Sports What Ifs.

hings mostly go the same as OTL. I'm sure there would be a whole lot of butterflies involving players, but I figure that as far as the teams themselves go, there wouldn't be many changes though if there would be, please be free to comment.
Nothing changes them. I wonder how would have been if Hunt was able to buy the cardinals over the bidwill, they would have move chicago anyway so to texas(Texas Cardinals?) would have worked and no AFL them
 
You're right about Maryland.

As for the Big Ten... They pride themselves in being a "Public Ivy League" with everyone a member of the AAU. Kansas + Missouri to make 12? If they're expanding beyond that and can't poach anyone from this *Big East or ACC to get the BosWash tv markets... they'd have to reach to Texas. Big TV markets and prime recruiting ground. Texas and A&M, or Texas & Colorado if they're feeling frisky?

Conversely, I do like the idea of the Big Ten staying at ten, the rust belt step child of the *Power Five.



I'd say the impetus is still there to build a northeast power bball conference by the mid-80s.

My thoughts after pondering this on and off for the last week:
- Syracuse/Notre Dame[1]/Pitt/Penn State/Michigan State schedule each other pretty often in the 50s/60s as the biggest independent programs in the Northeast, with match ups helping to determine a national champion several times (e.g. Game of the Century, '66).
- West Virginia leaves the Southern Conference per OTL in '67 and schedules them more.
- The "Big Six" considers forming a conference starting in the late-60s. To make eight, they reach out to the service academies (Army/Navy). However, the Pentagon vetoes this proposal, in part because of rampant student activism on several campuses.
- Around 1975, when the NCAA basketball tournament expands, they successfully form a conference. They're all blue chip football programs with half of them claiming a National Championship since the War (Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Syracuse). Shoring up the basketball side would be the focus. A silver lining would be picking some weaker football sides to make conference play less of a gauntlet[2] - Temple and Cincinnati seem probable choices here. Both are within the footprint of the league while bringing basketball chops to the table. Add Louisville and you'd have the losing 3/4ths of the '59 Final Four[3]. On the other hand, Rutgers hasn't made a final four yet and their football team is still mostly scheduling arch-rivals Lehigh/Lafayette and the Ivy League - I'd say they make more sense in the 90s when this *Big East is looking more closely at media markets. Ditto Boston College - oddly enough Notre Dame only first played them in 1975.

As to what it is called... "Big East" seems the most obvious choice, even if Michigan State and Notre Dame are technically in the Midwest, since "Big Eight" is already taken.

[1] It doesn't seem like Notre Dame was destined to remain independent until they penned their gravy train contract with NBC in 1991. The Big Ten was pretty anti-Catholic as well which didn't help, whereas this league would seemingly be less so. It helps that John A. Hannah and Father Hesburgh served together on the US Civil Rights Commission throughout the 60s.
[2] Of the major conferences, only the Big Eight, Pac-8, and Southwest Conference were playing full round robin schedules at the time.
[3] Assuming an electrified butterfly net, of course...


Interesting you bring up Notre Dame. I know that in some ways their desire to stay Independent is a bit of a myth. Rockne wanted to get then into the Big Ten and they were even considered as a replacement for Chicago but were rejected due to anti Catholicism as iirc Fielding Yosef was straight up anti catholic while Woody Hayes did not want to split Ohio’s Catholic population of Notre Dame joined. So I could see them join such a league since they already would be playing Michigan State and Pitt.
 
How's this scenario?

The history of Division I remains unchanged until 1975 when the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) offers membership to William & Mary and they accept. They begin play in 1977. This results in Georgia Tech remaining with the Metro Conference. The next big change is that Holy Cross and Rutgers are among the founders of the Big East. Villanova joins in 1980.

A side effect of Georgia Tech remaining in the Metro is that Raycom ("superconference") report is commissioned earlier than OTL. The report recommends expanding the conference to sixteen member schools. The expansion schools include some major independents such Penn State and Pittsburgh. These schools are invited the Metro's annual meeting where the report is presented. As with OTL, the Metro rejects the report's recommendations. This leads Metro members Florida State and Georgia Tech talk with the invited schools about creating a new conference. In 1988, they establish the Eastern Seaboard Conference (ESB) with play to begin in 1990. The founding members are Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, South Carolina, Temple, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech. They sign a big money television contract with NBC.

