I breathed a sigh of relief when the NCAA decided that it would increase the number of men's basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament to only 68.

The number being bandied about — 96 — would have been way too many, but I'll settle for the extra four squads.

However, now the focus has turned to college football. The NCAA doesn't have its hand directly in this one, but it can only sit back and watch as several teams could be jumping ship and sliding into new conferences.

That, in turn, will destroy other conferences.

I understand the idea of keeping the status quo. Too bad the NCAA and university presidents don't see that.

When it comes to making more money, it's natural to be curious.

But when is it enough?

More importantly, at what point does the product become watered down or people just get overwhelmed and lose interest?

Supposedly, the Big Ten Conference is seeking a 12th member — as you can see, money already well-spent for that concept — and there's a possibility of pulling in even more teams.

With its own network and a contract with ABC, the television money the Big Ten pulls in is amazing.

But which program will be invited to the Big Ten's party? When the NCAA basketball tournament was under way, Pitt's name was coming up a lot. But now the consensus is that the league wants to tap into the New York City region.

That could mean Syracuse, Rutgers, Connecticut — or all of them. Expect the word "superconference" to be on the lips of a lot of college presidents.

The idea of 12, 14 or even 16 teams sounds real appealing, unless you're one of the ones left behind.

In 1993, Miami (Fla.), Boston College and Virginia Tech all bailed on the Big East and joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Big East survived, but will it this time around? Not if Pitt or West Virginia leave.

Notre Dame might be a candidate for Big Ten membership, but it will never give up its independence in football, although the Fighting Irish are part of the Big East in all other sports.

If the Big East loses teams, don't think that the SEC, Pac-10 or Big 12 Conferences won't look to add some teams as well.

When conferences get bigger, others had better be ready to jump into the mix or get left behind.

I'm sure the natural rivalries that exist now might be lost, but it's possible some new ones will develop, such as Pitt-Iowa, Syracuse-Purdue and West Virginia-Northwestern.

Basketball is one thing, but in football every team should play every conference opponent. Each year in the Big Ten, teams are eager to see where they are playing some teams, as well as who they don't get to play. Is it fair if Ohio State plays Michigan and Penn State, but Michigan doesn't have to play Penn State?

If you want a true conference champion, you should play everyone. That's sounds fair and equal.

But since when did universities care about that?