Great move for Temple but not so sure what it really brings to the new TV contract. Is the Temple-Memphis or Temple-UConn football game really that attractive to the networks.

Release from Temple site with link to live coverage of 5:30pm ET presser with official BE membership announcement.Congratulations to all Temple MB members on their school obtaining BE all-sports invite.Link at http://www.owlsports.com/news/2012/3/7/ ... 20227.aspx

Athlon article discussing possible future BE realignment situation at http://www.athlonsports.com/college-foo ... -expansion

Thanks freaked.

That article is a bit tough to read, with the link going to a page that has black print on a black background.

If you click on the COLLEGE FOOTBALL tab, you will find the article in there, without the black background.

Aside from the dismissals due to market and blah, blah; SOUTHERN MISS and EAST CAROLINA look like very good football programs that would fit nicely with BE fb. Geographically, they would connect well considering the new lay-out.

Fans show at these two schools, and would be excellent additions for baseball as well. USM bb has improved, and so can ECU with an elevation in status.

With the BE trying to appear elite per expansion; they've missed some practicality. Boise & SDSU are fine schools, but surely something will become better for them out west.

Adding Temple for all-sports was a good move by the BE. More common-sense "adds" are favored when the opportunities rise again.

Yeah, I just can't see this SDSU / Boise St. in the Big East thing.

Both schools gave two justifications for this:
1) BCS AQ (access to BCS bowl game, and bigger share of BCS money (splitting the annual BE take)), and
2) better TV contract in BE (at least BE FB) = more money.

It would appear that 1) is gone.
2) might happen, but this applies ONLY to BE FB, and no TV contract is yet in place. So SDSU and Boise St. are "hopeful".

Perhaps SDSU can retreat and do the BW (all but FB) / MWCUSA (FB Only) as Hawaii is now set to do, and that creates an even number of such hybrid schools for MWCUSA.

Boise St. may have put themselves in a precarious position, by moving their non-FB sports to the WAC.
I think the MWCUSA and Sun-Belt are waiting for the new BCS format to be announced, and the final Big Conf. realignment to shake out for 2012
(could involve BYU, Louisville to Big XII, also ACC expansion with UConn / Rutgers / Notre Dame).
This may be followed by BE reaction (ECU, et. al., anyone ?)
Once that settles down, the MWCUSA will go to work absorbing portions of WAC and Sun-Belt.
Craig Thompson may call up Kustra, and say "are you REALLY committed to this silliness ?, because I'm about to pull the rug out from under your Olympic Sports in the WAC"
(as in expandind MWCUSA by taking SJSU, USU, who knows....)
At that point, if Boise. St. has NOT committed to Big East exit fees, they may reconsider this whole thing and stay in MWCUSA for all sports.
(I think Air Force went through this though process some months ago....).

I hate fb only. They want another west fb only meaning more screwed up dual affiliation. Fresno St. seems to be the hot school on the CSNbbs board w/ the Big West there for them to put other sports and having the best football of the leftovers as long as AFA still says no. I prefer SDSU and BSU go to the CTBA and Hawaii be a full member.

_________________

WRANGLERS 153-55-1 CVFL CHAMPS '04 '05 '09 '12

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I've been thinking more and more about So. Miss and ECU to the Big East. They fit the current geography, have improving basketball, and consistently good football for their conference. Also I'm starting to think that UMass could be a Big East target due to their current move to FBS. They have above average basketball, would open up the Massachusetts market for the Big East, and could have a UConn like improvement by changing from FCS to an FBS AQ conference.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman pointed out in a tweet that Boise explored forming their own cherry-picked conference out west before accepting the Big East's invivation. I think talks could resurface again of Boise forming their own conference because of both them and SDSU being geographic outliers. There are more positives than negatives to forming your own conference, especially when it would give the same home to all your sports aside from splitting football and non-football athletics.

However, the key to forming a conference on par, at least, with the Big East is trying to persuade BYU, Houston, and SMU to join. They could get by with just BYU or Houston and SMU but not without any of them.

