REALIGNMAGEDDON... averted?

So here's the latest from the world of college football conference expansion and realignment:

-- Texas has decided to save the Big XII.  With Nebraska off to the Big Ten and Colorado off to the Pac-10, it looked like a foregone conclusion that Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State would ditch Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Iowa State, and Missouri and join the Pac-10.  But an 11th hour bid to restructure the league and reform its TV contract (to include a network just for the University of Texas athletics) seems to have saved the conference.

-- Will the Big XII stay at 10?  Or will they court schools like TCU and Houston to get back to 12 and re-gain the ability to stage a championship game?

-- The Pac-10 was able to pick up Colorado, which is a good school, but only has very mediocre athletics (and "mediocre" is being generous).  You have to think the conference moved so quickly on the Buffaloes in order to be sure that the Texas state government didn't big-time the process and force Baylor into the spot reserved for Colorado.  Now, the Pac-10 is stuck with the Buffs, without the ultimate cherry of Texas.  The silver lining for the Pac-10 is that they now have an "in" to the Denver market.  Small consolation.

-- Will the Pac-10 stay at 11?  Or will they court Utah to get to 12 and gain the ability to stage a championship game?

-- The Big Ten seems poised to relax and stand pat at 12 teams.  But make no mistake -- they are still waiting for Notre Dame to decide in their favor.  And if it happens, they won't stay at 13.  They'll invite Rutgers, and maybe two more Big East teams.  And they might do that anyway, prior to the ND decision... if the Big Ten can cripple the Big East, it could ironically force Notre Dame's hand.

-- It appears now that the SEC is content and that the ACC is safe as is.

-- Funny aside:  The Big "TEN" now has twelve teams and the Big "XII" now has ten.  Ha.


This is all an uneasy peace, and it might be temporary, but for now it seems like realignmageddon has been successfully averted.