SB Nation Conference Re-Draft Project
SB Nation Conference Re-Draft: Midseason Review, Part One
It is the tenth week of the college football season, and the time has come to revisit our grand experiment of the summer: The SB Nation Conference Re-Draft Project. While the world has turned its icy glare to real-life realignment, we were the ones who really went all-in on the concept. Tradition be damned!
After nine weeks of football, the results are quite telling. Without further ado, here is the overall conference breakdown between the six fake conferences created this past summer.
Comissioners and Conference names: BCI: Twelve Pack; BHGP: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; TSK: The Empire; BECB: Conference TMZ; HoS: House of a Thousand Sanctions; RCR: The Cult Of Les Miles.
| Twelve Pack | W | L | Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | W | L | The Empire | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Texas | 5 | 2 | 2. Florida | 4 | 4 | 3. Alabama | 8 | 0 |
| 12. Georgia | 6 | 2 | 11. Penn State | 8 | 1 | 10. Oklahoma | 7 | 1 |
| 13. UCLA | 4 | 4 | 14. Virginia Tech | 8 | 1 | 15. Nebraska | 7 | 1 |
| 24. Wisconsin | 6 | 2 | 23. Miami (Fla.) | 4 | 4 | 22. Texas A&M | 5 | 3 |
| 25. Washington | 6 | 2 | 26. Auburn | 6 | 3 | 27. Arizona | 2 | 6 |
| 36. Duke | 3 | 5 | 35. Kansas | 2 | 6 | 34. California | 4 | 4 |
| 37. Clemson | 8 | 1 | 38. Illinois | 6 | 3 | 39. UConn | 3 | 5 |
| 48. Virginia | 5 | 3 | 47. TCU | 6 | 2 | 46. Arizona State | 6 | 2 |
| 49. Boston College | 2 | 6 | 50. Colorado | 1 | 8 | 51. Oregon State | 2 | 6 |
| 60. Minnesota | 2 | 6 | 59. Indiana | 1 | 8 | 58. South Florida | 4 | 3 |
| 61. Purdue | 4 | 4 | 62. Texas Tech | 5 | 3 | 63. Hawaii | 5 | 3 |
| 72. Northwestern | 3 | 5 | 71. Villanova | 1 | 8 | 70. Fresno State | 3 | 5 |
| Overall W-L | 54 | 42 | Overall W-L | 52 | 51 | Overall W-L | 56 | 39 |
| Conference TMZ | W | L | House of a Thousand Sanctions | W | L | The Cult of Les Miles | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Ohio State | 5 | 3 | 5. USC | 6 | 2 | 6. LSU | 8 | 0 |
| 9. Florida State | 5 | 3 | 8. Notre Dame | 5 | 3 | 7. Michigan | 7 | 1 |
| 16. Louisville | 4 | 4 | 17. Oregon | 7 | 1 | 18. North Carolina | 6 | 3 |
| 21. Michigan State | 6 | 2 | 20. Tennessee | 3 | 5 | 19. Stanford | 8 | 0 |
| 28. West Virginia | 6 | 2 | 29. Syracuse | 5 | 3 | 30. Arkansas | 7 | 1 |
| 33. Maryland | 2 | 6 | 32. Kentucky | 3 | 5 | 31. Iowa | 5 | 3 |
| 40. Missouri | 4 | 4 | 41. Pittsburgh | 4 | 4 | 42. Oklahoma State | 8 | 0 |
| 45. Utah | 4 | 4 | 44. BYU | 6 | 3 | 43. South Carolina | 7 | 1 |
| 52. Boise State | 7 | 0 | 53. Vanderbilt | 4 | 4 | 54. Georgia Tech | 7 | 2 |
| 57. Cincinnati | 6 | 1 | 56. N.C. State | 4 | 4 | 55. Ole Miss | 2 | 6 |
| 64. Mississippi State | 4 | 4 | 65. Air Force | 4 | 4 | 66. Florida Atlantic | 0 | 7 |
| 69. Kansas State | 7 | 1 | 68. Georgetown | 7 | 2 | 67. Central Florida | 4 | 4 |
| Overall W-L | 60 | 34 | Overall W-L | 58 | 40 | Overall W-L | 69 | 28 |
For the breakdown of BCS rankings by conference and insightful analysis of the conferences, keep on reading. You won't be disappointed.
