Got this from the ACC Board:

Big East, ACC may team up for football

January 15, 1993 | Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff
DALLAS -- The Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference are conducting casual talks that could lead to the formation of a 17-team super football conference. Such an arrangement would give an ACC-Big East alliance a solid hold in television markets from Boston to Atlanta to Miami.

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

The move would give the Big East and the ACC a jump on what is expected to be another major quake in the conference structures in the next few years. Leagues such as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference are expected to expand once again.

The idea of a Big East-ACC alliance has been discussed for the past few years. The conferences have become compatible in many of their goals as Tranghese and ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan have worked closely the past two years on the bowl coalition which was formed this year and includes the Big East and ACC.

The Big East's desire to solidify its base is obvious. When Penn State moves to the Big Ten next season, it will create an Eastern recruiting window for the league. Many Big East people fear that Penn State will push hard to add another Eastern school to the Big Ten.

Although Rutgers has received some attention and has expressed interest in the Big Ten, the most attractive school would be Syracuse.

"If you want to drive a stake in the Big East's heart, taking Syracuse would do it," said one source familiar with the Big East's concerns. "It would give the Big Ten a huge advantage in the East and it would really hurt the Big East by taking away one of its best teams."

Syracuse officials have indicated a reluctance to go west, feeling their base of support is still in the East, but no one is saying never when expansion is mentioned.

Tranghese feels confident that Syracuse's inclination is to remain with the Big East, but he also wants to solidify his bargaining position with the Orangemen by offering them even more of a reason for staying.

Although Tranghese emphasized that there is nothing imminent, he did not deny that the Big East is exploring its options and talks are being held about a variety of possibilities.

An agreement with the ACC could include several scenarios. The easiest and likeliest initial arrangement would be an alliance, rather than a merger. Each league would play its separate schedule, with a few crossover games and the possibility of an interconference championship game, which would be permissible under NCAA rules because the alliance would be more than 12 teams.

Another possibility, which seems to make more sense if the concept of a super conference is followed, would be to merge the two into one football league of 14 teams. Take the nine schools in the ACC and add Syracuse, Miami, Boston College, West Virginia and Pitt from the Big East.

The new league would then be broken down into two seven-team divisions, and the first-place teams would meet for the league championship.

The problem with that, of course, is that it jettisons Virginia Tech, Temple and Rutgers, although Rutgers could already be in the Big Ten.

Tranghese has a unique problem because he is commissioner of a league that has two almost separate entities, basketball and football, with different concerns and goals.

Under the current arrangement, any talk of expansion in football must account for the impact on the basketball members. There has been talk about including Notre Dame as a basketball member, but that would only be palatable to the football-playing schools if the Irish also joined in football, something Notre Dame has said it does not want or need to do.

By creating a super football conference, the Big East could work on basketball as a separate league and there would be less of a problem admitting the Irish as simply a basketball entry.

No expansion plan could be implemented overnight, nor would it be universally accepted. But there is clearly a movement in that direction.

"I know there are talks being held," said Duke athletic director Tom Butters. "I'm personally against it, but I speak only for Tom Butters. I like the old-fashioned idea of conferences, where teams play each other in every sport. But then I voted against having Florida State join the league, not because I was against Florida State, but because I didn't like the idea of expansion."

Butters realizes changes are coming. Gender equity and equal funding for men's and women's sports, expansion, playoffs -- all are part of the new look of college athletics.

Tranghese and the Big East also see the future and know that changes of some kind are coming. The key question they must ask themselves is: Do they want to be trend-setters or followers?

By talking to the ACC about a merger, the Big East is making its choice obvious.

(01-24-2014 08:18 AM)Maize Wrote:  Got this from the ACC Board:

Big East, ACC may team up for football

January 15, 1993 | Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff
DALLAS -- The Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference are conducting casual talks that could lead to the formation of a 17-team super football conference. Such an arrangement would give an ACC-Big East alliance a solid hold in television markets from Boston to Atlanta to Miami.

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

The move would give the Big East and the ACC a jump on what is expected to be another major quake in the conference structures in the next few years. Leagues such as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference are expected to expand once again.

The idea of a Big East-ACC alliance has been discussed for the past few years. The conferences have become compatible in many of their goals as Tranghese and ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan have worked closely the past two years on the bowl coalition which was formed this year and includes the Big East and ACC.

