The Dominos Are About To Fall In College Football

College football fans get ready for a change. The Big 10 is going to expand and the SEC has it's rabbit ears pointed north monitoring the "10" while planning their strategy.

Big 10 commissioner Jim Delaney says expansion in the Big 10 in the preliminary stage. It doesn't matter, the "10" is shopping for universities to join their money making venture.

Is it me or are we seeing the beginning of college football's biggest money makers, the Big 10 and the SEC, annexing colleges and universities to form "Super" conferences? It appears with the Big 10 domino beginning to fall we are seeing the idea of "mega-super" conferences come to fruition.

Of course the SEC will be proactive in response to the Big 10 expansion, whatever it is. Right now the SEC is not overly concerned with the conference being showered by billions from CBS and ESPN and since those checks are clearing why worry. Even with the windfall of profits from the media the SEC won't stand pat should the Big 10 make a bold move.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive said in a meeting with the Southeast Region of the Associated Press, "Given the success we've experienced over the past decade, we are comfortable in the position in which we find ourselves," Slive said. "Having said that, if there's going to be a significant shift in the conference paradigm, the SEC will be strategic and thoughtful in order to maintain its position as one of the nation's premiere conferences."

The thing is Slive can't define what the "significant shift in the conference paradigm" is. If the Big 10 gobbles up the Big East conference schools within large media markets (Pittsburgh, Rutgers,), the Big 12 conference in reach of large media markets (Missouri [St. Louis/Kansas City markets]) and schools with big time college football tradition and a large fan base (Nebraska) will that trigger the SEC in game changing mode?

Mr. College Football, FSOG Tony Barnhart shared his scenario recently on his blog in the AJC.com. Here’s the link to Barnhart’s brainstorming. http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2010/04/23/would-the-sec-look-to-the-acc-in-expansion/ Remember, it was all tongue and cheek.

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see that the Big 10 is making it's move, The SEC is ready to react and the Big East Conference is about to go out of business, at least in football.

Play any scenario with schools moving around and the one thing I see in nearly every case is the Big 10 and SEC become Goliaths, the ACC and Big 12 are weakened (If Texas leaves damaged beyond repair) and the Pac-10, well that's a wild card. Take Utah and BYU and that conference owns the West and ends any BCS dreams the Mountain West Conference has.

College football has always been a great topic of debate even into the off-season. Instead of bragging about new recruits coming in or what coach is on the hot seat, the debate now is which conference can take over the other.

The winds of change are beginning to blow.