Article in Tulane paper(previously posted in another thread)with comments from Tulane President who says that recent conference realignment has turned the BE into the old C-USA and has left 5 power conferences.Comments that some of the MB members have also recently stated.Link at http://www.thehullabaloo.com/sports/tul ... 0f31a.html

Article out of Jersey with comments from Rutgers AD who is apparently trying to get an "extra slice" of BE exit fee money.Link at http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index ... eekin.html

It is such a shame the Big East never had a true vision for football.

No one can really argue with Tulane Officials on the fact the Big East will drop from the power conference status due to ability to compete with other stronger financial conferences or better stated power conferences with better revenue ability due primary to resurgence of football interest for TV.

We can possibly excuse the Big East on misstep with Penn State admission because that decision was decided before football became the power sport in TV that basically determines a power conference identity in modern day college conference alignments.

What can’t be excused is losing Miami, Va Tech, WVU among the football membership and having Notre Dame mostly in the conference with just one foot out.

The Big East Administration both current and previous can make statements like Notre Dame would never agreed to join the Big East in football if forced, however, the same result will most likely occur anyway.

If the BCS AQ is gone along with the likely replacement of a plus one with four teams from the top four college conference champions In a playoff, Notre Dame is most likely going to jump to the same situation the Big East tried for some many years to avoid .

Maybe Notre Dame would have jumped anyway, however , at least the Big East officials could have looked back and said we tried to force the situation. Now all they can do is look back and think about the what if.

Is there really any difference football wise with a future expanded ACC that will most likely include an 8 team northern division of Notre Dame?, UConn?, Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland, Virginia, Va Tech compared to a nine member Big East football conference that could have contained the U of Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, WVU, Va Tech, Syracuse, UConn, Boston College, Rutgers.

Maybe Miami would have bolted anyway to the ACC to be with Florida State?

The odds would have surely been better to have kept Miami with Notre Dame in the mix. The Big East may have been able to convince Florida State to join Miami and not the other way around.

What the Big East basketball only schools have to look back on with a possibly of regret is they will be regulated to non power conference regardless of SOS with basketball.

Was it worth to protect and allow Notre Dame special status? It may not have mattered anyway but they could have stated we tried to remain a power conference.

It is unfortunate a group of basketball schools run by basketball orientated people just did not get or understand the power that college football will have on all future conference alignment decisions.

It goes to show that quality all-sports schools don't hang in a conference because Notre Dame is in a conference, minus fb, and Texas is a full member of a conference that embarked on certain controversial and independent enhancements.
They are ingraciated to do such, but also need to realize other schools may refuse to embrace it and head elsewhere. While Notre Dame's level of BE contributions may not have been the predominant factor in several all-sports schools leaving the conference, the matter was a contributor for some of the decisions. BC, for example, made reference to the ND situation whenthey were poised to leave the BE. Even BE-bb onlies, in a media report, expressed some frustration with ND's stance right after Pitt and 'Cuse announced they were departing to the ACC.

I am convinced hybrids are built for frustrations; and if conferences go too far in allowing special priviledges for high ego members, it's a recipe for resentment and conflict.

In the ACC, a number of members have had issues in the past per the NC 4 and friend(s) political dominance; and that has been addressed largely by expansion though it remains a less than perfect situation outside of NC.
I recall, acknowledging my senior age, the days of Alabama and Bear Bryant when they wielded disproportional SEC power. The Univ. of Georgia was not silent about it and was a proponent of '90 era expansion.

If a conference is not proactive in addressing it's internal conflicts, discontent shall fester.

The BE will continue to fail because of the second class citizenship offers of FB only. The
BE leadership continues to make the same same mistakes under Providence pro-BB only
leadership and thinking. Think small and protect the Catholic segment of round ball.