The ESB's creation begins a wave of conference realignment. The SEC decides to expand to twelve. They approach Texas A&M (and Houston), but they are unwilling to pull the trigger. So, the SEC ends up grabbing Arkansas from the Southwest Conference (SWC). To reach twelve, SEC adds Louisville. Kentucky objects, but they lose to expansion vote, 7-3.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame attempts a secure their own television contract, but was unable to find any takers. At the same time, the Big Ten decides to explore their expansion options. They approach Notre Dame. The negotiations are going well until the Indiana AD shoots his mouth off and angers the Notre Dame alumni. This leads Notre Dame to joining the ACC. For their part, the ACC agrees to expand to twelve by 2000.

Not wanting to be left behind, the Big 8 decides to expand to twelve. Their initial choices are BYU, New Mexico, Texas, and Texas A&M. However, pressure from the Texas Lt. Governor results in the Big 8 taking two additional Texas (Houston and Texas Tech) in place of BYU and New Mexico. Due to the Big Ten trademarking "Big 12", the new conference is called the Golden West.

The remaining SWC members keep the conference going by adding other Division I-A independents. The Metro Conference decides to sponsor football in 1994. Just as in OTL, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) expands to sixteen by absorbing teams from the collapsing Big West. This arraignment only lasts three years. Tension between the old and new members results in some members forming a new conference, the Heartland Conference. In 2000, the American South Conference is formed by the remaining Division I-A independents.

------

DIVISION I-A (2000) - 118 schools

THE POWER SIX
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC: Buffalo, Clemson, Navy, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Wake Forest,
COASTAL: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, William & Mary,

BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin

EASTERN SEABOARD CONFERENCE
NORTH: Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple
SOUTH: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia Tech

GOLDEN WEST CONFERENCE
NORTH: Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska
SOUTH: Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech

PAC-10 CONFERENCE
Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Washington State

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
EAST: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
WEST: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State

THE MID-MAJORS
AMERICAN SOUTH CONFERENCE
Army, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, South Florida, Troy State

HEARTLAND CONFERENCE
Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State. Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, Texas-El Paso, Utah, Wyoming

METRO CONFERENCE
Alabama-Birmingham, Central Florida, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Marshall, Memphis, Northern Illinois, Southern Mississippi, Tulane

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan

SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
Arkansas State, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, New Mexico State, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas Christian, Tulsa

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah State

------

In 2004, the Big Ten decided to expand into new television markets. The targets would be the New York, Pennsylvania, and DC/Maryland markets. They approached Maryland, Penn State, and Rutgers plus Notre Dame for additional national coverage. Both Maryland and Notre Dame were unhappy, so they accepted the Big Ten's invitations. However, they were surprised when Penn State and Rutgers rejected their offer. Both schools were satisfied with the ESB. The attempted raid on their membership spurred the ESB into action. To block further expansion into their "territory", the ESB began talking to some ACC members. Duke and North Carolina were the first to be invited. The two With South Carolina already in ESB, Clemson knew they wouldn't be invited to join. So, they jumped to SEC. North Carolina State followed suit for the same reason. Later that year, the ESB became the first major conference to reach sixteen teams by adding Virginia (as "suggested" by the state legislature) and Connecticut. The remaining ACC schools invited additional schools to keep the conference alive. However, it would no longer be viewed as a major conference.

It wasn't until after the dust had settled with ACC that the PAC-10 began its expansion. Their first move was to add Colorado and Utah. Talks with Texas and Oklahoma followed. In response, the Big Ten invited Missouri and Nebraska and both accepted. This lead to Kansas and Kansas State applying to join the Big Ten. However, only Kansas was accepted. The Big Ten decided that Iowa State would be its sixteenth member (ignoring Iowa's objections). Seeing the writing on the wall, Texas A&M left for the SEC. At the same time, the PAC-12 admitted Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech. The SEC would also grow to sixteen by adding Houston.

The realignment of the Power Conferences also caused some adjustments among the mid-majors. In addition, Division I-A and Division I-AA would be renamed Division I FSA (Football Subdivision Alpha) and Division FSB (Football Subdivision Beta). In 2014, the Sun Belt Conference transitioned from Division I FSB to Division I FSA.

