Looking at UCF's schedule for this year they must be an affilate of the Big East since they play Pittsburgh, USF, and Villanova.

To lovers of cusa leftovers,the BE misses nothing in not joining this group of non bcs schools with poor academic profiles.The BE is northeastern midwestern league.Why did Navy get only 2006?The newly negotiated years ofthe meinke 2007,8 and 9 does not have Navy.Having a lucrative league with a bcs tie in is clearly superior to a league that does not make money and does not have a tie into to the bcs.I like the idea that the BE draws so much attention from the vast majority of NON BE fans who never to go to BE games.These are the vocal supporters of detroying the BE in favor of joining cusa leftovers.When the split involves psu,umd,bc give the bE football members a call their mood will change otherwise give it a break.

A clever observation, SportsKC. Now that AD White has emphasized Notre Dame is trying to move "further away" from conference affiliation and solidify it place as an independent", let's see where a "true affiliate" may dwell.

Notre Dame will be playing 2, not 3, BE teams in years when it is not zero or one. Three would be way too many for them. Playing the two will be part of their intent to have a manageable schedule to compete for national championships.

Since ECU has chosen more ACC rivals and signed a series contract with Navy whose AD has a 4-4-4 model, it is Central Florida as the BE AFFILIATE. :)

Them Middies, being called an affiliates?---- Kevin White must have given them a lesson in shrewdness in how to grab a bowl away from ole' M. T.

Yes, UCF, BE affiliate ;D; including playing the precious Villanova, the ultimate institution to some BE fans.

So Big East now has their AFFILIATE--- THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA! Villanova with Central Florida, it does have a beautiful ring to it? No cusa-USELESS here any more, is it Tigersharktwo? It is the NEW AFFILIATION! 8-)

Tigersharktwo, when you go to those conferences and strategy sessions with the BE chieftains, super donors, and benefactors, better fill them in on what is happening!

On a more humble note, I do believe WVU, UCONN, Pitt, 'Cuse, Rutgers, L'ville, Cincy, & USF, deserve better overall, and need to be given the greater flexibility to establish their own opportunities.

sec03 or is sec 08.?Are you another internet BE fan?Your failure to get facts straight highlites your comments.Have you ever met a BE AD or coach or have just seen their pictures?What was your last live BE game?Or you an infrequent tv viewer?

UCF plays USF on regular basis.However,not as part of the BE.USF is clearly against such a move.NOW THE ENTIRE LEAGUE IS AGAINST SUCH A MOVE and A SPLIT.UCF schedule found at the following site :

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/future_schedules/ucf_future.htm shows only one series with BE for cfla in the 2007-12 period.
ND has yet to schedule its 3rd BE game(however the likelihood of Louiseville in 2009-10 has been mentioned even on rivals Louisville)It may have something to do with Louisville going to 60k seats so ND will visit.Navy are you sure Navy will not expand is 3BE games to 4?(I guess you were told by your internet palm reader.)

Why Tigersharktwo, you are so insightful, oh yes---familiar with nationalchamps.net; was so engulfed with it, just wonder who hooked up TCU with CaL-Davis for the last 2006 1-A game to be scheduled; or was it LA-Lafayette with McNeese State?

Maybe I have a corporate jet and go to all the BE games and fundraisers at the same time using my blackberry to argue with MONGO CARD and the cell phone to chat with Lashette. Won't catch me with a Louisville jersey on. I'm right there in the VIP box, one row down from you and Wilkie. Gotta love those Louiville fans though. What would the BE be without them?

Dude, ever notice the one taking up the collections at the MT fan club meetings in Hoboken, New Jersey? Remember, that's where it was announced that the, your quote, "NOW THE ENTIRE LEAGUE IS AGAINST SUCH A MOVE AND A SPLIT"?

Could you really be an ACC secret agent as someone suggested? Ummhhh, Tiger.........? Oh my goodness, it never was Villanova----- GOOOOOOOO CLEMSON !!!!!

