(09-12-2017 09:18 PM)BullsFanInTX Wrote:  Not sure if serious but I will give my 2 cents. It was a sucker punch for sure. I like the AAC a lot. A whole lot. But the fact remains, the Big East was seen by most as in the club, and the AAC is not by most. I hope it gets there somehow. I guess we had no real idea the Big East was going to end. Sure, there were rumblings about discord among football and basketball schools, but the BE seemed to strengthen it's hand by adding TCU. The BE then turned down a major TV deal, hoping to get even more on the open market. In hindsight, that was THE decision, IMO that doomed BE. Then, Syracuse, and specifically Pitt, went behind BE's back, stabbed the BE in the back, and secretly negotiated with ACC, all while putting on this great front with the Big East...isn't that always how it's done. If I remember correctly, Pitt even spearheaded the call to reject ESPN's offer, then secretly negotiated with ACC below the radar. Caught BE totally by surprise. Still, the BE still had seven football teams and could have survived, but everyone got skittish and started looking for lifeboats. USF football was kind of down then under Holtz and right then and there, I knew it would be a tough sell to get USF in another conf. That was one of the major factors in USF not finding a raft. There were some noise USF was meeting with ACC, but I knew that wouldn't amount to anything. Everyone got scared, instead of looking to rebuild. First you hear TCU backing out, then WVU looking around, then Louisville and Rutgers (I have no idea who left first and in what order). Speaking of Rutgers, has there EVER been a more lucky program ever. Well, when Rutgers and Louisville left I knew it was over. Sure we tried to rebuild, and there was talk that the BE would try to retain some type of auto bid, but I figured it wasn't going to happen, and guess what, it didn't. It was like someone punched you in the gut and walked away. Don't get me wrong I truly like the AAC, and every single program in it, but once you have tasted the big time, it's hard to go back.

In hind sight, the old BE should have went to 10-12 football teams back in 05 with schools such as TCU, UCF, Navy, ECU, etc. The BE would be alive today, and most likely still a power conference. John Marinatto (old BE commish) was too slow reacting, and is one of the major reasons why the BE fell apart.

Good synopsis. I imagine the strangest part is once being in the club, meaning you get all of the coverage, then within a short period of time, your program is getting the "non AQ" treatment. Yet, logically, your program has not changed.