expanded beyond 16, then it was to serve as a means to an end. Specifically the conferences were looking to create enough separation from the rest of the DI schools so they could form their own division level or new association without any risk of politicians getting involved in the matter.

Something I found odd when the SEC decided to expand to 12 members is it didn't implement a group system with the cross-division games. Especially since the SEC initially started out with 2 protected cross-division games and a few years later reduced it to 1 protected cross-division game. I understand the need to protecting the 2 rivalry games, but sometimes the need of the many outweigh the need of the few. The 6 teams could be divided up into 2 groups of 3 that rotated every 2 years. It would have meant for the East teams, they would get to play 1 school from AL, MS, and AR/LA every year. For the West teams, they would get to play 1 school from KY/SC, TN, and GA/FL every year. Also, it would have meant completing the away-home rotation in 4 years. If the SEC implemented the rotating group system, then I wonder if it would have have influenced how the other conferences expanded and implemented their revised conference schedule?

If a conference is willing to play a 10 game conference schedule, then a 14 member conference can complete the away-home rotation in 4 years too.

6 division games
1 protected cross-division game
3 rotating cross-division game (2 groups of 3 rotating every 2 years)

I do wonder if the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC implemented this type of conference schedule format, then would there be less desire for conferences to expand? If the ACC did embrace it, then I would hope it also would result in realigning the divisions so VT and UVA could be paired up as protected cross-division pairing. I never thought it made any since to place both VA schools in the same division especially when the FL and NC schools were evenly split between the divisions. I know it is unlikely, but I think the SEC could effectively use a zipper model with its division alignment. The pairings could look something like this:

KY-SC
UT-Vandy
UGA-UF
AL-Auburn
Ole Miss-Miss State
LSU-TAMU
Ark-Mizzou

The SEC could still preserve the 2 important rivalries by making them into division games instead of cross-division games. I have a feeling that if the SEC ever went to pods/groups/quads (what the WAC call them when they expanded to 16), then it will probably have to implement some version of the zipper model to divide the members up.