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Conference expansion mistakes over the past 15 years
Rutgers' dismal place in the Big Ten certainly merits a do-over in a hypothetical exercise like this one. Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Conference expansion mistakes over the past 15 years

With the Big 12 just announcing that it was tabling expansion for now, it got us thinking of the past 15 years of conference realignment. It's rare for a conference to discuss adding teams and then not going forward with it. It's been such a crazy time and we've seen some crazy moves. Some that didn't really make sense and some that we fans just didn't understand.

Looking back, there are some do-overs that seem to be in play. Some teams just don't fit for geographic or competitive purposes. Many of those moves were made to get a bigger footprint, so the geography is going to be out of whack and the power of the programs were seemingly not looked at as deeply. So let's take a look at some of the conference's moves that, if we could just go back in time, we wish never happened:

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE: Boston College
The ACC was trying to make a power move in the early 2000s by raiding the Big East and get to a twelve school membership. Miami and Virginia Tech was added to the conference in 2004 and Boston College entered in 2005. The Eagles started off in ACC play in a great way for the first five seasons, finishing either first or second in the Atlantic Division of football and winning a record 28-games in their first basketball season and getting to the ACC championship game. Jared Dudley was the ACC basketball Player Of the Year in BC's second year in the league.

Last season, the Eagles finished 0-8 in league play in football and 0-16 in basketball, one of the most amazingly bad feats in ACC history. It's only the sixth time in ACC history that a basketball team went winless in conference play (and that's with 18 chances to get a win).  The women's hoops team won just two ACC games last year and has never had a winning ACC mark.

BC also sticks out in the conference like a sore thumb. Sure, with the additions of Syracuse and Pitt, Boston College isn't on a geographical island anymore but it seems like the weird friend in the cozy conference. It is a great university, which the ACC values, and has a really nice football history. Still, if the ACC could do it all over again, they'd maybe snag UConn to stay in the northeast and have a better basketball school (both men's and women's teams) and a bit of a better football team.

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE: Missouri
The SEC really hasn't been the aggressive league when it comes to expansion. In 25 years, they've added Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Missouri. All have been solid members. So to choose one that may be a stretch, I'd go Mizzou.

It isn't just the SEC's insistence to put them in the football's East Division despite it only being east of two SEC schools or the fact that it is the third school in the conference that has the "Tigers" nickname. No. While Texas A&M, South Carolina and Arkansas instantly feel like SEC schools, Missouri still feels like a Big 12 school that's visiting the SEC.

Sure, no one can blame Mizzou for jumping that Big 12 ship. Plus, of all that the SEC could do, their only other options were to try to pry an Oklahoma school from the Big 12 instead, luring one of the North Carolina schools from the ACC or try to foresee Maryland getting into so much financial trouble that they'd bolt the ACC.

BIG TEN: Rutgers
No one understands how Rutgers hit the jackpot and got into the Big Ten. Seriously. Think about it. Rutgers hasn't been a premiere football or basketball program and only mildly bring in the New York metro market that the Big Ten wanted to sell their Big Ten Network. Of all the realignment over the past 15 years, this was the most obvious sellout.

This isn't just living in the now and watching the Scarlet Knights football team lose 58-0 to Ohio State and 78-0 to Michigan. No, this is watching them win four Big Ten games in their three seasons and having a robbery scandal hit in 2015. The program has been a nightmare since joining the Big Ten. This is realizing this team doesn't belong in the Big Ten at all and maybe having that market isn't all its cracked up to be. I mean, does Rutgers football mean that much to an area that has so many sports to offer?

I guess. It's like being friends with the weird kid because he has cool video games and toys and his mom always cooks dinner. You deal with him because of what he can bring you. Same goes for the Big Ten and Rutgers marriage.

PAC-12 CONFERENCE: Colorado
The Pac-12 has added only Colorado and Utah over the past 35 years. Funny, but when the Pac-12 was deciding to add teams, they were going for broke and trying to pull Texas and Oklahoma into the mix (and nearly did so). Instead, they got Utah and Colorado.

Colorado was the "BCS school" already while Utah was the stretch, coming from the Mountain West. But Utah has stood tall while Colorado has been knocked around. No matter where they are, Colorado has a tough geographic fit but they seem to have a tough everything fit in the Pac-12.

Looking back on it, should the Pac-12 have decided to go for another MW member and snagged Boise State or even UNLV?  Would adding BYU before they were deemed 'toxic' been a better move? Sure, the Buffaloes bring the Denver market to the Pac-12 and there's nothing to suggest either side is regretting the move. However, if the Pac-12 could do it again, would they look in a different direction? 

BIG 12: West Virginia
The Big 12 cannot be choosy and since they've only added West Virginia and TCU over the past 15 years, both in 2012. This is nothing about the competitive nature of the Mountaineers at all or their fan base. This isn't even about their "market size" which has been a big deal for conference movement since the Big 12 is made up of Texas and a bunch of sparsely populated areas.

The Big 12's only issue with West Virginia is that it is an outlier. When looking at a map, it just isn't close to the rest of the league. That's more of a hassle for West Virginia University, but it has been a thorn in the league's side since the move and was one of the major issues when the conference was pursuing adding members this summer, though it ultimately decided against doing so.

It is a convenient marriage. Big 12 needed bodies to stay in business and West Virginia, despite being a geographic fit for the ACC, SEC and Big Ten, wasn't getting any love from those leagues. To stay with the big boys, they needed each other. Still, if the Big 12 could've kept Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska or Colorado – or were able to add Utah – instead, West Virginia wouldn't have been asked to the prom.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE/BIG EAST: Tulane
Tulane belongs in its own category. As the ACC was ripping apart the Big East, the league was adding teams left and right to keep the conference alive. Remember that the Big East football conference added San Diego State and Boise State, right? The Big East was seemingly adding anyone that wanted in.

One of those schools was Tulane. Well, the non-football schools  – who were already a bit pissed that their snug east coast conference was being diluted – had enough. Tulane? Really? So now we get to travel to New Orleans to face a basketball program that received the death penalty 30 years ago?

The Big East is watching Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame walk out the door and now they're getting Tulane and East Carolina to take their place?  To be honest, the split of the Big East worked out for everyone except UConn and Cincinnati.

Can you name the 12 Division 1 football teams in the state of Texas?
SCORE:
0/12
TIME:
2:00
AAC
Houston Cougars
AAC
Southern Methodist Mustangs
Big 12
Baylor Bears
Big 12
Texas Longhorns
Big 12
Texas Christian Horned Frogs
Big 12
Texas Tech Red Raiders
C-USA
North Texas Mean Green
C-USA
Rice Owls
C-USA
Texas El Paso Miners
C-USA
Texas San Antonio Roadrunners
SEC
Texas A&M Aggies
Sun Belt
Texas State Bobcats

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