but....Oliver Luck was introduced as the new WVU AD today in Morgantown and of course conference stuff was a major talk of conversation. I happened to be in the car listening to sportsline (for those that don't know, its pretty much the radio mouthpiece for WVU in the state) and the hosts were saying that BE expansion was not off the table for the summer..Basically, the league is looking at adding one school to get to nine in football but has no interest in going to 12-20 under the curent conditions

The show starts at 6PM so the comment was made after Texas committed not to go to the Pac10 so the B12 leftovers were known to be off the table...which IMO means a CUSA school or TCU may be on the radar

Jackson

I would guess UCF would be invited if that's the case.

If that is the case and we are only adding one then I am talking to the folks in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can always go back for a UCF, ECU, Temple or Memphis in that order. If we can get TCU especially if Utah bolts for the Pac 10/11/12 that would be a huge get for the league.

(06-14-2010 10:34 PM)Maize Wrote:  If that is the case and we are only adding one then I am talking to the folks in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can always go back for a UCF, ECU, Temple or Memphis in that order. If we can get TCU especially if Utah bolts for the Pac 10/11/12 that would be a huge get for the league.

TCU is a hot football school now, but if they lose their coach or start to slip then they really don't add anything else to the conference - basketball, fan support, etc. UCF is not as attractive now - but long-term they have great potential with FL recruiting, great TV market, new stadium and large student population.

(06-14-2010 10:41 PM)wvufanfrommd Wrote:  

(06-14-2010 10:34 PM)Maize Wrote:  If that is the case and we are only adding one then I am talking to the folks in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can always go back for a UCF, ECU, Temple or Memphis in that order. If we can get TCU especially if Utah bolts for the Pac 10/11/12 that would be a huge get for the league.

TCU is a hot football school now, but if they lose their coach or start to slip then they really don't add anything else to the conference - basketball, fan support, etc. UCF is not as attractive now - but long-term they have great potential with FL recruiting, great TV market, new stadium and large student population.

Also, IMO, UCF would do a lot more for the conference as far as traditions/rivalries as we would surely develop some pretty nice story lines with USF in a very short amount of time... Those types of things are what separate conferences and give them identities IMO... Adding TCU by itself would just be adding another school on an island, that doesn't necessarily fit geographically of culturally...

I'm not just saying that to pimp my school, I think Memphis actually makes more sense than TCU for the very same reasons...

If BYU and Air Force leaves for the MWC has was reported by Paul Finebaum, TCU may indeed have an interest in the BE. But I don't think they would do it.

(06-14-2010 10:41 PM)wvufanfrommd Wrote:  

(06-14-2010 10:34 PM)Maize Wrote:  If that is the case and we are only adding one then I am talking to the folks in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can always go back for a UCF, ECU, Temple or Memphis in that order. If we can get TCU especially if Utah bolts for the Pac 10/11/12 that would be a huge get for the league.

TCU is a hot football school now, but if they lose their coach or start to slip then they really don't add anything else to the conference - basketball, fan support, etc. UCF is not as attractive now - but long-term they have great potential with FL recruiting, great TV market, new stadium and large student population.

I agree with this 100%. However, I think adding only 1 school is short-sighted adding 2 is the way to go.

Man if UCF had just been a BCS buster once, then it would be a no brainer. We really need to put up a top 15 performance soon. Obviously, the school has potential and has been investing. At least we have a great APR. haha.

UCF might be the logical choice but I am not sure whether any of them stands out above the others (ECU, UCF, Buffalo, Memphis) but I think I read somewhere that USF would try and block this at all costs. Apparently, USF and UCF are not on good terms. I think the Big East should concentrate on their TV network and then see how much revenue is generated from it. Maybe some team might separate themselves from the pack.

As far as I know, UCF and USF aren't on "bad terms" other than that we are jockeying (I dare not use the word "rivaling" though in this sense, it means the same thing) for similar recruits and to come out of the "Big 3" shadow in Florida.

I personally don't know where the theory came from that there is only enough room for 4 successful DI programs in Florida and hope to see UCF, USF, FAU and FIU all flourish. Because the "Big 3" have had the market cornered for so long, the more dilution, the better.

(06-14-2010 11:27 PM)st932253 Wrote:  As far as I know, UCF and USF aren't on "bad terms" other than that we are jockeying (I dare not use the word "rivaling" though in this sense, it means the same thing) for similar recruits and to come out of the "Big 3" shadow in Florida.

Judy Genshaft, the USF president is supposedly a crazy b%$^% with a huge superiority complex who absolutely hates UCF and thinks the institution is beneath her (She apparently thinks FSU is beneath her as well)...

I heard that second hand, so take it FWIW, but I do not doubt it one bit... There is a fair bit of arrogance over there... and I would not count on ANY support from USF...

Like I said earlier, if USF supported UCF behind closed doors, we would have been in the Big East a long time ago... We can still get in, but there will have to be a broad consensus among the other FB members...