Temple, Rutgers, VT, and WV were admitted as FB only's originally. VT and WV built their
programs, finally received all sports admittance, were rebuked on their efforts to build a strong
FB conference to match the BB strength of the conference, and left for greener pastures where
the conferences are for all sports with one common agenda rather than remaining in the lowest
paid BCS conference with three split agendas. Rutgers was left behind but still has one foot out
of the door with their bags packed now too. As a matter of fact Rutgers fired a shot across the
BE bow this week to express their dissatisfaction with BE management demanding $1.7 million for
the loss of a home game with TCU for letting them leave before ever playing a down in the BE.
Rutgers lost a home game with that decision and will only have 6 home games this year. In the mean
time BE management handed Villanova ( a Catholic school) $3 million dollars in tribute for not trying
to block Temple for all sports on their re-admittance to the BE. It is disguised as front money for
continued studies to join for D1 FB and to try to bring Nova in as a future FB member in an 18k
seat soccer stadium on a shoe string budget within the next 3 years without paying admittance fees.
A return to an issue that was already shot down by the departing FB schools and one of the reasons
they are leaving. Once again the pro BB faction will continue to repeat their mistakes.

Boise and SDSU will tire of second class status while they continue to build their FB programs and will
eventually take the first offer out of this league to reunite their sports programs in one league down the
road in a more lucrative environment even if they take their FB success back to the MWC and make it a
stronger FB conference than the BE. Finally in dealing with the Temple issues, Temple would never have
been kicked out of the BE before if they would have been admitted as all sports members when VT, Rutgers,
and WV were moved up to all sports members. Their BB and Olympic sports are strong and would have carried
value through the lean FB years like Duke in the ACC and Vanderbilt in the ACC.

_________________
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS - SEC
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS - BIG EAST / AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE / BIG TEN

I think i'm with ya.

There's no reason things needed to play out the way they did, with the Big East getting to pick the schools they wanted. While the +1 playoff talks didn't pick up steam until weeks ago, you gotta think that the schools themselves knew where the winds were blowing. If the BCS is out in favor of a playoff (4 schools), then the Big East will be on the outside.

So you have to ask yourself: if the Big East is essentially now 7 CUSA schools (4 new, 3 old), Boise St & SDSU for football only from the MWC, Navy as FB only from independent status, and Temple from the A10/MAC,...and only ONE original Big East football program, Rutgers, who was FB only originally...and an FCS upgrade in UConn...why didn't the other conferences have more vision.

For instance, CUSA could have just invited UL, Cincy and USF back and extended FB-only invites to Rutgers and Uconn. Throw in either Boise St. or Temple for FB only as well, and CUSA would have absorbed the Big East football "spot" at whatever table existed.

Instead, CUSA lost 4 schools, MWC lost 2. The Big East was down to 5 members while CUSA and the MWC had stability. Instead, the CHANCE of BCS money got any and all CUSA and MWC schools to consider jumping, 6 of which did. Unreal.

Now the Big East appears out of the major status club, has only 1 original Big East member (not even an all-sports original member from when BE football started).

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The B-12 should just put the BE out of its AQ misery and take BYU, L'Ville, Rutgers, and UConn. It will give them a foothold in the Northeast TV market and a strong program on the western flank with BYU. If BYU continues to be unreasonable in their demands in the negotiations replace them with Cinn. Boise and SDSU would certainly head back to the MWC then.

B-12 - Current members plus Rutgers, L'Ville, Cinn, UConn.

MWC - All Sports - Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii, New Mexico, Fresno, Wyoming, Col. St, Boise, SDSU, BYU, Utah St or SJST.

BE- Army, Navy FB only, SMU, Houston, UCF, USF, Temple, UMass, Villanova, Memphis, ECU, Marshall all sports.
BE BB only - ND, Providence, Marquette, G'town, St Johns, Seton Hall, DePaul.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B-12 only takes BYU and L'Ville get back to 12 teams and a Championship game to increase their TV contract money options.

BE FB - Rutgers, UConn, UCF, USF, Temple, SMU, Memphis, Houston - All Sports
Boise, SDSU, Navy, AF - FB only
BE BB - ND, Nova, G'town, SH, St Johns, Marquette, DePaul

MWC - Hawaii, Col.St, Wyoming, New Mex, Fresno, UNLV, Nevada, SJST, Utah St, LA Tech to kill the WAC for FB and to survive themselves since the Alliance has fallen apart. They may try to take two more teams to play a Championship game and cover themselves for full schedules since the BCS conferences are going to nine conference games for television contracts. The play for million dollar pay one and done games will be contracting if not drying up in the future.

_________________
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS - SEC
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS - BIG EAST / AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE / BIG TEN