(06-26-2012 01:15 PM)Lolly Popp Wrote:  What exactly do you want the Big East to do to help Boise State? If the answer is adding Fresno State, in hopes that the Big West will then take the Broncos and Bulldogs as a package deal, I agree and this should have already happened months ago. Unfortunately, there are too many snobs running things, and their attitude is Air Force or BYU or bust. They don't seem to comprehend the concept of add Fresno State now and get the other two later.

I understand this thought process in a vacuum, but in practical terms, university presidents don't think this way. It's not so much that they're being snobs, but rather they do NOT want to "get the other two later". The point is that they don't want a 16-team league, which means only adding 1 school and then being done with it.

My gut feeling (and it's only a gut feeling) is that the Big East believes that Air Force is within reasonable reach. (I don't think BYU is a realistically viable option for reasons that I've stated elsewhere.) As a result, they'd rather close the deal with Air Force and finalize a 14-team league. The dilemma right now is that no one wants to move until there is concrete finality to the new college football playoff plan (and I don't just mean the overarching structure that the presidents will hopefully approve tonight, but all of the revenue sharing and bowl access details), which won't completely done until at least the fall. That doesn't do Boise State any good when it needs to find an Olympics sports home in 4 days.

I don't have an answer as to what's better, but I'm just saying that "Expand with whoever you can NOW!" is simply not how the people in charge think at all.

Both the Big East and Boise State need each other. Boise isn't going to get invited to any conferences that are better than the Big East, so they clearly need the invite for better competition, more exposure and more $$$. The Big East will likely not get a better addition than Boise who will create better competition, probably more exposure and more $$$. I find it very hard to believe that there will be some way this ordeal falls through, I am just hoping that the Big east won't have to extend an All-sports invite because that kind of throws off everything for other sports. I understand why media sources are overblowing this potential mishandling, but it is just for attention sake.

I'd say this is good news for the Big East.

@SI_CoryMC

Quote:Via BCS e-mail: BCS denied a request by MWC for a exemption to gain an automatic BCS berth for its champion in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

(06-26-2012 01:38 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  I understand this thought process in a vacuum, but in practical terms, university presidents don't think this way. It's not so much that they're being snobs, but rather they do NOT want to "get the other two later". The point is that they don't want a 16-team league, which means only adding 1 school and then being done with it.

My gut feeling (and it's only a gut feeling) is that the Big East believes that Air Force is within reasonable reach. (I don't think BYU is a realistically viable option for reasons that I've stated elsewhere.) As a result, they'd rather close the deal with Air Force and finalize a 14-team league. The dilemma right now is that no one wants to move until there is concrete finality to the new college football playoff plan (and I don't just mean the overarching structure that the presidents will hopefully approve tonight, but all of the revenue sharing and bowl access details), which won't completely done until at least the fall. That doesn't do Boise State any good when it needs to find an Olympics sports home in 4 days.

I don't have an answer as to what's better, but I'm just saying that "Expand with whoever you can NOW!" is simply not how the people in charge think at all.

It is not an issue of grabbing who you can right now. The issue is grabbing a school which is the biggest rival of both Boise State and San Diego State, and whose inclusion helps Boise State get into the Big West, thus making sure Boise State can play football in the Big East. It should have happened months ago.

As for the Big East presidents thinking they can still get Air Force, there were also Big East presidents who thought they could lure back Boston College, so I don't put much stock into the way they view expansion. Air Force is not coming. They have their best friends in the MWC and will always play Navy every year.