(11-01-2010 11:52 AM)Capital Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:46 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  I see clear advantages with them over ECU.

Correction - you see "potential"...none of the so-called expansion "candidates" bring ANYTHING tangible to ANY new conference right now besides POTENTIAL - not TCU, not Houston, not Villanova, not anyone.....any "advantages" are simply perceived at this point, because in almost all the cases, you're talking about things that do not yet exist......

We all can sleep better at night knowing that not one person who posts on any message board will have any say in any possible expansion.....God help us if that weren't the case.

(11-01-2010 11:43 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:36 AM)saxamoophone Wrote:  UCF & USF may very well pass Miami, and be on par with FSU in the next few years (FSU is not the same school they were 10 years ago). And given how fast FSU has dropped off, Florida has to work pretty hard to keep the seperation from the rest of the state.

Now, now - as the Wolf said in Pulp Fiction, "Let's not start sucking each other d***s right now." Reasonably speaking, Miami and Florida State have inherent advantages that aren't going to go away even if they have relatively down seasons. College football power moves at a glacial pace - you get different surprise temporary upstarts every year, but moving tiers for the long-term is a very slow process. If you look at history, college football's current hierarchy was basically formed in the decade after World War II and has barely changed in the last 60 years - the powers that rose up then are still largely the powers in college football today.

(11-01-2010 11:46 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:25 AM)Brick City Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:15 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:09 AM)Raleighwood Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 08:57 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  Even though I love to loathe ECU, they are a much better candidate than Villanova/Temple. ECU, despite their small market, draws well and they televise well. If given a BCS opportunity, they'd instantly eclipse Wake and Duke (for football anyway) in NC and be on par with NC State. Plus their football is, you know, good...unlike Temple and Villanova (in terms of having to move up for them). Philly isn't a college town for football and Temple/Nova aren't going to change that. Better to take what ECU gets you in Raleigh and the Tidewater (which is at least something since MASN picks up their games).

We have eclipsed Duke and Wake a long time ago. We are the #3 team in NC.

So, how does it help the Big East to have the #3 football program in a state with a population of 9 million?

And let's not forget that ECU isn't even #5 in NC in basketball.

Do the math. UCF would be the #5 football program in Florida. Memphis would be #2 or #3 football program in Tennessee. If you divide those schools by their state's population they are about the same as ECU being #3 in North Carolina.

Why should I do the math on UCF & Memphis? I'm not a fan of adding either of those teams do the BE.

But even with your logic, UCF is a better candidate. Divide Florida's 18 million by 5 = 3.6 million, which is better than 3 million - especially since WF, Duke, & ASU provide stronger competition to ECU in NC than anyone after UCF would provide in Florida.

Add in the fact that ECU brings no benefit in terms of football recruiting the way that UCF does in Florida & the fact that UCF isn't automatically pushed as far back in basketball as ECU is in state & the fact that UCF is in a major metro area & ECU is not. Although I'm not a fan of adding UCF, I see clear advantages with them over ECU.

(11-01-2010 12:05 PM)buckaineer Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:52 AM)Capital Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:46 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  I see clear advantages with them over ECU.

Correction - you see "potential"...none of the so-called expansion "candidates" bring ANYTHING tangible to ANY new conference right now besides POTENTIAL - not TCU, not Houston, not Villanova, not anyone.....any "advantages" are simply perceived at this point, because in almost all the cases, you're talking about things that do not yet exist......

We all can sleep better at night knowing that not one person who posts on any message board will have any say in any possible expansion.....God help us if that weren't the case.

Some of the other CUSA wannabees perhaps. Don't think you'd find many if any around the country that would pretend a TCU doesn't bring more to the table than ECU--you are talking of a top ten program often in the BCS and even national title hunt compared to a consistently unranked program that hasn't ever sniffed a BCS bowl. A major stretch at best to say the potential is the same.

(11-01-2010 11:36 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  To be fair, Duke is "special". They are to this generation for college sports what Notre Dame was for previous generations - the school that every single person in America has a very strong opinion about (whether good or bad). Duke is the one school that actually moves the meter so much in terms of basketball TV ratings that it overrides their putrid football program. They are right next to the Yankees, Lakers and Cowboys on America's Most Hated list.

(11-01-2010 12:05 PM)knightastic Wrote:  I think Miami has a serious chance of never being elite again. They'll be good for 7-8 wins a year but they won't be what they once were w/ Shalala as their President. UCF and USF being public universities will capitalize and the power may shift especially if both are in a BCS conference and turn it into a big rivalry along the I4 Corridor that has maybe 3-4 million people? UF and FSU will always have the resources to be top programs b/c of dedicated fanbases and much more revenue but everyone shouldn't assume Miami will eventually be 'back'.

(11-01-2010 09:22 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Memphis brings a top 50 TV market which it delivers, the tradition-rich Liberty Bowl, strong corporate support for the Big East network, nationally-recognized rivalries with Louisville and Cincinatti, is a logical extension of the Big East footprint and a great basketball program. Big East officials would be foolish to overlook all that UofM offers.

(11-01-2010 12:09 PM)Capital Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 12:05 PM)buckaineer Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:52 AM)Capital Pirate Wrote:  

(11-01-2010 11:46 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  I see clear advantages with them over ECU.

Correction - you see "potential"...none of the so-called expansion "candidates" bring ANYTHING tangible to ANY new conference right now besides POTENTIAL - not TCU, not Houston, not Villanova, not anyone.....any "advantages" are simply perceived at this point, because in almost all the cases, you're talking about things that do not yet exist......

We all can sleep better at night knowing that not one person who posts on any message board will have any say in any possible expansion.....God help us if that weren't the case.

Some of the other CUSA wannabees perhaps. Don't think you'd find many if any around the country that would pretend a TCU doesn't bring more to the table than ECU--you are talking of a top ten program often in the BCS and even national title hunt compared to a consistently unranked program that hasn't ever sniffed a BCS bowl. A major stretch at best to say the potential is the same.

...but it is still all only POTENTIAL....the degrees of which can be construed in many different ways.....

Thanks for proving my point.....