Some updates on the tidbits on BE expansion and UCF from Iliana Limon.

"I have been told by multiple sources the Big East does not require a unanimous vote to add new members, although it may be formally announced as unanimous if and when a new member is introduced. I have heard USF has strong objections to UCF joining the league for a variety of reasons, but UCF has wide support within the conference. The decision whether to add UCF won’t be determined by USF.

And it won’t be determined by Villanova either.

Once TCU broke the difficult seal of a 16-team basketball conference, pushing the Big East to 17 basketball playing members, many of the objections against adding one more have faded.
Just to be absolutely clear, I am not reporting UCF to the Big East is a done deal. The league can change course for any reason at any time. All I am saying is that UCF has support from current Big East members."


Orlando Sentinel Blog

She is consistent in her ananlysis. Perhaps her sources are decent sources. On another fornt:

"I spoke with players from the 1998 UCF football team recently for an article, and they said they were told they would be playing in the Big East by the time they graduated. I think it’s safe to say you shouldn’t read too much into what excited recruits are saying about their new school." Form the article linked above.

Did UCF jump the starting gun? Are they still doing so? I'd like to see you guys in the Big East, but claiming you will be in the Big East before an official announcement to that effect is made is bad.

This is exactly why your administration SHOULD NOT acknowledge these rumors.

(01-26-2011 11:45 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  She is consistent in her ananlysis. Perhaps her sources are decent sources. On another fornt:

"I spoke with players from the 1998 UCF football team recently for an article, and they said they were told they would be playing in the Big East by the time they graduated. I think it’s safe to say you shouldn’t read too much into what excited recruits are saying about their new school." Form the article linked above.

Did UCF jump the starting gun? Are they still doing so? I'd like to see you guys in the Big East, but claiming you will be in the Big East before an official announcement to that effect is made is bad.

Coaches always say there's a posibility of conference upgrades. It's been going on a long time. They don't tell them that's it's set in stone. It's recruiting tactics. At least we're not the SEC and pay players $100k to play there. It's not just at UCF, either. ECU, Houston and Memphis have been doing it for years.

(01-26-2011 11:30 AM)Goldenbuc Wrote:  Some updates on the tidbits on BE expansion and UCF from Iliana Limon.

"I have been told by multiple sources the Big East does not require a unanimous vote to add new members, although it may be formally announced as unanimous if and when a new member is introduced. I have heard USF has strong objections to UCF joining the league for a variety of reasons, but UCF has wide support within the conference. The decision whether to add UCF won’t be determined by USF.
And it won’t be determined by Villanova either.
Once TCU broke the difficult seal of a 16-team basketball conference, pushing the Big East to 17 basketball playing members, many of the objections against adding one more have faded.
Just to be absolutely clear, I am not reporting UCF to the Big East is a done deal. The league can change course for any reason at any time. All I am saying is that UCF has support from current Big East members."


Orlando Sentinel Blog

The last paragragh in the article says it all about UCF folks and what they are telling the recruits:

"I spoke with players from the 1998 UCF football team recently for an article, and they said they were told they would be playing in the Big East by the time they graduated."

Seems as if UCF has been making a practice of telling recruits they are going to the BE.

Also from the article:

"I think it’s safe to say you shouldn’t read too much into what excited recruits are saying about their new school"

I think you should read a whole lot into what UCF coaches are telling excited recruits.

ECU has been telling recruits the exact same thing. A recruit in a rivals article mentioned how ECU will be in the Big East soon. So its good to know UCF is not the only school.

(01-26-2011 12:06 PM)UCFL Wrote:  ECU has been telling recruits the exact same thing. A recruit in a rivals article mentioned how ECU will be in the Big East soon. So its good to know UCF is not the only school.

Good point.

Yet ECU isn't in the Big East so maybe that's not a good thing.

(01-26-2011 11:48 AM)Goldenbuc Wrote:  

(01-26-2011 11:45 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  She is consistent in her ananlysis. Perhaps her sources are decent sources. On another fornt:

"I spoke with players from the 1998 UCF football team recently for an article, and they said they were told they would be playing in the Big East by the time they graduated. I think it’s safe to say you shouldn’t read too much into what excited recruits are saying about their new school." Form the article linked above.

Did UCF jump the starting gun? Are they still doing so? I'd like to see you guys in the Big East, but claiming you will be in the Big East before an official announcement to that effect is made is bad.

Coaches always say there's a posibility of conference upgrades. It's been going on a long time. They don't tell them that's it's set in stone. It's recruiting tactics. At least we're not the SEC and pay players $100k to play there. It's not just at UCF, either. ECU, Houston and Memphis have been doing it for years.

There is a difference between, "We will be in the Big East," and, "Sure, there is a chance we may change conferences," or, "Yeah, we hope to be moving up to an AQ conference."

