More to come as the story develops…

Temple had been part of the Big East discussions ever since the defections of Syracuse and Pitt. But when the Big East opted for UCF, Houston and SMU for all-sports, it appeared Temple’s only hope would be football-only. Those hopes were soon dashed when Boise St. and San Diego St. were brought in for football only. And when Navy was brought in for football only (2015) and Memphis was later brought in as an all-sports replacement for WVU, things did not look good for Temple. But due to the Big East’s need for a 2012 8th football member, Temple was back in the mix…and as the only school considered by the conference, it meant Temple was able to get more than just a new football home.

Temple will pay the MAC $6 million to leave early in 2012. Their non-football sports will move from the A10 to the Big East a year later in 2013, paying a $1 million exit fee.

The move from the MAC could mean trouble for UMass, the other football-only MAC member, as the conference has a clause that it can expel UMass after 2 seasons if Temple were to leave (or vice versa). The MAC must now decide to remain at 13 or to consider a 14th member from potential FCS upgrades such as Appalachian St., Georgia St., Charlotte, George Southern, JMU, Delaware and others.

As for the Big East, the conference now has a look much different than it traditionally has had. While the addition of Temple seems like a great fit, adding an all-sports Philadelphia market program, the remnants of what make up the Big East are quite different. Schools like Temple and Navy in the region always made sense for the Big East, but with Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia no longer in the Big East future, the Big East is hoping Temple will fill some of that new void.

The addition of Temple will also add further fuel to the rumors of a future Big East split. With Temple now in for all-sports, the conference football members could leave and maintain the Philadelphia market.

For 2015, the Big East is slotted for 13 football members. that number gives them a buffer should Louisville join the Big 12. The Big East also can reserve a 14th spot this way for another run at Air Force, given the addition of Navy along with the 2 western schools.

As for the conference membership:

2012:

8 football, *8 non-football members

UConn
Syracuse
Rutgers
Temple (football only)
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Louisville
USF
* Providence
* St. Johns
* Seton Hall
* Villanova
* Georgetown
* Notre Dame
* DePaul
* Marquette

2013:

14 football members, *8 non-football members

UConn
Syracuse
Rutgers
Temple
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Louisville
Memphis
UCF
USF
SMU
Houston
Boise St. (football only)
SDSU (football only)
* Providence
* St. Johns
* Seton Hall
* Villanova
* Georgetown
* Notre Dame
* DePaul
* Marquette

2014:

12 football members, 8 non-football members,

UConn
Rutgers
Temple
Cincinnati
Louisville
Memphis
UCF
USF
SMU
Houston
Boise St. (football only)
SDSU (football only)
* Providence
* St. Johns
* Seton Hall
* Villanova
* Georgetown
* Notre Dame
* DePaul
* Marquette

2015:

13 football members, 8 non-football members,

UConn
Rutgers
Temple
Navy (football only)
Cincinnati
Louisville
Memphis
UCF
USF
SMU
Houston
Boise St. (football only)
SDSU (football only)
* Providence
* St. Johns
* Seton Hall
* Villanova
* Georgetown
* Notre Dame
* DePaul
* Marquette

UMass is expected to play the majority of their FBS games at Gillette Stadium in eastern Massachusetts, up to 5 games per year and 1 game in Amherst. The specifics will likely be revealed at the press conference.

As part of the football-only membership agreement, UMass will schedule two annual road basketball games versus MAC  opponents. The other football-only member, Temple, has the same arrangement. When looking at the quality of the MAC versus other mid-major basketball conferences, the basketball game concession might actually be an advantage ans MAC schools are usually ranked higher than many of the recent UMass OOC opponents.

In upgrading to FBS, UMass will remain tied in with their rival, Temple, for the near future. Both schools have higher aspirations such as the Big East. But at this time, the MAC remains the best option for both schools.

As part of the NCAA rules for upgrades, a school upgrading from FCS to FBS must have an invitation from an existing FBS conference. With the only conference seemingly with room for FCS schools being the WAC, based in the Texas to California region, the MAC invite is an important one for UMass. Had the 14th football spot gone to another school, UMass would have had no other options to upgrade.

