Conference realignment continues to dominate the talk around college football even though we just capped off a fantastic first week of the 2011 season (well, not so much for the Buffaloes. Much of the discussion has moved on from the likely move of Texas A&M to the SEC to the possibility of at least Oklahoma and Oklahoma State joining the Pac-12, possibly by two other schools.
Lost in the national discussion of these huge shifts in the college football landscape are the reactions of one of the Pac-12's newest members, Colorado. The Buffs joined the conference this summer amid near universal excitement among the schools alumni and fans. Now that there are rumors of some their old conference mates joining them out west, many are not happy. As the Denver Post reports, CU President Bruce Benson verbalized the feelings of Buff nation.
"One of the reasons - and there are a lot of reasons - we got in the Pac 12 is to play regularly on the West Coast," Benson said. "When I hear things like East-West divisions, we're going back to the Big 12 again. I don't know who's possibly going, but I sure don't want to get shorted out of the West Coast."
If the college football is really moving towards an era of 16-team superconferences then the Pac-12 will not be able to sit on the sidelines and stand pat. Hopefully, wiser heads will prevail and the Big 12 will find some way to stay together, holding off major realignment for a while. Unfortunately if the Aggies are approved to join the SEC today, that point may have already passed.