Proper conference alignments...

[King Crimson]

Every conference now has private schools so they can keep their financial books from being made public, thats the reason Baylor is in the Big 12 and Vandy is in the SEC, it has nothing to do with academics and everything to do with money.

that's true about Baylor (if it wasn't Baylor it would have been another SWC private like TCU--though, the Big 8 was without a private member FWIW).....but Vandy is a charter member of the SEC since 1932. to say "now" in reference to Vandy simply isn't accurate.

[Terry in Crapchester]

Going back to this . . .

Here ya' go, Terry. This is my off-the-top-of-my-head take on what the conferences ought to look like...

Smashmouth 12

North
Michigan
Michigan St
Ohio St
Cincinnati
Wisky
Minnesota

South
ND
Indiana
Purdue
Northwestern
Illinois
Iowa

I'm thinking back to 2003 here, when it looked like ND might have to join a conference, and all options pretty much were on the table.

Back then, on one of the ND homer boards, one of the posters suggested that ND join the Big Ten, with the following divisional alignment:

Great Lakes Division

Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Ohio State
Wisconsin

Midwest Division

Illinois
Indiana
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Penn State
Purdue

Right around the same time, Babs started a post at TOT suggesting that ND join the Big Ten, and positing the North/South alignment favored by Michigan and tOSU. I countered with this alignment, which Babs pooh-poohed, suggesting that "his" made more geographic sense (which, I suppose, it does, but geography ain't everything when it comes to college football conferences, let alone divisions within a conference ('sup, ACC Atlantic and Coastal Divisions).

Anyhoo, this isn't really worlds apart from what you suggested. Replace Cincinnati in the conference with Penn State (which corresponds to real world), then swap Penn State and Iowa within the divisions. If you don't like the division names (admittedly, Iowa in the "Great Lakes" Division is a bit of a reach, as is tOSU -- the northern part of that state, sure, but tOSU is in Columbus -- and Penn State in the "Midwest" Division as well), change them. But leave the alignments intact.

Of course, it'll never happen for any number of reasons, but what say you?

[Van]

No problem with that. Once you replace PSU with Cincy and then swap Iowa and Cincy it's the same thing I posited. Your East-West one works just as well too, provided Michigan St and Ohio St still play each other every year.