The Big East's desire to solidify its base is obvious. When Penn State moves to the Big Ten next season, it will create an Eastern recruiting window for the league. Many Big East people fear that Penn State will push hard to add another Eastern school to the Big Ten.

Although Rutgers has received some attention and has expressed interest in the Big Ten, the most attractive school would be Syracuse.

"If you want to drive a stake in the Big East's heart, taking Syracuse would do it," said one source familiar with the Big East's concerns. "It would give the Big Ten a huge advantage in the East and it would really hurt the Big East by taking away one of its best teams."

Syracuse officials have indicated a reluctance to go west, feeling their base of support is still in the East, but no one is saying never when expansion is mentioned.

Tranghese feels confident that Syracuse's inclination is to remain with the Big East, but he also wants to solidify his bargaining position with the Orangemen by offering them even more of a reason for staying.

Although Tranghese emphasized that there is nothing imminent, he did not deny that the Big East is exploring its options and talks are being held about a variety of possibilities.

An agreement with the ACC could include several scenarios. The easiest and likeliest initial arrangement would be an alliance, rather than a merger. Each league would play its separate schedule, with a few crossover games and the possibility of an interconference championship game, which would be permissible under NCAA rules because the alliance would be more than 12 teams.

Another possibility, which seems to make more sense if the concept of a super conference is followed, would be to merge the two into one football league of 14 teams. [i]Take the nine schools in the ACC and add Syracuse, Miami, Boston College, West Virginia and Pitt from the Big East.

The new league would then be broken down into two seven-team divisions, and the first-place teams would meet for the league championship.

The problem with that, of course, is that it jettisons Virginia Tech, Temple and Rutgers, although Rutgers could already be in the Big Ten.

Tranghese has a unique problem because he is commissioner of a league that has two almost separate entities, basketball and football, with different concerns and goals.

Under the current arrangement, any talk of expansion in football must account for the impact on the basketball members. There has been talk about including Notre Dame as a basketball member, but that would only be palatable to the football-playing schools if the Irish also joined in football, something Notre Dame has said it does not want or need to do.

By creating a super football conference, the Big East could work on basketball as a separate league and there would be less of a problem admitting the Irish as simply a basketball entry.

No expansion plan could be implemented overnight, nor would it be universally accepted. But there is clearly a movement in that direction.

"I know there are talks being held," said Duke athletic director Tom Butters. "I'm personally against it, but I speak only for Tom Butters. I like the old-fashioned idea of conferences, where teams play each other in every sport. But then I voted against having Florida State join the league, not because I was against Florida State, but because I didn't like the idea of expansion."

Butters realizes changes are coming. Gender equity and equal funding for men's and women's sports, expansion, playoffs -- all are part of the new look of college athletics.

Tranghese and the Big East also see the future and know that changes of some kind are coming. The key question they must ask themselves is: Do they want to be trend-setters or followers?

By talking to the ACC about a merger, the Big East is making its choice obvious.[/i]

Interesting. Replace Maryland and WVU with Virginia Tech and UL and you have that scenario.

(01-24-2014 08:25 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 08:18 AM)Maize Wrote:  Got this from the ACC Board:

Big East, ACC may team up for football

January 15, 1993 | Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff
DALLAS -- The Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference are conducting casual talks that could lead to the formation of a 17-team super football conference. Such an arrangement would give an ACC-Big East alliance a solid hold in television markets from Boston to Atlanta to Miami.

Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

The move would give the Big East and the ACC a jump on what is expected to be another major quake in the conference structures in the next few years. Leagues such as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference are expected to expand once again.

The idea of a Big East-ACC alliance has been discussed for the past few years. The conferences have become compatible in many of their goals as Tranghese and ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan have worked closely the past two years on the bowl coalition which was formed this year and includes the Big East and ACC.

The Big East's desire to solidify its base is obvious. When Penn State moves to the Big Ten next season, it will create an Eastern recruiting window for the league. Many Big East people fear that Penn State will push hard to add another Eastern school to the Big Ten.

Although Rutgers has received some attention and has expressed interest in the Big Ten, the most attractive school would be Syracuse.