Whether any other school uses this practice as a recruiting tool or not does not make it right for UCF, the topic of this thread. It is a deplorable tactic to promise a kid something that may not be able to be delivered.

I agree and what good are you doing for the recruit if it turns out to be bull****? I think its weak to lie to recruits in that way but to each is own. You should always be able to recruit on your own credibility. Like I said I guess if you have to bs to get recruits and its worked keep doing it.

I would hope any recruit or their parents would take them time to do a quick 5 minute google search to figure out if what a recruiter tells them is true.

I'm sure they probably hear rumors, ask the coaches about them, and they probably say "yeah yeah, we hear the same thing. It sure is an exciting time to be a ______*"

*put your CUSA school name here.

Y'all are making it sound like that UCF is shady and there's a hammer about to fall or something. It could be other players saying it, too. There are much worse tactics being used in recruiting, out there...trust me. It's brutal and this is chicken feed compared to other measures. The coaches don't promise the kids they'll play in a BCS conference...they simply just tell them there's a chance. Nothing wrong with that....and UCF isn't alone in this tactic. It's just odd for someone already in a BCS conference think of.

(01-26-2011 02:10 PM)Goldenbuc Wrote:  Y'all are making it sound like that UCF is shady and there's a hammer about to fall or something. It could be other players saying it, too. There are much worse tactics being used in recruiting, out there...trust me. It's brutal and this is chicken feed compared to other measures. The coaches don't promise the kids they'll play in a BCS conference...they simply just tell them there's a chance. Nothing wrong with that....and UCF isn't alone in this tactic. It's just odd for someone already in a BCS conference think of.

I agree that it happens at other schools but to call out ECU, Memphis and Houston specifically is pretty low. A recruit saying a school will be playing in a different conference is different than a recruit saying he was told by his recruiter they would be playing in a different conference. You can say "Ah, c'mon man" all you want. The former is speculation on the reader's part about where the recruit's thoughts were born. The latter is flat out proof. Lying happens alot. Sometimes it's the recruits and sometimes it's the school. As evidenced by this (scroll down to the Deion Green article)...

Dieon Green

I will say this about the "recruiting techniques" UCF employs. If/when UCF starts playing in the BE. I doubt they will see a noticable bump in their recruiting.

When USF jumped up from CUSA to the BE.....we went from 2 star recruits with the occasional 3 star in there to 3 star recruits with the occasional 4 star in there. UCF is already recruiting at that level right now and has been for the last 2 or 3 seasons. (Hmmmm wonder why that is??) They are not going to suddenly start pulling all 4 and 5 star recruits like UF or FSU once they join the BE.

Charlie Strong is probably the best Recruiter in the BE right now and even he is not going to outrecruit the Big Boys.

It also explains how UCF is doing so well on the field despite having such an average coach. Because most of the other CUSA schools are not recruiting at that level. What will change is the competition you see on the field will be equal or better than what you have. And basically all of the coaching you will face....well maybe not Schiano or PP at UConn......will be better.

One other point to add.....I know you UCF fans are real excited to jump up to the BE and "watch all the USF cry" as one of the comments read in this article.

I hate to be a Debby Downer but I think you are going to be real disappointed. You guys are like the crazy dog that always chases cars.....well you might have just now caught it.....let's see what you do with it.

I don't think you are going to get the "reaction" from USF fan that you are dying to see. If you join, so be it, good rivalry, lots of fans at the game, hopefully one more win....but the problem with the Big East is trying to actually win it....there is a lot of parity.

I think USF Fan is a lot more concerned with that than they are concerned with being "caught" by UCF. See now, the USF-UCF rivalry seems bitter because somehow, USF stole your seat and we are holding you down. If you join the league.....now we are conference brothers....sure you will want to beat us on the field.....but all the hate and animosity.....won't be the same.

Also, UCF joining is not going to "hurt" USF that much and it isn't going to "help" UCF as much as they think.

(01-26-2011 02:34 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  I will say this about the "recruiting techniques" UCF employs. If/when UCF starts playing in the BE. I doubt they will see a noticable bump in their recruiting.

Well, UCF has won some recruiting battles in recent years when going up against other Big East Schools like USF, UL, Rutgers, Syracuse, etc...and UCF has lost some recruiting battles vs the same Big East Schools...

However, in most cases that they lost, "BCS" affiliation played a major role in said recruits decision...and if UCF was on equal footing with all other BCS schools, odds are...UCF's ability to win some recruiting battles would only go up.

Agree that most Big East schools do not bring in the most 5-star players compared to other BCS Conf...but as solid teams have shown...one doesn't necessarily need to win a ton of 5-star recruiting battles to reach the BCS Bowl level.

