Conference Realignment: A Look At The New League Lineups For 2012-13

In Part One of this doubleheader, I took a look at all of the conference changes on tap for the 2011-12 season. There are even more on the horizon for 2012-13, though the Horizon League isn't affected.

Part Two begins after the jump with a look at another change in a BCS conference.

Like the Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-12, the Big East also added a member, primarily to increase the conference's position on the gridiron. TCU makes the move from the Mountain West to give the conference nine football schools and 17 basketball schools. The move is a definite win for the gridiron lineup, but the Horned Frogs look destined to be in the 16 vs. 17 game in the Big East Tournament for the foreseeable future. While TCU has a 5-7 record in the NCAA Tournament, the Frogs' last appearance came in 1998, with their last win coming 11 years earlier.

And yes, it's likely that all 17 teams will play at Madison Square Garden next year. Expect the 18-game conference slate to stick, with teams playing a pair of opponents home-and-away instead of three.

2011-12	2012-13
Cincinnati	Cincinnati
Connecticut	Connecticut
DePaul	DePaul
Georgetown	Georgetown
Louisville	Louisville
Marquette	Marquette
Notre Dame	Notre Dame
Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh
Providence	Providence
Rutgers	Rutgers
St. John's	St. John's
Seton Hall	Seton Hall
USF	USF
Syracuse	Syracuse
Villanova	TCU (from the Mountain West)
West Virginia	Villanova
	West Virginia

 

TCU's departure and the arrival of two teams from the WAC mean the Mountain West will look very much like a division from the old 16-team WAC. Fresno State and Nevada, two basketball programs who are in the midst of a down cycle, join the MWC to bring its membership back up to nine. The Bulldogs haven't made the NCAA Tournament since making consecutive trips under Jerry Tarkanian in 2000 and 2001, while the Wolf Pack were a regular fixture in the mid-2000s, but haven't returned since a Second Round loss to Memphis in 2007.

2011-12	2012-13
Air Force	Air Force
Boise State	Boise State
Colorado State	Colorado State
UNLV	Fresno State (from the WAC)
New Mexico	Nevada (from the WAC)
San Diego State	UNLV
TCU	New Mexico
Wyoming	San Diego State
	Wyoming

 

While the Mountain West resembles a blast from the Western Athletic Conference's past, the new, cobbled-together WAC features two schools who don't sponsor football and two others who will jump from FCS to FBS to make the move. Of the incoming quartet, Texas-San Antonio earned the Southland's 2011 tournament bid (their fourth overall), Texas State hasn't contended in awhile in that same league (two bids, both in the mid-90s), Denver is a decent Sun Belt school better known for hockey, and Seattle is looking to make an impact after transitioning back into Division I.

2011-12	2012-13
Fresno State	Denver (from the Sun Belt)
Hawai'i	Idaho
Idaho	Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech	New Mexico State
Nevada	San Jose State
New Mexico State	Seattle (from the Independents)
San Jose State	Texas-San Antonio (from the Southland)
Utah State	Texas State (from the Southland)
	Utah State

 

Denver's departure reduces the Sun Belt from 12 teams, divided into two divisions, to 11, likely grouped in a single table.

2011-12	2012-13
East Division	Arkansas-Little Rock
Florida Atlantic	Arkansas State
Florida International	Florida Atlantic
Middle Tennessee	Florida International
South Alabama	Louisiana-Lafayette
Troy	Louisiana-Monroe
Western Kentucky	Middle Tennessee
West Division	North Texas
Arkansas-Little Rock	South Alabama
Arkansas State	Troy
Denver	Western Kentucky
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
North Texas

 

The Southland will also likely do away with divisions, as the departure of UTSA and Texas State leaves it with just 10 members, ideal for an 18-game, double round-robin schedule.

2011-12	2012-13
East Division	Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas	Lamar
Lamar	McNeese State
McNeese State	Nicholls State
Nicholls State	Northwestern State
Northwestern State	Sam Houston State
Southeastern Louisiana	Southeastern Louisiana
West Division	Stephen F, Austin
Sam Houston State	Texas-Arlington
Stephen F. Austin	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas-Arlington
Texas-San Antonio
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas State

 

Hawai'i is also among the teams fleeing the WAC. While the football Warriors will join Fresno State and Nevada in the Mountain West, the majority of the school's other teams will join the Big West. Hawai'i will be the first non-California school to participate in that conference since Idaho and Utah State left in 2005.

