2013 Conference Realignment
Who's moving where next season?
RELATED ARTICLE: NEW 2014 BigTen Divisions
Brett Ciancia
January 31st, 2013
January 31st, 2013
In what is becoming a yearly tradition, the college football landscape will be altered again next fall as Conference Realignment rages on. All in all, 6 conferences are effected by realignment this season, with one conference, the WAC, totally disintegrating.
Here is what the conference structure looks like for the upcoming 2013 season (Subject to more major changes for '14)
Here is what the conference structure looks like for the upcoming 2013 season (Subject to more major changes for '14)
|
|
The ACC will add 2 new members from the Big East this fall: Syracuse and Pitt. Syracuse will join the Atlantic Division while Pitt joins the Coastal.
This is the final year for Maryland in the ACC (heading to BigTen in '14) *Future addition: 2014 Louisville |
|
CENTRAL FLORIDA
|
The Big East has been hit hardest by Conference Realignment, and seems to have new members or rumors every few months. Less than a month ago, the Big East was scheduled to have 12 teams, 2 divisions, and a Title game for the first time ever. Then, Boise State and San Diego State opted out, and chose to remain in the Mountain West (makes geographic sense).
This fall, the Big East welcomes 4 former Conference USA teams: Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, SMU. |
|
|
The Mountain West Conference adds 2 new members, Utah State and San Jose State, both from the now defunct WAC. Equally as important, the MWC brought back Boise State and San Diego State who originally planned on joining the Big East for the 2013 football season. The league is broken into two divisions (the latest naming disaster) and will offer a Conference Title game in December.
|
|
|
Conference USA loses 4 teams, and welcomes 6 new members. Gone to the Big East are: Houston, Memphis, SMU, and UCF.
FIU, FAU, and Middle Tennessee join the East Division (from SunBelt) Lousiana Tech (WAC), North Texas (SunBelt), UT-San Antonio (WAC) join the West Division. |
|
ARKANSAS STATE
|
FIU, FAU, North Texas and Middle Tennessee State all depart to Conference USA.
Meanwhile, Georgia State joins Division 1 Football and starts in the Sun Belt. Also, second year D-1A program Texas State joins the Sun Belt from the defunct WAC. The SBC falls to just 8 teams, down from 10 last season. |
|
NOTRE DAME
|
The only WAC schools that failed to secure a conference invitation, Idaho and New Mexico State, join the other 4 Division 1-A Independents.
|
|
1962 - 2013
The Western Athletic Conference was hit hardest by the latest storm of Conference Realignment, as the league is officially folding in 2013. They had 16 teams in 1996, but now, 50+ years of Western Athletics ... is over. |
RELATED ARTICLE: NEW 2014 BigTen Divisions
JOIN #PICKSIXNATION on Twitter:
|