------

DIVISION I FSA (2020) - 132 schools
THE POWER FOUR
BIG TEN CONFERENCE
East Pod: Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State
North Pod: Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin
South Pod: Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
West Pod: Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame

EASTERN SEABOARD CONFERENCE
East Pod: Boston College, Connecticut, Rutgers, Syracuse
North Pod: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech
South Pod: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, South Carolina
West Pod: Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, West Virginia

PAC-16 CONFERENCE
East Pod: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
North Pod: Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
South Pod: California, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA
West Pod: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
East Pod: Clemson, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina State
North Pod: Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
South Pod: Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State
West Pod: Arkansas, Houston, Louisiana State, Texas A&M

GROUP OF EIGHT (formally the Mid-Majors)
AMERICAN SOUTH CONFERENCE
Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, South Alabama, Texas State, Texas-San Antonio, Troy State, Western Kentucky

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
Army, Buffalo, Marshall, Massachusetts, Navy, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, William & Mary

HEARTLAND CONFERENCE
Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Kansas State, Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, Texas-El Paso, Tulsa, Wyoming

METRO CONFERENCE
Alabama-Birmingham, Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, Northern Illinois, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Tulane

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan

SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
Arkansas State, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, New Mexico State, Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas Christian

SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Appalachian State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Liberty

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah State
 
ABA no merger, 1976-77
EASTERN DIVISION
Baltimore Claws
Carolina Cougars
Floridians
Indiana Pacers
Kentucky Colonels
Memphis Tams
New York Nets
Pittsburgh Condors
Spirits of St. Louis
Virginia Squires
WESTERN DIVISION
Anaheim Amigos
Dallas Chapparals
Denver Nuggets
Houston Mavericks
Los Angeles Conquistadors
Oakland Oaks
San Antonio Spurs
San Diego Sails
Utah Stars

ABA Finals -- Houston Mavericks d. Kentucky Colonels 4 games to 3
ABA Finals MVP -- David Thompson, Houston
All ABA Team
Artis Gilmore, C, Kentucky Colonels
Julius Erving, F, New York Nets
David Thompson, G, Houston Mavericks
Bob McAdoo, C-F, Houston Mavericks
Calvin Murphy, G, Houston Mavericks

Most Valuable Player -- Erving
Rookie of the Year -- Quinn Buckner, G, Indiana
Coach of the Year -- Gene Shue, Houston

NBA teams, alignment unchanged other than Golden State Warriors known ITTL as San Francisco Warriors (play in Cow Palace)

NBA Finals -- Boston Celtics d. Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2
 
The history of Division I remains unchanged until 1975 when the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) offers membership to William & Mary and they accept. They begin play in 1977. This results in Georgia Tech remaining with the Metro Conference. The next big change is that Holy Cross and Rutgers are among the founders of the Big East. Villanova joins in 1980.

William & Mary dropped to Division I-AA shortly after this. You might need to go back to the 1951 transcript-altering scandal - something that both ACC officials and the faculty administration would remember too well.


Not wanting to be left behind, the Big 8 decides to expand to twelve. Their initial choices are BYU, New Mexico, Texas, and Texas A&M. However, pressure from the Texas Lt. Governor results in the Big 8 taking two additional Texas (Houston and Texas Tech) in place of BYU and New Mexico. Due to the Big Ten trademarking "Big 12", the new conference is called the Golden West.

Curious who the Lt. Governor is in this timeline - IOTL his juice is why Tech and Baylor made it in, as an alumnus of both.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC: Buffalo, Clemson, Navy, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Wake Forest,
COASTAL: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, William & Mary
Connecticut reclassified to IA in 2000... do they move up much earlier ITTL?

EASTERN SEABOARD CONFERENCE
NORTH: Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple
SOUTH: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia Tech
Why wouldn't Notre Dame join *this* league? It has more of an appeal in terms of opponents - BC, Pitt, Syracuse, Ga Tech, Miami, etc. Unless it's an "any port in the storm" scenario?


The realignment of the Power Conferences also caused some adjustments among the mid-majors. In addition, Division I-A and Division I-AA would be renamed Division I FSA (Football Subdivision Alpha) and Division FSB (Football Subdivision Beta). In 2014, the Sun Belt Conference transitioned from Division I FSB to Division I FSA.

I'm not sure why this happened. But I'm also surprised the Power Four didn't split entirely from the Group of 8 so they can increase/reduce their scholarship head count, respectively.

