I like 10. It's a nice round number - and it divides nicely too.

And if you get raided for 1 or 2 teams, it still leaves and 8 or 9 team conference. It all about survivability and having a safety net. We need to add two of the three, Memphis, East Carolina and Central Florida.

army56mike Wrote:What is the difference between Cincy football and basketball the year before they were asked to join the BEast and the current state of Memphis football and basketball? They seem pretty comparable to me. It seems that Memphis would fit in nicely.

Memphis has played in bowl games 3 of the last 4 years. I am confident that at the end of this season, we will be able to boast 4 of the last 5 - last year was an aberration. Just as with UC, UL and USF, with the dramatically improved perception and financial resources afforded by BCS inclusion, Tiger football should flourish as never before. As for academic concerns, UofM's president began (in 2002) an ambitious 10-year program to become one of the nation's premiere urban research universities. A key component of that plan was the establishment of the prestigious FedEx Reseach Institute which is now rapidly developing. Another exciting development is that of our already highly regarded Law school (presidential candidate, Fred Thompson a notable graduate) into one of the finest in the South. All of this is aimed at raising UofM to at least the next higher USN&WR tier ranking by no later than 2012, our 100th anniversary. OK, now call me a pimp if it makes you feel better, but it ain't bragging if it's true.

Wilkie01 Wrote:And if you get raided for 1 or 2 teams, it still leaves and 8 or 9 team conference. It all about survivability and having a safety net. We need to add two of the three, Memphis, East Carolina and Central Florida.

Absolutely. And if you add these schools sooner than later, you give them a chance to grow their programs under the BCS label. So, let's say you lose Syracuse or Rutgers to the Big 10 down the road. It is likely that one, two, or all of the above schools will improve dramatically and the Big East remains strong and viable as a BCS conference. Right now, the Big East has zero degrees of freedom to cope with the loss of even one member. It does not take a Rocket scientist to figure this out.

Gray Avenger, thanks for the post. I've always been a Memphis supporter in the event of a split.

Waco, exactly. In fact, the sooner the split is announced, the better. That way, the expansion selections (Memphis, UCF, ECU, or whomever) can recruit for a year or two prior to the split and not be behind the 8-ball.

BJUnklFkr Wrote:Gray Avenger, thanks for the post. I've always been a Memphis supporter in the event of a split.

Waco, exactly. In fact, the sooner the split is announced, the better. That way, the expansion selections (Memphis, UCF, ECU, or whomever) can recruit for a year or two prior to the split and not be behind the 8-ball.

or behind the 7-ball if a team leaves.

No odd balls allowed!!!

There must be an even number of balls, or there shall be no balls at all!!!

bitcruncher Wrote:No odd balls allowed!!!

There must be an even number of balls, or there shall be no balls at all!!!

It is very true to build in a parachutte. We need to add a couple of good teams as a safeguard in case someone else decides to cut and run. If it happened now, we would be unprepared and in serious trouble. If there were 10 teams, we would be burnt but would recover.

Bring on Memphis and ECU now. They are the closest to being ready.

Even a singlechutte would be nice. Anything is better than what exists.

Memphis and ECU is the answer.

What was the question again?

D*MN short-term memory problems...