Peter Hunt, Boise State may have been in discussion for BCS at large bids, the school was never in a serious discussion at the end of the season of making the final two BCS bids to play for the national championship in most years.

This is the difference in the new BCS four team playoff compared to the previous BCS which contained AQ conferences and at large bids.

The four team playoff is an extension the original purpose of the BCS to select the best two teams to play for the BCS championship. The only difference there is now four slots available. I do not see Boise State in discussions for these four spots in the same manner you will hear or see LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, USC.

Where the similarities are the same in the new BCS four team playoff is with the six contract bowls. In previous years, Boise State would have been in discussion to get one of those at large or contract bowls slots. The problem with the new Big East is there is no longer AQ status and the Big East does not have a tie in to one of these six contract bowls.

This statement alone places all future Big East schools out of consideration as a marquee school. If any of the future Big East football schools were truly marquee each contract bowl spot available would be getting in line to potentially get one of these schools to participate in their bowl.

Boise State is just not one of these marquee type programs and the Big East ability to gain one of these tie with the new contract bowl just reiterates this fact. It is what it is.

I beg to differ on Boise St.

Several times in the last 5 years, BSU was ranked in the top 4 or 5 late into the season.
Year before last, they were nearly undefeated, but lost to a terrific Nevada team in OT, when Boise messed up FG's as time expired, and again in overtime.
It can be argued that the first FG attempt at the end of regulation may have been good, and the ref's viewing angle created a mistaken ruling, and BSU maybe DID win the game.

Regardless, BSU was set up to finish with a Top 4 ranking. They would not have made it into the Top 2,
based on the "strength of schedule" harming one or more ranking used in teh BCS formula.

Still I would say that every year during the Kellen Moore era, they would have to have been considered a Marquee Team.
This is what the Big East is pinning their hopes on. That Boise's notoriety continues.
This is the very thing that caused the Big East to "screw up geography" to pull in Boise State.

Lash, I disagree with you when you say that Boise State was never in a serious discussion at the end of the season for playing in a BCS National Championship. I'm 100 percent positive that if Colt McCoy wouldn't of thrown that last second touchdown in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game, it would either been Boise State or TCU to get in that National Championship game and not Texas. Boise State would of probably gotten it over TCU because of their win over Oregon who went on to play in the Rose Bowl. And there was a lot of discussion and hype about Boise State deserving a real shot at the National Championship. I'm not just talking about people from Idaho, I'm talking about actual sports writers from ESPN,Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports.

I'm also pretty sure that a undeafted Boise State in the new Big East would make into a four team playoff format over a two or maybe even a one loss Big Ten, Pac 12, or Big 12 team. And who knows, If Boise State continues to have more undeafted or one loss seasons, and beat more teams Oklahoma,Georgia,Oregon. They might get into a Big 5 conference. Who ever thought they would be in the Big East?


There is plenty of serious discussion of Boise State as National Title Contender:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... index.html
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/ ... 68J8n3fhoN
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... over_N.htm
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footba ... stem-works
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4535 ... shotso-far
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootbal ... hot-102511
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... index.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/s ... id=5755060
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9179 ... s-clearing

So I say they are a Marquee school.

_________________
RODGERS
MATHEWS
2012

I have never drank the Boise State Kool-Aid promoted by the media to build up Boise State in the past. It was always a ploy to bring down the Big East. Hey just look the WAC and recently MWC conference has a team better than the AQ Big East representative

Ok when Boise State makes one of the Final four BCS games, I will change my opinion and sip some of the Kool-Aid.

Boise State is only a few years removed from Junior College status , has a mid major size stadium, is located in very small state with few major requites. How long can Boise State run into California and get good players. Remember Arizona and Arizona State are on the rebound with new coaches. Ditto Washington State which is in Boise State back yard. Once these Pac 12 schools start to win, California kids will not have to go all the way to Idaho to play for decent team.

