The Basketball forum is dabbling in CR, so reposting here.
The combined conferences have non-football members like the oBE. UConn becomes a football member and Kansas is brought in as a football member.
ND is committed to join the ACC if it joins any conference as a full member, but instead it joins the BIG as an affiliate member and keeps football independent, or partially Indy as it does currently with the ACC.
Basketball
Kansas, Nebraska, Creighton, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Marquette, DePaul, Northwestern
Illinois, Indiana, Butler, Purdue, Xavier, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, ND
UConn, Nova, Georgetown, St Johns, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State
Football
East - Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and UConn
West - Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin and Kansas.
why? Money. Basketball super conference, without much change to football.
Non-rev sports can be regionalized like the basketball divisions to reduce travel and costs, with championships bringing the entire conference together.