The Rutgers, Vanderbilts, Texas Techs etc

I agree but the reason those schools are allowed in is to give the big named schools an easy win. They may not be big market teams, but they have their purpose.

The way in which some people follow college sports is so different than my own. I am impressed.

You know Texas Tech finished 3rd in the Big 12 last year in basketball, 1st in 2018-19?   Mike Leach coached football there, Baker Mayfield played there.   They finished 2nd in baseball.  So they are an example, like, say, Purdue in the BigTen, of a team who rarely, if ever wins the conference but is not really a pushover athletically.   Granted, their home media market is very small, if you’re counting just West Texas/Texas Panhandle.

Consider also Baylor, it is a very small school, by enrollment, but they have a very loyal fanbase.   For a long time they were a football doormat in the Big-12, but recently they are one of the top contenders in football.  They also have strong programs in women’s softball and basketball.  Waco itself is a very small market but their alums live throughout Texas and the surrounding region.

Bottom line, who is a “bottom feeder”?  Are you using only football as a metric?   Media market size?

I think this is the inevitable end game. There will be one league or conference with “divisions” with the top schools in the country. I think it will have a single commissioner and the players will be either unionized or have some sort of representation.

Ultimately the Ohio State’s and Alabama’s of the world will get sick of the dead weight like Vandy. The top schools will leave the SEC and B1G and join together. The thing is, I think this league will be between 40 and 60 teams with divisions divided geographically. Essentially we will see a deevolution back into a Pac-12, ACC, SEC, etc based on region but in one single league with a single commissioner. They will essentially be what the NCAA was supposed to be but with real power and teeth. I do think Utah ends up in such a construct. I’d argue that we are probably hovering right around the 45th most desireable team based on a number of factors. I wish we were higher, but reality is reality. We aren’t USC.