I have to wait and see when Boise State moves to the Big East, if the media will continue to allow them to be the darling underdog team. Ironically, this is the first year is a while Boise State is a one loss from dropping out of the coaches poll by not ranking in the top 20.

For now, please hold up on the blue Kool-Aid.

Dennis Dodd article discussing BE Commissioner candidates and upcoming BE tv negotiations at http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... sioner-mix

Article out of Jersey reporting that BE has hired outside tv consultant to handle upcoming tv contract negotiations.Link at http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index ... lacqu.html

Looks like the BE hired a competant person.

They start out with exclusive bargaining with ESPN.
I'm thinking ESPN will want Big East basketball, which should remain on of the top conferences
(losing Pitt & Syracuse & WVU, but adding perenially good Temple and Memphis teams, among others).

In terms of football, ESPN is full of better stuff for their Saturday telecasts, so Big East should expect that ESPN is only going to offer them week night FB slots.

The Big East might get better offers from NBC Sports which needs to snap up a lot of "content" right now.
Maybe the thing to do is to split up the TV contract between FB and BB, or NOT jump at ESPN's bid until they see what others will offer....

I would be tempted to keep the bb and fb contracts together and swing for the fences with NBC. NBC is starving for content for the NBC Sports Network and I think they would pay well for both contracts. I'd imagine NBC is hoping for a double header in football each Saturday for the flagship station (with one of those being taken by a Notre Dame home game 7 weeks of the season). The Big East would get at least one, and occasionally two nationally network-televised Saturday games. The NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) could then air a Big East triple-header with Boise or San Diego St hosting the nightcap most weeks. As for basketball, NBC would surely give the Big East the prime timeslots as they are NBC's marquee sports programming.

Mark Blaudshun reporting that the BE will introduce tv Exec Mike Aresco as the next Commish later today.Link at http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=550#more-550

Dennis Dodd blog article discussing new BE Commish at http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... cbs-aresco

NYTimes article discussing new BE Commish and future of that league at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/sport ... .html?_r=1

Article out of Hartford discussing new BE Commish and future of that league at http://www.courant.com/sports/college/h ... 3339.story

Article out of Philly discussing new BE Commish and future of that league at http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-14/s ... s-big-east

It looks like excellent hires the BE did for new Commissioner and chief TV contract negotiator. The search committee headed by the Cincy President appears to have done its job well.

Before the expectations get too gleeful, this will be a tough job reaching beyond establishing new TV contracts. Many of these schools just came from conferences that produced less notice and much less TV revenue comparatively; so anticipating the BE shall now deliver TV contracts on par with the real "biggies" deserves much caution.
However, doing better than expected, given the circumstances, may be the real goal. Market value is only so much; and even prior, top insiders in the process have real limits in what they may be able to extract from the party that holds revenue disbursements. At least though, the BE hired skilled and directly experienced functionaries that have a strong command of how the system works.

Mixed feelings on this hire. Good for those already in the conference and any school sitting in a major metropolitan area, but bad for good programs with no current stroke. This hire doesn't get the conference more rooted in the more densely populated Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. I suspect it will be fantastic for schools like UAB, Fresno, Charlotte, Buffalo, and maybe down the road Gonzaga (hey, they're the best Catholic hoops school not in the Big East), but awful for UMass, ECU, USM, and some of those "other" MAC schools (I'm looking at you, NIU, Ohio, and UMOH) who's actual program makes the Big East a better sports conference, rather than a better marketing gimmick.

After this conference loses its best remaining parts, the new struggle for the conference will be turning turkeys like Memphis v. Temple and SMU v. UCF into watchable contests that don't disgrace the 'tube just because they have a nifty contract with some talented negotiator was able to score. Maybe the basketball remains watchable (SMU, UCF, and Houston do not accomplish this, though Memphis and Temple should), but good football, no matter what the snobs over in Georgetown think, will make this conference very wealthy.