Blogging the Bracket, College Basketball Bracketology

I'm updating this as quickly as I can based on new information. Today, I've moved Charlotte, UTSA, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, and FIU to Conference USA, reducing their soon-to-be former conferences in kind. As for Old Dominion ... well, that's a different story entirely. The Monarchs have yet to commit. When they do, I'll move them, and wait for the next set of dominoes to fall.

The report comes from an Orlando TV station (the link above is to a Gary Parrish article discussing the original report). Conference USA was spared any damage during the first wave of expansion. If anything, this report should remind us all that there is no telling when everything will stop shifting this summer. Right now, with the Big East unaffected by the Big 10's plans, I am not sure why they would seek expansion to 10 football schools. It wouldn't add any chance at a football championship game and adding UCF and Memphis doesn't add much, if any, history of success either. Let's see if this story picks up traction in the coming days.

For the moment, it appears that the Big 12 has somehow managed to survive even after losing Colorado and Nebraska last week to the Pac 10 and Big 10 respectively. This report could be outdated and completely wrong at literally any point in the coming days, but for now, it looks like the major shifts have ceased. There will still be ripple effects, although none as dire or severe as we expected last week. 1. The Pac 10 seems intent on adding a 12th team in order to host a Conference Title game. If the Big 12 schools are out, expect the league to look at Utah. That move would knock the MWC down to 9 teams again. It is possible, the MWC will look to replace Utah. It's also possible that Boise St is the replacement. Losing Utah hurts the MWC. The Salt Lake market is the cornerstone of their TV Network. 2. At this point, that's it. The Big 12 might stay at 10. The Big 10 might stay at 12. AM UPDATE: Of course this happened. I waited all day to post anything on realignment to see where the story seemed to be. Then, two minutes later, 104.9 The Horn (Austin Sports Radio where Chip Brown does his show) reports that the Big 12 will go back to 12 teams by pursuing Air Force and BYU. If, and that's a big 'If", this is true: The MWC as we know it may be dead. Absent BYU, Utah,and Air Force, the league is down to 7 teams and has lost any hope for AQ status that it seemed so close to just weeks ago. In this scenario, it's possible TCU may seek to rejoin Conference USA to get back to playing games in Texas. Remember C-USA has a better TV deal than the MWC and if this is true that's not changing anytime soon. Or, this could be another rumor that dies in 5 minutes.

This should wrap up the movement for this week. The Texas Regents will reportedly meet on Tuesday to discuss realignment. So, the major wave- the movement of the other 5 Big 12 teams to the Pac 10 could happen then. For Nebraska's fan perspective, check out Corn Nation.

Honestly, I need to be studying for the Texas Bar Exam and I keep reading expansion articles! If you are caught up in the expansion excitement like I am, be sure to check out the SBNation story stream. This is one of the many times where having a team blog on the SBNation network blows away everything else out there. Why? Well, Boise St. didn't get invited, as expected, to the MWC today. If you want to know the reaction in Boise, you can hop on over to One Bronco Nation Under God and ask questions to the people on the ground. Want the Mountain West perspective? Check out MWC Connection. Wanna know how Jayhawk fans feel about being left out? Get a sense of the insanity at Rock Chalk Talk.

Chip Brown has more updates on a story he has essentially owned. The PAC 10 is set to invite 6 Big 12 teams (Colorado in favor of Baylor) and the Big 12 is anxiously awaiting to see what Nebraska will do.

Two main points here: 1) Chip Brown is reporting that members of the Texas Legislature are vowing to block any Texas movement to the Pac 10 unless Baylor, yes Baylor, is included in the deal. The move has prompted speculation that Colorado has been dumped from the plans in favor of the Bears. 2) The Big 12 has given Nebraska a Friday deadline to figure out if they are staying or leaving. Texas, apparently, wants to now stay in the Big 12 so that the Horns can create their own TV Network dedicated to Longhorn sports. A move to the Pac 10 would end that dream as the Horns would have to surrender rights to the Pac 10 Network which is in the works. But, Texas doesn't want to stick around in a Nebraska/Mizzou less Big 12 either. There really aren't two teams that can come in and replace those schools. So, the way it looks right now, is this: 1) If Nebraska stays in the Big 12; so will Texas and everyone else. UT gets their network and even more money. 2) If Nebraska bails, the entire Big 12 South may bolt to the Pac 10. Colorado/Baylor is a tossup depending on how much political pressure the Bears can drum up in the legislature. There's a no politics rule on this blog. But, I can't help but wonder what UTEP's position could be if the El Paso delegation had more, or any, sway in Austin. Look at what Baylor's power brokers have been able to do! For the Texas perspective, check out BON.

This is the kind of scenario that Miner fans would love, Richard Justice see's that if the Big 12 does lose Texas, A&M, and Tech, their could be a foundation made for a reborn SWC with Houston, SMU, Rice, Baylor, UTEP, and TCU in the mix.