UCF's recruiting has jumped a lot since recruits got to see the finished product of their Athletic Village (i.e. stadium, dorms, Football facility, Indoor Practice Facility, Dining Facility, Arena, etc...), and if UCF had the BCS label to use on the recruiting trail...their recruiting should take another jump "up" again (in both major sports).

(01-26-2011 02:49 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  One other point to add.....I know you UCF fans are real excited to jump up to the BE and "watch all the USF cry" as one of the comments read in this article.

I hate to be a Debby Downer but I think you are going to be real disappointed. You guys are like the crazy dog that always chases cars.....well you might have just now caught it.....let's see what you do with it.

I don't think you are going to get the "reaction" from USF fan that you are dying to see. If you join, so be it, good rivalry, lots of fans at the game, hopefully one more win....but the problem with the Big East is trying to actually win it....there is a lot of parity.

I think USF Fan is a lot more concerned with that than they are concerned with being "caught" by UCF. See now, the USF-UCF rivalry seems bitter because somehow, USF stole your seat and we are holding you down. If you join the league.....now we are conference brothers....sure you will want to beat us on the field.....but all the hate and animosity.....won't be the same.

Also, UCF joining is not going to "hurt" USF that much and it isn't going to "help" UCF as much as they think.

I can agree with this. I think UCF has an opportunity to be a pretty constant big fish in a small pond while we are in CUSA. The Big East would be a big jump and we would have to get use to losing and not bowling for a while, in all likelehood. I think UCF would bring a lot to the Big East that just got a lot stronger with TCU. A stronger Big East means a stronger USF imo. I really don't see how UCF to the Big East hurts USF...

(01-26-2011 02:50 PM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(01-26-2011 02:34 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  I will say this about the "recruiting techniques" UCF employs. If/when UCF starts playing in the BE. I doubt they will see a noticable bump in their recruiting.

Well, UCF has won some recruiting battles in recent years when going up against other Big East Schools like USF, UL, Rutgers, Syracuse, etc...and UCF has lost some recruiting battles vs the same Big East Schools...

However, in most cases that they lost, "BCS" affiliation played a major role in said recruits decision...and if UCF was on equal footing with all other BCS schools, odds are...UCF's ability to win some recruiting battles would only go up.

Agree that most Big East schools do not bring in the most 5-star players compared to other BCS Conf...but as solid teams have shown...one doesn't necessarily need to win a ton of 5-star recruiting battles to reach the BCS Bowl level.

UCF's recruiting has jumped a lot since recruits got to see the finished product of their Athletic Village (i.e. stadium, dorms, Football facility, Indoor Practice Facility, Dining Facility, Arena, etc...), and if UCF had the BCS label to use on the recruiting trail...their recruiting should take another jump "up" again (in both major sports).

You can't always be certain that you "won" those battles with those AQ schools. Lots of those schools have other "same postion" recruits that commit first and the recruit also considering UCF then chooses UCF. Happens ALOT.

I do tend to agree with the USF fan on how recruiting would pan out for UCF. They aren't going to jump up with stars all that much. Where I say the greatest difference would be is in the number of same star athletes that commit....thus giving UCF much greater depth. For the most part, depth is basically the biggest difference between upper C-USA team rosters and those in the Big East.

(01-26-2011 01:02 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Yet ECU isn't in the Big East so maybe that's not a good thing.

Well its not as bad as UCF telling a recruit that they were "going to be joining the SEC in two year anyways...."

USF fans read that comment on UCF rivals site and created so much grief on their boards that their publisher took down the article and redacted that comment. Seems like UCF has been selling everything but CUSA over the last 5 years...yet they act like the Big East would be "lucky" to have them.

LOL...

(01-26-2011 04:41 PM)CyberBull Wrote:  

(01-26-2011 01:02 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Yet ECU isn't in the Big East so maybe that's not a good thing.

Well its not as bad as UCF telling a recruit that they were "going to be joining the SEC in two year anyways...."

USF fans read that comment on UCF rivals site and created so much grief on their boards that their publisher took down the article and redacted that comment. Seems like UCF has been selling everything but CUSA over the last 5 years...yet they act like the Big East would be "lucky" to have them.

LOL...

I don't know about lucky...but unless the Big East can talk Notre dame or a current AQ program such as maryland into joing we are probably the all round best fit.

Houston is good with TV market history and proposed facility upgrades..but Houston (unlike Orlando) is a sports saturated market.

ECU has great Football and great football atendance but is not quite as polished all the way round as we are.

Memphis has good market, great basketball...but football and facilities has to improve.

Nova keeps the pie from getting cut more, great academics great TV market..but has no stadium or fan support.

So, I don't know that the Big East would be lucky to have us...but we are a decent fit with a lot of upside....that is unless Kansas or Notre Dame or Maryland are gonna come aboard.