(06-14-2010 10:41 PM)wvufanfrommd Wrote:  

(06-14-2010 10:34 PM)Maize Wrote:  If that is the case and we are only adding one then I am talking to the folks in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can always go back for a UCF, ECU, Temple or Memphis in that order. If we can get TCU especially if Utah bolts for the Pac 10/11/12 that would be a huge get for the league.

TCU is a hot football school now, but if they lose their coach or start to slip then they really don't add anything else to the conference - basketball, fan support, etc. UCF is not as attractive now - but long-term they have great potential with FL recruiting, great TV market, new stadium and large student population.

TCF is on an island all by itself. I am sure they will come if invited but they should come with a traveling partner. I am not sold on Houston yet.

I think adding UCF is a no-brainer. If we have to go to 10, bring on Memphis or ECU for now. Memphis only if we get $10M and FEDEX sponsorship for something.

We have to expand. We can't sit here at 8 while all the conferences around us slowly move to 12. We will be thought of as weaker simply based on numbers. UCF needs to be in this league yesterday. Any expansion beyond that is unclear but UCF is such a no brainer that it boggles my mind that it hasn't been done already.

Here is some more on Jackson's post...

Quote:MORGANTOWN - At roughly the same time Oliver Luck was being formally introduced as West Virginia's new athletic director to a gathering of media and university officials and friends Monday afternoon, his new counterparts in the Big 12 seemed close to saving their conference.

But by no stretch of the imagination does that mean Luck, WVU and the Big East are off the hook where ramifications of conference expansion and back-room dealings are concerned. Things have already changed the landscape of college sports in the past week and more changes are sure to come.

Link

(06-14-2010 11:32 PM)UCF-ENG Wrote:  Like I said earlier, if USF supported UCF behind closed doors, we would have been in the Big East a long time ago... We can still get in, but there will have to be a broad consensus among the other FB members...

At what point would UCF have been added? I think you are giving USF too much credit here. UCF was not a serious candidate when the Big East last expanded and if any school was considered a slam dunk add since that point they would have already been added, whether USF was promoting them or not.

I agree with your last sentence, but I don't think it can be reconciled with your first sentence. The Big East may add someone here soon, and I can't say USF will be a UCF promoter, but the decision will come down to the finances and who is a smart add. Other schools won't be swayed by a single detractor if UCF is truly the right addition.

(06-14-2010 11:57 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  UCF was not a serious candidate when the Big East last expanded

Actually, that isn't true. At the July 9th meeting back in 2003, the BE ADs originally dismissed USF as a Big East candidate and discussed extending a football only invite to UCF. Richard McCormick (Rutgers) asked that UCF be taken off the table as a potential BE member but they ended up deferring the decision on UCF and federated members until a later date. Later, UCF and the other potential federated members (Army and Navy) were dropped and USF took their place as an all-sports member.

(06-15-2010 12:30 AM)UofL07 Wrote:  

(06-14-2010 11:57 PM)CollegeCard Wrote:  UCF was not a serious candidate when the Big East last expanded

Actually, that isn't true. At the July 9th meeting back in 2003, the BE ADs originally dismissed USF as a Big East candidate and discussed extending a football only invite to UCF. Richard McCormick (Rutgers) asked that UCF be taken off the table as a potential BE member but they ended up deferring the decision on UCF and federated members until a later date. Later, UCF and the other potential federated members (Army and Navy) were dropped and USF took their place as an all-sports member.

I'm well aware of that but I'm talking inclusion for all in full members.

(06-14-2010 11:32 PM)UCF-ENG Wrote:  

(06-14-2010 11:27 PM)st932253 Wrote:  As far as I know, UCF and USF aren't on "bad terms" other than that we are jockeying (I dare not use the word "rivaling" though in this sense, it means the same thing) for similar recruits and to come out of the "Big 3" shadow in Florida.

Judy Genshaft, the USF president is supposedly a crazy b%$^% with a huge superiority complex who absolutely hates UCF and thinks the institution is beneath her (She apparently thinks FSU is beneath her as well)...

I heard that second hand, so take it FWIW, but I do not doubt it one bit... There is a fair bit of arrogance over there... and I would not count on ANY support from USF...

Like I said earlier, if USF supported UCF behind closed doors, we would have been in the Big East a long time ago... We can still get in, but there will have to be a broad consensus among the other FB members...

Disagree.

Since USF was invited to join the Big East back in Nov 2003 (along with 4 other CUSA schools)...the Big East has never invited ANY other school to join the conf...so even if USF "wanted" UCF to join...it would have been impossible since the Big East hasn't handed out ANY invites to ANY program since Nov 2003.

UCF has been reported numerous times as the next add with anonymous Big East sources mentioned. A BE coach mentioned them publicly. If they add just one we should expect UCF.

TCU would have to make a very interesting decision if we offered them a spot. It's a classice question of a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush. Sure, the Big East has a BCS bid RIGHT NOW. But it is tenuous in the current environment. The MWC does not have a BCS bid, but it has sent 3 teams into the BCS in the last 5 years or so, and with the addition of BSU, that number may improve. Can you imagine TCU joining the Big East the year before the Big Ten blows our conference up and then the MWC picks up an auto-bid? I guess they could always go back to the MWC.