(02-01-2011 08:29 AM)Smokin Pirate Wrote:  If Nova says yes, I will be interested in seeing their attendance numbers. Will they be like a Northwestern or Vandy or will it be more in line with a Duke?

It's nice to say you have that market but who will actually be watching. That's the big question.

With respect to Villanova, the market doesn't matter. They are currently a member of the BE, so if they want to move up in football, then the BE will be open to them.

As for the market, I don't think Villanova will bring much. To the extent that Philly watches college football at all, it's really in support of Penn State. The main value that Villanova brings is a 10th football team without having to split another share of basketball revenue. Since basketball revenue is higher in the BE than football revenue, it could very well be the case that 10/17 membership with Villanova yields more money per school than 10/18 without Villanova and with UCF or Houston. The BE is what it is - BB is more valuable than FB in this conference and it likely always will be. I know a lot of people on this board believe that's a bad thing, but the BE has to work with what it has in terms of assets. Schools like Penn State and Notre Dame aren't walking through that door, and those are really the only types of schools that can truly prop up football revenue that people on this board would like to see. Adding C-USA schools aren't going to move the mark there. There's a lot of fuzzy math going on - if you were to believe UCF, Houston and ECU boosters, they would raise revenue for the BE in a manner that would be in excess of SEVERAL TIMES the value of the ENTIRE new C-USA TV contract. Seriously - that's what would have to happen for the BE to get up to $10 million per team in a 10 or 12 team football league. So, if they were that valuable, then why hasn't C-USA been getting paid like that already? And UCF or Houston or ECU alone in the BE is worth more than all 12 C-USA teams put together that they're a member of now? That's Enron-worthy accounting. Now, that's not to say UCF, Houston and/or ECU can't provide some value to the BE, but people get taken a lot more seriously if you're realistic about what you bring to the table.