Remember when East Carolina and Tulane announced they were leaving C-USA back on Nov. 27? Remember how the Pirates and Green Wave joined the stampede to the Big East? Remember how Banowsky quickly countered by inviting Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic to join C-USA?

It was a prime example of "The Domino Effect" where every action has a reaction.

But what happens if the dominoes un-fall?

What then?

That is precisely the premise Banowsky and C-USA just might be facing.

What if East Carolina and Tulane take a hard, honest look at a Big East Conference that has been gutted like a mackerel and decide it isn't worth leaving C-USA?

It is a distinct possibility.

"East Carolina and Tulane haven't formally withdrawn from Conference USA," said Courtney Morrison-Archer, C-USA's Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs. "They have one full year to do that."

HERALD-DISPATCH: Schools playing dominoes vs. C-USA

I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

(01-05-2013 01:06 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

....which means their arrogance shadows intelligence...how these these schools didn't see this coming is beyond me...query my handful of first posts to back this up....dipshites

(01-05-2013 01:06 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

What have you been smoking.......hopefully both teams will leave 2013 with a big payday.

(01-05-2013 01:32 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 01:06 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

....which means their arrogance shadows intelligence...how these these schools didn't see this coming is beyond me...query my handful of first posts to back this up....dipshites

especially when you consider everyone knows it's only a matter of time before UCONN, Cincy, & possibly USF leave BE. I think Navy won't end up in nBE when it's all said and done

(01-05-2013 01:06 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

It does give us options though..I had this very discussion with someone in the ECU Athletic department who said that we have only advised CUSA of our intention to leave but no formal action has been completed at this time and if we decided that we did not want to leave the only action CUSA could take is a vote by the conference members to kick us out. I was told this is why there is no real panic at ECU about the Big East situation because we have time sit back and see what happens. We have until July 31st of this year to give formal notice to CUSA that we are leaving.

I was told if we decided that the Big East was not in our best interest that we could not officially withdraw and just stay in CUSA....He did say the conference members could vote to kick us out but he did not think that would happen.

(01-05-2013 01:38 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 01:32 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 01:06 PM)techdawg88 Wrote:  I doubt either Tulane or ECU will be able to admit the nBE isn't as good as they once thought and will return to CUSA

....which means their arrogance shadows intelligence...how these these schools didn't see this coming is beyond me...query my handful of first posts to back this up....dipshites

especially when you consider everyone knows it's only a matter of time before UCONN, Cincy, & possibly USF leave BE. I think Navy won't end up in nBE when it's all said and done

Where are those guys going??? I would not assume that if the ACC lost teams that they would back fill with any of these schools, they could just go with a smaller league. And the Big 12 is not going to add any of those schools because it would actually reduce the money each existing school would get as none of those schools could generate enough revenue for the conference to justify adding them....If they had any real value to one of the "Power Conferences" they would have already been added.

The acc would love cincy and Uconn if unc And Virginia go to the big10. I don't think they would add USF unless they lost Miami and Florida state.

Hmm, I thought they were playing Hang-Man.

I would imagine exit/entrance fees would be due when they formally announce. Not formally announcing give them time to gather funds.

(01-05-2013 01:57 PM)Dorrej Wrote:  The acc would love cincy and Uconn if unc And Virginia go to the big10. I don't think they would add USF unless they lost Miami and Florida state.

UConn is almost a given when the ACC expands again. Cincinatti is not a given, in fact I think that they will be stuck in the BE like Memphis was stuck in CUSA.

Let's assume it happens for just a moment and they don't leave. What happens to Middle Tennessee (our folks are working on the final i's and t's) on our exit from the Sun Belt and entrance to C-USA. Will we be told there's no room in the inn?

Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I believe MT was a better addition than some of the others that were invited ahead of us simply because there won't be a learning curve and the commodities we bring to the table are known. For '13 - assuming we stay healthy and all - we're going to compete for the east championship right away with what we have returning particularly the coaching staff (we may actually keep an entire staff from one season to the next for the first time in 14 years).

ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

(01-05-2013 02:12 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  Let's assume it happens for just a moment and they don't leave. What happens to Middle Tennessee (our folks are working on the final i's and t's) on our exit from the Sun Belt and entrance to C-USA. Will we be told there's no room in the inn?

Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I believe MT was a better addition than some of the others that were invited ahead of us simply because there won't be a learning curve and the commodities we bring to the table are known. For '13 - assuming we stay healthy and all - we're going to compete for the east championship right away with what we have returning particularly the coaching staff (we may actually keep an entire staff from one season to the next for the first time in 14 years).

With C-USA West looking like it will get hit hard by the MWC and/or nBE, there appears to be plenty of room at the inn. We are looking at potentially losing Tulsa, UTEP, and possibly even Rice. The nBE may rename itself but those teams are sticking together if they can't get into the bigs. Even if it's a 7 team FB conference.

Yep, plenty of room.

(01-05-2013 02:31 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

BS! Good fans turn out for games regardless of who your opponent is. Don't use the CUSA additions as your excuse for an ill-advised move.

(01-05-2013 02:31 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

Interesting comment considering it was ECU's administration that helped lobby on behalf of Old Dominion and Charlotte as a measure to increase eastern based rivals and thus interest at the gate.

By the way, I don't really see this being a problem for ECU. One of the things I'm most envious of regarding ECU is your dedicated fan base. Even when you guys went 0-11 years ago I think you still averaged better than 30K. We have a very large fan base, but the problem is less than half of that base is made up of the truly hard core dedicated fans/alums with more than half falling into the fair weather category. Expecting (and maybe hoping a little) that the move to C-USA will help us flip this dynamic and turn some of those fair weather fans into die hards.

(01-05-2013 02:56 PM)Green Menace Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 02:31 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

BS! Good fans turn out for games regardless of who your opponent is. Don't use the CUSA additions as your excuse for an ill-advised move.

Why is the BE ill advised? The teams in the BE are teams ECU would rather be playing right now in this crap arrangement with the big 5 Conf's. None of this is perfect.Even if there was no BE, the teams that make of the BE, still for the most part are better for ECU than what is left in Conf USA( Southern Miss the exception) I have no illusions that the BE is one of the power conferences. There is no history with any of the new teams entering Conf USA and yes, ECU will put more people in the stands for UCF than North Texas.

(01-05-2013 03:03 PM)ThreeifbyLightning Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 02:31 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

Interesting comment considering it was ECU's administration that helped lobby on behalf of Old Dominion and Charlotte as a measure to increase eastern based rivals and thus interest at the gate.

By the way, I don't really see this being a problem for ECU. One of the things I'm most envious of regarding ECU is your dedicated fan base. Even when you guys went 0-11 years ago I think you still averaged better than 30K. We have a very large fan base, but the problem is less than half of that base is made up of the truly hard core dedicated fans/alums with more than half falling into the fair weather category. Expecting (and maybe hoping a little) that the move to C-USA will help us flip this dynamic and turn some of those fair weather fans into die hards.

Most of the ECU fans that I know were livid with the ECU Administration for pushing for these two teams. The addition of those teams had more to do with ensuring that we had teams that were within driving distant for games. I don't think many of us ever thought that these teams would be easy draws at the gate. Terry Holland was a great AD for ECU, but this was a move that left many of us scratching our heads.Th was old school and believed that regions should play each other. I think this was more wishful and panic thinking than not. At this point, however, it is what it is. It looks like people are in the Conf they want to be in for now.

(01-05-2013 01:57 PM)Dorrej Wrote:  The acc would love cincy and Uconn if unc And Virginia go to the big10. I don't think they would add USF unless they lost Miami and Florida state.

So you know this for a fact? I suppose you talk to Swofford weekly. It almost killed them to take Louisville.....And Louisville won out over Cincy and UCONN.

UVA and UNC leaving the ACC is laughable...They are the ACC.

(01-05-2013 02:56 PM)Green Menace Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 02:31 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  ECU will not return to Conf USA unless the BE collapses. There will be to much pressure on the Administration to ever return to Conf USA. The big problem for ECU is gate receipts. Gate receipts are not projected to be good with many of the new additions to Conf Usa. The financial pressure and competitive pressures would be to great imo for ECU to return.

BS! Good fans turn out for games regardless of who your opponent is. Don't use the CUSA additions as your excuse for an ill-advised move.

I'll advised...The only way we end up leaving is if The Big East survives pretty much in its current form less SDSU. If it holds together with the group of schools scheduled to be on board in 2014 it will be a better league than CUSA. If it falls apart we stay where we are and make CUSA kick us out....Looks like a no lose situation to me unless the Big East did fall apart and CUSA kicked us out.