is looking to add a team(football only) for the 2006 season. With the new 12 game schedule and the fact that every other year teams will only get 3 conf home games, I can see the BE trying to get a ninth football member to have a balanced schedule.

St. Patrick Eagle Wrote:is looking to add a team(football only) for the 2006 season. With the new 12 game schedule and the fact that every other year teams will only get 3 conf home games, I can see the BE trying to get a ninth football member to have a balanced schedule.

Unfortunately Mike T already said they wont add another team unless there is a great team out there that can make the BE better. They wont add a team just for the sake of adding a team. Frankly, I dont see any team out there that really add huge value to the BE other than PSU or ND.

With ND commiting to 3 games per year with the BE, I think they are getting some nice OOC games. I do think if there is a really good school, then adding it would be the right thing to do. Who knows? Maybe some other Eastern school or UCF will rise to the occassion and become really good down the road and warrant an invite.

I wish we were adding a 9th team, but as Husky mentioned, Tranghese shot that theory down. It looks like the Big East going to work out an agreement that allows Notre Dame, Army and Navy to help balance out the schedule, which I don't have a problem with.

Quote:Unfortunately Mike T already said they wont add another team unless there is a great team out there that can make the BE better. They wont add a team just for the sake of adding a team. Frankly, I dont see any team out there that really add huge value to the BE other than PSU or ND.

-- Exactly....and further exapansion at this point given the quality of candidates that are available to us would only serve to water down the league

-- As Cat's Claw said the proposed deal with Army and Navy would solve the scheduling problem without adding another mouth to feed from the BCS,TV money....also playing the academies are likely to bring more fans out in Syracuse or Pittsburgh etc then say having the Pitt Panthers play an official 9th football only member (like UCF for example)

-- 2010 is the magic # right now. Not only is that the time when the football schools can split freely, but I think it is also the date when NDs current NBC contract runs out. Also, hopefully by then Joe Pa will have finally retired at Penn St and there will be a new power in place in Happy Valley. I doubt you will see any further football expansion (all sports or othewise) untill the BE makes a pitch to the two big powers again, even if the chance for success is slim and none


Jackson

Yes MT said that they werent looking for a ninth team and that if they do that team must bring something to the table,BUT
1. The football teams NEED to balance out their schedules,ND agreeing to schedule other BE teams will help but WILL NOT solve the problem because they are still scheduling ACC teams etc so this may help some BE teams now and others in future BUT ALL the teams need the help NOW like in 2006
2. Army/Navy, well if you go to their sites, Navy is BOOKED for the next five years so unless they drop teams i dont see this as a FAST alternative.
3.Memphis is NOT a bad football team to add to the league and if it can smooth over signing the LB then they add to the league.Remember the SEC objections are not about Memphis since UT and Ole Miss already play them is USM and UAB.
4.Giving the Tigers some basketball BE matchups yearly until the split happens wont hurt the league because Memphis has a very good basketball program.
I think youll see the football schools AD pressing MT for this. The problem is MT wants the league to remain together at 16, adding a 9th team football only school signals that the SPLIT will happen, since that team will be waiting to join as an all sports eventually.

He is MT is not facing reality, the BE will have split by 2010, because he will never get ND to join in football! And why would Memphis officials be talking to the BE and the SEC?

This is the actual quote from Tranghese...basically the commish acknowledged the need for a 9th member but only one that would help bring money into the league

Quote:Your seeing a lot of creativity in scheduling out there," Pitt athletic director Jeff Long said. "The Big Ten and the Mid-American Conference are on the verge of entering a scheduling agreement, and you are going to start to see more of that kind of thing as we move forward. And that is something we need to look at in the Big East in order to satisfy our lack of an even home-and-home conference schedule."

Tranghese said: "I don't think we're interested in taking on a ninth school. In order to take on a ninth school they have to make you better, it can't just be adding a ninth team to add a ninth team. We need to give our schools a balance of four home and four away games so this is the next big agenda item for us."

--but I think Cubanbull is correct....a fast alternative is needed considering conference play starts this yr

Jackson

And Memphis is the best offer, Jackson!

Cubanbull Wrote:Yes MT said that they werent looking for a ninth team and that if they do that team must bring something to the table,BUT
1. The football teams NEED to balance out their schedules,ND agreeing to schedule other BE teams will help but WILL NOT solve the problem because they are still scheduling ACC teams etc so this may help some BE teams now and others in future BUT ALL the teams need the help NOW like in 2006
2. Army/Navy, well if you go to their sites, Navy is BOOKED for the next five years so unless they drop teams i dont see this as a FAST alternative.
3.Memphis is NOT a bad football team to add to the league and if it can smooth over signing the LB then they add to the league.Remember the SEC objections are not about Memphis since UT and Ole Miss already play them is USM and UAB.
4.Giving the Tigers some basketball BE matchups yearly until the split happens wont hurt the league because Memphis has a very good basketball program.
I think youll see the football schools AD pressing MT for this. The problem is MT wants the league to remain together at 16, adding a 9th team football only school signals that the SPLIT will happen, since that team will be waiting to join as an all sports eventually.

Is Army and Navy's complete 12 game schedule booked for the next 5 years? I now Navy announced a few weeks back that they had added, I believe, Virginia and ECU to their schedule.

Quote:Is Army and Navy's complete 12 game schedule booked for the next 5 years?

