Given the present state of things and should the ACC remain unavailable, the SEC should agree to take Oklahoma and Oklahoma State with an eye toward moving to 18. The trick here is to offer Texas a division that they would relish. Agreeing to take Texas and another Big 12 member of their choosing to move to 18 would be essential to building the kind of SEC that could withstand remaining in a a cable footprint model or moving to a content based payout model based upon streaming.

Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas (and Baylor/Texas Tech) would do fine for a division that gives both Oklahoma and Texas familiar games against rivals.

A&M would stay in the SEC central and continue to play L.S.U., Alabama, and the Mississippi schools. If the conference keeps the one permanent rival rule then A&M and Texas can renew their rivalry.

By moving to 18 with those selections the SEC still keeps two slots to 20 open for Virginia Tech or N.C. State should it ever come to that. But in this case I don't think it would.

It would be logical for the ACC to pick up Connecticut and West Virginia and wait on Notre Dame. If the Irish ever do join in full then Cincinnati will be there for #18 for them. That way the satisfy their basketball first and football first factions and those additions would not be as threatening to Chapel Hill's control.

The LHN can become the new headquarters for the SECN and Charlotte can become the new ACCN home. In areas outside of our footprint the two networks can be bundled. And offered at a reduced premium rate together within the footprint.

ESPN will control 36 schools in two conferences and will hold the vast majority of the top 20 revenue schools in the nation.

A scheduling agreement and partnership with the Sugar Bowl then cements the arrangement.

The Big 10 will have Kansas and with Connecticut gone Iowa State to get to 16.

The PAC can gain eyeballs in Texas should Baylor go SEC by taking Texas Tech and T.C.U..