What NCAA Conference Realignment Should Look Like

Nov 28, 2014; Huntington, WV, USA; A general view of the C-USA conference logo at Joan C. Edwards Stadium before the game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Western Kentucky Hiltoppers. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Conference USA (C-USA)

The changes in conference realignment would bring back the remnants of the old Conference USA. But hey, that would not be such a bad thing. The Memphis Tigers have a pretty good football program now, Cincinnati is solid, East Çarolina is very good, and Old Dominion will likely be a program on the rise in the future. So joining this group is not terrible for the Louisville Cardinals.

This would be a pretty decent collection of urban schools across the country, and at least all the states encompassing the teams would be able to touch each other. Here, you could have some good rivalries. Memphis and Tulsa are not far apart from each other, East Carolina and Old Dominion make sense as a natural rivalry, and Louisville-Cincinnati was always a rivalry anyway. Oh, and Memphis has historical rivalries with those other schools too.

On the other side, Tulane-Southern Miss is a rivalry that would be brought back, Rice-SMU still remain, and UTEP and Louisiana Tech make this a decent division as well. This group would not make up the SEC, but honestly, it would not be that much worse than the ACC, which Louisville is in now, in terms of football, and it would be the same as the American Athletic Conference.

Taking all of that into account, this does not look that bad at all. And the old Conference USA brought about lots of exciting games anyway, so bringing it back would be no problem for me personally.

Next: Independents