"If you want to drive a stake in the Big East's heart, taking Syracuse would do it," said one source familiar with the Big East's concerns. "It would give the Big Ten a huge advantage in the East and it would really hurt the Big East by taking away one of its best teams."

Syracuse officials have indicated a reluctance to go west, feeling their base of support is still in the East, but no one is saying never when expansion is mentioned.

Tranghese feels confident that Syracuse's inclination is to remain with the Big East, but he also wants to solidify his bargaining position with the Orangemen by offering them even more of a reason for staying.

Although Tranghese emphasized that there is nothing imminent, he did not deny that the Big East is exploring its options and talks are being held about a variety of possibilities.

An agreement with the ACC could include several scenarios. The easiest and likeliest initial arrangement would be an alliance, rather than a merger. Each league would play its separate schedule, with a few crossover games and the possibility of an interconference championship game, which would be permissible under NCAA rules because the alliance would be more than 12 teams.

Another possibility, which seems to make more sense if the concept of a super conference is followed, would be to merge the two into one football league of 14 teams. Take the nine schools in the ACC and add Syracuse, Miami, Boston College, West Virginia and Pitt from the Big East.

The new league would then be broken down into two seven-team divisions, and the first-place teams would meet for the league championship.

The problem with that, of course, is that it jettisons Virginia Tech, Temple and Rutgers, although Rutgers could already be in the Big Ten.

Tranghese has a unique problem because he is commissioner of a league that has two almost separate entities, basketball and football, with different concerns and goals.

Under the current arrangement, any talk of expansion in football must account for the impact on the basketball members. There has been talk about including Notre Dame as a basketball member, but that would only be palatable to the football-playing schools if the Irish also joined in football, something Notre Dame has said it does not want or need to do.

By creating a super football conference, the Big East could work on basketball as a separate league and there would be less of a problem admitting the Irish as simply a basketball entry.

No expansion plan could be implemented overnight, nor would it be universally accepted. But there is clearly a movement in that direction.

"I know there are talks being held," said Duke athletic director Tom Butters. "I'm personally against it, but I speak only for Tom Butters. I like the old-fashioned idea of conferences, where teams play each other in every sport. But then I voted against having Florida State join the league, not because I was against Florida State, but because I didn't like the idea of expansion."

Butters realizes changes are coming. Gender equity and equal funding for men's and women's sports, expansion, playoffs -- all are part of the new look of college athletics.

Tranghese and the Big East also see the future and know that changes of some kind are coming. The key question they must ask themselves is: Do they want to be trend-setters or followers?

By talking to the ACC about a merger, the Big East is making its choice obvious.

Interesting. Replace Maryland and WVU with Virginia Tech and UL and you have that scenario.

Amazing how it worked out...

Quote:Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

WOW

Not really all that surprising. The inside baseball guys are usually pretty good at spotting trends and projecting what will work and needs to happen.

It generally takes some time because university CEO's tend to the conservative side on these things, taking a 9 team league that plays a full round-robin and nearly doubling it in size is hard sell to do in a fell swoop, doing it a piece at a time builds acceptance.

Their closest advisors on these matters (AD's) are generally geared to looking at 1 to 3year returns rather 10 to 20 year returns. Big moves like that have historically taken some time produce returns, it has been the acceleration of rights fees that have changed the return rate on those moves.

The AAC has taken eight CUSA members but it took nearly 16 months to do so. They had to wind past the ill-conceived far west expansion, they had to deal with football only vs. full member issues, it took time for it to shake into the right format to make it happen.

The next trend should be the acc and big 12 teaming up for a football only venture. First task is to propose to the ncaa leagues of 24 or more should be allowed a 2 game playoff which has a lot of logic to it. Than break off into 4 pods of 6 among the 2 leagues for football only setup:

Big 24/acc football only

A: uva, vtech, unc, duke, nc state, wake
B: texas, tex tech, tcu, baylor, ou,ok state
C: Bc, cuse, clem, gtech, fsu, miami
D: KU, KSU, ISU, Lville, Pitt, WVU

Schedule format 5-1-1-1. The 4 pod winners meet in a 2 game playoff first 2 weeks of december on campus of higher seed, could bid out the 2nd round game to a neutral site or keep it on campus. As for the ND deal, i'd amend it to 4 games…they play a rotated team from each pod. Of course, i prefer to jump to 28 teams, 4 pods of 7 with uconn, nd, cincy and byu joining. The big 12 goes to 10 with byu replacing wvu and uconn, cincy, wvu join an 18 team acc, 2 divisions of 9. Under that setup, i think you just count the 6 pod games so ND would only play 6 games but still be part of the playoff. Yet, that is a little more complicated so i'd stick with just going to 24 to get things started. Bottom line, i do think the big 12 and acc need to work together and be inclusive with their current 24 members or 25 with ND. Otherwise, they risk getting ripped apart by the big 10/sec just like the big east got ripped apart by not cutting any deals.

