The Empire (Commissioned by Team Speed Kills) has selected Fresno State in the final round of the SBNation Conference Redraft Project. If you are unfamiliar with the project, please read this.
Here's a look at The Empire:
Alabama
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Texas A&M
Arizona
California
Connecticut
Arizona State
Oregon State
South Florida
Hawaii
Fresno State
In a round where teams like Villanova and Georgetown were selected, I think we got a great steal in the Bulldogs. With the pick, we now have a small-rival for the California Golden Bears, a second team in the state of California, and a pretty good Football and Baseball team.
After the break we'll look at how the Beavers fit into the conference with Fresno State and take a look at how The Empire stacks up against everyone else.
West
Hawaii
California
Oregon State
Arizona
Arizona State
Fresno State
East
Alabama
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Connecticut
South Florida
Texas A&M
I said last time that Oregon State would be third in the west behind Arizona State and Texas A&M, and I still think that's true. After that I think it would go Hawaii, California, Fresno State, and Arizona.
In Basketball, I had Oregon State as the ninth best team in the conference, in front of the Sun Devils and Sooners. With the addition of Fresno State, I think we still are the ninth best team, as the Bulldogs kind of suck at Basketball.
Having Fresno State in a baseball conference would be fun, as the Beavers have had some good battles with them. I still think we are the best baseball team in The Empire, but Fresno State would compete with us, Texas A&M and Hawaii and for the championship.
How does The Empire stack up against other conferences? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Florida, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Miami (Florida), Auburn, Kansas, Illinois, TCU, Colorado, Indiana, Texas Tech, Villanova The 12 Pack: Texas, Georgia, UCLA, Wisconsin, Washington, Duke, Clemson, Virginia, Boston College, Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern In our last post, I said that the only conference that was better than us was the Cult of Les Miles. However, I think we got the much better deal in Fresno State, while the Cult selected UCF. Overall, I think we are tied with them for the best fake conference.
First, let's take a look at the five other conferences:
Cult of Les Miles: LSU, Michigan, UNC, Stanford, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Mississippi, Florida Atlantic, UCF
House of a Thousand Sanctions: USC, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, Syracuse, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, BYU, Vanderbilt, NC State, Air Force, Georgetown
Conference TMZ: Ohio State, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan State, West Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, Utah, Boise State, Cincinnati, Mississippi State, Kansas State
Make sure to check back throughout the season here on BTD as we will provide updates on The Empire.
--Connor