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: Air Force Flies High In Round 11
This is a serious situation, and I'm not going to dance around the subject. We've drafted Air Force in the 11th round of the SB Nation Conference Re-Draft Project.
Here's the rundown for Round 11, and some analysis on the subject.
Round 11
-- Twelve Pack: Purdue
-- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Texas Tech
-- The Empire: Hawaii
-- Conference TMZ: Mississippi State
-- House of a Thousand Sanctions: Air Force
Complete draft board below, thanks to BC Interruption:
| BCI | BHGP | TSK | BECB | HoS | RCR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Texas | 2. Florida | 3. Alabama | 4. Ohio State | 5. USC | 6. LSU |
| 2 | 12. Georgia | 11. Penn State | 10. Oklahoma | 9. Florida State | 8. Notre Dame | 7. Michigan |
| 3 | 13. U.C.L.A. | 14. Virginia Tech | 15. Nebraska | 16. Louisville | 17. Oregon | 18. North Carolina |
| 4 | 24. Wisconsin | 23. Miami (Fla.) | 22. Texas A&M | 21. Michigan State | 20. Tennessee | 19. Stanford |
| 5 | 25. Washington | 26. Auburn | 27. Arizona | 28. West Virginia | 29. Syracuse | 30. Arkansas |
| 6 | 36. Duke | 35. Kansas | 34. California | 33. Maryland | 32. Kentucky | 31. Iowa |
| 7 | 37. Clemson | 38. Illinois | 39. UConn | 40. Missouri | 41. Pittsburgh | 42. Oklahoma State |
| 8 | 48. Virginia | 47. TCU | 46. Arizona State | 45. Utah | 44. BYU | 43. South Carolina |
| 9 | 49. Boston College | 50. Colorado | 51. Oregon State | 52. Boise State | 53. Vanderbilt | 54. Georgia Tech |
| 10 | 60. Minnesota | 59. Indiana | 58. South Florida | 57. Cincinnati | 56. N.C. State | 55. Ole Miss |
| 11 | 61. Purdue | 62. Texas Tech | 63. Hawaii | 64. Mississippi St. | 65. Air Force |
Comissioners and Conference names: BCI: Twelve Pack; BHGP: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; TSK: The Empire (working title); BECB: Conference TMZ; HoS: House of a Thousand Sanctions; RCR: The Cult Of Les Miles.
I won't lie to you guys, I was particularly stung by the Big Ten run that occurred in between our picks, with Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue all coming off the board. Minnesota was a team I really wanted in my corner, and their new stadium is absolutely stunning (saw it a few years back while they were building and I was extremely impressed).
With that said, I don't think any of those schools are, in a word, relevant. This is a sports conference and we've built a damn good one. Did you know that Air Force finished 92nd overall in the Directors' Cup in 2011?
Not only does the United States Air Force Academy boast a legitimate football team, but they also accrued points in fencing, track & field, wrestling, mens' gymnastics, and mens' hockey. This is a well-rounded institution.
On top of that? They are a Service Academy. The United States loves its military, and the Air Force is essential to protecting our everyday freedom. These young men and women deserve the national spotlight of playing in the best fake conference in the country.
Air Force provides us with a footprint in Colorado and gives BYU a logical regional rival. I promise you, these guys don't like each other.
With just one spot left in a normal 12-team conference, where should House of a Thousand Sanctions go next? Help us fill out the remaining spot(s) in the comments below. We're not opposed to further expansion.
