this was the last year of the reeval period when all hell broke loose in 2003. The BCS gave us a criteria to meet and not only did we meet it we will blow it out of the water.

Highest Ranked BCS Team
2004 Louisville 10th BCS, yes our rankings counts for the BIG EAST
2005 West Virginia 11th BCS
2006 Louisville 6th in BCS
2007 West Virginia likely 10-12h

At worse our 4 year average will be around 9.3

BCS Conference Computer Average
2004 Big East 5th - able to use UC, UofL and USF and able to drop Temple & BC.
2005 Big East 6th
2006 Big East 2nd
2007 Big East 3rd

Average Conference Ranking 4th

Number of BCS Team in Final BCS Rankings
2004 1 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 2
2005 1 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 2
2006 2 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 3
2007 1 Top 12/3 Top 25 Total of 4

Average 1 Top 12/Average Total 2.9 or roughly 37% of the BIG EAST.

So if the BCS bid is set for another 4 years then it is likely the BE will stay the same for the next 4 years. WV almost making the Championship Game helped the BE too. If the get of jail for free card is extended to 2012 the BE will not expand and keep the money from the TV contract divided among the current members. No need to share the FB revenue either unless a new member will increase the revenue distribution for the current members. BB credits can still stay with the BB contingent and the FB contingent until the decision is made to stay together or split.

This gives the BE more time to survey the ND issue, B-10 expansion issues, BCS playoff issues, and scheduling issues for the FB teams. I believe the BE still needs another FB team for scheduling purposes. However the money sharing issue will stall that situation. If the BE would allow one more all sports team, the issues would be resolved. Four home and away FB games for the conference and a 16 game round robin BB schedule for BB with 8 home and away games. Give the BB schools a get of jail free card as a group if they think the FB schools are screwing them. As for the balance of power issue there use to be 8 Football schools and six BB only schools in the conference prior to the raid so the argument is bull now too. If there's a split each entity would now get an automatic NCAA BB bid and I think that issue could over ride the balance issue at this point.

Actually, West Virginia will likely be about 8th or 9th in the final BCS standings. Very impressive effort for a conference left for dead! MWC conference fans and officials keep mentioning how they were ranked ahead of the Big East in conference Sagarin ratings in 2004 but that isn't true. The BCS counted the conference as if it included Cincinnati, USF and Louisville as Maize pointed out.

Revised BIG EAST Numbers.

2004 Louisville 10th in the BCS, yes our rankings counts for the BIG EAST
2005 West Virginia 11th in the BCS
2006 Louisville 6th in BCS
2007 West Virginia 9th in the BCS

Highest Ranked BIG EAST Team 4 year average is 9.0

BCS Conference Computer Average
2004 Big East 5th - able to use UC, UofL and USF and able to drop Temple & BC.
2005 Big East 6th
2006 Big East 2nd
2007 Big East 3rd

Average Conference Ranking for 4 year Reeval periods is 4th

Number of BCS Team in Final BCS Rankings
2004 1 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 2
2005 1 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 2
2006 2 Top 12/1 Top 25 Total of 3
2007 1 Top 12/3 Top 25 Total of 4

Average 1 Top 12 for 1.25 per year/Average Total 2.9 or roughly 37% of the BIG EAST.

from what I can figure, the BE needed at least 8 teams ranked over the 4 year period to be within 50% of the top conf. The SEC had 20 teams with a 12 team league. The BE ended up with 11 teams, again meeting the criteria. And with 06 and 07 being years 1 and 2 for the next 4 yr eval period, The BE is in very strong making it almost certain a BCS autobid lock thru 2011.

TIGER-PAUL Wrote:from what I can figure, the BE needed at least 8 teams ranked over the 4 year period to be within 50% of the top conf. The SEC had 20 teams with a 12 team league. The BE ended up with 11 teams, again meeting the criteria. And with 06 and 07 being years 1 and 2 for the next 4 yr eval period, The BE is in very strong making it almost certain a BCS autobid lock thru 2011.

The Big East is already locked in. One of the major criteria's for the BCS is market makeups. That's basically our lock to the BCS, similar to other schools having an automatic lock to a BCS bowl.

CatsClaw Wrote:

TIGER-PAUL Wrote:from what I can figure, the BE needed at least 8 teams ranked over the 4 year period to be within 50% of the top conf. The SEC had 20 teams with a 12 team league. The BE ended up with 11 teams, again meeting the criteria. And with 06 and 07 being years 1 and 2 for the next 4 yr eval period, The BE is in very strong making it almost certain a BCS autobid lock thru 2011.

