It's been a while and realignment drags on out in expectation if not in fact. Whatever happens next will likely be part of the final phase of it all. I think there is little doubt that the Big 10 would like to have Kansas. If the ACC holds then the SEC needs to do what it takes to land the most valuable properties in the Big 12 even if that means making some compromises. So here are two strategies that could meet with favor perhaps from the Big 12 side of things.

18: The SEC takes Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. All four are solid programs and that locks down Texas and Oklahoma completely and leaves the Big 10 in Kansas.

Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech

Alabama, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee

This three division conference gives everyone who they want to play locally, allows for 1 permanent crossover rival (if wanted) and allows for 4 schools a year to be rotated so that every three years everyone has played everyone else. What's more is that it is such a content conference that over a period of a few years we would be dwarfing everyone but the Big 10 in payout. Enough so that by waiting we could add a fourth division of 6 schools from the ACC. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, N.C. State, Virginia Tech.

Now we have the Southwest Division, the Southeast Division, the Atlantic Coast Division, and the Gulf Coast Division each with its own network channel but all 4 bundled for a set price. Each Divisional channel would broadcast two games a week. ABC would get a prime time night game each week. ESPN & ESPN 2 would each get an early and late afternoon early night time slot, and CBS would get their traditional 2:30 CT slot. That means that all 12 games would be broadcast every week. The leverage would be tremendous, the footprint would now be consolidated instead of shared, and nobody could touch it. We'd keep every penny of every game until the national championship round.

Baseball would be 5 divisional games and a rotating division to play each year for 11 series and since all of the games for each division would be the same it would be fair.

Basketball would be a double round robin inside your division and 3 schools from each division rotating every year so that in two years you've played everyone.

All non revenue sports would be played in a conference region (consisting of the two closest division) with the top qualifiers going to a conference tournament.

Now that gives Texas its buddies to play, it without question is the preeminent sports conference in the nation and the content value would be through the roof. We move to conference semi finals and finals and our champ gets an auto bid to the National Championship round.