-- Navy's schedule looks to be complete up to 2008.......although Navy does play three BE teams in 2007 (Pitt, Uconn and Rutgers) so if the plan is 4 BE games a yr all Navy would have to do is drop an Akron or Delaware

<a href='http://www.cfbpalace.net/index.php?module=TeamPage&func=futureSchedules&tid=109' target='_blank'>Navy football</a>

-- Although I know the army page hasn't been updated in a while....but....I would bet Army is not close to having there future schedules filled out because they just became an Indy again...in fact this deal with the BE may help Army fill in the scheduling slots

<a href='http://www.cfbpalace.net/index.php?module=TeamPage&func=futureSchedules&tid=108' target='_blank'>Army football</a>


-- It looks to me like we could start this arrangment in 2007 if both sides are willing...although both sides will have to drop some other games to make it work

Jackson

Jackson, I like Army and Navy but they would hurt the conference's power rating! If you add Army or Navy, well, we should have just kept Temple.

Quote:Jackson, I like Army and Navy but they would hurt the conference's power rating! If you add Army or Navy, well, we should have just kept Temple.

-- Ahh but they won't be "in the conference" to hurt the rating....right now this is just a scheduling deal....and not bein in the conference means they don't get any BCS money, no TV money or bowls etc...If you keep Temple around the Owls get a share of all of those things....This kind of deal is like having a 9th member for scheduling without that member getting a piece of the money pie

-- I'll give you an example of how this deal could be usefull...ok....in the future WVU has games against Buffalo, Ball St and Villanova. Why? Because when you only have three conference home games you usally have to supplament the schedule with a MAC or IAA school (in other words a team more worried about a payday then a return game) just to get enough home games to make a profit...but with this deal the BE team that only has three home games will get a chance to host a matchup with one of the academies...Not only does that ease the scheduling crunch yr in and yr out because the league is so small, but you get a much more fan friendly game aka big attendance game as opposed to playing a MAC or IAA school.....Again I can't overestimate the fact that the academies are huge fan draws for the "old Eastern Indys" in our league (but I don't know if UC, UL and USF fans see them in the same way).....no one is saying you have to play Army inseatd of Miami...what we are saying is that it would be nice to play Army instead of Flordia Atlantic, Central Michigan or Liberty


Jackson

Memphis would be a fine additon....solid football with decent following and great national basketball program...did you see their latest recruiting class???? I think it was like #4 in nation.

Ok, that sounds better.

Wilkie01 Wrote:He is MT is not facing reality, the BE will have split by 2010, because he will never get ND to join in football! And why would Memphis officials be talking to the BE and the SEC?

Wilkie,

Please explain yourself. Lately I've had a hard time following your logic to your conclusions. Liberty Bowl officails FROM Memphis have had contact with the Big East not officials from U Mem. In fact those officials have noted that they feel no pressure to re-up the contract with CUSA because of U Mem. Again, please explain.

Quote:In fact those officials have noted that they feel no pressure to re-up the contract with CUSA because of U Mem. Again, please explain.

Maybe that's actually what has Wilkie suspecting a behind-the-scenes deal to get us into the BE? Reading it as, "We're not concerned with the C-USA/Memphis connection because the two entities won't be affiliated in the near future," or something to that effect?

Not saying I necessarily agree with him (though I think it would be great if true), but that's where it looks like he's getting it from, to me.

Or, now that I read the post you quoted, I may be overthinking this and it's a huge misunderstanding on Wilkie's part.

I like the NAVY/ARMY affiliation. I, also, think Memphis would be a great add. The addition of Memphis would almost assure a BE/SEC match-up in the LIBERTY BOWL, but I wanted them before that possible scenario.

The LIBERTY BOWL people would like nothing better than to have a bowl that matches the conferences of MEMPHIS AND TENNESSEE. The SEC doesn't want to play a cusa team, but the LB doesn't want to hurt Memphis, which indeed is their home team. Additionally, if Memphis is a part of the BE and the BE plays in the LB, the crowds will be better because of some local appeal.

The LB would love a BE w/Memphis vs. the SEC. It would be the perfect choice for them.

Jim

Yes, that is what I suspect. People though I was wrong about Miami going to the ACC and that CUSA was fixing to breakup when I posted that!

Its is total speculation on my part but my radar and gut feeling are telling me memphis and the BE is cutting a deal. MT wants to keep the 16 team BE togather but he knows, he can not stop the split unless Notre Dame goes all-sports!

Assuming that a split is inevitable, which the FB schools and I do, there is a possible scenario that could work out to everyone's benefit.

BE adds MEMPHIS for FB only, beginning in 2007. Liberty Bowl contracts for BE#3 and SEC#5.

CUSA perspective: They may be losing the bowl after 2005 anyway. This will make them angry, but one doesn't cut one's nose off to spite one's face. They will be left with the alternative of letting Memphis play with all their sports except FB through 2010 or losing their automatic NCAA bid in all their other sports. I think they bite the bullet and invite LA TECH, while keeping UM for all except FB.

BE perspective: MT hates to admit to a split, but this could be the only way to delay it until 2010. An earlier split doesn't hurt the FB schools nearly as much because they will still have NCAA BB qualifiers, and the vast majority of Olympic sport automatic qualifications are going to the BB schools anyway. We don't need the automatic qualifiers like CUSA does.

So what's the overall effect of this?
BE FB schools have their future conference in place and a secure Liberty Bowl, which could grow into one of the premier non-bcs bowls.
CUSA takes a hit, but they also have their future conference, and they do get to maintain their automatic bids for all sports other than FB. They don't lose an automatic bid in FB because they don't have one anyway. I look for them to pick up a bowl bid for their champ in Texas, where they now have 4 teams. DeFacto, the LB is probably already gone for their champ since the LB amended the deal to let them select their own rep from cusa for the next bowl.

I like it. I'm sure some others won't, but being proactive is the way to go.

Jim

p.s. I keep the deal with Navy/Army for OOC games

Interesting Jim, I think it would work.