So ---- Oklahoma and the University of Texas again plan to leave the Big XII, migrating to the gravy train known as the Southeastern Conference. The Big XII (down to eight programs at this point) plans to survive and have numerous teams in mind as replacements - Arizona State, Houston, Cincinnati, Central Florida - all options are on the table.
The reality is the Big XII would be competing with the American Conference as being the best of the mid-majors. The road to four super-conferences with 16 teams is all but paved. Here are the landing spots for Big XII refugees. West Virginia - The Mountaineers, out of geography in their current league, become the ACC's 15th team and eventually joined by Maryland. The ACC is now set, Notre Dame notwithstanding. Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech - All four join the Pac-12, making reality the manifest destiny of that conference to expand its traditional Pacific Coast footprint to the Southern Plains. Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State - With Maryland sent back to the ACC, the Big Ten is left with three openings and embrace Farm-ageddon with them. The Big Ten West would be Iowa St., KU, KSU, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northwestern. Sounds like a plan. Those additions would be especially attractive from a basketball prospective. This all works within the parameters of the College Football Playoff's planned expansion to 12 teams. The winners of the ACC, Big 16, Pac 16 and SEC Championship games all earn top-four seeds and first round byes. Of course worthy schools would be left out, a list headed by Boise State, BYU, Notre Dame and UCF. In due time there would come a point where Vanderbilt and Rutgers can be voted off the Island of 64. The remaining Group of Five conferences can also be given two automatic berths to the 12-team playoff, leaving six Wild Cards. There is your format, now if administrators can get on the same page for once.