Name your 6

[Pudge]

I agree on the Value of continuing to connect with Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Marquette. They will keep the Brand going if they are still at a high level. We (UConn) will need them.

Football - remember that EACH of the 3 brought in in 2004 rose dramatically. So, regardless of what you snidely think today, the 7 year cycle is that each of the Prospective Universities can rise to BCS level. (and for my purposes ... that's anyone who can kick BC's Ass)

1. UCF. How can NM leave off what will soon be the largest U. in America? And George O'Leary has a solid Program. Florida recruiting. Makes sense from travel & pushes USF rivalry ... whether they like it or not. Makes us MORE relevant in Florida.

2. Service Academies. Fit for Football Only. Prestige. Good Football. Uncommon ethics in a world of sleazy ADs.

2a. Navy (geographically with us)
2b. Air Force (cause their AD said he wants us ... we give him a hug)

4. Temple. Good comeback from the dead. Addazio following Al Golden shows that they have good chops in this growth. They have a solid chance. And Comcast is important to us.

5 & 6. I'm going two Texas schools. SMU & Houston. Both on a solid climb. We could get the same boomerang effect we got with USF - a solid Program with good solid Coaches push to a much higher level.

The explanation of 1,5, and 6 ... with solid urban TV markets ... is why we don't do ECU (which pains me cause they work so hard at this) & Memphis.

UMass? I don't think this is a turf thing for me. I kinda like them to be a candidate. I simply think they are a decade behind where they need to be. You have no reason to believe that they can be where Buffalo was when we first saw them walk into the RENT. A Program floundering trying to play in the MAC. They are a big risk .,. imho.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

In expectation WVU and Louisville depart for the SEC/Big 12ish, go with UCF, SMU (appease the academics), Temple (please Marinara sauce's under funded PC, SJU, Hall and DePaul apologistas), Houston (only for recruiting and in-state balance to SMU), USNA and USAFA (go ahead and try to take BCS status from future officers of our nation's Marines, sailors, and fly boys, related academy veterans, and current/veteran supporters). Let East(ern) Carolina stew a while longer, remind Memphis how much of a crap school and athletic program it possesses and toss a flip of the bird to Mike Brey, and just ignore UMess because they deserve little else.

With expectations UConn and Rutgers eventually move to the ACC and the Catholic schools go away with or without the BIG conference name, go wayyyyyyy outside the box and grant delayed invitations to FIU, A.J. Portee's Georgia State Panthers, the Charlotte 49ers, and UT-San Antonio's Roadrunners. Sure, they're all in large, growing cities with strong recruiting grounds. With a note of sarcasm, they're also not in Greenville or Boone, NC, Memphis, or Amherst.

 

[rw005]

Wishful thinking...

Temple (all sports, bring another Philly market)

Memphis (basketball only, would bring a nice competitive edge to BE basketball)

Houston and SMU (SMU for football, and Houston all sports, is it even possible?)

East Carolina (all sports, would do wonders for football but even baseball would be solid)

Central Florida (I've said this but...Orlando market is a nice pickup, recruits would love the Big East, would be good for either all sports or football only)

Take over the Conference USA!

 

[The Funster]

Bring on

Army
Navy
Air Force
Boise St.

for football only

Bring on

UCF
Temple

for all sports

That makes 16 for all sports and 12 for football

 

[Yonick]

With it very obvious that all the 6 remaining football schools, in the BE, want out, why would Temple take a huge risk and leave the MAC? I doubt Navy & Air Force wish to join a sinking ship. UMass has done little to fund any large D-1 comitment. They belong in the MAC with other underfunded schools.
The only schools desperate to join the BE are ECU, FIU, and Cent. Fla. Basically, in time, the BE has little choice but to disband it's football and stick to hoops.

 

[Carl Spackler]

The primary objective has to be to retain BCS status. THere's nothing else that matters. In the short term, retaining the hybrid conference model is the best option moving forward at this point aftr losing Cuse and Pitt.

Boise St, Notre Dame, and BYU are perhaps the only programs left out there than can solidify that BCS status, aside from drawing programs from other BCS conferences, which I find highly unlikely, but hey you never know...

imagine that, if the big east could draw in a program out of one the other BCS conferences......not happening, nor is Notre Dame.

So that leaves Boise, BYU and the service academies. Of those, Air Force makes the most sense to add.

You put BYU, Boise, Air Force together, and add Temple, and youve got somethign that can work in an east/west scheduling format for football.

That's a structure that can be further added on to.

I think the addtion of Umass and temple is important, to solidify the market presence in the northeast in basketball and olympics. UMass has a history of competitive basketball, and joining a league like the big east would only help them get it back.

Maybe it was misunderstood, but I'm not advocating adding Massachusetts for football at this point. I'd leave the option open, as long as they successfully upgrade - same for Villanova, but I'd put a time limit on it. Get it done in the next 3 years, and you're in.

With that 10/16 model i presented, you basically substitute Temple and UMass for syracuse and pitt in basketball / olympics which stinks - but is what it is.

and you add Boise, BYU, Air Force and Temple for football to get an east / west 10 team structure that makes sense and is BCS status retaining.

If the conference wants 12 teams for football, this is important, once you get a solid structure, you can really be picky and choosy about the other two programs you want to add, and if you want all sports, and what demographic you're looking at - whether ti be texas, or florida, or elsewhere.

Solidifying the BCS status for the future is priority #1 and only priority at this point.

In that respect, losing TCU hurts a hell of lot more than losing Cuse and Pitt.

 

[upstater]

I'm just stunned at the energy you guys are bringing to this exercise.

 

[Carl Spackler]

It's all really like playing with three letter alphabet soup. BYU, ECU, UCF, SMU, TCU, BCS, MAC, WVU, SJU I think I even saw an FIU somewhere in there.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

Looks like they are looking at these divisions. The definite add look to be UCF, Temple, and Houston for all sports and Air Force and Navy for FB only. Boise State is still a target and SMU seems to be on the list if Boise doesn't come or if we lose Louisville or WVU.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2011/10/tentative_big_east_division_sp.html

Rutgers would be in the same division as Connecticut, Central Florida, South Florida, Temple and Navy in a tentative rough draft of the reconfigured 12-team football league that came out of today's conference call, a leading college official said.
West Virginia, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Louisville and Cincinnati would comprise the other division under that scenario.
The official requested anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss details of the conference call of the football-only schools this morning.

 

[Adios]

It's all really like playing with three letter alphabet soup. BYU, ECU, UCF, SMU, TCU, BCS, MAC, WVU, SJU I think I even saw an FIU somewhere in there.

FAU has a new stadium!

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports...stadium-which-1904228.html#.TpLByAVBHrQ.email