I'd make a strong recommendation for everyone to listen to the latest Late Kick with Josh Pate podcast. I've put the YouTube link below, but it's available in podcast form as well. Really all you need is the first 20 minutes. I think he gives the best explanation of why this is happening, what is going to happen, and why he thinks it will ultimately be harmful to the sport we love. He is an SEC guy, but also a college football traditionalist. He says, essentially, that the pretense of amateurism is what has been keeping the sport together for the last 100+ years, and allowing the smaller players to remain on even footing with the blue bloods in these regional conferences (in the sense that they get to share in the revenue and be a part of the same conference). Now, with the NCAA off to the sidelines, the sport is going to start responding to market forces even more than it has before. There is only so much TV money out there, and you either go big or go home. The SEC is responding to this, and looking to become to college football what Amazon is to online shopping or Apple is to the smartphone industry. Texas and OU see this coming, and want to get on board. He says it may only accelerate from here, and eventually you may end up with CFB's versions of the NFC and the AFC. He doesn't think that there are enough big brands to support 3 super conferences, much less 4. He doesn't like it, neither do I, but I have a hard time saying that he's wrong. I guess the good news is that we'll be one of those brands that make the cut, but say a prayer if you are Texas Tech, or Kansas State, or Baylor.
