The biggest loser in conference realignment (other than the Big Least and the Big XII, IX, whatever)?

The SEC.

Think about it: 2 weeks ago, the SEC was supposedly the most popular girl at the dance, bringing in Texas A&M (which brings in a mediocre at best athletic program, but sits surrounded by FOUR Top 50 TV markets), and the opportunity to bring in Clemson, Free Shoes U,, and VaTech instead gets blindsided by the normally dormant ACC which not only brings in 2 new schools in Syracuse and Pitt (accepting mediocre athletic teams must be a pre-requisite into a conference) and then INCREASES the fee for any school wanting to leave the conference to $20 million.  Goodbye Clemson, FSU and VaTech. and being the Beast of the Southeast.

What's left?

West Virginia By God (or is it West By God Virginia, I get confused), but anyway, it's that school in Pennsyltucky with no big metro area to speak of...OR: we have Missouri, one of the worst major 1-A (or whatever they're calling it these days) athletic schools in the country--in a state where they're the ONLY big university.  As for TV markets there, St. Loo is divided between the Illini and Missouri, but is more of a pro sports town (ever heard college sports talk on KMOX?  Me neither.), and Kansas City is a big Kansas area.  (Lawrence, KS is closer to KC than Tuscaloosa is to B'ham and Athens is to Atlanta.  It's sorta like what Auburn is to Columbus, GA.)  One thing both WV and MO both have in common: they're both meth capitals of their respective regions...

Great going, Mike Slive...You said you could pull into your desk drawer and get another 4 teams; where are they coming from now?  If the expansion of the Pac-∞ (Pac-Infinity) goes through, we'll be the FOURTH most attractive conference.