Update: 5/3/11:

Per Matt Vautour, here are the UMass/MAC contract specs:

Gillette Stadium contract:

* Revenue will be split between Gillette and UMass up to the first $300,000 made in ticket sales
* Average ticket price will be $24.50
* Gillette will gain all concession sales revenue including beer
* Gillette will cover all staffing costs at the stadium
*  UMass will control 5 of the 86 stadium suites
* UMass will control 1 of the 2 super suites
* Parking is free

Scheduling:

* UMass will have 5 home games at Gillette, likely meaning they will have 7 road games (including higher revenue OOC road games)
* UMass will have 4 MAC conference home games at Gillette and 1 OOC game

MAC Membership:

*  membership is open ended, not based on a set number of years. If UMass opts to leave, they are free to do so.
* UMass would have a $2.5 million exit fee though, and required 2 year notice
* UMass is a full voting member on all MAC football related issues

UMass and Temple MAC Tandem: ”
* If either Temple or UMass opted to leave the MAC, the other school would be able to do so with a $500,000 exit fee

MAC Entry Costs:
* UMass paid $500,000 to  join the MAC
* UMass, like all MAC members, pays an annual fee of $100,000 (likely taken out of TV revenue)

Basketball Concession:

* UMass men’s and women’s basketball teams will play 4 games each year against MAC schools. 2 games at home, 2 on the road.

The change in the conference landscape could be making it’s way to New England. According to reports, UMass and the MAC have had initial discussions in which Umass would upgrade to FBS level football and join the MAC as it’s 14th school.

Some rumblings by The Spectrum (Buffalo). But I think they might be basing their reports on something Andy Katz wrote about in 2008, not recently. I think this is the case because in 2008 I wrote a similar blurb based on the same Andy Katz article.

There was more talk about expanding the league to 14 teams with adding Temple (Atlantic 10 for all sports but football) and Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) as full members. Temple plays a MAC schedule in football and has added MAC nonconference games for basketball. This kind of decision would be made for football, but if they did ever join the league in hoops, it would make this league even tougher and potentially put it in position to earn multiple bids (which hasn’t happened since 1999).

WKU has always seemed like a logical fit. Although Marshall was a logical fit as well. But when given the opportunity to join CUSA, they did. While the Sunbelt is not as attractive as CUSA, WKU is in a good situation: they could stay put and if the Sunbelt ever imploded due to moves by it’s current members, WKU could then move to the MAC.

Temple is another story.

The Atlantic 10 has been an ideal home for Temple. And this year alone, there were 6 teams going into the final month of basketball play poised for NCAA bids. Even with collapses by Charlotte, URI and Dayton, the A10 still will get 3 teams in. If URI or Dayton advance to the A10 finals, they will potentially get an at-large bid as well. The MAC might be too much a step down for Temple at this time. Right now, they can succeed in MAC football and A10 basketball, and improve their profile should the Big East ever split and need a Philadelphia presence.

If WKU were to join the MAC, the Sunbelt might be more aggressive in their pursuit of UTSA or Texas St, which have considered an upgrade. Other targets might be Georgia St. or Charlotte whom are launching football and hope to one day be FBS level.

If Temple were to leave the A10, the conference might just remain at 13 members. If they were to expand to 14, the A10 might revisit schools they once considered such as Butler, Detroit, Boston University and ODU.

Steinbrecher spent the past six years as commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference. Prior to the OVC, he served as commissioner of the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as the Summitt League). He has more than 15 years of experience in Division I athletics.”

Read more…

‘I have been privileged to serve an outstanding group of institutions, administrators and student-athletes during a time of unprecedented achievement for the MAC,’ Chryst said in a statement Thursday. ‘The conference stands for all of the best values — academically and athletically — in major college athletics, and I truly believe it is firmly positioned to sustain its competitiveness for a long time to come.”

In the fall of 1999, this site, a unique meeting place for those interested in the topic of NCAA conference realignment was formed for fans from across the country to discuss the potential scenarios of conference realignment. Without any bells and whistles, without even a website domain name, this site grew into a one of a kind hotspot for what has been an unprecedented span of major NCAA conference realignment. With the recent announcements of Florida Atlantic and Florida International accepting Sunbelt memberships for 1A football, the last few dominos have fallen for now. It seems appropriate that we take a look back at just what changes have occurred, compare those to some of the more popular predictions from this site, and to look at just what moves could still remain.

