UCF and Memphis to the Big East? Blowhards talking

[ChicosBailBonds]

I wonder if Dimes\Hayward\Robbie predicted this.

http://www.clickorlando.com/knights/23927913/detail.html

For the record, Dimes, this isn't a prediction....it's called passing on information.  Article attached

[brewcity77]

Makes an incredible amount of sense. Improves us both in terms of football and basketball. Though I suppose now the question is whether this is a move that starts to push Marquette and other basketball-only schools out of the conference as the Big East gets closer to the number needed for a conference championship game.

[bilsu]

Need one more team to get to 19, so we have an 18 game basketball schedule where you play everyone once. No divisons in basketball. Add one more football school and have Villanova upgrade theirs, which results in 12 football schools.

[GGGG]

Time for the basketball/football split.  They are watering down the conference basketball even further for the sake of football.  (And actually they are really watering down BE football too.  This actually makes the conference weaker IMO.)

See, this is what "proactivity" gets you.  Stupid decisions.  In Memphis they get a team that drew about 20,000 fans per game outside of when Ole Miss visited, and in Central Florida a team that drew about 30,000 per game.  Seriously, I hope this report is inaccurate.  Is it really worth being in a "BCS Conference" when the conference is basically just an upgraded version of CUSA??

[chapman]

I know the talk has been about being proactive, but does this really help?  Will any football school invited by the Big Ten not go because they're now in a conference with the great Memphis Tigers and Final Four contender UCF?  As for football, the football teams get a terrible Memphis program and Florida's 5th best program.  This would be better suited as a reactive move to try to hold the conference together if a couple schools were preparing to pack their bags, not something that will keep things from falling apart by adding these "gems" now.

Need one more team to get to 19, so we have an 18 game basketball schedule where you play everyone once. No divisons in basketball. Add one more football school and have Villanova upgrade theirs, which results in 12 football schools.

Villanova isn't upgrading anything, and it won't keep the conference together if they did.  Plus it's completely stupid to throw away revenue potential and try to negotiate a television deal that doesn't put UConn and Syracuse on the schedule twice or Pitt/WVU, Georgetown/Syracuse, etc.  And it's not any more "unfair" to have some matchups twice and others not at all, at least any moreso than the home/road splits that decide a team's fate.  I would rather the basketball schools split up and add Xavier to our schedule twice instead of the watered down Grand Tour of a schedule that seems to be happening in attempt to try to milk a couple million out of a football situation that will barely be improved.

[Mr. Nielsen]

So the Big East will have 18 schools for basketball, good lord!!

[Benny B]

Blowhards talking?  That sounds difficult.

[ATWizJr]

Blowhards talking?  That sounds difficult.

  I'd prefer talkhards blowing.

[bilsu]

Time for the basketball/football split.  They are watering down the conference basketball even further for the sake of football.  

I guess it depends on whether you feel it is important to be a member of a BCS confernece for MU basketball. My opinion is that MU basketball takes a big hit if we go backwards to a non-BCS conference, which is what a basketball only conference would be. Most of the teams in a basketball only conference will not be a big draw at the gate either. I wish the Big East would not change at all, but I rather have it add some football schools to survive than to have it split up. We would no longer be playing against Pitt, WV, Uconn, Syracuse, Louisville and Cincy. Rutgers and South Florida I would not miss. Problably end up playing DePaul, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's twice (yawn). I would not mind playing Notre Dame, Villanova and Georgetown twice. Throw in Xavier and Dayton would alright. Besides that, if the Big East splits I could see the football schools keeping Georgetown and Villanova and than we would totally suck.

[goodgreatgrand]

Time to split up the conference....which sucks because I like the football side a little bit better.

[Mr. Nielsen]

You wouldn't miss playing L'ville, Syracuse and Pitt? I would!!

[HoopsMalone]

I guess it depends on whether you feel it is important to be a member of a BCS confernece for MU basketball. My opinion is that MU basketball takes a big hit if we go backwards to a non-BCS conference, which is what a basketball only conference would be. Most of the teams in a basketball only conference will not be a big draw at the gate either. I wish the Big East would not change at all, but I rather have it add some football schools to survive than to have it split up. We would no longer be playing against Pitt, WV, Uconn, Syracuse, Louisville and Cincy. Rutgers and South Florida I would not miss. Problably end up playing DePaul, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's twice (yawn). I would not mind playing Notre Dame, Villanova and Georgetown twice. Throw in Xavier and Dayton would alright. Besides that, if the Big East splits I could see the football schools keeping Georgetown and Villanova and than we would totally suck.

I agree.  I think it helps recruiting to play UConn and Syracuse for sure.  I think we would still get a pre-conference game with Louisville.  But Buzz can recruit saying that you will get a chance to play against those two NBA feeders and show what you have.  Memphis obviously adds to that.  A Bball only conference would not have that as much, even with Georgetown and Villanova in my opinion.

The conference is already so big that two more teams won't really hurt, in my opinion, in hoops.  If ten teams makes football strong enough to keep the conference together, then so be it.  I don't know if these additions are strong enough, but let's hope the BE knows what it is doing. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Necessary evil.  If the Big East wants to maintain their BCS status, they need to keep football together.  That's what this move is about.  Whether it waters down basketball, I'm not so sure.  Memphis is better than half of the Big East teams in hoops as is.  I hate how they do things (they've been on probation off and on since the early 1970's) but they have quality hoops.  UCF is purely a football play, but also gives USF a rival.

If we all agree that staying in a BCS conference is key, then this move makes sense.

Of course, we need to wait until Dimes weighs in on his prediction before anything else can be said.

