The reconstituted BE has made tremendous progress, and proved BE naysayers wrong. The BE worked hard and it has paid off. Many other conferences, both BCS and NonBCS, are also working hard.

SBC has 9 teams and is going to 10. The SBC now plays 4-4 home and home games, making nonconference scheduling easier. If I recall correctly, SBC allows only one body bag (one and done) game and all other games must be at least 2-1. FIU announced in the Miami Herald newspaper that, starting with 2010, FIU would only schedule home and home. I think FIU has 1-1 games with Wake Forest and Duke.

CUSA has also made progress. For example, LSU has scheduled Tulane 5-5, a ten year deal, with financial adjustments acknowledging LSU's larger following. Many CUSA schools are now scheduling home and home. For example, Tulsa turned down a 2-1 offer from Oklahoma State and scheduled Boise State instead home and home instead. Tulsa will be playing U of Oklahoma regularly (but not every year) in a 2-1 deal/format that will be continued in the future. However, TU will not schedule any other team 2-1. CUSA/West teams have scheduled MWC teams regularly.

So, as I went thru all the posts above, I would say that the improvements made by many of the NonBCS conferences is a factor. If a school like Tulsa turns down a 2-1 offer from Oklahoma State, I would guess there are many BCS schools in addition to BE struggling with their nonconference scheduling.

I think too that the BE is geographically hemmed in. By this I mean a school like Tulsa can look east or south (Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, ULL, ULM) to the Sun Belt, west to MWC, or even in the backyard with the Big-12 (for example, Tulsa will play Iowa State 1-1) or SEC (Tulsa will play Vanderbilt 1-1).

For BE, the MAC is close by but the Big 10 has that scheduling relationship with the MAC and so there are many Big 10/MAC games. And while Navy and Army are in the BE neighborhood, it looks like the service academies won't play that many BE schools.

So, while the problems cited above of a 8 team conference are a factor in scheduling nonconference games, I would also add the improvements made by NonBCS conferences plus the hemmed in BE geography are factors too and will remain factors in the future in scheduling nonconference games.

The biggest problem I see with this 8 team football conference is that NOBODY is on the same page. Everyone has a different agenda and priorities are scattered all across the spectrum. Everyone wants to lead, and nobody is willing follow any of the leaders. So now we have everyone marching in different directions saying, "follow me," to all the invisible people behind them.

I seriously doubt this will survive, unless we make a UNITED front. I'm willing to be that never happens...