The Conference Landscape by 2020 (Mid-Majors)

The Big East is making more headlines for all the wrong reasons and this time it was for sending out invitations to five mid-major programs in an attempt to "replace" Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Here's the thing: the Big East can't replace those two schools. They were too deep in tradition with the conference and it doesn't matter who the conference adds, it simply won't be the same. We are now watching the Big East fall apart. Inviting mid-majors isn't the answer either. It goes back to my previous post about organizing teams by region. If the NCAA is okay with the deterioration of the traditional conferences than at least group teams by regions. That way there are still some classic rivalries and it promotes in-state matchups. I already posted about how the large schools should be grouped up (which you can read here:) but here is what should be done with the mid-majors. These are schools from conferences like the MAC, Valley and Mountain West.

New England Region
Temple Owls (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
St. Joseph's Hawks (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
LaSalle Explorers (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Duquesne Dukes (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Fordham Rams (Bronx, New York)
Buffalo Bulls (Buffalo, New York)
St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Olean, New York)
Massachusetts Minutemen (Amherst, Massachusetts)
Rhode Island Rams (Kingston, Rhode Island)
George Washington Colonials (Washington, D.C.)
10 Schools

South-Atlantic Region
Charlotte 49ers (Charlotte, North Carolina)
East Carolina Pirates (Greenville, North Carolina)
Richmond Spiders (Richmond, Virginia)
Marshall Thundering Herd (Huntington, West Virginia)
Central Florida Knights (Orlando, Florida)
Florida Atlantic Owls (Boca Ranton, Florida)
UAB Blazers (Birmingham, Alabama)
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
Tulane Green Wave (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Ruston, Louisiana)
10 Schools

Great Lakes Region
Western Michigan Broncos (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
Central Michigan Chippewas (Mt. Pleasant, Michigan)
Eastern Michigan Eagles (Ypsilanti, Michigan)
Northern Illinois Huskies (DeKalb, Illinois)
Illinois State Redbirds (Normal, Illinois)
Southern Illinois Salukis (Carbondale, Illinois)
Bradley Braves (Peoria, Illinois)
Indiana State Sycamores (Terre Haute, Indiana)
Ball State Cardinals (Muncie, Indiana)
Evansville Purple Aces (Evansville, Indiana)
Butler Bulldogs (Indianapolis, Indiana)
11 Schools

Ohio Region
Xavier Musketeers (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Dayton Flyers (Dayton, Ohio)
Akron Zips (Akron, Ohio)
Kent State Golden Flashes (Kent, Ohio)
Miami Redhawks (Miami, Ohio)
Ohio Bobcats (Athens, Ohio)
Bowling Green Falcons (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Toledo Rockets (Toledo, Ohio)
8 Schools

Midwest Region
St. Louis Billikens (St. Louis, Missouri)
Missouri State Bears (Springfield, Missouri)
UTEP Miners (El Paso, Texas)
Rice Owls (Houston, Texas)
Houston Cougars (Houston, Texas)
SMU Mustangs (Dallas, Texas)
Northern Iowa Panthers (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
Drake Bulldogs (Des Moines, Iowa)
Wichita State Shockers (Wichita, Kansas)
Creighton Blue Jays (Omaha, Nebraska)
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
11 Schools

West Region
New Mexico Lobos (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
New Mexico State Aggies (Las Cruces, New Mexico)
UNLV Runnin' Rebels (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Nevada Wolf Pack (Reno, Nevada)
Colorado State Rams (Fort Collins, Colorado)
Air Force Falcons (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
San Diego State Aztecs (San Diego, California)
San Jose State Spartans (San Jose, California)
Fresno State Bulldogs (Fresno, California)
St. Mary's Gaels (Moraga, California)
Idaho Vandals (Moscow, Idaho)
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Utah State Aggies (Logan, Utah)
Wyoming Cowboys (Laramie, Wyoming)
14 Schools

Like the large schools, the regions make the most sense. It promotes regional rivalries and in-state battles become more intense. They would hold a "region" tournament and the winner would get an  automatic bid to the big dance. For football it would stay the same as always. I hate the way the NCAA is headed and I just think if they went to this plan it would be so much better. Tradition is being lost and that's what makes college sports.