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: Vanderbilt, NC State Added Through 10th Round
In the House of a Thousand Sanctions, we've hit the important benchmark of ten football schools. By adding academic prestige in Vanderbilt and a rabid football fanbase in North Carolina State, we've expanded our footprint across the southeast and improved our overall profile without compromising on overall competitiveness.
We added two schools that remained competitive in the Director's Cup, with Vandy (56) and NC State (67) both adding respectable baseball programs to our conference.
No conference is going to be perfect, and you can't have 12 excellent football teams vying for one championship -- it doesn't make sense. You have to have bottom-feeders in every sport or else you're going to be "too competitive," a concept the SEC is well aware of, considering their OOC scheduling practices.
The current real-life conferences all have their football bottom-feeders (Washington State, Vanderbilt, Indiana, Baylor, Duke, the entire Big East), which helps balance things out.
Either way, we're about to take a radically different direction starting in the 11th round. I can't wait.
Complete draft board below, courtesy of BC Interruption:
| BCI | BHGP | TSK | BECB | HoS | RCR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Texas | 2. Florida | 3. Alabama | 4. Ohio State | 5. USC | 6. LSU |
| 2 | 12. Georgia | 11. Penn State | 10. Oklahoma | 9. Florida State | 8. Notre Dame | 7. Michigan |
| 3 | 13. U.C.L.A. | 14. Virginia Tech | 15. Nebraska | 16. Louisville | 17. Oregon | 18. North Carolina |
| 4 | 24. Wisconsin | 23. Miami (Fla.) | 22. Texas A&M | 21. Michigan State | 20. Tennessee | 19. Stanford |
| 5 | 25. Washington | 26. Auburn | 27. Arizona | 28. West Virginia | 29. Syracuse | 30. Arkansas |
| 6 | 36. Duke | 35. Kansas | 34. California | 33. Maryland | 32. Kentucky | 31. Iowa |
| 7 | 37. Clemson | 38. Illinois | 39. UConn | 40. Missouri | 41. Pittsburgh | 42. Oklahoma State |
| 8 | 48. Virginia | 47. TCU | 46. Arizona State | 45. Utah | 44. BYU | 43. South Carolina |
| 9 | 49. Boston College | 50. Colorado | 51. Oregon State | 52. Boise State | 53. Vanderbilt | 54. Georgia Tech |
| 10 | 56. NC State | 55. Ole Miss |
Commissioners and Conference names: BCI: Twelve Pack; BHGP: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; TSK: The Empire (working title); BECB: Conference TMZ; HoS: House of a Thousand Sanctions; RCR: The Cult Of Les Miles.
What's next for the Sanctions? I know some of you have been talking about Service Academies...
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project, 8th Round: BYU A Huge Steal
Honestly, I'm amazed that we were able to pick up Brigham Young in the 8th round of the SB Nation NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project. Not only are they officially the Notre Dame of the Mountain time zone, but they are the banner school of the Mormon Church, with a membership of over 14 million according to Wikipedia.
Having recently gone independent in football, BYU will soon capitalize on their own television network that will broadcast a huge amount of Cougar athletics. Their scheduling efforts have been vigorous, and they appear to be doing a good job of coming up with home-and-away series against BCS-quality competition.
Now that they are part of the House of a Thousand Sanctions, our conference has the two biggest faith-based institutions in the United States (in terms of name recognition and value, at the very least).
I'm certain that Brigham Young was the best pick of the 8th round, with only the 12-Pack (Virginia) coming even close. Sadly, ASU was drafted two picks after we selected BYU, but we had to pass on the Sun Devils as long as BYU was on the board.
