Conference Cavorting..... Oh, and Don't Drink Kappy's Brand Whiskey

There are 11 conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The FBS is more commonly referred to as Division 1-A. These are the big-name teams you might here on the radio or see on ESPN if you're as big of a fanatic as I am, like Boston College, University of Miami, Penn State University, Ohio State University, etc. The means in this subdivision are the ones who play for the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) National Championship. Of the 11 conferences in the FBS, six of them are BCS automatic qualifiers, meaning that if a team were to win it's respective conference, it automatically gets a shot at one of the major headliner bowl games.

Since I really became invested in college football around 2001-2002 up until this year, the teams in the 11 conferences have all stayed relatively in place. This years marks the biggest conference shake-up I have ever seen. And I love it.

In 2004 I saw Virginia Tech and Miami move from the Big East conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In 2005, Boston College did the same. Three teams switched conferences. This year five teams have already switched, almost every conference has put out an invitation for another team to join, and minutes ago I just read an article saying that Texas A&M will be switching conferences next year as well. Oh, and four teams will be moving up from the Football Championship Subdivision, more commonly 1-AA to the FBS.

So if you're mildly interested in college football and you watch a game or two on saturdays with the boys and throw down a couple of cold ones (or Kappy's brand whiskey which I'll get to in a minute), you're probably asking, "Why all the moving?"

The answers aren't as exciting as you might hope. Reasons range from television exposure to lucrative contracts to recruiting pipelines. Some teams, like Boise State, moved from an non-automatic qualifying conference to another. Why? It is simply more competitive. Boise State is a preseason top 10 team every year and are hoping to get a little more street cred by playing in a tougher conference.

You should really look at college football games as conference vs. conference rather than team vs. team. Each conference has it's own style of play and it's own reputation. The Big 10 is historic with a conservative style of play and smash-mouth reputation. The South East Conference (SEC) is known to play the best overall football, have some of the most innovative coaches, and produce the best athletes. They have had a team win the national championship for the past five years. The Pac 10 has a very fast-paced and contemporary style of play. The list goes on and on. Some teams want a chance to prove themselves against the real contenders. Some want more national spotlight. Some want revamp their look and prestige. They are looking for an extra edge.

So now that you've gotten my little spiel about teams changing conferences, you're probably curious about the Kappy's brand whiskey. Well, I drank a bottle of Kappy's brand whiskey this weekend. Kappy's, as you might know unless you're that guy who doesn't drink, is a chain of liquor stores. Hey, I'm on a budget. It cost me $7.59. Can't beat that. Can you beat the taste and the smoothness and the hangover it causes? Yes. If you've got the cash to spend, go a little higher-end. With all seriousness, Kappy's brand is probably the shittiest whiskey I've ever dared to put down my throat and I'm still trying to recover from it. If you're pinching your pennies, than good luck to ya. But this is your fair warning. Don't be afraid to splurge when it comes to this.