thank goodness we are out of this mess........
Nick Saban of course........
And so the super-conference movement begins.
Well, obviously the idea of the big conferences in college football splitting off into their own division isn't really new, and it's a good bet that it is being actively discussed in some fashion behind the scenes. Now it has an endorsement from the game's biggest coach and one of the sport's most powerful men, Alabama's Nick Saban.
"I'm for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences," Saban told AL.com, in response to a question about the Big Ten saying it might not schedule FCS teams anymore. "That's what I'm for, so it might be 70 teams, and everybody's got to play 'em. ..."
It's a concept that is probably going to come to fruition at some point. Instead of doing their best to game the system and keep the smaller conferences out of the money grab (the BCS, making sure the playoff is just four teams), the bigger conferences can just start over with their own system. Whether that's four conferences with 16 teams or, as Saban says, five conferences with everyone playing against each other, it seems there's a good chance that's the future of the sport.
Saban, whose schedule last year included Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic and Western Carolina, also told AL.com that he's in favor of adding a ninth SEC game to add to the entertainment value for the fans.
"For the guys who whine about their fixed rivalries, we have games until 2017 with opening games, so we're going to play somebody else," Saban said. "I mean, strength of schedule is important, but also, how about the fans? Don't they want to see good games and all that?"
And we are in the best spot that we can be, in clearly the best basketball only conference.
Do the schools that are left behind drop football or form second tier football conferences? Probably some of both. But, the BCS schools are incredibly ignorant. As they professionalize college football more and more, they are hastening the day of the paid student athlete.
This is part of the reason I'm not all gaga over the new conference. I would have preferred waiting another 2-3 years and aligning with the schools left behind from the super conference. I'd still rather have a conference with a schools such as UCONN or Wake Forest than Seton Hall and Creighton.
The option to do a basketball conference would still be there in the future and we might not have been forced to stick with some of our current partners.
Quote from: Marquette_g on May 11, 2013, 06:48:45 AM
This is part of the reason I'm not all gaga over the new conference. I would have preferred waiting another 2-3 years and aligning with the schools left behind from the super conference. I'd still rather have a conference with a schools such as UCONN or Wake Forest than Seton Hall and Creighton.
Not sure why you think Wake Forest is going to be left behind. They are in one of the "super conferences" already. And if those schools do get left behind, future conference movement isn't out of the question by any means.
Quote from: Marquette_g on May 11, 2013, 06:48:45 AM
This is part of the reason I'm not all gaga over the new conference. I would have preferred waiting another 2-3 years and aligning with the schools left behind from the super conference. I'd still rather have a conference with a schools such as UCONN or Wake Forest than Seton Hall and Creighton.
Interesting...but this adds to the reasons why the new conference is the best place to be. If there is a FB superconference movement and some of the lesser FB schools get left behind, they won't all be from the same conference. It would be, as you stated, a UConn here or a Wake Forest there - isolated schools looking for a stable, high-profile hoops-only conference to join. Where do you think they'll look?
Agree with Goooo, a lot has to go right for someone to be able to form a high grade conference. You need a block of schools that are all willing to work together and you need a lucrative TV deal and for that you need a network that needs programming at that moment in time. All of this came together for the C-7 but it was pretty much of a perfect storm. If this super football C would happen it will be far easier for the Big East (no new) to pick off the guys they want, maybe expanding as large as 16 teams than it would be for the "uninvited" to pull everything together under the gun.
Quote from: NotAnAlum on May 13, 2013, 12:06:01 PM
Agree with Goooo, a lot has to go right for someone to be able to form a high grade conference. You need a block of schools that are all willing to work together and you need a lucrative TV deal and for that you need a network that needs programming at that moment in time. All of this came together for the C-7 but it was pretty much of a perfect storm. If this super football C would happen it will be far easier for the Big East (no new) to pick off the guys they want, maybe expanding as large as 16 teams than it would be for the "uninvited" to pull everything together under the gun.
Fair points by both you and Goooo. I am probably not assigning enough benefit to having the infrastructure in place and might be guilty of being greedy. By that I mean, I can still envision a more desirable 16 team conference with the football "have nots" than all of our current partners, but I guess the "bird in hand" has its merits.