NCAA Switch Up: better rivalries, better games, more money

For several months, we’ve heard rumors about NCAA sports switching from several small conferences to four super conferences.
Those rumors are beginning to back themselves up as many schools are starting to leave their conferences for greener pastures.
The biggest problem people have with the move is it will kill rivalries that everyone loves. The move of Texas A&M has upset Big-10 fans because it kills the rivalry.
However, I believe the move will affect rivalries for the better. I can’t think of a better rivalry than a rematch of the 2005 Rose Bowl, a game that USC lost on the biggest stage in the last few seconds. You only get that once a year? Yes, please.
The current top four conferences would be the richest and the ones that would stay intact: the Pacific Conference (PAC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big-12 and the South East Conference (SEC).  Each conference would have a minimum of 16 teams, thus eliminating the Big-10 and Big East.
         Let’s get into the conference everyone around here truly cares about: the Pacific Conference (PAC-12). For a while people speculated that the PAC 10 would add a few more teams. This rumor became true in 2010 with the addition of Utah and Colorado. I was overjoyed with the addition of two new teams to the PAC-10. It’s a chance to see new teams in a conference game, one of which has silently moved into the top 10 several times in the last decade.
The move adds two solid programs to a PAC conference that has struggled to gain respect from the rest of the nation. The SEC has won the National Championship five times in a row and expansion in the near future may be our only hope at knocking them off that horse. Aside from USC’s National Championship runs in the early 2000s and Oregon’s loss in the big game in 2010, they struggle to put a lot of good products on the field.
         Utah won the 2009 Sugar Bowl and the 2005 Fiesta Bowl both times, beating top 10 ranked-teams.
         Colorado, who has had a dry spell of late, has potential for greatness. Winning the National Championship in 1990 and the Orange Bowl in ’91, it proves they can get it done.
         For any conference across the country, I say the more teams the better. More tickets sold, more people interested, more exciting games. If the PAC-12 could add Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M more people would show up to USC and UCLA games to see them.
         On the East Coast, Syracuse and Pittsburgh (Pitt) have left the Big-10 to join the ACC.
         Pitt has been ranked in the top 10 every year for the last six seasons, again bringing more fans to games they play in.
         I feel that regardless of what conference your team is in, whether it’s a conference on the way to extinction or a conference that is on the rise, college sports can only benefit from the expansion of super conferences. Better rivalries, better games, more money.