Wow, where do I start. I guess since I am a college football fan in general, even though the Big 12 is the main league I follow I cant comment about how I feel about another major college conference that I want to succeed. Clearly we know you favor college basketball which I admit the BE is good at it, but even the ACC which is the best league took the football approach bc of the money. College football is where the money is at, the BE keeps getting shot down at the table compared to the other BCS leagues. All the other leagues have 8 conference games plus at least one OOC BCS game. The BE would have to schedule at least 2 more BCS games each year just to stay at status quo with the other leagues. Thus they are at a disadvantage, plus most other BCS teams do not want 1-1 deals, they want to buy home games. That makes it even harder for BE schools. The BE had a chance to become a strong stable conference with Penn State and Boston College. They blew it by focusing on basketball. Penn State, BC, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Connecticut, Temple along with Army & Navy could have been an excellent conference with the NE flavor that you want so much. Sorry Penn St and BC arent coming back. They still need a extra team, the CUSA schools arent as bad as you make them out to be. Considering that the BE already went after 3 members for football. Look how much Louisville, Cincinnati, and USF improved their football entering into a BCS league. Penn State's academics have improved entering Big Ten. You cant tell me that a school cant improve its with time in a BCS league. It still ticks me off that you think we cant have an opinion about the Big East since we dont live in the region. I love to know how people around the country feel about the Big 12.

sec03 a not so hidden SECTION 8 CASE.

SPortskc its over there is going to be no split.no cusa leftovers.The advice of BE internet fans from other parts of the usa has not been taken.

Now you assume to be MADAME FIFI, the fortuneteller, all knowing where people are from and the expertise of each. You do have a crystal ball from Walmart.

SportsKC, you hit a major point about Penn State and BC. They will not come back and Penn State has no desire giving games to those who freely snubbed the Nittany Lions years ago. Now the BE is regulated to to looking at ECU and UCF having been brushed off by Notre Dame, Navy, and who knows---Memphis. I wish those eight fb schools in the BE the best, but the Providences' and Villanovas' will never let the conference develop the football side to a greater potential.

The banishing of Temple and the free riding by Notre Dame points to a conference with mixed values and priorities.

Those who claim that Penn State does not belong in the Big Ten forget they won the conference their first year, going undefeated nationally. Last year, they finish third in the nation with the only blemish a late, time added drive by Michigan. When Penn State was independent, so were most of their eastern rivals. That was a time of unlimited scholarships and several eastern schools at the time with much less emphasis on football.

Penn State is a big school with a strong history of playing and committed to playing eastern rivals. Yet, they were visionary enough to relinquish their most decades old traditional opponents to move to a prestigious, Midwestern based conference. BC, being geographically detached from the ACC, also took the challenge of letting go of traditional rivals.

The Big East's way to create an environment whereby these things would not happen again, is to inject an astronomical exit fee. When all-sports are not there, and operating with two less football members than even the PAC 10, something will remain unsettled.

sec08 Its over.The current BE is not splitting.No cusa leftovers or Temple are getting in.The BE CLEARLY THINKS IT IS BETTER WITH ND than without it.PSU is long gone.NOW YOU ARE LEFT TO YOUR BEST SUIT NAME CALLING.

Tigersharktwo, be careful what your predict. College football is so fluid that the Big East has many times stated never again.

In one of my new proposal for the BCS in another thread is a mandatory requirement for each qualify BCS member schools to play 10 of the 12 regular season games with other BCS members schools. This would help with SOS and make the ranking of the schools on the polls more consistent and avoid some of the problems when multiple teams end up with one or two loss and the polls need to determine the two schools that play for the BCS championship.

This should be a welcome idea from the Big East and would not impact split verses not splitting. It would help Big East schedule more BCS games and ovoid the need for your alliances with the MAC that just have disaster written all over it.

