College Football: Adding and removing a team from each Power 5
By Austin Lloyd
Each Power 5 Conference in college football, to put it lightly, has some questionable members within it. Meanwhile, the exclusion of some other teams is downright shocking.
The college football world is the better part of a decade removed from its last major conference realignment process, which saw great momentum due to the demise of the Big East’s football endorsement, along with multiple Midwest programs that were also seeking greener pastures.
For some conferences, such as the Pac-12 with its addition of the University of Utah in 2011, the standard of competition within their league play has experienced a sizable step in the right direction (Since the 2011-12 season, the Utes are 76-46 with two Pac-12 Championship Game appearances).
On the other end of the spectrum, there are stunts like the one Maryland pulled by leaving the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014. If anything, their quality of performance seems to have only worsened since the move which, for obvious reasons, does the latter conference absolutely zero favors.
While all of this is unfolding, there is a multitude of schools who display Power 5 potential on the gridiron every week, all just to remain stuck at their underwhelming ceilings of being either FBS Independents or Group of Five programs.
Despite the possession of such knowledge, another change of pace does not appear to be coming anytime soon. As a result, all one can do is imagine. And that is exactly what will be done right this instant. Here is the list of one team that should be added to each Power 5 Conference, along with another one that should be removed.
Before we begin, some things to note: first off, all charter members are exempt from removal, as I feel that they should get preferential treatment over any university that did not help formulate the conference that they participate in.
Secondly, all teams within this realignment that are being added to conferences cannot already be Power 5 programs. For example, there will be no SEC teams switching to the ACC or vice versa. Only members of the Group of 5 and FBS Independents are eligible for addition.
Now that all of that is out of the way, let’s get started.