(01-24-2014 08:36 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

Quote:Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

Almost fell out of my chair on that one.

(01-24-2014 11:49 AM)JunkYardCard Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 08:36 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

Quote:Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese would not comment on the matter other than to say, "The Big East has always been a proactive rather than a reactive league."

Almost fell out of my chair on that one.

In 1993 that may have been the case. Today, it sounds absurd.

The direction taken after this point clearly doomed the conference as a football power.

Tranghese could see where things were going, generally, but his goal was just to preserve Big East basketball. He always thought of the Big East as a hoops league that started football only as a way to hang onto the schools that played I-A football.

And his idea for preserving it was hanging on to the FB teams in every sport except FB while letting them play FB with the ACC, which was never going to fly, particularly with Miami, who had many good reasons for wanting to be a full member of the ACC.

Louisville fans read this and must be giddy with how it worked out for them. Well Done!

(01-24-2014 12:09 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Tranghese could see where things were going, generally, but his goal was just to preserve Big East basketball. He always thought of the Big East as a hoops league that started football only as a way to hang onto the schools that played I-A football.

And his idea for preserving it was hanging on to the FB teams in every sport except FB while letting them play FB with the ACC, which was never going to fly, particularly with Miami, who had many good reasons for wanting to be a full member of the ACC.

Conference USA was created as a hoops league that provided a home for the members football.

The Big East raid shifted that focus but in the end it did no more to save CUSA than not shifting focus did to save the Big East.

(01-24-2014 01:20 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  Louisville fans read this and must be giddy with how it worked out for them. Well Done!

Yes we are....it gave us the time and opportunity to grow all programs to be were we are now....

(01-24-2014 02:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 12:09 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Tranghese could see where things were going, generally, but his goal was just to preserve Big East basketball. He always thought of the Big East as a hoops league that started football only as a way to hang onto the schools that played I-A football.

And his idea for preserving it was hanging on to the FB teams in every sport except FB while letting them play FB with the ACC, which was never going to fly, particularly with Miami, who had many good reasons for wanting to be a full member of the ACC.

Conference USA was created as a hoops league that provided a home for the members football.

The Big East raid shifted that focus but in the end it did no more to save CUSA than not shifting focus did to save the Big East.

Agreed. The Big East could have always survived in the form it's in now -- a hoops-first league with no football.

But it looks like Penn State's move to the Big Ten made Tranghese and Corrigan realize that in the long term there was only room for one first-tier football league between the BE and ACC, just like Arkansas' move to the SEC made the Big 8 and SWC leaders realize that there would have to be only one first-tier league among those two conferences.

(01-24-2014 02:49 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 02:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 12:09 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Tranghese could see where things were going, generally, but his goal was just to preserve Big East basketball. He always thought of the Big East as a hoops league that started football only as a way to hang onto the schools that played I-A football.

And his idea for preserving it was hanging on to the FB teams in every sport except FB while letting them play FB with the ACC, which was never going to fly, particularly with Miami, who had many good reasons for wanting to be a full member of the ACC.

Conference USA was created as a hoops league that provided a home for the members football.

The Big East raid shifted that focus but in the end it did no more to save CUSA than not shifting focus did to save the Big East.

Agreed. The Big East could have always survived in the form it's in now -- a hoops-first league with no football.

But it looks like Penn State's move to the Big Ten made Tranghese and Corrigan realize that in the long term there was only room for one first-tier football league between the BE and ACC, just like Arkansas' move to the SEC made the Big 8 and SWC leaders realize that there would have to be only one first-tier league among those two conferences.

People talk of the fabled Super Metro and if it had happened the only significant difference would be that UConn probably would be Big East and never would have gone FBS and might have meant UMass wouldn't have gone FBS.