I don't think all four power conferences would embrace a 4-team pod system (or ape the NFL naming schema) unless it was mutually required by this new FSA. Certainly it makes sense in the Pac-16, which is so geographically disperse and nicely divides into four. And it does allow a very even round robin schedule while still playing every other team at least once every two years. Though maybe consider UCLA/USC/Arizona/ASU and Stanford/Cal/Utah/Colorado to even out the California games (everyone would play in LA or the Bay at least once a year with that arrangement).

But e.g. in the Big Ten, the rivalries seemingly fit better into east/west divisions which would make it worth playing the other division only every four years on a 9-game conference schedule - in which case I might move Northwestern to the east so they all get Chicago games (where $o many alumni end up moving), and Illinois in the west with their perennial rivals.
 
The American Football League also begins play with the Dallas Texans, Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Boston Patriots, and Baltimore Colts.

If the Bills don't exist in this world, Ralph Wilson still probably would have been granted ownership of the last team. Does he choose Baltimore? It's hard to say (he originally wanted Miami, but they wouldn't let him use the OB).
 
The history of Division I remains unchanged until 1975 when the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) offers membership to William & Mary and they accept. They begin play in 1977. This results in Georgia Tech remaining with the Metro Conference. The next big change is that Holy Cross and Rutgers are among the founders of the Big East. Villanova joins in 1980.

William & Mary dropped to Division I-AA shortly after this. You might need to go back to the 1951 transcript-altering scandal - something that both ACC officials and the faculty administration would remember too well.

The reason I chose William & Mary was that I read somewhere that they offered membership in ACC in the mid-70s, but turned it down. The reason I had them join the ACC in 1977 was that was the year they left the Southern Conference. In OTL, they remained a Division I-A Independent until 1981.

I tried to where I read about William & Mary and the ACC. I couldn't find it. So, I may tweak this scenario. Now, I'm thinking about revising the scenario. I probably use the POD of South Carolina staying in the ACC.

Not wanting to be left behind, the Big 8 decides to expand to twelve. Their initial choices are BYU, New Mexico, Texas, and Texas A&M. However, pressure from the Texas Lt. Governor results in the Big 8 taking two additional Texas (Houston and Texas Tech) in place of BYU and New Mexico. Due to the Big Ten trademarking "Big 12", the new conference is called the Golden West.

Curious who the Lt. Governor is in this timeline - IOTL his juice is why Tech and Baylor made it in, as an alumnus of both.

Republican Tom Craddick. In TTL, Bob Bullock ran for governor in 1990, but lost in the primary to Ann Richards.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
ATLANTIC: Buffalo, Clemson, Navy, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Wake Forest,
COASTAL: Connecticut, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, William & Mary

Connecticut reclassified to IA in 2000... do they move up much earlier ITTL?

In TTL, events are generally occurring about one to two years early. For example, Central Florida transitions to Division I-A in 1994. They don't have the same money problems that they did in OTL.

EASTERN SEABOARD CONFERENCE
NORTH: Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple
SOUTH: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia Tech

Why wouldn't Notre Dame join *this* league? It has more of an appeal in terms of opponents - BC, Pitt, Syracuse, Ga Tech, Miami, etc. Unless it's an "any port in the storm" scenario?

There are three reasons that Notre Dame joined the ACC.

1. The ESB's big fish (FSU/Miami/PSU) preferred to keep Notre Dame out.

2. TTL's BCS (first incarnation) only included the major conference champions. In order for a non-champion to qualify, it had to finish within the Top 4. Notre Dame decided that the best path would join a weak conference and dominate. Note: Notre Dame's first decade in ACC was similar as FSU's.

3. Most importantly, the ACC offered the right money deal.

The realignment of the Power Conferences also caused some adjustments among the mid-majors. In addition, Division I-A and Division I-AA would be renamed Division I FSA (Football Subdivision Alpha) and Division FSB (Football Subdivision Beta). In 2014, the Sun Belt Conference transitioned from Division I FSB to Division I FSA.

I'm not sure why this happened. But I'm also surprised the Power Four didn't split entirely from the Group of 8 so they can increase/reduce their scholarship head count, respectively.

While scenario didn't go past 2020, I envision the Power Four breaking away from the NCAA in 2022. That's the year that the television contracts are up for renewal. Their new association will be called the United States Association of Athletic Conferences (USAAC).

