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Full Version: What do Houston, SMU, UCF really bring?
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Houston has had a few good years in football and they are even undefeated so far this season. Even now the attendance at their games is mediocre at best. SMU and UCF played a big game last weekend concerning CUSA standings and a mere 5,000-10k showed up. At least ECU draws a crowd when they are good. Much better fit than any of these other schools.

And you can forget about helping basketball. Houston and SMU play in a high school gym and might have 5k average except for the Memphis game. UCF could be a nice addition in bball if they improve.

As far as TV markets go, Houston gets very little coverage in the Houston market. Its all Longhorns all the time. Same goes for UCF. Its Gator country and you already have South Florida for the recruiting access. SMU has been nothing since 1983 and even now with their recent success, they play in an empty stadium for the most part. They are merely an afterthought in the Dallas market.

I'm a Memphis fan and of course would love an invite. However, due to our atrocious leadership and football play, I dont feel I have a basis to argue that we "deserve" anything. However, when we had success, the stadium was full. Ask the Louisville and Cincinatti fans that came down during 2003 and 2004. Still, ECU brings more to the table than almost all of those other schools. I still dont understand the desire for the BE to add Houston and SMU. Its baffling.
We averaged 40k the last 5 years. Not bad at this point without major success.
(10-28-2011 02:32 PM)homefry20 Wrote: [ -> ]Houston has had a few good years in football and they are even undefeated so far this season. Even now the attendance at their games is mediocre at best. SMU and UCF played a big game last weekend concerning CUSA standings and a mere 5,000-10k showed up. At least ECU draws a crowd when they are good. Much better fit than any of these other schools.

Yeah, of those four schools, i'd rank them ECU then UCF, with SMU and Houston WAY behind.
(10-28-2011 02:36 PM)KNIGHTTIME Wrote: [ -> ]We averaged 40k the last 5 years. Not bad at this point without major success.

I agree. You have potential in both sports and a huge alumni base. Im more astounded about the SMU and Houston requests. Im sure the basketball only school have to be excited about those powerhouses joining up.
(10-28-2011 02:32 PM)homefry20 Wrote: [ -> ]And you can forget about helping basketball. Houston and SMU play in a high school gym and might have 5k average except for the Memphis game.

You are being way too generous.

Houston averaged 3,280 and SMU averaged 1,970 last season.
Houston's total basketball attendance for the season was around 52,000 and SMU's was about 43,000... about 7,000 less than ECU draws to one football game.

They add new markets (it does not matter to the Big East if anyone actually goes to the games) and new recruiting territories.
Houston and SMU put The BEast in both of Texas' largest markets (DFW and Houston), and open the door for recruiting in Texas, homefry. Those are 2 pretty good reasons...
So you think that UConn getting to play every other year in Texas is going to get them better football recruits? Its not really a basketball wealth of talent. I just dont see the allure of a school a billion miles away playing once every other year as a legitimate recruiting tool, especially when no one really cares for those two programs.

As for the TV Market argument, it only matters if people actually watch the games. Considering that they couldnt average 5k last year combined attendance (thanks for the edit above) then what makes you think putting them on TV is going to matter?
The conference was built as a basketball conference and then managed to profit from the BCS concept. How excited do you think conference bretheren such as St. Johns and Seton Hall are about playing weeknight basketball games in Texas against lousy opponents?
There will always be kids who want to go a long way from home to prove themselves. And as long as there are kids like that, you stand as good a chance as any other school of getting them. All you have to do is try...

I think you're shortchanging the market aspect as well, because Houston and SMU have plenty of alums who have been trying to get both schools notice since the SWC collapsed. There will be interest in Texas, now that both schools are finally part of the BCS...
Not much.

At least Memphis and Temple are good at something and have fans.
memphis and temple are nationally recognized brand names in something; ucf, smu, and houston are not
(10-28-2011 02:57 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]There will always be kids who want to go a long way from home to prove themselves. And as long as there are kids like that, you stand as good a chance as any other school of getting them. All you have to do is try...

I think you're shortchanging the market aspect as well, because Houston and SMU have plenty of alums who have been trying to get both schools notice since the SWC collapsed. There will be interest in Texas, now that both schools are finally part of the BCS...

Even TCU doesnt attract that many fans considering their extended success. These programs might one day be elite but it seems desperate to go that far to get two bad schools and claim its for recruiting purposes.

Just curious, how have the coaches done recruiting in Florida since the addition of USF? They have had decent football since coming on board but basketball has been awful. I see that trend continuing with these schools coming in.
Memphis also has little competition in the city. There are plenty of SEC alums and fans around town but you can find most of them supporting the Tigers as long as we are good and not playing their preferred team. I think the Memphis/Louisville game of 2004 drew more than 50k on a thursday night. There is potential and basketball will always be good if not great.
Every school in The BEast has players from Florida on their roster. How each coach does varies, but WVU does just fine. You'll have to look at the individual recruiting classes to figure the rest out for yourself...
Did they have more success after the addition or was it negligible?
(10-28-2011 02:57 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]There will be interest in Texas, now that both schools are finally part of the BCS...

I think too many people think the "BCS tag" is going to magically change the level of interest in a program. Look at South Florida, which still trails ECU in football and basketball attendance (my preferred measure of interest) despite being an AQ team for the past 6 years. If anything, you get better teams on your schedule, which increase interest in many cases. But in the case of this proposed new Big East, it's not like the Mustangs and Cougars are going to be playing more interesting programs than they are right now aside from Boise State.

I'm leaving UCF out of this, because I think the new Big East's schedule would be more appealing to Knights fans.
Come on. Ucf has done plenty. Won the east division 3 out 6 and the cusa 2 times. Budget moving around 40 million.
Im not really opposed to UCF really. I just think ECU offers more in the long run than the rest. I really shouldnt have listed them in the title.
I was always supportive of ECU's bid to join The BEast. But WVU was one of the few schools that felt that way, and now that WVU and Pitt are leaving, ECU has no real supporters...
I agree ECU should be included too. Maybe with the new additions, some current friends can put in a good word in time. You know, if the BE is "stable" over that period.
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