What does the expansion of college football mean for other sports?

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I was hoping one day the SEC would expand hockey to maybe D2 or D3 - but that's never gonna happen now, huh?

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Was never going to happen. Although my hometown of Huntsville is proof that hockey can be popular in the South. That is if you have enough carpetbaggers in an area.

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You would think hockey would catch on

it's practically gladiators on ice going 20-30 mph skating full speed.

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I know right. I prefer Huntsville Havoc games(semi pro team) but UAH Charger games are fun too. Cold beer, frequent checking escalating into down right fighting. Seats right behind the penalty box, where you can trash talk the opponent. Good times, I wish I had time to go to more games.

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Realignment is not about expansion, but abut contraction.

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Scholarship sports don't affect club sports, so it won't affect club hockey (unless the club hockey schools want to rearrange themselves).

I believe the rule is: if your football conference sponsors the sport and your school has that sport, your school has to play in that conference.

USC and UCLA won't have to send their water polo teams to play in the Big Ten because the Big Ten doesn't sponsor water polo, but their volleyball, baseball, etc. teams will have to play in the Big Ten.

For the SEC, maybe the conference will start sponsoring women's rowing? According to the SEC page on wikipedia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma all offer women's rowing (ironically, Alabama and Tennessee are currently competing in the Big 12 for rowing, along with the Longhorns and Sooners). The SEC started sponsoring Equestrian as a sport when A&M joined, giving them a 4th school that played the sport.

It would be fun if some SEC schools started ice hockey, although I think they would be required to play in Division I. The University of Arizona has a Division I ice hockey team, so it is possible for warm-weather schools to have programs.

But it would make more sense for more SEC schools to start offering men's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse. With the new TV money, everyone should be able to sponsor an extra sport for men and women without affecting funding for football/basketball/baseball.

Even if more schools don't add those sports, if the SEC does end up adding 4ish ACC schools, the SEC might have enough to start sponsoring men's soccer and women's lacrosse.

It means they really don't matter.

There's a reason you never hear about national realignment in basketball or baseball.

Hockey will catch on. It is too great of a sport not to.