I don't think all four power conferences would embrace a 4-team pod system (or ape the NFL naming schema) unless it was mutually required by this new FSA. Certainly it makes sense in the Pac-16, which is so geographically disperse and nicely divides into four. And it does allow a very even round robin schedule while still playing every other team at least once every two years. Though maybe consider UCLA/USC/Arizona/ASU and Stanford/Cal/Utah/Colorado to even out the California games (everyone would play in LA or the Bay at least once a year with that arrangement).

But e.g. in the Big Ten, the rivalries seemingly fit better into east/west divisions which would make it worth playing the other division only every four years on a 9-game conference schedule - in which case I might move Northwestern to the east so they all get Chicago games (where $o many alumni end up moving), and Illinois in the west with their perennial rivals.

The pod system isn't mandated, it's just a way ensure that every school gets a chance to play to every other school within a three year cycle.

The pod names are a way to help fans to know which division their team is in that year. It also enlivens the division names. In the original Raycom report, the divisions were called Division A and Division B. The pods were Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4.

The Power Four mandates that nine conference games be played. Seven of the nine are a team's divisional opponents. How the two remaining games are chosen depends on the conference.

In 2020, Florida State will be in the South-East Division (consisting of the South and East pods). So, their divisional opponents are their podmates (Georgia Tech, Miami, and South Carolina) and the East pod teams (Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple).

The Big Ten, ESB, and SEC use a designated rival to determine the last two conference games. So, FSU's West's rival is West Virginia and for the North, it's Virginia Tech. In the Big Ten, Northwestern and Illinois are designated rivals, so get play each other every year.

Currently, the PAC-16 follows the NFL's example of place finished. For example, USC is the South-West Division this year. They finished first in South Division last year. So, for their two non-divisional conference games, they play the teams finished first in their division Oregon (North) and Texas (East). This system has proved unpopular with some of the membership. So, they will be changing to the designated rival system in 2021.
 
If the Bills don't exist in this world, Ralph Wilson still probably would have been granted ownership of the last team. Does he choose Baltimore? It's hard to say (he originally wanted Miami, but they wouldn't let him use the OB).
I wonder if maybe Ralph Wilson uses influence to get Miami over a team like Oakland. I think Carroll Rosenbloom still would own the Colts. So maybe instead of the Raiders you get the Miami Dolphins founded in 60? Maybe later you could have the AFL expand to Cincinnati and maybe another LA team if they got an owner?
 
I wonder if maybe Ralph Wilson uses influence to get Miami over a team like Oakland. I think Carroll Rosenbloom still would own the Colts. So maybe instead of the Raiders you get the Miami Dolphins founded in 60? Maybe later you could have the AFL expand to Cincinnati and maybe another LA team if they got an owner?

I don't know because he couldn't get into Miami. He wanted to go there instead of Buffalo, but they wouldn't let him use the Orange Bowl.
 
What if instead of forming their own league William Hulbert and other five National Association owners pressure the National Association to change their bylaws into something along the lines of OTL's National League?
 
Hmm Maybe he goes to another market? I can't think of where he'd go.
Would he try to go to Atlanta? It may be a possibility. Maybe they get a stadium sooner. Also, other cities he was looking at (besides Buffalo) were Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville.
 
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Would he try to go to Atlanta? It may be a possibility. Maybe they get a stadium sooner. Also, other cities he was looking at (besides Buffalo) were Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Louisville.

St. Louis is interesting if they undercut the Cardinals, and Louisville is interesting because they would probably otherwise never get a team.
 
Here's a what if in regards to baseball. I had heard that in regards to the Black Sox scandal of 1919 the American league almost folded. Apparently the plan was for four teams from the American League to join and those teams IIRC were the Yankees, the Red Sox, the White Sox, and a 4th unspecified team. I swore I read this somewhere but can't remember where. I know that had there only been those 3 teams from the AL joining, they would have expanded to Detroit as it was by far that would without a baseball team.

I wonder how this would work out if such a thing happened. Would this new National League expand by the mid or late 20's? Plus might new cities get a shot?

Personally I see it like this.

1920 National League Teams

Boston Braves
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
New York Giants
Brooklyn Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers (expansion team)
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
St. Louis Cardinals

I don't know when they'd expand, but I do see that by 1929 you'd see expansion to these cities

Cleveland Bulldogs
Baltimore Orioles
Washington Americans
Milwaukee Brewers.



