Rutgers later “won realignment” the more conventional way by joining the Big Ten East, where it has to face three or four Playoff contenders every year. Realignment is what made PANDEMONIUM IN PISCATAWAY possible. But for now, remember the second-place team was 11-win Rutgers. Remember Bobby Petrino’s 2006 Louisville, which might not’ve won the league if the Hokies had still been around? We’ll come back to Louisville later.The 8-3 Panthers got crushed by Urban Meyer and Alex Smith’s Utah, but the fact remains they participated in a BCS bowl. 2004 Pitt made the Fiesta Bowl right after Miami and Virginia Tech skedaddled.But their exit, along with the fading Miami’s, was really good for a bunch of Big East teams: The Hokies won four ACC titles in seven years, often with underwhelming records. Leaving was good to Virginia Tech, which joined a down ACC. Leaving: eventually everybody, but in particular Miami and Virginia Techīenefitting: Pitt, Louisville, USF, Cincinnati, UConn, and sort of West Virginia These are teams that have taken advantage of The Realignment Window. Just about every league has a history of overlooked teams benefitting from the shuffle. College football doesn’t allow for much upward mobility, but realignment is the rare shortcut.īut what if there’s a whole ‘nother class of realignment champs? What about the teams who who win (at least on the field) not by moving up, but by being left behind? Histories of conference realignment list the winners as the teams that found homes in “better” leagues, the ones who make money and get a status bump for playing against stronger programs.

Usf football conference realignment