Pounder, what are there . . . about 20 schools that have average attendance over 70,000? That leaves over 80% IA & about 70% BCS.

Re Pitt HC, they should hire Mark Whipple QB coach for Steelers, currently mentoring Ben Roethlisberger. Former head coach at DII New Haven, Brown, & UMass. Won everywhere he coached, including IAA NC at UMass. UNH averaged 50 points & 500 yards per game when he was there & was voted best offense in college football in '94 (?). Turned all 3 teams around immediately upon taking over & set up high powered offenses at all 3 schools. 47 y.o., played QB at Brown. Offensive genius. He's the guy ND should have hired.

I would argue that they need to try to strengthen the eastern footprint after a split-because of basketball. They don't want to cede the east to the Catholic bb schools. SU, UConn and Rutgers are the only true eastern schools (WVU and Pitt at the fringe). Temple and/or UMass would partly fill the hole if Villanova, St. John's and Georgetown were gone. Delaware just doesn't have the bb pedigree. And those 3 are the only possibilities. Villanova had its chance and realized it didn't make sense for them.

Excellent point, Bullet. I hadn't considered the possibility that Temple's hopes could be resurrrected in the event of a split. Good reason for them to keep their fb program alive for a few years at least. At worst, they could be the Kentucky or Duke of a new Big East. Interesting thoughts.

Temple is gone ,likely to the MAC.Its return to the BE does not exist.UMASS does not have the funds behind it to move up to 1A football.If it moves up it will be to the MAC(they could slightly enlarge their stadium and hire another few assistants and give out 20 more scholarships,that is a possibility)

21 by my count in 2004:

7 in the SEC
6 in the Big 10
4 in the Big 12
2 in the ACC
1 in the PAC-10
Notre Dame

Temple could be back in the Big East is a split happens. They could cover the Philly market for BB in a New Big East. I still think Temple would have been better for the ACC than Boston College.

If UMass wanted to move up to D1, how come they don't just rent out Gilette Stadium to play their games? That would be a better move for them than expand their own stadium. Also they would have a quality stadium to play in.

Temple draws flies to their home games.Temple's budget for football is a lot closer to MAC schools than the BE.Temple was not ejected from the BE football for a few years.Temple was eject on a permanent basis.Yes UMass who draws less than 10k for 1AA football ,will fill Gillette stadium for home games.UMASS has a hard time paying for 1AA football let alone 1A football.

Tigershark, you could have said the same thing about UConn a few years ago. It's amazing what can be accomplished when someone holds out a vision & rallies people behind it. The $$$ follow. There are enough people with bucks in Massachusetts. The challenge would be to get a few of the tycoons to open their wallets. When the momentum build, the state will get behind it. I watched in happen here in Connecticut. With twice the population, Mass has more resources & as a neighboring state, the history & dynamics are pretty much the same. What UMass doesn't have is the Big East opportunity that was offered to UConn, so the Big East would have to see a pumped up UMass as being in their best interests & reach out to them. Until now this would never have happened because of BC opposition, but I think this is the perfect opportunity.

Lash, I certainly enjoyed Wyoming's 4th quarter comeback victory over UCLA, the same team which USC struggled to beat.

One of your reinforcements, Cincinnati, played courageously.

UConn has won NCAA championships in bb .UConn is near Hartford(unlike UMASS which would need to go to Boston for a stadium)and got the state fund a good 40k stadium.Who are the donors and state officials who are going to fund umass?UMASS would be lucky if they could manage the MAC.UCONN was already in the BE,UMASS is not.

Tigershark, there was no stadium in Hartford until they built one specifically for this football program. UMass is near Springfield, a city about the same size as Hartford & with the same access to Bradley Airport, located about half way between the 2 cities. There is no reason that UMass would have to go to Foxborough to use the Patriots' Stadium. Following the UConn model, they could build one closer to home in the greater Springfield area. But if they did go to Foxborough, it would shorten the trip for their alumni, most of whom live in Boston or the other metropolitan areas of the eastern part of the state (Worcester, New Bedford. Lowell, P,rovidence southern New Hampshire, etc.)

UConn had not won any championships in basketball when they made the decision to join Big East Football. UMass has been to a Final Four in basketball within the past decade & has built a new basketball arena to support that program, so they understand something about big time college sports.

UConn was not competitive in the Big East until alumni got together & organized in the mid-80s to develop a support network. This group became very influential, were part of the search committee that hired Jim Calhoun & later Lew Perkins, & were ready to support IA football when Perkins led the charge. There were no state officials ready to build a stadium back then. It took vision & it took work. In terms of donors, Mass is one of the wealthiest states in the country. CT has the highest per capita income, but Mass is close behind, has twice as many people, & more corporate HQs. The donors are there.

What UMass doesn't have is the Big East. You are right about that. Part of the vision would have to be The Big East's. If the football programs decide to go their own way & look around for someone else to join them, they will see that UMass is a natural with great market potential & with a history of success in both major sports. It would take an invitation from the Big East to be the catalyst for the rest of it to come together - just as it did for UConn.

UMass does not have a lot of money.The donors at UMASS have not surfaced.The wealth of MASS to date has not helped UMASS.John C the xUMASS coachand his special brand of recruiting has done nothing positive for UMASS.Don't hold your breath for UMASS getting into the BE.Hartford is the capitol CONN and is a large business center.Springfield is not close to Hartford in its econmic base.

Cultivating UMass is too forward thinking for the BE. They are not not going to let any more football teams into the conference as it now stands.

This is the conference that boasts its affiliation with Notre Dame who refuses to play BE fb. So MT pleads with ND AD White for three fb games? How much of West Virginia's premium moonshine was offered for Notre Dame's communion services for that deal to go through?

Tigershark, you sound like the voice of a naysayer. As someone who lives near Hartford, the idea of UConn as a candidate for BCS level football was laughable 20 years ago. If someone with vision emerges & that is combined with opportunity, UMass is the bast choice for the long term for the Big East.

On this thread alone, you have proposed Villanova, Army, Navy, & East Carolina in addition to Notre Dame as candidates for a 9th spot in the Big East. Other than Notre Dame, I think the viability of any of the other 4 as BCS level programs speaks for itself.

If the BE wants to go outside its footpring, Memphis could work. otherwise, UMass has by far the most potential for this conference.