(01-24-2014 03:15 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 02:49 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 02:08 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 12:09 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Tranghese could see where things were going, generally, but his goal was just to preserve Big East basketball. He always thought of the Big East as a hoops league that started football only as a way to hang onto the schools that played I-A football.

And his idea for preserving it was hanging on to the FB teams in every sport except FB while letting them play FB with the ACC, which was never going to fly, particularly with Miami, who had many good reasons for wanting to be a full member of the ACC.

Conference USA was created as a hoops league that provided a home for the members football.

The Big East raid shifted that focus but in the end it did no more to save CUSA than not shifting focus did to save the Big East.

Agreed. The Big East could have always survived in the form it's in now -- a hoops-first league with no football.

But it looks like Penn State's move to the Big Ten made Tranghese and Corrigan realize that in the long term there was only room for one first-tier football league between the BE and ACC, just like Arkansas' move to the SEC made the Big 8 and SWC leaders realize that there would have to be only one first-tier league among those two conferences.

People talk of the fabled Super Metro and if it had happened the only significant difference would be that UConn probably would be Big East and never would have gone FBS and might have meant UMass wouldn't have gone FBS.

The Metro, CUSA's predecessor was a hoops league, but CUSA was founded as a football league. It was only after the 6 football schools (Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Tulane, Southern Miss) got together that they decided they had more value adding schools like St. Louis, DePaul and Marquette.

Just imagine what the ACC would look like today had it offered ND the current arrangement between the two but in 2003.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/footbal...e_dame_ap/

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/columns/k...050911.htm
By Kevin McNeill

Mcneillklock@aol.com

September 11th 2005

In just the past few years, we have witnessed a startling chain of events in the college sports world - starting with the ACC's raid of the Big East, the Big East's raid of Conference USA, C-USA's raid of the Western Athletic Conference (and the MAC), and the WAC's raid of the Sun Belt Conference. With all that has gone on, perhaps it's worth looking back at what might have been the best conference of them all, if only for a lot of foresight, and plenty of luck.

The Metro Conference was founded in 1975 with charter members Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Memphis State (now Memphis), Louisville, St. Louis and Tulane. It was a smart move. 1975 was also the year the NCAA Tournament expanded to 32 teams and included at-large teams (and not just conference champions) for the first time. The following year, Florida State would join the conference but remain an independent in football, and two years after that Georgia Tech would bolt and be replaced by Virginia Tech.

Led by Louisville - with 5 final fours in 11 years and 2 national championships - and emerging powers Memphis (Final Four in 1985) and Cincinnati, the Metro had clearly established itself as one of the nation's most-respected basketball conferences. But the conference was still on the outside looking in at the lucrative world of NCAA Division 1-A football. The Metro never became a "football" conference, and the football playing schools of the Metro did not always play each other.

Then in 1990 the college sports landscape began to change dramatically, as college football independents gradually realized the benefits of joining conferences. The Metro conference did its best to capitalize. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, that year the Metro held a two-day expansion meeting with eight football schools � Boston College, East Carolina, Miami, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia. Miami, intrigued by the possibility of joining their hated rivals the Seminoles in the conference, came away from the meetings calling the Metro a "viable option."

However, two months later Louisville football coach Howard Schnellenberger came out publicly opposed to conference affiliation, saying that it would hamper his ability to play a national (read Notre Dame-type) schedule. He specifically said he wanted no part of a conference that included supposedly lackluster football programs at Cincinnati, Memphis, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Tulane and Virginia Tech. Also, according to the Courier-Journal, Louisville was asking for a revenue-sharing commitment from Florida State should they join the league in football, while at the same time, looking for assurances that its massive college basketball television profits wouldn't be diminished.

In September 1990, Florida State chose instead to bolt for the Atlantic Coast Conference. At virtually the same time, the Big East would found a football league, scooping up most of the Metro's expansion prospects. Soon after that, South Carolina left for the Southeastern Conference.