I don't know how they'd split it up but i'm sure you'd see divisions again. Maybe the old national league (renamed national division) with a new division including the new clubs. This means divisions might look like this.

National Division
New York Giants
Boston Braves
Brooklyn Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs

American Division
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Washington Americans
Baltimore Orioles
Cleveland Bulldogs
Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox
Milwaukee Brewers

Obviously you'd not only see more movement but expansion. For clubs that would move I could see this

Boston Braves to Buffalo New York in 1953.
New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1957.


1961 Expansion

American Division
Minnesota Twins
Los Angeles Angels

National Division
Houston Astros
New York Mets

More teams end up moving. One major move is the Braves, who still go to Atlanta due to the reluctance of Buffalo to build a new stadium, though later a football stadium is built for its professional football team, the Bills. Another team that leaves is the Washington Americans who head to Oakland and become the Oaks

American
Kansas City Blues
Buffalo Bisons

National
Montreal Expos
San Diego Padres

By 1970 divisions are needed. They are organized like this

American
East
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles
Buffalo Bisons
Cleveland Bulldogs
Detroit Tigers

West
Chicago White Sox
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Blues
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Oaks

National
East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Montreal Expos
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals


West
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Fransciso Giants
San Diego Padres
Houston Astros
Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds

By 1977 the AL expands adding the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.

In 1994 after the strike, the NL expands, adding the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins. With new teams added, the 1995 divisional lineups look like this.

American East
New York
Boston
Baltimore
Buffalo

Central
Cleveland
Detroit
Chicago
Milwaukee
Minnesota

West
Los Angeles
Oakland
Kansas City
Texas

National

East
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Florida

Central
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Chicago
St. Louis

West
LA
San Francisco
San Diego
Houston
Colorado

In 1998 Final expansion is done with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are put into the American East while the Diamondbacks are put in the NL west. Houston is moved to the NL Central

Later in 2006, the Montreal Expos move to Washington and become the Nationals, while the Buffalo Bisons start playing games in Toronto at the Rogers Centre (a bit smaller, but still able to seat 35,000 for baseball, and rumors keep swarming that Buffalo will move to Toronto as their stadium built in 1970 has been seen as a bit outdated.

I know it doesn't seem too different from OTL other than Canada being left out. It's a start
 
Here's a quick one:

Kentucky beats Duke in the 1992 NCAA East Regional final (men's basketball). Four possibilities:

1. UK beats one of its archrivals, Indiana, in the Final Four and plays Michigan in the championship game (sorry Cincinnati fans; I don't see the butterflies favoring you in the other semi). UK then beats Michigan to win the national championship, coming off a two-year postseason ban. The Unforgettables are forever immortalized in college hoops history, although only one player (Jamal Mashburn) will go on to the NBA
1b. Michigan beats UK, and the Fab Five (five freshmen -- Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson) are forever immortalized in the history of college basketball
2. IU beats Kentucky, while Michigan beats Cincinnati in the other semi, setting up an all-Big Ten final. The Hoosiers then beat the Wolverines to win their first national title since 1987
2b. The Fab Five prevail, with the same result, and historical legacy, as in 1b

Also: Shaquille O'Neal of LSU is chosen for the Olympic Dream Team over Duke's Christian Laettner.
 
National
East
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Montreal Expos
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals


West
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Fransciso Giants
San Diego Padres
Houston Astros
Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Wouldn’t it make more sense to have Atlanta and Cincinnati in the East and Chicago and St. Louis in the West?
 
In 1988, the United States Football League settled with the National Football League. The terms of the settlement involved the NFL paying the USFL's legal fees, paying the nine owners (the Chicago Blitz returned for the final season in 1987) a "generous" amount in compensation in exchange for their teams not entering the league, absorbing the best players in a dispersal draft, and agreeing to give USFL markets in non-NFL cities "first consideration" for expansion sites over the next 20 years.

The NFL also purchased rights to the branding, logos and trademarks for the USFL itself and for all of its teams. That led to speculation that the NFL would revive the USFL as a spring league, speculation which was for naught when the league launched the World League of American Football with nine all-new teams. The closest the world would get to a USFL revival was the inclusion of USFL teams as alternate or expansion teams in Electronic Arts' Madden video game franchise, and through the sales of USFL merchandise on the NFL's website.

