Krocker Krapp Wrote:Sitting ducks for what? The next raid, if such an event ever comes to pass, will not be from the ACC. No way do they expand beyond 12 teams. That is not even a remote possibility. John Swofford has done a lot of dumb things but no way is he that stupid and he would never get the presidents to approve it anyway. Case closed.

So that means people are cowering in fear of the Big Ten raiding the Big East. Why? That would only affect one school. One. Understand? One. Even if the football schools split, if the Big Ten came after someone, they would still leave. No difference. If the Big Ten ever decides to take one school then we replace them and move on.

The thing that you forget to mention is that, yes the league could add another team if one left, but NO that wouldn't guarantee that the league and new member would continue as a BCS LEAGUE. If WVU or Pitt or a couple other BE programs left the vultures would be out like never before trying to take away the BE bid.

This is one of the reasons you expand sooner than later--If you brought in another team and have them start improving facilities, players and coaches now for the BCS level of play, then you are giving yourself insurance in case of a defection. A new team would have a few seasons to get their program up and compete at that level for awhile and this would lessen the chance that if someone left BCS would leave also. Before there were still enough teams left that dropping the league wasn't possible--now, it's a diiferent story as everyone views the league somewhere on par with CUSA even though this isn't the case.

The only league that may expand is the Big 10, and then only by 1 team.
The only team that losing will cause serious harm to the Big East football is West Virginia.
The Big 10 will not invite West Virginia.

There is nothing to protect against.

thats my point for a NINTH football member. It would allow that school to improve with the BCS tag that even if Big10 expanded and took one BE team the league would still have 8 teams. It would allow 8 conference games and maybe bring in a bowl.

bitcruncher Wrote:An all-sports conference has stable rivals. Rivals that don't change as you go from football to basketball. Your main rivals are always the same. The bonds between schools, and their prioritizing of mutual interest is greatly strengthened. In time, it becomes a united front, with common interest across the board. That's what a conference is supposed to do...

Thats not always the case. Penn St and OSU dont exactly have a BB rivalry. Do schools like Kentucky,Indiana, Nebraska and Michigan, have the same rivalries in both sports.? Beating Duke in BB is a far greater acheivement/goal then beating them in FB. Even the olympic sports have different rivalries. Syracuse vs Georgetown in BB is more of a rivalry then Cuse vs L'ville in FB etc etc. I think a school like SU would not be willing to give that up to form a new allegiance with a school currently in a non bcs conf. Obviously there are programs that have a heated historical bond.(osu and mich) but being in the same conf doesnt necesarily mean all your sports will have the same rivalries.

Usually, if you have a rivalry in one sport, then it usually expands to the others. It is always important, and even more so, if one is ranked, or both. It doesnt have to have national implication, but if it does, then good because it brings more appeal. One have to question if it is a rivalry if it doesnt exist in the other sports.

Louisville vs Syracuse can become a rivalry if given enough time to grow. The same could be said of others.

omnicarrier Wrote:

Wilkie01 Wrote: Hybrids do not work, just ask the Old Southern Conference, the old C-USA, the old WAC, and the old Big East. We need to become a 9, 10 or 12 team all sports conference to become stable and have a real identity!

So the new C-USA must be a huge improvement over the old C-USA?

Yes, in many ways it already is, and it will be best over the long haul.

Cincy, L'ville and USF knew what what they were in for when the agreed to join the BE. If they were more concerned with an all sport conference they could have tried to get CUSA to dump, charlotte,depaul, marquette and st louis. Then make a counter offer to the remaing 5 BE FB teams. Asking some or all of them to join CUSA in an all sport conference, not a hybrid. The BE's BCS tie in would no longer exist and CUSA could then make a claim for it. This move may have also pushed the B10 to expand as well. Would the BE have looked outside CUSA if these 3 said no or would it have folded in FB?

You seem to forget the Big East HAD a BCS bid, had USF,UL or Cincy proposed that then the BE name would have remained with the basketball schools and the "new" league would not had the BCS label and would have had to hope to get it.
The BE teams because of the name and automatic bid called the shots.
What we have now is certaintly better than CUSA but the big question is? Is this as good as it can get?

gosports1 Wrote:A&P? The supermarket? They're still around

A&P became Super Fresh. Acme is still around.

Gray Avenger Wrote:

omnicarrier Wrote:

Wilkie01 Wrote: Hybrids do not work, just ask the Old Southern Conference, the old C-USA, the old WAC, and the old Big East. We need to become a 9, 10 or 12 team all sports conference to become stable and have a real identity!

So the new C-USA must be a huge improvement over the old C-USA?

Yes, in many ways it already is, and it will be best over the long haul.

It took the partial hybrid 5 years to become the seventh best bb and the seventh best fb conference.

How long should we continue to wait for C-USA to achieve such lofty heights again? Right now the league is fighting for eighth or ninth best football conference and probably about tenth best bb conference.

Cheers,
Neil

Cubanbull Wrote:You seem to forget the Big East HAD a BCS bid, had USF,UL or Cincy proposed that then the BE name would have remained with the basketball schools and the "new" league would not had the BCS label and would have had to hope to get it.
The BE teams because of the name and automatic bid called the shots.
What we have now is certaintly better than CUSA but the big question is? Is this as good as it can get?

Sadly, the truth appears to be that the league is only going to be as good as the teams presently in it can make it.

I suppose the landscape will change again, but at the present time, all the signs seem to be pointing to the current balanced clusterf#@k staying as is.

Personally, I think the partial hybrid that C-USA had would be much better for the league, but my opinion means diddly.

Cheers,
Neil

You got that right, Neil. As far as opinions go, those of us in here have no input, so all our opinions are so much hot air...

Cubanbull Wrote:You seem to forget the Big East HAD a BCS bid, had USF,UL or Cincy proposed that then the BE name would have remained with the basketball schools and the "new" league would not had the BCS label and would have had to hope to get it.
The BE teams because of the name and automatic bid called the shots.
What we have now is certaintly better than CUSA but the big question is? Is this as good as it can get?

I realize that having a bcs bid was the major selling point to get the former CUSA schools.The BE name as well (the BB potential was also too hard to resist)
The question is, would the BE have settled for other schools w/o the BB tradition of UC and UL? (outside of cusa)If the BE was met with luke warm reception by the 3 new FB members would that have caused more instability and perhaps cause Cuse or Pitt to look to the B10?What if all the CUSA FB schools stuck together? That would have put the BCS staus in jeopardy. If the 4 or 5 remaining FB schools than swapped places with the 4 former CUSA BB schools, would the BCS bid go with them to CUSA?
Risky move by l'ville and company but it might have resulted in an all sport BCS conference