ESPN.com Animation on the History of Conference Realignment

ESPN.com has an animated, interactive slideshow on the history of conference realignment (link). The exhibit goes beyond merely presenting factual information, also analyzing larger trends that brought us to where we are today. The 1984 Supreme Court ruling that the NCAA could not limit the amount of weekly college football telecasts stands out as a major turning point. This decision, along with formation of the College Football Association (CFA), preceded, if not directly caused, a number of East Coast independents seeking conference memberships and existing conferences expanding their numbers of schools.

ESPN.com Offers Historical Review of Football Programs Left Behind in Previous Conference Realignments

The old Southwest Conference left behind Houston, Rice, TCU, and SMU when it merged with the Big 8 to become the Big 12. An older version of the Pac 12 left behind Idaho and Montana many years ago and now the conference is leaving behind Oregon State and Washington State. Other conferences have done similar things.

What has happened to these "left-behind" schools in terms of their football competitiveness in later years? This ESPN.com investigation provides the answers. Here is some background on the SP+ metric used in the ESPN article.