the only reason right now for them to take ecu would be if the schools are getting ambitious . but with the length of time it is taking to deliberate which schools they want they definitely arent ambitious . my feeling is if i was the conference , i would consider the acc a threat. the best way to go up against them would be to pick schools that would draw recruits from the acc schools . ecu would then be a good pick along with both florida schools.

why not ECU they fit the profile of the Big East

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How does ECU fit the profile of the Big East?

It is Southern, not Northern. It is not located in or near a major urban area. It has none of the academic prestige of the majority of Big East universities. It is a directional schools whereas the Big East school's are either state flagships or private. ???

So I guess Miami was north! ECU has most of the triangle and raleigh is a big city. 2 they are very decent in the academic's part. 3. There a state school.

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http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/26/Sports/Musical_leagues_not_o.shtml

Musical leagues not over
By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2003

TAMPA - After getting blindsided by the ACC, the Big East was up front with Conference USA this summer, saying it might try to lure a few C-USA teams.

Thanks for the warning. Widespread reports this week said the Big East will heist four of Conference USA's elite basketball programs: Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul. Cincinnati and Louisville also would be part of an eight-team football league while the four newcomers would give the Big East 16 basketball schools.

C-USA is preparing its response and appears ready to add WAC schools.

"We've developed a wide variety of contingency plans," C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. "There are several schools interested in this conference."

According to the Dallas Morning News, C-USA and SMU are talking, and C-USA also could entice Rice and Tulsa from the WAC.

"Every scenario we might be interested in would have a geographic proximity, where fans can get to games," SMU athletic director Larry Copeland told the Morning News.

Where is USF in all of this? The Bulls are considered a possibility to join the Big East as part of a second wave of new football members (after Cincinnati and Louisville), allowing the league to maintain a presence in football-fertile Florida.

But the NCAA's preliminary ruling denying the ACC's request to allow leagues with 10 or more teams to hold a football title game could hurt USF. One reason the Big East would expand to 10 football teams would be to hold a lucrative conference title game.

Another consideration: With the anticipated swelling to 16 basketball schools, the Big East might not have room for USF basketball. Ultimately, the Bulls could end up choosing between full membership in a diminished C-USA and joining the Big East in a football-only capacity (perhaps along with UCF). USF would attain the coveted BCS status but have to find a new league affiliation for its other sports.

The next big dates in the saga: Oct. 6-7, when the C-USA athletic directors meet in Chicago; Oct. 13-14, when the C-USA presidents meet in Chicago; Nov. 4, when the Big East presidents meet and are expected to extend formal invitations; and Dec. 8-10, when C-USA ADs meet again.

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i wonder why the c-usa has no interest in la tech. they seem to be a decent football school, having beaten michigan state, and could start an instate rivalry with tunlane. thoughts anyone?

great question hawk but I think the just don't want them or vice versa who knows maybe frair, gunner,cyber, lash or bullet can answer that.

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http://wvgazette.com/section/Sports/200309263

Report: C-USA doesn’t want Herd

Let the contradicting reports begin.

Days after newspaper reports indicated Marshall would be a leading candidate to go to Conference USA in the next round of conference shuffling, a CBS-Sportsline.com report hinted that the Thundering Herd would be frozen out.

Sportsline.com writer Tony Mejia wrote Thursday, citing an unidentified source, that “inviting Southern Methodist, Rice and Tulsa, along with second-year [Mid-American Conference] member Central Florida, seems to be the most viable option to keep C-USA afloat as a 12-team league...”

- advertisement-

The source is quoted as saying Tulsa and UCF have “conditionally accepted bids.”

Assuming C-USA does indeed lose Louisville and Cincinnati to the Big East and basketball schools Charlotte and Saint Louis to the Atlantic 10, a turf war looms against the Western Athletic Conference. WAC commissioner Karl Benson did more than drop hints about going after Texas Christian, Houston and Tulane.

In fact, a Houston television station obtained a letter from Benson, urging WAC schools to actively recruit C-USA’s southwestern-most members.

“The question for us as a league has been, how do we fix our geography? We’ve looked for schools that can add to our league’s prestige and value, specifically TCU, Houston and Tulane,” Benson told Mejia.

Mejia did mention Marshall, saying the Herd “might also be an active part of the reshuffling. Sources said the school was not given resounding approval by C-USA league presidents in recent meetings, but that could always change once the bullets start flying.”

The Sportsline.com article even links Marshall to the WAC’s future, saying that league could end up desperate for an eighth member. Conferences with fewer than eight Division I-A members stand to lose NCAA voting rights in football’s top echelon.

Southern Methodist athletic director Jim Copeland told Mejia he expects the entire shakeup to be set by Christmas.

“I think it’s going to be an interesting couple of months,” Copeland said.

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so the likely new cusa will consist of (at least for today :))

-ecu
-memphis
-southern miss
-tulane
-usf
-ucf
-uab
-tcu
-rice
-smu
-houston
-tulsa

not too bad of a conference with a decent geographical scheme

the biggest losers if this goes through will be la tech and utep. the other wac west members will probably go the mountain west leaving utep and la tech to the sunbelt.

Makes sense and gets a championship game. But also looks like they may ask teams to leave tulane or uab who knows. UAB goes to the sunbelt where they belong and cusa invites la tech.

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LA Tech would win it evry year no competition in the sunbelt.

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The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide

interesting thought about switching uab and la tech. i agree that la tech would dominate the sunbelt so i agree with you that they should switch for competive reasons. but they already cover lousiana with tulane and need uab to have a presence in alabama.

I'm from Bama uab don't draw that much of a crowd as LA Tech does its about geography, money and stability

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The Bear may be dead but he still hates Tennessee. Roll Damn Tide