Why Wait?

We've been seeing a lot of big time Big Ten expansion rumors and serious postulation as to what impact said expansion will have on the landscape of college football. The Big East could be killed off...at least as a fball league, anyway, the Majors could all expand to 14- or even 16-team conferences while the mids dies on the vine or languish in total anonymity, or - quite possibly - NOTHING could happen. The B10 could just be jockeying for one last play at Notre Dame, and in that case, there would be zero fall out across the other conferences. So, like it's done for a few months now, the cfb world waits on Jim Delaney and the Big-Eleven to make a move. If they jump up, expect the PAC-10 and SEC to do the same. The Big-XII would likely want to, as well, but might lose enough big players to force a realignment into a completely different league. Either way, expect the SEC to construct a powerful conference and maintain it's dominance over the sport.

That said, I ask: "Why Wait?" If we know the SEC will still be the dominant force when the dust settles, why are they waiting for someone else to kick it up in the first place? Maybe the SEC should go ahead and make the moves: contact Texas and TA&MU* and FSU and Miami, as well as backups across NC and VA. Make the move towards total hegemony and force the others to follow suit, just like they did 1992 when the were the first to roll out a 12-team, 2-division league and host a title game.

Go ahead and build a 16 team, 4-division league that stretches from Austin to Columbia and from Lexington to Miami. Then, sit back and watch as the Big Ten and PAC-10 scramble for pieces of the Big-XII like 19th Century Europe in Africa. Watch Oklahoma try to hold court over what's left once Nebraska and Missouri bolt for the B10 and Colorado joins the PAC-10. Or, maybe the SEC should drop Vandy to try a run at OU, too. Or, if Miami doesn't want in, pick up Clemson** or Georgia Tech...or even Virginia Tech...or....well, you get the idea. Whoever goes first will start the trend and have the most options available.

So, why sit patiently and politely while the Big Ten opens the festivities? Why let the emerging conference alliances and litigious protection plans paint them in to a corner? Why Wait?

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* Have to be a pair if the move is going to get through the lone-star legislature. Also, Texas will lose the benefit of the Big-XII's profit-sharing model, which unlike other leagues, allows the most exposed team the most money. The SEC is an even-share league, but still could have enough money to beat what the 'Horns are making in the Big-XII.

**Clemson's record against the SEC hasn't been great, though.
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UPDATE: Georgia Tech to the Big Ten? In the modern age, where similarities mean more than geography, they actually do seem like a good fit.