I think if a team is ready to join The BEast, it should join in all sports. I hate the hybrid nature of this conference, and I hate partial memberships with a passion. That shows a chickensh!t attitude towards your conference membership in particular - and the world in general...

(11-08-2010 12:39 AM)BullsFanatic Wrote:  In the past five seasons (starting with the first season that the Big East 5 left), CUSA has gotten 2 NCAA bids twice. The Sun Belt, in the same time period, has done it once...not a big difference.

Wow ! I didn't realize CUSA had fallen off that much in basketball. The CAA has at least that many Tourney bids over that time period as well and they have never been considered a mid-major. Maybe UCF or ECU would take football only membership. Memphis wouldn't because it could kill their cash cow to de-emphasize basketball in favor of BCS AQ conference status.

The Fans in Memphis have given up on a BE invitation.
Memphis is a Basketball school and NO!!!!!!!! I seriously doubt Memphis would destroy it's elite Basketball Program to be a member of the BE with a FB only invitation. We would like to stay in our region of the country and be included in a FB conference who wants to expand with a monstrous Basketball program who will add network $$$$$$ and prestige. We have again started playing a couple SEC schools in FB.

(11-08-2010 11:29 AM)LadyTiger Wrote:  We have again started playing a couple SEC schools in FB.

I saw how the Tennessee game went, and Memphis only gets to play Tennessee @ home due to political reasons. Every other SEC team they play will be on the road. If Memphis has that much trouble with a bad Vol team @ home, how do they expect to beat anyone in the SEC on the road?

If we are going to lose, it might as well be to a school in a prestigious conference that will put some much needed $$$ in our coffers.

I don't see TCU, Houston, or UCF accepting FB-only. Memphis might, but WTF is the point of that? Memphis' value is in basketball, not football. The best team that will take FB-only is ECU imho.

(11-08-2010 12:21 PM)LadyTiger Wrote:  If we are going to lose, it might as well be to a school in a prestigious conference that will put some much needed $$$ in our coffers.

I agree. No applause please, just throw money...

It is a rather simplistic concept. If the SEC schools (our neighborhood) want to play Memphis in Basketball, they have to play us in football. Arkansas, Ole Miss, and others have been begging to play Memphis in BB. It doesn't work just one way, both sides have to benefit. Tennessee would not play us in FB, so we didn't play them in BB until both sides mutually benefited in both sports. Before our x coach left we were supposedly trying to put together games with North Carolina and possibly Duke, The networks insist we play Kansas!

For whatever reason, Memphis Basketball will forever be tied to Basketball's elite programs: UCLA (Bill Walton hit 21 out of 22 FG in the 1973 Championship Game); Kansas (Invented Basketball! 2008 NCAA Championship Game, Memphis vs Kansas holds record for most watched NCAA championship game); Kentucky Basketball one of the greatest programs in the game (hires Memphis Calipari in 2009, their fans are already salivating over Pastner when Cal retires). Memphis until we had our season striped held majority of the NCAA Basketball Records.

We are trying to work on our football. We have some leadership problems. We are in mid America in the heart of SEC territory, embracing Big 12 territory; until we get our football program going there is little hope, afterwards we will be choosy.

In our warmup game with our new recruits we dominated by over 50 points beating our opponent 104ish to 40 something with two 5* sitting on the bench! Understand your fear of our Basketball Program.

I don't think about Memphis basketball at all when thinking about expansion. Basketball is irrelevant in expansion discussions, since BEast basketball is strong enough to stand with anyone...

Football is where we need the help, and that's what we're looking for. It's too bad for Memphis that this isn't an area where they can help us at the moment we need help. Timing is everything, they say. The facts are what they are, and wishing they were otherwise won't change that...

No worries! It is Basketball Season and time to Rock n Roll in Memphis with Rendezvous Ribs and Beale Street. For now Memphis desperately needs to invest in improving our football program. Later a strong FB conference needing help in Basketball is a better choice for Memphis. Memphis and the BE are a mismatch as to what both need. Truthfully in Football our area watches Big 12 and some SEC games. Both conferences are FB Powers and popular in this part of the country. In BB it is Big 12 (we watch Memphis and whoever they are playing and a few BE games). In the DFW area we have a multitude of sports for every taste. In the 7 years I have lived in the area we have encountered only a few TCU fans wearing logo, flying a flag, sign in their yard or professed to be a TCU fan. DFW is a respectable market with TCU being an extremely small player. TCU is a good school but they control a extremely small fanbase in the Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas Market.

A split would be more effective.

(11-07-2010 09:03 PM)DawsonUCF Wrote:  

(11-07-2010 01:49 PM)goodknightfl Wrote:  TCU would, Memphis would, and UCF when push came to shove likely would as well. I think the decision is hardest for UCF of the 3. UCF has no good options where to park the rest of its sports. But BCS auto bid is tough to pass up on.

UCF will not accept a FB only.

You may be right..but..I would not be the one to have to make that decision.

(11-07-2010 06:54 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Holland seems to be connected with the Big 12, knowing what they're doing, I wonder if ECU has any chance of joining the Big 12 if they expand and we don't grab you.

Holland has always said that the "Big East may not be our best option". I have no idea what that means, but he usually states it like it is. Personally, the thought of ECU in the Big 12 = not gonna happen.

I do know that we would take football-only for the Big East, and most believe that he already has somewhere else for our other sports to go already lined up. Where ECU is lucky IF a football-only invite were to come, is that we have several options for our other sports that make sense.. where UCF would have a harder time.