports is this:  Boise State was *this* close to joining the Big East.  That's right; the school in Idaho was prepared to join a loop originally named for it's small schools in the nation's northeast corridor.   I could stop right there, but I won't.

The latest foray into a geography major's nightmare came this week when North Carolina and Virginia got overtures to join the Big Ten (which has 12 teams.  The Big 12 has 10 teams.  Keep up with me, here).  If accepted, they would join West Virginia as teams that have a majority of their conference opponents in different time zones.  Under this scenario, North Carolina would eschew conference affiliation with Duke (eight miles away) and North Carolina State (20 miles away) for epic conference clashes against the like of Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.  Dean Smith is rolling over in his grave!   What?  He's not dead yet?  Well---scratch that last part.

Geography and tradition matters in college sports, especially in the sport that pays the bills---football.  It is about rivalries that date back to the 19th century and remain relevant today.  It's Michigan/Ohio State, Harvard/Yale, Auburn/Alabama, Averett/Ferrum.  (may be stretching it a bit on that last one.)

I'll put it this way.  When West Virginia knocks off Baylor in an epic Big 12 tilt (remember, they're the conference with 10 teams), to whom do their fan brag?  How many West Virginia fans come into contact with Baylor grads?  How does the casual West Virginia fan get excited over matchups with Iowa State, Kansas or Texas Tech?   If North Carolina flies the coop, how many of their fans will travel to Purdue or Rutgers?   If they win, what will they say to their die-hard Demon-Deacon co-workers?

During football season, on any given Sunday at my church, there are tons of light-hearted discussions on the previous days' football follies.  Virginia Tech fans lord over Duke supporters, Tar Heels rib Wake fans; Wahoos have their way with pack-backers.  And round and round it goes.  How much of this fellowship and interest will be lost if our respective teams routinely play conference games against teams a thousand miles away?

I understand the reason for the mass movement.  I like a dollar bill as much as the next guy.  Fox/ESPN/ABC and the like are flashing major dollars for their next television deals.  Their numbers gurus (falsely) assume that certain markets will bring in more revenue.  They're packaging these deals and holding cable TV providers hostage to carry those networks on their basic tier.

There are several problems with that, but I'll just focus on a couple.  First, markets do not equal viewers.  I'm sure the Big Ten wet themselves when they secured Rutgers, thinking they would get the coveted New York market.  Uh, no.  You don't.  Rutgers athletics is not even a blip on the Big Apple's radar.  Notre Dame gets more press in the New York Times.  They won't give the Big Ten (the one with 12 teams) the New York market any more than Boston College has brought the coveted Boston Market (the demographic, not the restaurant) to the ACC.

While advertisers may crunch faulty numbers and come up with outlandish TV deals for the next cycle, this will not be sustainable.  Casual fans interest in many of the marquee teams will wane as they play more and more games against unfamiliar opponents who are far, far away.  Folks also have more on-line viewing options than ever before.  Soon, cable providers will decide they will NOT be bullied into carrying conference networks that nobody is watching.

But the biggest damage is to college football's most precious commodity: tradition.  I don't want to live in a world where Texas doesn't play Texas A&M on Thanksgiving weekend.  Where Oklahoma and Nebraska's storied rivalry is relegated to the history books.  Coming soon, no more Duke/UNC basketball; at least not from an in-conference standpoint.  Is that the way to protect your product long-term?

Wake me up when this shit is over and tell me where the Hokies land.