I don't think anybody at SB Nation is actually calling this thing "Making The Conference," but that's what I'm gonna call it, and if you don't think ol' Oopsie here is going to use this type of thing as a cheap opportunity to throw in a Chappelle's Show reference, you haven't been paying much attention to BHGP, like, ever.
So, friends! The first few rounds of SB Nation's conference redraft are in the books, and we are proud of the foundation, the bedrock of the Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants (yes, that's our conference name. it was a very popular movie. deal with it.) we can put in front of you. Here's our draft recap thus far:
ROUND 1, PICK 2: Florida Gators (Alligator Army)
ROUND 2, PICK 11: Penn St. Nittany Lions (Black Shoe Diaries)
ROUND 3, PICK 14: Virginia Tech Hokies (Gobbler Country)
Virginia Tech was a tough pick; Miami, Stanford, and Tennessee were also considered, and about 15 minutes after the selection we were like "wait, shit, Oregon" -- the Ducks went three picks later. Still, we get DC, and not in a bullcrap way like how Rutgers = NYC or anything; look at what the Hokies turned RFK into last year. The Redskins can't even do that. And as for a history of success, it's been 19 years and counting since Va Tech last had a record worse than 7-5, and seven years and counting since they had less than 10 wins in a season. Um, we're sold.
Obviously football is the strong suit in the Sisterhood, but we're talking about three nationally prominent programs here. By that I mean legitimately nationally prominent, and not like "Iowa" nationally prominent (sorry, but let's be honest). The main focus for most of the draft thus far has been football anyway--the only predominantly basketball-centric school to go thus far has been Louisville, and that's easily been the worst pick of the draft thus far, conducted purely under homerrific principles by Big East Coast Bias. Don't worry, we'll be homers and take Iowa pretty soon here too, but we'll at least be honest about it instead of trying to logically defend the pick (and summarily getting demolished by The Smoking Musket for it).
We'll put the other conference's picks below the fold, and you can tell us how much better we are at drafting than everybody else. Before that, though, our topic of discussion: philosophically, how should we proceed? I say philosophically because this is a snake draft, so we don't really have much control on what schools are left for us round-by-round. At the same time, since we have two picks within a four-pick span every couple rounds, it's a little easier to pursue an agenda rather than just going for best available--for example, we can go big market in 4-5, basketball in 6-7, entertaining bloggers in 8-9, etc.
So what would be most important to you? We've been told to neglect travel as a consideration, but should we stay mostly on the east for the sake of elegance? Do academics actually matter to you? Are there any legit BCS schools (i.e. not Vandy) that you don't want us spending a pick on, for reasons rational or otherwise? When's the earliest you would allow a basketball-only pick like UNI, Drake, or Duke?
Anyway, the larger our conference grows, the more other bloggers have input on the direction it takes in the draft, so if you want to wield the maximum amount of influence, do so now in the comment section. Pretty sure you know how it works by now. Other conferences as of 9:00 p.m. Monday night are listed below. Here's the breakdown of conference owners/draft order.
CONFERENCE 1, WHICH WE SHALL NOW CALL "TEXAS' HOME FOR AT MOST THE NEXT THREE YEARS"
ROUND 1, PICK 1: Texas Longhorns (Burnt Orange Nation)
ROUND 2, PICK 12: Georgia Bulldogs (Dawg Sports)
ROUND 3, PICK 13: UCLA Bruins (Bruins Nation)
CONFERENCE 2, WHICH IS US, "THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS"
ROUN--look, just look back at the third paragraph of this post, jesus
CONFERENCE 3, WHICH WE SHALL NOW CALL "PROP 48"
ROUND 1, PICK 3: Alabama Crimson Tide (Roll 'Bama Roll)
ROUND 2, PICK 10: Oklahoma Sooners (Crimson And Cream Machine)
ROUND 3, PICK 15: Nebraska Cornhuskers (Corn Nation)
CONFERENCE 4, WHICH WE SHALL NOW CALL "LOUISVILLE WAS A BAD CHOICE"
ROUND 1, PICK 4: Ohio St. Buckeyes (Along The OlenBANNED)
ROUND 2, PICK 9: Florida St. Seminoles (Tomahawk Nation)
ROUND 3, PICK 16: Louisville Cardinals (Card Chronicle)
CONFERENCE 5, WHICH WE SHALL NOW CALL "HOUSE OF A THOUSAND SANCTIONS"
ROUND 1, PICK 5: USC Trojans (Conquest Chronicles)
ROUND 2, PICK 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Rakes of Mallow)
ROUND 3, PICK 17: Oregon Ducks (Addicted To Quack)
CONFERENCE 6, WHICH WE SHALL NOW CALL "THE CULT OF LES MILES"
ROUND 1, PICK 6: LSU Tigers (And The Valley Shook)
ROUND 2, PICK 7: Michigan Wolverines (Maize N Brew)
ROUND 3, PICK 18: North Carolina Tar Heels (Carolina March)