ACC:
The ripple of 2003 started with the initial discussions between Miami and the ACC. Since Miami joined the Big East in 1991, virtually everyone thought that the ACC would be a much better match for the university. Geography combined with the fact that the ACC already had a combination of likeminded private schools as well as public, state schools, and the eventual membership by fellow Florida school Florida State, made the ACC an appealing option. That became reality this summer as Miami President, Donna Shalala, announced that the Hurricanes would indeed join the ACC. While Boston College and Syracuse seemed the frontrunners to join along with Miami, Virginia Tech was bumped ahead of both due to political pressures put on the University of Virginia. A look back at the CollegeSportsInfo.com scenarios of 1999 show that both Miami and Virginia Tech made the most sense for the ACC. It was that third school that was hard to determine. In the end, the ACC chose Boston College as its 12th member, a choice that many could see coming 10 years ago as an attempt for the ACC to infiltrate the Big East media markets.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
CANDIDATES: [1 or 3 openings] Miami, VATech
Long shots= BC, Syracuse, WVU, Navy (as FB only), UConn, Temple, Rutgers, Louisville, ECU

Official 2003 Moves:
ACC invites Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College

Big East:
The effects of the ACC defections will have the hardest impact on the Big East. To combat losing Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech, the Big East will add Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, DePaul and Marquette. The idea of adding Louisville and Cincinnati was around even before Miami and company decided to leave. The Big East, at 8 members, has always considered a future in which its football-playing members could leave to form an all-sports conference. If this were to happen, adding Louisville and Cincinnati, two schools with reputable 1A football programs and exceptional basketball programs, would strengthen both areas. But with the ACC defections, the Big East sought to add a third all-sports school as well as 2 non-football schools. In the end, South Florida was chosen as the 3rd football replacement due to what many consider their upside as a school in the Tampa market, located in the recruiting hotbed of Florida. Many thought that the Big East might look to strengthen their presence in the general northeast footprint by reinstating Temple, adding Army or Navy for football-only, or looking again at CUSA for a school such as East Carolina, who came very close to joining in 1991 when the football conference formed. Marshall, a program that has been ranked much of its short 1A existence never received much consideration, rumored to be blocked from joining by fellow West Virginia school WVU. The Big East will have a tough road ahead of them with the loss of its two football powers Miami and Virginia Tech. It’s hard to look at the future Big East in the light we have grown accustomed to.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
CANDIDATES: [1-4 opening] Louisville, Cincinnati, UCF, Army, Navy
Long shots: ECU, Marshall, UMass

Official 2003 Moves:
Big East adds Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, DePaul and Marquette

Conference USA:
While the Big East might have such a tough road ahead of them as a BCS member, it is CUSA who will have the most dramatic facelift. After losing (5) members, Commissioner Britton Banowsky, who took over for Mike Slive after he departed for the SEC, looked towards the WAC for replacements. Banowsky, who never relocated to the CUSA offices in Chicago from his Dallas home, saw the departures as an excuse to give CUSA a southern makeover. Joining in 2005 will be Texas schools Rice and SMU as well as Oklahoma school, Tulsa. CUSA will keep its Florida presence by adding MAC school UCF to replace USF. Marshall also comes along from the MAC. With the additional departures of non-football schools, DePaul and Marquette to the Big East, the league will now become an all-sport conference. With that, Charlotte and St. Louis will leave for the Atlantic 10. Recent rumblings have TCU considering a potential Mountain West invitation. Should they accept, LA Tech, UTEP and Temple will all be considered for membership.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
CANDIDATES: UCF, Marshall
Long shots: SMU, Tulsa, UTEP, Rice, LA Tech, Temple, Navy

Official 2003 Moves:
CUSA will add Rice, SMU, Tulsa, UCF and Marshall
Charlotte and St. Louis will leave in 2005 to join the A10.

WAC:
In somewhat of a scurry to secure its place in 1A athletics, the WAC turned to the Sunbelt to combat its losses. Similar to the CUSA strategies, the W
AC looked to strengthen its regional presence as a western conference. Utah State and New Mexico State will join once the (2) Texas schools, SMU and Rice, as well as Tulsa leave in 2005. LA Tech remains the lone school outside the current WAC footprint. That could change in the coming weeks should TCU leave for the Mountain West. LA Tech is rumored to be the leading candidate, joining fellow Louisiana school Tulane in CUSA. Idaho could be slated to benefit form a LA Tech departure with a WAC invite. Should the WAC also lose Boise State, there is a chance that the WAC might admit North Texas or Louisiana-Lafayette to secure the necessary membership numbers for its league.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
Candidates: Utah St., Idaho, New Mexico St.
Long shots: Arkansas St, LA-Monroe, LA-Lafayette