[goodgreatgrand]

I relayed the article to BE alums in my office and the reaction was amusing. The Cuse and UConn alums were excited about it because they want a football-only conference and think this will put the wheels in motion for the split to happen. The lone Nova alum shuddered at the thought of adding two football schools because he (along with most other Nova and GTown alums I know) absolutely do not want to join an all-catholic-type of conference. They all want to keep their traditional BE rivals. And, of course, the SJU alum is excited for a split to happen so he was obviously encouraged.

[HouWarrior]

Couldn't football separate from all non football sports very simply?
 At top division NCAA is still sanctioning/rule making body, but except as to football, where bcs schools band  together and agree bcs controls--ie schools agree to "use" ncaa rules as the BCS rules, but play, recruiting, sanctions etc, are segregated and controlled ultimately, by the BCS sanctioning body, whose rules and rulings on football are given "supremacy" on football issues (like fed law, over any state law).
NCAA controls all non football sports fully--but to better allow the open greed of BCS schools in football--they carve out FB and make BCS--the ultimate sanctioning ruling body--easing tv, conferences, games etc
I think BCS already has some agreed rules on not accepting non qualifiers in the fb programs--let BCS write up a  separate rule book, for fb--controlling over any conflicting rule or action of ncaa, in fb--only..
Then MU is just like all schools-- an NCAA member--but not a BCS member--because it lacks football. Other schools would be in both-but the 2 worlds are separated-- so ncaa has no ultimate  influence on football, and vice versa, as to football/bcs--on the other sports

[The Lens]

UCF & Memphis with their recruiting bases, lax standards and a BCS bid could easily become pretty formidable in football.

Football rules the day.  The stronger we are as a BCS conf, the better.

I also have zero faith that if a split occured that we would end up with Nova & GT.  Something tells me they'd move mountains to stay with UConn & Cuse.

[goodgreatgrand]

I also have zero faith that if a split occured that we would end up with Nova & GT.  Something tells me they'd move mountains to stay with UConn & Cuse.

Or, why wouldnt the football schools go after them? I could see the Dixon, Calhoun and Boeheim going to bat for Nova and GTown.

[GOO]

A trip to Orlando to see a game sure would be nice.   If this would keep the conference together, I'm all for it.  Football at 10 teams should be enough.  Would a BE conference championship game really bring that much $.  And maybe we'll see 10 be enough for a conference championship game - wth the BE and Big 12 leading the charge and maybe one of the western conferences - with the help of Congressional pressure to look into and break up the BCS as anti-competitive/monopoly. 

Create a large penalty for leaving the BE in the next 10 years, say 20 million or more.  18 basketball teams is okay and can work.  Again, if these two schools keep the conference together, this is best for MU and I'm all for it.  Orlando is a great market.

If there is a breakup of the Big East, I would expect Georgetown and Nova to stay with the football schools.  Just my guess, but the football schools would probably want them.  If so, best we could hope for is that the Big 12 adds a couple of basketball schools such as DePaul and Marquette (maybe ND - except for football - if the BE football schools don't want them), or, the football schools go to 16 teams with 12 for football and add MU or DePaul along with Nova, Georgetown and ND.   Otherwise, we will be in a tough place as I think Georgetown and Nova will stay with the big east football teams.

[GOO]

Oh, now that I've responded with my opinion of what could happen, am I a blowhard now too?  If so, I hope I am welcomed warmly to the blowhard club.  It's nice to be a member     

[HoopsMalone]

Or, why wouldnt the football schools go after them? I could see the Dixon, Calhoun and Boeheim going to bat for Nova and GTown.

If the 4 megaconference situation happened, each conference taking 2 hoops only schools would be good for us.  MU is one of the 8 best hoops only programs out there so while we don't have the the established rivalries that Nova and Gtown have, we would be an obvious choice for a conference if they went to 16 football and 18 bball schools each.  There is not much to back up this happening, but schools like Marquette and Georgetown and Villanova provide good cash flows that it is not completely out of the question I guess.

[reinko]

Oh, now that I've responded with my opinion of what could happen, am I a blowhard now too?  If so, I hope I am welcomed warmly to the blowhard club.  It's nice to be a member     

You  

[bilsu]

I do not know if you are a blow hard, but you caused another fight on this board.

[chapman]

The football schools would have to be very careful not only shutting Notre Dame out of its outlet to compete in other sports, but also taking Nova and Georgetown, as it could very well blow up in their faces.  Makes Notre Dame's decision to go to the Big Ten much easier, and results in taking 1-3 football schools with them.  If they try to replace with even lower ranks of football schools like ECU, the ACC could easily turn the thing into a mid-major by taking two of the best schools.  If they take Georgetown, Nova, and try to play it safe by taking ND, they might also be sympathetic to St. John's since it gives them access to NYC and the Garden.  If they would go that far, hard to believe MU wouldn't be added and would be cast aside with Providence, DePaul, and Seton Hall - wish someone would just get the balls to dismiss two of those three now. 

[GGGG]

If we all agree that staying in a BCS conference is key, then this move makes sense.

I don't agree that staying in a BCS conference is key *IF* Georgetown, Nova, SJU, etc. exit with us to form a basketball conference with the top A10 schools.

The conference has no idea what it wants to be.  It has a eye to the future (I guess) but still wants to live in the past.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Oh, now that I've responded with my opinion of what could happen, am I a blowhard now too?  If so, I hope I am welcomed warmly to the blowhard club.  It's nice to be a member    

Welcome

Dimes will be sending you this t-shirt very soon...he's already got down under territory covered





EDIT....Reinko....great minds think alike....same cartoon I found