The Big East is already locked in. One of the major criteria's for the BCS is market makeups. That's basically our lock to the BCS, similar to other schools having an automatic lock to a BCS bowl.

Still it is good that we more then blew the set criteria out of the water. Many of our critics NEVER thought we would do what we did and most thought our bid would be GONE.

I said 3 years ago that someone would fill the void of Miami and VPI. WVU and Louisville held the rope and allowed programs like Rutgers, Cincinnati, UConn and South Florida to find their footing and they made their contribution last year and for UConn this season.

Now if we can get Syracuse and if Pitt can build off their win in Morgantown then this conference can truly become one of the elite football leagues in the nation. It will NEVER be the SEC but IF we play our Cards right we can become the Eastern version of the Pac 10.

To further expand the numbers (from an old thread here):

There are three criteria that are claimed to be used for BCS bid:
1 - The average of the highest BCS ranked team for the conference (note that it isn't necessarily the champion)
2 - The # of top 25 teams (using Yoda's criteria)
3 - The strength of the conference

These are the rankings for 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 for criteria #1:

Pac 10: 1, 1, 5, 7 = 3.5 (AVERAGE)
Big 10: 12, 3, 1, 1 = 4.25
Big 12: 2, 2, 10, 4 = 4.5
SEC: 3, 7, 2, 2 = 3.5
ACC: 8, 8, 14, 3 = 8.25
BE: 10, 11, 6, 9 = 9.0
MWC: 6, 14, 20, 17 = 14.25
WAC: 9, 29*, 8, 10 = 14

* From Jerry Palms's site courtesy of Omnicarrier

So the BE is 6th based on the criteria for #1.

Note that LAST year, Omnicarrier also calculated the BE was 6th in overall BCS strength (Criteria #3) and 5th for Top 25 Ranked Team Criteria - ahead of the ACC and right behind the Big12 (Criteria #2). Perhaps he also has these numbers for 2007.

right, first the highest team avg has to be in the top 12. If so, criteria 2 and 3 will be judged. There, its a little more foggy. I beleive the avg. conf .rating has to be in the top 6 and the number of ranked teams (adj. for no. of members) has to be 'similiar' enough to the top ranked conf. I've seen where similiar was to be within 50%. If so, the BE surpasses.

Maize Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:

TIGER-PAUL Wrote:from what I can figure, the BE needed at least 8 teams ranked over the 4 year period to be within 50% of the top conf. The SEC had 20 teams with a 12 team league. The BE ended up with 11 teams, again meeting the criteria. And with 06 and 07 being years 1 and 2 for the next 4 yr eval period, The BE is in very strong making it almost certain a BCS autobid lock thru 2011.

The Big East is already locked in. One of the major criteria's for the BCS is market makeups. That's basically our lock to the BCS, similar to other schools having an automatic lock to a BCS bowl.

Still it is good that we more then blew the set criteria out of the water. Many of our critics NEVER thought we would do what we did and most thought our bid would be GONE.

I said 3 years ago that someone would fill the void of Miami and VPI. WVU and Louisville held the rope and allowed programs like Rutgers, Cincinnati, UConn and South Florida to find their footing and they made their contribution last year and for UConn this season.

Now if we can get Syracuse and if Pitt can build off their win in Morgantown then this conference can truly become one of the elite football leagues in the nation. It will NEVER be the SEC but IF we play our Cards right we can become the Eastern version of the Pac 10.

Agreed. As good as we are now, the Big East would get a MAJOR national boost if Syracuse and Pitt can return to Top 25 form, or at least bowl form. Pitt and Cuse have national tradition that rivals ANYONE in the country, including Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, Florida State, Michigan, etc. Pitt and Cuse combine for 9 national championship, so getting them back into the Top 25 would be a major boon for the Big East in the national scope.

This is a ridiculous thread. The ACC is the league that should worry.

Tigeer Wrote:This is a ridiculous thread. The ACC is the league that should worry.

I agree. This is a rediculous thread. Most criteria are based on a popularity contest.

I find it amazing that the only 2 teams in the new BE that hasn't finished the season ranked are the historically rich SU and Pitt. Who would have guess Rutgers, Uconn, Cinci, and USF would beat both to it.

Honestly is there one thing about the BE that anyone predicted correctly? It practically shows nothing can be predicted in college football right now.

One thing it does show is that the secret of college sports is not tradition but how much money you pump into it. I think the amount of coaches staying in the BE shows that coaches are starting to realize this too.