Boston College finished in 10th place in attendence for football games this year. It look like to me, you made a mistake to invite them into your conference.

Please goto the ACC/BE Conference realignment thread to see why BC was invited. Here are some reasons (but not limited to and not necessarily in this order):

1 - Media Market
2 - Academics
3 - Sports

I do not know if BC will expand their stadium but it is smaller than most other ACC stadiums... BC still sold it out though (I think?) and their BB games are sold out too I believe.

Good luck to BC....

Boston College is the Baylor of the ACC...no wonder they placed tenth in paid attendAnce and stadium capacity...

West Virginia should have been invited instead of Boston College because they have won more games than them. Doesn't winning count for anything any more?

No, Boston College sub to outlaw Miami and get what deserve. West Virginia loves BE and dont want to leave NotreDame and rivals Pittssburgh and syracuse. BE did great with bowls this year and new Toronto Bowl and Big Apple Bowls will make all even better.

Is Notre Dame sharing any of their $14 million BCS bowl money with the Big East?

Winning has never been the primary factor in conference expansion. But...

Boston College did tie for the division title with FSU, who in turn won the ACC this year.

I am from West Va, and the reason why we are not in the ACC or SEC is Marketplace, although M-Town is only an hour away from PA, and it would have given either of these schools a presence in the North while maintaining a school with strong following.

Good point. I thought the ACC reached too far in taking BC when West Virginia has a strong following and would make a good conference rival with Maryland, Va Tech, UVa, Clemson, NC State, etc. However, BC had everything the ACC wanted i. e. private, northeast urban market, etc. I still think distance, though, is a negative among the positives.
If the SEC had an opening (and perhaps no Texas A&M option plus a couple of others), WVU would probably be given serious consideration. Athletic success, strong fan following, and a flagship name are important.
You do realize the Big 10 is at 11, West Virginia is their neighbor, with even Penn State further east, and......... :)? OK, I will not venture into that unrealistic domain.
I expect the Big East will remain WVU's home. With Louisville and Cincinnati added to their immediate west, and their long-time rivalry with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, West Virginia is positioned pretty good in the Big East. I do think it would be good if the Big East was able to add at least a ninth football member who is notable and can even out their in-conference schedules.

I think you know the answer to that. It's good that the BCS is reducing ND's take by 2/3 next year.

West Virginia... 1.8 million residents, most of which likely do follow the Mountaineers.

Boston... millions more in their metropolis. ACC and MWC both recently have taken privates in big cities over publics in smaller markets with bigger stadia- I do find that interesting, but the TV contracts speak for themselves.

Pounder, I do agree that the Big Televen is next door to West Va. Personally, I think the ACC or the Old Big East should have come to some form of agreement, like the ACC champ vs the Big East Champ with a auto-BCS bid on the line. Boston College was always a middle of the pack Big East team anyways. The ACC should have taken Syracuse over Boston College. It would have given the ACC another bball power.

Syracuse bailed on their initial attempt, or else they WOULD have joined the ACC. Remember, the ACC did offer.

WVU to the Big Ten is not an option; the Big Ten doesn't want to go there. Call them snobs if you want (it'd be accurate, anyway). I was thinking more along the lines of why West Virginia didn't trump Boston College as an ACC entry.

Pounder,

Syracuse never was officially extended an invite. The aCC voted 7-2 to expand then got bogged down by politics when they were getting ready to vote on who to officially extend an invite. Expansion started on May 13th and didn't happen until June 24th.

Although a good school, WVU doesn't have the academic rep that the Big10 would want to be for their 12th team.

West Virginia is contiguous, at the crossroads, or within/near turf of the following conferences: Big East, Big10 (borders Penna. & Ohio), ACC, SEC (borders Kentucky), MAC, and C-USA (Marshall is in WV). Though comparatively less populated and much of it rural, it has connections.

Many years ago, not the most recent expansion, I read onetime that a major reason West Virginia was not sought by a particular conference (ACC, I believe), was that Morgantown was such a hard place to fly in and out of, often harsh weather (mountain fog), and a bus ride there was no treat. Of course, nearby Pittsburgh is a major hub, but still a little bit of a bus trip attached. Since that time, I am sure Morgantown has improved upon their access.

Agree, West Virginia is a good school, but does not have that AAU label and a long-built lofty reputation regarding academic research that is attractive to the Big 10 or perhaps the ACC in some respects. However, during recent decades, they have had two powerful Senators, Byrd and Rockefeller, who have been instrumental in getting some federal grants headed their way. Their resources may extend beyond their moderate reputation. Like most prime state universities, the scope of their undergraduate student body is mixed.

When Penn State was being considered for the Big10, location was a grip as well. Teams flying in, used to have to fly to Harrisburg and take a two hour bus trip over a couple of mountains to reach State College. One Big10 school was still reluctant to fly to State College even after the University Park runway was upgraded to handle the team, chartered jets. The mountains have not gone away, and the area still has some of the nation's most frequent overcast days. I remember Bobby Knight's comments at the time about traveling to State College.

I-80 goes east and west near State College. A new, I-99, more-less a new southern route connector, has been stalled somewhat due to mineral runoff.

Also for the Big10, Penn State made a huge upgrade in their bb facility. They moved from cozy Rec Hall to the grand and multi-purpose Bryce-Jordan Center. Penn State has money and continuously expanding.