NCAA Basketball: Will realignment ruin college basketball?

With another round of major-conference football-driven realignment set to become official this summer, it feels as though the doomsday clock on college basketball (and college athletics) as we know it has clicked another minute closer to midnight. That means the conundrum college basketball has been saddled with for nearly 20 years since realignment became an annual part of the college landscape, how does basketball get a piece of the football pie while keeping the integrity of everything that makes college basketball in March great, when it seems all anyone cares about, even the NCAA is football has become even more urgent.

Before I go any further, let me explain what I mean by "integrity". I mean how does college basketball keep the all-inclusiveness that helps make March Madness what it is while at the same time increasing interest and viewership during peak football season, November through January?

Obviously, if there were an easy answer to this question we wouldn't be having this conversation. There are many many reasons why football steers the ship of college athletics, but basketball doesn't have to steer the ship, it just has to be promoted to first mate so it's given more consideration than it's being given. It may be a hill too high to climb before the inevitable football breakoff from the NCAA, but those who love and have influence in the basketball realm need to be working on a way to preserve it as much as possible. There may be many factors to overcome, but there has to be a solution for the sport we care for so much.