Another point that can not be overlooked by the Big East, it is possible that NCAA or the BCS could make rule changes for football that would force the Big East into another round of expansion or split exercises.

I can see the BCS eventually forcing every conference to 12 football members and a championship game to qualify for the BCS bowl series.

Once the Big 10 and Pac 10 finally get there, it would be a very simple rule change.

If the Pac 10 expanded or was forced to expand and the Big 10 finally got Notre Dame as a BCS requirement, the rule change would become very simple.

Regardless of the new extra bowl, the BCS conferences are not going to just let this extra bowl go to the non BCS conferences without fighting for the bids year in and year out.

The BCS conferences could easily separate themselves from the non BCS conferences by simply requiring every conference to have 12 members and play a championship game to qualify for the BCS.

If Pac 10 expanded with Utah and BYU and the Big East expanded with 3 other schools, you would more than likely close the door on any further intrusion into the BCS money.

The Big East is not necessarily in control of its own destiny.

Things that will not happen :
A complete playoff system for 1A football
Forcing a tough schedule on bcs teams(ie 10bcs games)
The BE merging with the mwc
Forcing teams out 1A football on 15k attendance
Winning seasons,bowl games are big money makers they are not going away

And these assumptions are coming out of someone who predicts Big East alliances with the MAC, Army/Navy and partial Notre Dame football Big East membership.

If I were the Big Ten and really wanted Notre Dame, would work with the other BCS conferences to require BCS automatic bids to come from conferences with a championship game.

Notre Dame would simply comply and join the Big Ten.

The Pac 10 has stated many times the conference will review what other conferences are doing especially the Big Ten and follow those patterns.

Lash,

You come across as an authentic Big East fan. Plus, it is always good to see a variety of ideas offered for comment.

The 10 game BCS opponents may be a good idea in terms of the BCS presenting itself as most deserving with the label.

There may be a few difficulties in reaching that goal if it was embraced.

1) Some of the trends, like counting one scholarship 1-AA in the regular season, may end up being re-assessed. The quantity of home vs away games required could be a big fuss to settle.

2) Some BCS conference schools, may see themselves as having no chance to reach a BCS game and may not want the difficulty of loading their OOCs with BCS types. Some, when they do, are away game choices for bigger revenue.

3) Those not in a BCS conference, may claim that they could never schedule 10 since none of their conference 8 opponents count. They would be even more at a disadvantage for the at large bids. Could hear someone like Tulane's Cowen claim this would be a greater reversal than what existed before.

4) Conference sizes issues among BCS schools would be even more acute. The SEC, ACC, and B12, for example, would have conference champions and could claim the division champs of each would play at least nine anyway because of the extra game prior to any BCS game.

While these may be some, perhaps not all, of the issues that would need to be addressed, you hit on a valid point. Recognizing that in the BCS everybody does not play everybody else (your suggestion would improve this a little bit), and that some BCS representatives reach the BCS with schedules of heavy-sided home games and milder OOC's, it is a thought to strengthen and clarify the BCS distinction.

Going with another related idea, equitable size conferences could also approach the method by scheduling direct conference challenges. For example, the ACC and SEC could each play a game with each other since several do already. Or a mild mixture for the unevens', such as B10 with Notre Dame playing each member of the Big 12. Heck, why not the BE with Army and Navy (now that would be a true affiliation ;)if deemed BCS caliber) taking on each in the PAC 10. Problems and resistance galore though-----(a) controversy matching, (b) some lackluster games (Baylor vs Indiana ?), and (c) timing (all the same weekends) and (d) what about traditional rivals that may be, for example, at the end of seasons anyway? Well, all this last part is too complicated and too many issues to take a certain basketball practice and apply it to football. Maybe some more incremental is in order. There is the thought of conference members being a regular in one conference and an axillary participant in a secondary conference (playing contractually 3 games with them for example). OK, this would be even too more complicated to explain and would work for some, but not the centralized.