Conferences Collide! SWAC & MEAC next?

Recently, the NCAA has made several conference movements, merging popular with schools like Texas joining the SEC and the PAC-12 dissolving and combining with the Big Ten and Big-12. With all the transitions in conferences, one might wonder about the possibility of the SWAC & MEAC merging into one mega-conference. Making this hypothetical new HBCU-only conference would potentially allow a new TV deal, which could give all schools included better exposure and more games on ESPN/ESPN+. It would also spread funding for the respective football programs around other schools. Schools like Morgan State or Maryland Eastern Shore would benefit tremendously from the annual funds schools like Southern, Grambling, and Jackson State generate for their conference. As for how this dream conference would look like, we would most likely adopt a system like the Big Ten with an east and west division. A move like that would allow for a couple of things. For one, it would make every conference game a lot more impactful. By splitting the conference into two divisions, the chances of a team getting to the conference championship by being either the east or west division champion grows exponentially, giving every conference game even more meaning and keeping teams in the race longer. An example of this would be when Purdue last year played Michigan in the Big Ten championship game despite being 8-4 that season. It would also allow for more rivalries to arise. Rivalries between the East and West conferences are similar to Ohio State vs. Michigan in “The Game.” One concern of this hypothetical mega-conference would be travel. While travel expenses l to a school like Howard from Texas Southern would cost a lot more, it’s also true that travel like this would not be the norm and would most likely be for one or two games a year. After consideration, it is most likely that a proposed mega-conference such as this would benefit the schools involved and be fun for the fans to watch. It would also give each school sports program more self-sustainability, having to rely less on Power 5 schools inviting them to play and potentially getting bigger TV deals. Considering all this, fans should be optimistic as a move like this could happen soon.