Following these departures, Cincinnati and Memphis quickly bolted for the Great Midwest Conference - joining UAB, DePaul, Marquette, and Saint Louis (who left the Metro in 1982). Louisville remained in the Metro Conference, most likely saving the conference from losing it's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. However, while Cincinnati and Memphis thrived in their new home, Louisville suddenly found itself aligned with three former Sun Belt members (North Carolina-Charlotte, South Florida, and VCU), Southern Mississippi, Virginia Tech and a Tulane program that had just been re-instated after a five year absence following a point-shaving scandal. Not exactly the powerhouse conference it was hoping to be.

In 1995, the depleted Metro merged with the Great Midwest to form Conference USA. The 20-year experiment known as the Metro Conference was no more.

But think about it. Had things gone a little differently, when discussing the Metro today, you could be talking about a football conference that potentially could have had Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Lousiville, Syracuse, South Carolina and Boston College. Throw in Temple, Cincinnati, Charlotte and Memphis and you've got a heck of a basketball conference as well.

But hindsight is always 20/20, and by no means am I implying the powers that be at the Metro screwed up. Landing eastern football powerhouses like Miami and Pittsburgh to a primarily midwest-centered conference was always a long shot. In addition, many of the football schools at the time had lackluster basketball records at best, and joining conferences such as the ACC or Big East would greatly help them develop their basketball programs - and further tap into the only other NCAA Division 1-A sport that actually turns a profit for the schools. The Big East was coming off an outstanding decade that saw them play in the NCAA title game in 5 out of 8 seasons, and the ACC - led by Duke - was rapidly becoming the best conference in America.

Also, at the time of the merger, the Metro was heavily depleted, and joining the Great Midwest Conference to form C-USA to secure more lucrative bowl bids and NCAA Tournament bids certainly seemed to be a good idea at the time. The Great Midwest had already snatched up Metro founding teams Memphis, Cinicinnati, and St. Louis in 1991, so the teams were already familiar with each other. Virginia Tech would be booted out of the conference for opposing the merger, but they were already in the Big East for football, and it was a foregone conclusion they would soon leave for everything else as well no matter what the Metro did.

There is also no way the primary founders of C-USA could have known that just a few years later, the Big East would be caught napping and have their best football schools, as well as Boston College, snatched from underneath them by the ACC, and the basketball superconference would turn their sights on them. Although, how the Big East could not have known that Miami and Virginia Tech would be tempted to bolt to the ACC (where it not only makes more sense geographically, but is home to their in-state rivals, Florida State and Virginia, respectively) is beyond me. But that�s a story for another column.

For now, on the ten year anniversary of the end of the Metro, we should pay our respects to a truly great conference, that even for just a moment, was ahead of its time.

(01-24-2014 05:23 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/columns/k...050911.htm
By Kevin McNeill

Mcneillklock@aol.com

September 11th 2005

In just the past few years, we have witnessed a startling chain of events in the college sports world - starting with the ACC's raid of the Big East, the Big East's raid of Conference USA, C-USA's raid of the Western Athletic Conference (and the MAC), and the WAC's raid of the Sun Belt Conference. With all that has gone on, perhaps it's worth looking back at what might have been the best conference of them all, if only for a lot of foresight, and plenty of luck.

The Metro Conference was founded in 1975 with charter members Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Memphis State (now Memphis), Louisville, St. Louis and Tulane. It was a smart move. 1975 was also the year the NCAA Tournament expanded to 32 teams and included at-large teams (and not just conference champions) for the first time. The following year, Florida State would join the conference but remain an independent in football, and two years after that Georgia Tech would bolt and be replaced by Virginia Tech.

Led by Louisville - with 5 final fours in 11 years and 2 national championships - and emerging powers Memphis (Final Four in 1985) and Cincinnati, the Metro had clearly established itself as one of the nation's most-respected basketball conferences. But the conference was still on the outside looking in at the lucrative world of NCAA Division 1-A football. The Metro never became a "football" conference, and the football playing schools of the Metro did not always play each other.

Then in 1990 the college sports landscape began to change dramatically, as college football independents gradually realized the benefits of joining conferences. The Metro conference did its best to capitalize. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, that year the Metro held a two-day expansion meeting with eight football schools � Boston College, East Carolina, Miami, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia. Miami, intrigued by the possibility of joining their hated rivals the Seminoles in the conference, came away from the meetings calling the Metro a "viable option."

