Globe reports Big East BCS AQ status secure through 2016.

[Carl Spackler]

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/2011/10/big_east_bcs_bi.html

But as long as the conference maintains at least an 8 team membership for football the contract is iron clad for two years and there is also a two-year grace period which extends it through the 2015 season. If the Big East can field an 8 team league it's secure with its BCS bid until at least 2016.''

I hope that's true. The security of that BCS AQ status as long as the BCS exists is the most important thing in all of this.

This is exactly the kind of news that's very important and I've been looking for, and it means the big east doesn't have to do a damn thing except have the priests squeeze notre dame, and villanova actually makes the move to 1-A.

The ideal, dream solution moving forward is that you add notre dame as a football school, and then go get Villanova to upgrade by the time Cuse and Pitt exit after 2013 and you've got a 14 team olympics/basketball conference and you've got an 8 team football conference of:

Notre Dame
UConn
Rutgers
Louisville
South Florida
Cincinatti
West Virginia
Villanova

Dreaming, I know...

but hey - good news about the BCS AQ status - as long as Marky B isn't blowing smoke.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Don't forget about Pitt and Cuse... think they wouldn't bail on the ACC if ND was in the BE?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

This is the first time I've heard anything about a 2 year grace period. I've read that the league's AQ status is safe for the next 2 years, but after that, who knows?

There is no set criteria for how a league loses its AQ status. They are all judged on:

1. Cumulative conference rankings in the final BCS standings
2.Average ranking of highest team
3. Number of teams in the top 25 in the final BCS standings

I will be shocked if the league maintains its AQ status past 2014.

 

[mcs333]

There was talk about the grace period before when the ACC was not meeting the min. requirements. So this is good news for the conference and gives them some time to get their act together.

 

[ktuck911]

at this point my only concern is UCONN football... We need to get this team to the next level so we can show well in bowl games vs. TOP BCS opponents.. Here's praying the current chain in command can get us there in the next 2 to 3 years...