2011-12	2012-13
UC Davis	UC Davis
UC Irvine	UC Irvine
UC Riverside	UC Riverside
UC Santa Barbara	UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly	Cal Poly
Cal State Fullerton	Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Northridge	Cal State Northridge
Long Beach State	Hawai'i (from the WAC)
Pacific	Long Beach State
	Pacific

 

The Ohio Valley Conference undergoes two changes. First, SIU Edwardsville becomes eligible for the conference title for the first time, a year after playing its first full league schedule. The second change may have more of an impact on the chase for that crown; however, as Atlantic Sun power Belmont joins, a move that reduces that school's travel costs while adding yet another strong hoops program to a conference that already boasts Austin Peay, Morehead State, and Murray State, amongst others.

2011-12	2012-13
Austin Peay	Austin Peay
Eastern Illinois	Belmont (from the Atlantic Sun)
Eastern Kentucky	Eastern Illinois
Jacksonville State	Eastern Kentucky
Morehead State	Jacksonville State
Murray State	Morehead State
Southeast Missouri	Murray State
SIU Edwardsville (ineligible for title)	Southeast Missouri
Tennessee-Martin	SIU Edwardsville (eligible for OVC title)
Tennessee State	Tennessee-Martin
Tennessee Tech	Tennessee State
	Tennessee Tech

 

The OVC's gain is the Atlantic Sun's loss, as that conference loses a member for the second consecutive year. Remember that Campbell leaves for the Big South in time for the 2011-12 campaign.

2011-12	2012-13
Belmont	East Tennessee State
East Tennessee State	Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Gulf Coast	Jacksonville
Jacksonville	Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State	Lipscomb
Lipscomb	Mercer
Mercer	North Florida
North Florida	USC Upstate
USC Upstate	Stetson
Stetson

 

Big Sky schools, like Montana and Montana State, were among the targets for WAC expansion, but the FCS league held firm, and actually gained a pair of all sports members, along with some football affiliates. North Dakota, the Great West's representative in the 2011 College Insider Tournament, joins along with Southern Utah, a team who will find this loop that's a bit more travel-friendly than its former home, the Summit League.

2011-12	2012-13
Eastern Washington	Eastern Washington
Idaho State	Idaho State
Montana	Montana
Montana State	Montana State
Northern Arizona	North Dakota (from the Great West)
Northern Colorado	Northern Arizona
Portland State	Northern Colorado
Sacramento State	Portland State
Weber State	Sacramento State
	Southern Utah (from the Summit League)
	Weber State

 

While the Summit League loses a geographic outlier, it gains another member from the heart of its territory, as Nebraska-Omaha makes the move up from Division II.

2011-12	2012-13
IPFW	IPFW
IUPUI	IUPUI
UMKC	UMKC
North Dakota State	Nebraska-Omaha (from Division II, transitional)
Oakland	North Dakota State
Oral Roberts	Oakland
South Dakota	Oral Roberts
South Dakota State	South Dakota
Southern Utah	South Dakota State
Western Illinois	Western Illinois

 

With North Dakota's departure for the Big Sky, the Great West drops from six members to five, meaning its chances at an NCAA automatic bid are nearly done, at least if the original target date of 2020 is to be met. And more moves may be on the way. Houston Baptist is already looking at adding an FCS football program, and is courting the Southland and Summit League in the process. Utah Valley attempted to join the WAC, but was snubbed. If either of those schools are successful in finding another home, the fledgling conference won't be long for the world.

2011-12	2012-13
Chicago State	Chicago State
Houston Baptist	Houston Baptist
NJIT	NJIT
North Dakota	Texas-Pan American
Texas-Pan American	Utah Valley
Utah Valley

 

Much like the Great West, the Independent ranks are shrinking, with the numbers falling to two this season. Cal State Bakersfield suffered double rejection, first at the hands of the Big West, a conference populated by many similar schools, in favor of Hawai'i,  then at the hands of the WAC.

Meanwhile, Longwood is still here. The Lancers have yet to find a conference home, even though they've been a full member of Division I since 2007. The Big South would seem to be a decent fit, given the school's location in Central Virginia.

2011-12	2012-13
Cal State Bakersfield	Cal State Bakersfield
Longwood	Longwood
Seattle

 

Finally, there are minor changes to the Northeast and Big South conferences. Bryant becomes a core member of the NEC in 2012-13, meaning they'll finally be eligible for the conference title and a place in the NCAA Tournament. It only seems like the Bulldogs have been a member of the league forever. They've been an associate member while transitioning to Division I, a process that began in 2008-09. Meanwhile, Presbyterian should be eligible for the Big South's bid, as the school failed to meet its original target of 2011-12.

Once again, I've posted these changes on a separate page, just like the ones for the 2011-12 academic year.

What conference changes do you foresee for future seasons?

Enjoy this post? Follow Blogging the Bracket on Twitter and Like the site on Facebook.