Conference Expansion: Nobody is Safe

The latest round of conference expansion has everybody wondering what exactly is going to happen, and it's not just the C-USA's of the world that are still trying to figure out where they stand. Of course, we're all familiar with the talks of Florida State potentially moving to the Big 12, but even bigger news has been made over the last few days.

On Friday, it was announced that the Big 12 and the SEC have reached a five year agreement for a New Year's Day game featuring the champions of both leagues. Now, the game is more likely to feature the runner ups of both leagues, as the champions will almost certainly be regulars in the soon to be BCS playoff, but still, the partnership has got people talking.

In fact, its starting to feel like 2010 all over again. In case you forgot, after the departures of Nebraska and Colorado from the Big 12, talks hit that the Pac-12 was considering moving to 16 schools, and the Big 12 was all but dead. More than that, with others considering expanding, it seemed as though all power conferences would head in that 16 team "super-conference" direction.

Of course, things didn't exactly turn out like that. The Big 12 was salvaged, and college athletics was safe from a massive shift, at least for the time being. But, here we are again. With news of the BCS installing a new format, the Big 12 potential raiding the ACC, and the Big 12 and the SEC forming a new bowl partnership, people are again reviving talks of super-conferences.

One source, according to The Dallas Morning News, actually thinks that's the direction things are heading:

"I really can't believe I'm saying this...We might be moving to four super-conferences -- and the Big 12 would be one of those."

Now, as it stands today, no new major changes to the college athletics landscape have been announced. But, there are plenty of rumors flying around that the Big 12 is actually looking to get to 14-16 teams. That, to me, sounds like they are definitely positioning themselves for a future of super conferences.

The four power conferences that stand to survive, would likely be the SEC, the Big 12, the Big 10, and the Pac-12, with the ACC and Big East likely being relegated to being "super" basketball conferences. So, what happens to rest of us? Its all still yet to be seen, but its also an interesting thing to consider. What do you think?