M
MarsSay that the PAC-10 does go to 16? That's leaves 6 Big XII schools left. And there are 8 football-playing Big East schools as of today. Both conferences fear being raided by the Big Ten, and the Big east also fears being raided by the ACC. Why not combine?
Now, the Big east couldn't take any Big XII leftovers, as the 8 basketball-only schools would vote "no way" on that. But what's to keep it from happening the other way around?
Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Louisville
Rutgers, Syracuse, Pitt, UConn, West Virginia, Cincy, South Florida
This new Big XIV conference is pretty spread out, sure, and it might not be expected to survive intact, but at least it would survive.