In 2017, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the NFL would "honor" the USFL the following season, on the 30th anniversary of the settlement, by having most of its teams adopt the branding of the USFL teams that played in or near their markets. Uniforms, helmets, coaches and team apparel, and on-field and in-stadium team identifications would be adjusted to reflect the USFL brand. Even the NFL logo would change, to look like the red, white and blue USFL logo (while spelling out NFL).

The following teams were designated to “switch brands” during specific games:

* Arizona Cardinals = Arizona Wranglers
* Atlanta Falcons = Birmingham Stallions
* Baltimore Ravens = Baltimore Stars
* Chicago Bears = Chicago Blitz
* Dallas Cowboys = San Antonio Gunslingers
* Denver Broncos = Denver Gold
* Detroit Lions = Michigan Panthers
* Houston Texans = Houston Gamblers
* Jacksonville Jaguars = Jacksonville Bulls
* Kansas City Chiefs = Oklahoma/Arizona Outlaws
* Los Angeles Rams = Los Angeles Express
* Miami Dolphins = Orlando Renegades
* New England Patriots = Boston Breakers
* New Orleans Saints = New Orleans Breakers
* New York Giants = New Jersey Generals
* Oakland Raiders = Oakland Invaders
* Philadelphia Eagles = Philadelphia Stars
* Pittsburgh Steelers = Pittsburgh Maulers
* Seattle Seahawks = Portland Breakers
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers = Tampa Bay Bandits
* Tennessee Titans = Memphis Showboats
* Washington Redskins = Washington Federals

Week 12 was designated as “USFL Week”, the week where all teams would play under their USFL branding. Teams playing on the road would also adopt those identities for one home game.

There also was the issue of the Detroit Lions/Michigan Panthers and the Carolina Panthers. The names were the same, although the logos and colors were not; the league decided for the USFL stunt to be authentic, all of the brands had to be the same as the originals. Therefore, the Lions would play as the Michigan Panthers for two weeks.

In regards to the Cardinals, although the USFL had two teams play in Arizona (the Wranglers and the relocated Oklahoma Outlaws), the Cardinals would play only as the Wranglers, since the Chiefs were playing as the Outlaws.

Three teams - the Patriots, Saints and Seahawks - would play as the Breakers; the Eagles and Ravens would play as the Stars.

The Cowboys took the field on Thanksgiving Day to play the Oakland Raiders/Invaders, wearing Gunslingers gear. For the second half, owner Jerry Jones had his players and coaches return to the field in Cowboys gear (the players kept the Gunslinger-branded pants, and wore their regular jerseys and helmets, to minimize time to change; still, the second half was delayed by 22 minutes, and Jones later fined $500,000 for the infraction).

The experiment would repeat itself for 2018 and 2019. Five NFL teams would play preseason games in or near their USFL brands’ former cities (Cowboys in San Antonio; Titans in Memphis, Dolphins in Orlando, Chiefs in Tulsa, and the Falcons in Birmingham).
 
Here's a quick one:

Kentucky beats Duke in the 1992 NCAA East Regional final (men's basketball). Four possibilities:

1. UK beats one of its archrivals, Indiana, in the Final Four and plays Michigan in the championship game (sorry Cincinnati fans; I don't see the butterflies favoring you in the other semi). UK then beats Michigan to win the national championship, coming off a two-year postseason ban. The Unforgettables are forever immortalized in college hoops history, although only one player (Jamal Mashburn) will go on to the NBA
1b. Michigan beats UK, and the Fab Five (five freshmen -- Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson) are forever immortalized in the history of college basketball
2. IU beats Kentucky, while Michigan beats Cincinnati in the other semi, setting up an all-Big Ten final. The Hoosiers then beat the Wolverines to win their first national title since 1987
2b. The Fab Five prevail, with the same result, and historical legacy, as in 1b

Also: Shaquille O'Neal of LSU is chosen for the Olympic Dream Team over Duke's Christian Laettner.

Also, what if Pitino's teams win in 1992 and 93 or 95? Does he leave UK for the pros sooner?
 
Also, what if Pitino's teams win in 1992 and 93 or 95? Does he leave UK for the pros sooner?

I edited it out but I did have him leave for the NBA after the '94-'95 season. What else can you do as a coach after winning the national championship, unless you intend to be at your school for a long time and become a dynasty? Pitino never struck me as having that ambition; he was going to the NBA sooner than later, and it would be a northeast team or a team in a major market (he would NOT leave UK for the Kings job).
 
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