Official 2003 Moves:
WAC will add Utah State and New Mexico State

Sunbelt:
While everyone focuses on the shifting landscape by the BCS conferences and fringe leagues such as CUSA and Mountain West, it is the Sunbelt who has had to do the most work. The league has found itself in a desperation mode in order to keep its’ membership numbers at the necessary 8 all-sport schools. Once Utah State and New Mexico State announced they were leaving, it left the Sunbelt with only 7 members, Arkansas State, North Texas, Middle Tenn. St., Louisiana Monroe , La Lafayette with Troy State and Idaho slated to become all-sport members. To get back to 8 and protect itself against an additional departure by Idaho or another school, the Sunbelt has accepted I-AA upgrades Florida Atlantic and Florida International. The move keeps the Sunbelt as the most regionally diverse conference, stretching from Florida to Idaho. Idaho remains the geographical anomaly, with what must be the most expensive travel budget in recent years. The closest Sunbelt school to Idaho will remain North Texas.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
Candidates: Any 1A football program, ANY Sunbelt Other-Sports members adding/upgrading football, ANY Southern Conference, SWAC, Southland, Ohio Valley, Gateway I-AA program looking to upgrade to 1A.

Official 2003 Moves:
Sunbelt will add FAU and FIU in 2004, 2005.

Mountain West:
While so many changes have taken place this past year, the Mountain West has been sitting in the shadows, working with the NCAA in order to find the means to gain BCS access. TCU remains and option for the league, which has all but concluded that they will indeed expand, by 1-4 schools. The number of schools to add remains the lone hurdle. Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada are all being considered as well. But should the MWC add 2 schools, TCU and Boise State are the clear frontrunners. Houston and UTEP have an outside shot of joining should TCU demand a travel partner.

Our 1999-200 Predictions:
CANDIDATES: Boise State, Fresno, TCU, UTEP, Hawaii
Long shots: Houston, Utah St, Idaho, Nevada

In 2005, once these moves all become official, the dust will settle from these more major dominoes that have fallen. The future could hold another series of change that could have just as impacting an effect. Notre Dame, the most major independent school, could one day join the Big Ten, the most logical fit for the Indiana school. But should the Big Ten ever look to expand by 1 to get to 12, the necessary membership number to hold a league championship game, and Notre Dame not except, schools in other BCS conferences such as Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Louisville, Syracuse and Pittsburgh could get looked at. The PAC-10 could one day decide to expand to 12, and would again target Colorado and Texas, two schools they had previously inquired about for membership. Colorado State could be considered if Colorado showed interest, as would BYU, who was almost a lock to join the Big 12 before then Texas Governor Ann Richards, a Baylor alum, pressured the Big 12 to include Baylor if the league wanted the other Texas schools. Others could include WAC members Hawaii and Fresno state, as well as MWC members Utah and San Diego State.

And let’s not forget about the other non-BCS conferences and those who do not sponsor 1A football. The Atlantic 10 is poised to capitalize on the recent shifts by adding two quality programs in Charlotte and St. Louis. The MAC will lose UCF and Marshall. With so many MAC schools at risk of losing their 1A status should new 1A criteria become finalized in two years (currently, the issues of a minimum gate attendance of 15,000 per game, with 5 1A home games required are under consideration until 2005-2006) the MAC could look to add Temple, who is slated to leave the Big East after the 2004 season, or perhaps any of the Sunbelt schools such as Middle Tennessee State. Temple will participate as an independent in 2005.

The CAA, which is attempting a coup of their own in the I-AA ranks in an attempt to sponsor I-AA football, could add A10 football schools Northeastern and New Hampshire, forcing the remaining A10 football schools to either drop to independent status or simply participate under the CAA Football banner. And outside the realm of college football, you have conferences such as the Missouri Valley, Horizon and others who could improve their RPI potential by adding 1-2 members from other similar conferences. The Missouri Valley could strengthen the league if they were ever able to add schools such as Western Kentucky or Butler.

The landscape of college sports has gone through some of it’s’ most drastic changes to date. We’ve learned that what once seemed like an area of athletic simplicity, dominated by an overwhelming feeling of fan identification and support, has officially joined the rest of our society as big business. Money is what caused the recent shifts and its business that will shape any future changes. The innocence has been lost, but as long as the fans continue to support their schools, the world of college sports will always flourish. And with that being the case, and the quest for the mighty dollar a main objective by all schools and conferences, we can be assured that we will one day see even more conference realignment.
For the fans of this unique topic, for the guests and members of CollegeSportsInfo.com, it will be a fun and wild ride

Matthew Peloquin can be contacted at email@collegesportsinfo.com.

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Conference Realignment Chronicles -5/12/043