The first 8 rounds, plus the initial pick in Round 9 are below (table from BCInterruption)
Comissioners and Conference names: BCI: Twelve Pack; BHGP: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; TSK: The Empire (working title); BECB: Conference TMZ; HoS: House of a Thousand Sanctions; RCR: The Cult Of Les Miles.
| BCI | BHGP | TSK | BECB | HoS | RCR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Texas | 2. Florida | 3. Alabama | 4. Ohio State | 5. USC | 6. LSU |
| 2 | 12. Georgia | 11. Penn State | 10. Oklahoma | 9. Florida State | 8. Notre Dame | 7. Michigan |
| 3 | 13. U.C.L.A. | 14. Virginia Tech | 15. Nebraska | 16. Louisville | 17. Oregon | 18. North Carolina |
| 4 | 24. Wisconsin | 23. Miami (Fla.) | 22. Texas A&M | 21. Michigan State | 20. Tennessee | 19. Stanford |
| 5 | 25. Washington | 26. Auburn | 27. Arizona | 28. West Virginia | 29. Syracuse | 30. Arkansas |
| 6 | 36. Duke | 35. Kansas | 34. California | 33. Maryland | 32. Kentucky | 31. Iowa |
| 7 | 37. Clemson | 38. Illinois | 39. UConn | 40. Missouri | 41. Pittsburgh | 42. Oklahoma State |
| 8 | 48. Virginia | 47. TCU | 46. Arizona State | 45. Utah | 44. BYU | 43. South Carolina |
| 9 | 49. Boston College | 50. Colorado |
As I mentioned, we're doing a great job of picking up value in a somewhat difficult draft position. Where should we go from here? Three schools west of the Mississippi, two in the "south", three in the vicinity of the rust belt. Is Kansas State starting to look good?
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: 7th Round Results, Pittsburgh Joins The Team
With seven rounds now officially in the books of the SB Nation Conference Re-draft Project, I feel like it's an appropriate time to bring you an update on the situation at hand.
The House of a Thousand Sanctions has picked up Kentucky and Pittsburgh in the past two rounds, adding a great deal to the basketball prestige of the conference while not sacrificing anything on the football field.
We've added rivalries and close geographical ties that will quickly become legendary battles -- Syracuse/Pittsburgh/Notre Dame, Kentucky/Tennessee, etc.
At this juncture, we might need to start adding western schools to even out the divisions.
Our academic profile is not bad (we do have three of the finest private universities in the country), and we are dominant when it comes to media markets.
While others may not understand our methodology, we've clearly built a juggernaut through the first seven rounds.
I don't think any conference can outright claim to be better at this point, but I'd certainly enjoy to see them attempt to explain the logic behind their argument.
BCI BHGP TSK BECB HoS RCR
1
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. Ohio State
5. USC
6. LSU
2
12. Georgia
11. Penn State
10. Oklahoma
9. Florida State
8. Notre Dame
7. Michigan
3
13. U.C.L.A.
14. Virginia Tech
15. Nebraska
16. Louisville
17. Oregon
18. North Carolina
4
24. Wisconsin
23. Miami (Fla.)
22. Texas A&M
21. Michigan State
20. Tennessee
19. Stanford
5
25. Washington
26. Auburn
27. Arizona
28. West Virginia
29. Syracuse
30. Arkansas
6
36. Duke
35. Kansas
34. California
33. Maryland
32. Kentucky
31. Iowa
7
37. Clemson
38. Illinois
39. Connecticut
40. Missouri
41. Pittsburgh
42. Oklahoma St.
Who do you think we should add next? Is it ASU's time?
PS - South Carolina was the first pick of the 8th round. We're now on the clock.
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: 5th Round Results
The fifth round of the SB Nation Conference Re-draft Project has further enlightened us to the goals of each particular conference commissioner. Here are the results:
BC Interruption: Washington (Texas, Georgia, UCLA, Wisconsin)
Black Heart Gold Pants: Auburn (Florida, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Miami (FL))
Team Speed Kills: Arizona (Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M)
Big East Coast Bias: West Virginia (Ohio State, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State)
Us: Syracuse (USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee)
Red Cup Rebellion: Arkansas (LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Stanford)
A mini West Coast run took place in the fifth round, with Pac-10 powers Washington and Arizona leaving the board. Both schools are successful in basketball and have respectable football programs. The Wildcats are a departure for TSK, who to this point has drafted bruising, power football teams. UA's air raid offense might push them to the next level.
