Interesting read on the academic considerations in conference realignment...
The landscape of college athletics could shift dramatically in the coming weeks, as the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conferences consider expanding their membership. While the exact shape of the realignment is unclear, it will likely make geography even less meaningful as an organizing principle than it has been since previous rounds of conference expansion in the 1990s and 2000s, and further consolidate power in a small number of conferences. Watchdogs of college sports caution that this is a losing prospect for higher education, both athletically and academically.
Continued at:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2...09/conferences