SMQ: Thinking radically about college football realignment in age of coronavirus
By Zach Bigalke
Tennessee Valley Conference
- Teams: Western Kentucky, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Appalachian State, Charlotte, Wake Forest
- States included: 3 (Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina)
- Current P5 teams: 3 (Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest)
The Tennessee Valley Conference falls right within the footprint of the historic state-owned utility of the same name formed in 1933. That is stretched just a bit to encompass the Charlotte area, but the heart of the conference is the flagship school in Tennessee. In this configuration, the Volunteers are probably among the biggest beneficiaries overall from this course of realignment. Others also benefit from the Vols draw and could quickly blossom.
Memphis has grown into a perennial AAC power in the West. Appalachian State has a I-AA history and a recent run as the Sun Belt juggernaut. Wake Forest and Vanderbilt offer additional Power Five draws, especially in sports other than football, and could quickly bloom among competition that also includes Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee teams with a solid mid-major pedigree and a Charlotte team that could benefit from more TV exposure in its local market.
The 555 miles between Winston-Salem and Memphis is right in line with the maximum travel distance in the Mississippi River Conference. Knoxville and Nashville are the main nodes in between those two edges of the Tennessee Valley Conference, allowing both teams to mitigate expenses and fans to travel en masse weekend after glorious weekend post-pandemic.