We started to also see some less obvious choices, like West Virginia (Big East school, respectable in both power sports) and Auburn (great football, horrible basketball) going to conferences with fairly clear regional affiliations.
Next up, the House of a Thousand Sanctions picked up Syracuse. The Orange have an illustrious basketball history and also happen to be a prestigious academic institution in the northeast.
Syracuse is really popular among New York City denizens, too -- they consistently call Madison Square Garden their home away from home.
Can you imagine Syracuse and Notre Dame playing in East Rutherford? Or at Yankee Stadium? Pandemonium, I tell you. Anarchy.
I think it's safe to say that House of a Thousand Sanctions owns New York City, Los Angeles, and has a decent slice of Chicago. We also dominate the airwaves with an NBC television deal, have already built a few incredible rivalries (Notre Dame/USC football, Syracuse/Notre Dame in lacrosse) and Nike's just salivating at the thought of it all.
Real life conference commissioners, please email me for my resume. I'm available at the right price.
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: Fourth Round Results
The fourth round went quickly on Wednesday as the conferences clamored to pick up their valued assets. Below you will see how the picks went (parentheses indicate previously picked teams):
Red Cup Rebellion: Stanford (LSU, Michigan, North Carolina)
Us: Tennessee (USC, Notre Dame, Oregon)
Big East Coast Bias: Michigan State (Ohio State, Florida State, Louisville)
Team Speed Kills: Texas A&M (Alabama, Oklahoma, Nebraska)
Black Heart Gold Pants: UMiami (Florida, Penn State, Virginia Tech)
BC Interruption: Wisconsin (Texas, Georgia, UCLA)
This round was an interesting one, as you can start to clearly see what each conference values. Red Cup continues to impress, this time by picking up Bay Area school with deep, deep coffers and incredible academic tradition.
We've continued building an impeccable football conference that is facing some allegations of impropriety. Fear not, within a few years all of these teams will be giants once again.
Not sure about Michigan State... solid in all sports but Michigan is not a state you should bet on right now in terms of economic growth. Texas A&M is a great pickup for the smash mouth midwestern conference, but it feels a whole lot like the Big 12.
Miami and Florida in the same conference? Sign me up for that rivalry! Finally, Wisconsin is a good pickup for the Texas conference but who knows how that will work out.
I think everyone will find that the conferences are shaping up nicely, and adding Tennessee gives us legitimacy in the rust belt. Not only that, but we get Pat Summitt and another good quality men's basketball program.
Seriously... we get Pat Summitt.
NCAA Conference Re-Draft Project: Third Round Results
The third round of the SB Nation Conference Re-Draft Project went off without a hitch for our conference, adding the Oregon Duck and all of Nike's riches into the conference.
Here's the complete results. Teams in parentheses are picks from previous rounds.
BC Interruption: UCLA (Texas, Georgia)
Black Heart Gold Pants: Virginia Tech (Florida, Penn State)
Team Speed Kills: Nebraska (Alabama, Oklahoma)
Big East Coast Bias: Louisville (Ohio State, Florida State)
Us: Oregon (USC, Notre Dame)
Red Cup Rebellion: North Carolina (LSU, Michigan)
A few quick thoughts:
- I am a big fan of Red Cup Rebellion's conference. They have a Bermuda triangle going with LSU, Michigan and UNC. Top tier schools from an athletics standpoint, in fairly attractive media situations.
- BC Interruption is a big winner with Texas, but that was sheer luck of the draw. UCLA is a decent pick but they could have been had in the 4th round, I believe.
- Until UCLA was selected, I was the only conference that had a team west of Austin. Now we have two, and I think that bodes well for us. The west coast is always overlooked by the east coast.
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