However, two months later Louisville football coach Howard Schnellenberger came out publicly opposed to conference affiliation, saying that it would hamper his ability to play a national (read Notre Dame-type) schedule. He specifically said he wanted no part of a conference that included supposedly lackluster football programs at Cincinnati, Memphis, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Tulane and Virginia Tech. Also, according to the Courier-Journal, Louisville was asking for a revenue-sharing commitment from Florida State should they join the league in football, while at the same time, looking for assurances that its massive college basketball television profits wouldn't be diminished.

In September 1990, Florida State chose instead to bolt for the Atlantic Coast Conference. At virtually the same time, the Big East would found a football league, scooping up most of the Metro's expansion prospects. Soon after that, South Carolina left for the Southeastern Conference.

Following these departures, Cincinnati and Memphis quickly bolted for the Great Midwest Conference - joining UAB, DePaul, Marquette, and Saint Louis (who left the Metro in 1982). Louisville remained in the Metro Conference, most likely saving the conference from losing it's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. However, while Cincinnati and Memphis thrived in their new home, Louisville suddenly found itself aligned with three former Sun Belt members (North Carolina-Charlotte, South Florida, and VCU), Southern Mississippi, Virginia Tech and a Tulane program that had just been re-instated after a five year absence following a point-shaving scandal. Not exactly the powerhouse conference it was hoping to be.

In 1995, the depleted Metro merged with the Great Midwest to form Conference USA. The 20-year experiment known as the Metro Conference was no more.

But think about it. Had things gone a little differently, when discussing the Metro today, you could be talking about a football conference that potentially could have had Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Lousiville, Syracuse, South Carolina and Boston College. Throw in Temple, Cincinnati, Charlotte and Memphis and you've got a heck of a basketball conference as well.

But hindsight is always 20/20, and by no means am I implying the powers that be at the Metro screwed up. Landing eastern football powerhouses like Miami and Pittsburgh to a primarily midwest-centered conference was always a long shot. In addition, many of the football schools at the time had lackluster basketball records at best, and joining conferences such as the ACC or Big East would greatly help them develop their basketball programs - and further tap into the only other NCAA Division 1-A sport that actually turns a profit for the schools. The Big East was coming off an outstanding decade that saw them play in the NCAA title game in 5 out of 8 seasons, and the ACC - led by Duke - was rapidly becoming the best conference in America.

Also, at the time of the merger, the Metro was heavily depleted, and joining the Great Midwest Conference to form C-USA to secure more lucrative bowl bids and NCAA Tournament bids certainly seemed to be a good idea at the time. The Great Midwest had already snatched up Metro founding teams Memphis, Cinicinnati, and St. Louis in 1991, so the teams were already familiar with each other. Virginia Tech would be booted out of the conference for opposing the merger, but they were already in the Big East for football, and it was a foregone conclusion they would soon leave for everything else as well no matter what the Metro did.

There is also no way the primary founders of C-USA could have known that just a few years later, the Big East would be caught napping and have their best football schools, as well as Boston College, snatched from underneath them by the ACC, and the basketball superconference would turn their sights on them. Although, how the Big East could not have known that Miami and Virginia Tech would be tempted to bolt to the ACC (where it not only makes more sense geographically, but is home to their in-state rivals, Florida State and Virginia, respectively) is beyond me. But that�s a story for another column.

For now, on the ten year anniversary of the end of the Metro, we should pay our respects to a truly great conference, that even for just a moment, was ahead of its time.

Pitt, Syracuse and BC wanted little to do with the Metro. It was one of a few fall back plans if they couldn't get football things worked out in the Big East.

To refresh some memories:
Houston Chronicle September 23, 1994
"The University of Houston's athletic teams are going to be part of a new family.

UH President James Pickering said Thursday the school has agreed "in principle" to form an all-sports conference with Louisville, Memphis, Tulane, Southern Mississippi and Cincinnati.

Presidents of the six school who attended a four-hour meeting at an Atlanta airport hotel, said the universities could form a conference just among themselves or add several schools from the remnants of the Metro and Great Midwest conferences....

According to Louisville president Donald Swain, Houston was the last piece of the puzzle. The other five schools had agreed they wanted to form a conference but needed to persuade UH to join so they could meet the NCAA conference requirement of six members."

A related article has a quote from the Great Midwest commissioner-Mike Slive. Chuck Neinas was mentioned as a consultant to the 6 schools.