Not Your Typical Conference Expansion Post
Everyone always speculates about who will each conference add. Will the B1G add Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina, others? Will the SEC take FSU and Clemson for brands or will they go UNC and UVa for markets? Who will the ACC add to back fill? And so on. There are 10,000 posts/comments on this. And that is just me! So, given that it is still offseason doldrums... let's play around with this a bit:
First, assume the Congressional Act was amended such that it was construed (unintentionally but unambiguously) to limit every conference to its current # of teams (i.e. B1G at 18). In other words, the only moves to be made would be ones where addition would have to be paired with equal subtraction. Would the B1G be unable to move because the most expendable schools geographically... Purdue and NW... have too much history? Would they instead shed Maryland/Rutgers (hey, thanks for the basic cable $$$, it was a fun few years) to land ND/FSU? Is the B1G contract or network structured so that all, or at least some, schools cannot be be kicked out? I just don't know.
and/or
Second, who are the two teams to add to any conference that would be the worst fits possible and equate to an outright punishment?