(04-14-2014 01:28 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 09:40 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 07:20 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  It's too bad the Big East didn't follow through with western expansion to give Boise State a true home in the conference...that would have been a fun league. Some funny decisions were made once Louisville and Rutgers defected.

Its Boise State that didn't follow through ... they decided that with the money on the table, only getting 70% of it, plus having to pay the travel subsidy for their Olympic sports, that the MWC offer was just as good and a better conference for them to play in, so they canceled the move.

Yup. A huge factor was Boise was going to have to ship thier Olympic sports to the crappy Big West Conference and was going to have to pay 900k a year in travel subsidies for the privilege. The western expansion was a good idea but it was poorly planned and even more poorly executed.

Selecting 4 western teams from the very start and planning a coordinated move of all 4 to the WAC would have probably kept the WAC as a viable FBS conference (as well as a solid warehouse for Big East western football-only members). Personally, I would have preferred making the western guys all-sports members. But if we were not going to do that, at the very least we needed to have a solid well conceived plan that offered all our western members a solid Olympic sports home that allowed them to maintain ties to one another. Apparantly, we were haphazard in our approach and had no real strategy to address the Olympics sports issue out west.....huge mistake.

uhh no. FBS means football and the WAC was dead for football no matter how many BB teams they added. Had the MWC lost two or three teams then the MWC would have taken any WAC football members left leaving only BB schools. WAC Football was doomed. didn't matter if it was CUSA or the MWC losing members they would have taken from the WAC

(04-14-2014 12:35 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 09:40 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 07:20 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  It's too bad the Big East didn't follow through with western expansion to give Boise State a true home in the conference...that would have been a fun league. Some funny decisions were made once Louisville and Rutgers defected.

Its Boise State that didn't follow through ... they decided that with the money on the table, only getting 70% of it, plus having to pay the travel subsidy for their Olympic sports, that the MWC offer was just as good and a better conference for them to play in, so they canceled the move.

When I say the Big East didn't follow through, it is because as part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Boise State to join the league, the Big East was to negotiate in good faith for other western teams to join the league. When Louisville and Rutgers left, the Big East immediately brought in Tulane and East Carolina...hardly a good faith effort to expand westward. Yes, Boise State pulled out of the Big East, but it was due to the league going in a completely different direction than what the Broncos had signed up for in the MOU with the Big East. The Big East did not fullfill the conditions of the MOU; had the Big East been true to those terms, it is likely we would have stayed on board. Boise State's contention is that the Big East failed to meet the terms of the MOU; that is why we are refusing the $5M exit fee, and why we have a court date.

And I'm not saying the money didn't make a difference...of course it did. But the decision-making process of the Big East in regards to long-term membership repulsed Boise State far more than an uncertain TV contract.

You understand that BYU said no period and Air Force, UNLV, and Fresno, all said no to splitting their teams into two conferences aka football and olympics right? I think the BE tried to get more western teams and were told no thanks. You can't force western teams to join.

(04-14-2014 06:04 PM)billings Wrote:  

(04-14-2014 01:28 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 09:40 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 07:20 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  It's too bad the Big East didn't follow through with western expansion to give Boise State a true home in the conference...that would have been a fun league. Some funny decisions were made once Louisville and Rutgers defected.

Its Boise State that didn't follow through ... they decided that with the money on the table, only getting 70% of it, plus having to pay the travel subsidy for their Olympic sports, that the MWC offer was just as good and a better conference for them to play in, so they canceled the move.

Yup. A huge factor was Boise was going to have to ship thier Olympic sports to the crappy Big West Conference and was going to have to pay 900k a year in travel subsidies for the privilege. The western expansion was a good idea but it was poorly planned and even more poorly executed.

Selecting 4 western teams from the very start and planning a coordinated move of all 4 to the WAC would have probably kept the WAC as a viable FBS conference (as well as a solid warehouse for Big East western football-only members). Personally, I would have preferred making the western guys all-sports members. But if we were not going to do that, at the very least we needed to have a solid well conceived plan that offered all our western members a solid Olympic sports home that allowed them to maintain ties to one another. Apparantly, we were haphazard in our approach and had no real strategy to address the Olympics sports issue out west.....huge mistake.

uhh no. FBS means football and the WAC was dead for football no matter how many BB teams they added. Had the MWC lost two or three teams then the MWC would have taken any WAC football members left leaving only BB schools. WAC Football was doomed. didn't matter if it was CUSA or the MWC losing members they would have taken from the WAC

I know what FBS means. If say--SDSU, Boise, UNLV, and Fresno were non-football members of the WAC--the WAC doesn't look so unstable and their chances of luring FCS move ups to the conference or hanging onto schools like Texas State and UTSA would have been much improved. The WAC would have been a decent basketball conference---that might have appealed to some of the Big Sky schools that passed. At the very least, it would have kept the WAC from hemorrhaging non-football members.

(04-14-2014 06:49 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(04-14-2014 06:04 PM)billings Wrote:  

(04-14-2014 01:28 AM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 09:40 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 07:20 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  It's too bad the Big East didn't follow through with western expansion to give Boise State a true home in the conference...that would have been a fun league. Some funny decisions were made once Louisville and Rutgers defected.

Its Boise State that didn't follow through ... they decided that with the money on the table, only getting 70% of it, plus having to pay the travel subsidy for their Olympic sports, that the MWC offer was just as good and a better conference for them to play in, so they canceled the move.

Yup. A huge factor was Boise was going to have to ship thier Olympic sports to the crappy Big West Conference and was going to have to pay 900k a year in travel subsidies for the privilege. The western expansion was a good idea but it was poorly planned and even more poorly executed.

Selecting 4 western teams from the very start and planning a coordinated move of all 4 to the WAC would have probably kept the WAC as a viable FBS conference (as well as a solid warehouse for Big East western football-only members). Personally, I would have preferred making the western guys all-sports members. But if we were not going to do that, at the very least we needed to have a solid well conceived plan that offered all our western members a solid Olympic sports home that allowed them to maintain ties to one another. Apparantly, we were haphazard in our approach and had no real strategy to address the Olympics sports issue out west.....huge mistake.

uhh no. FBS means football and the WAC was dead for football no matter how many BB teams they added. Had the MWC lost two or three teams then the MWC would have taken any WAC football members left leaving only BB schools. WAC Football was doomed. didn't matter if it was CUSA or the MWC losing members they would have taken from the WAC

I know what FBS means. If say--SDSU, Boise, UNLV, and Fresno were non-football members of the WAC--the WAC doesn't look so unstable and their chances of luring FCS move ups to the conference or hanging onto schools like Texas State and UTSA would have been much improved. The WAC would have been a decent basketball conference---that might have appealed to some of the Big Sky schools that passed. At the very least, it would have kept the WAC from hemorrhaging non-football members.

NO FCS members in the west want to move up or are capable of moving up. I do agree that they would have been in much better shape as a BB conference but no they were toast as a football conference no matter what. If the MWC took Idaho and NMSU and perhaps UTEP the WAC was toast no matter what and UTSA was headed to CUSA to replace Houston or SMU no way they stay in the unstable WAC

(04-14-2014 06:07 PM)billings Wrote:  

(04-14-2014 12:35 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 09:40 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-13-2014 07:20 PM)NeighSayer Wrote:  It's too bad the Big East didn't follow through with western expansion to give Boise State a true home in the conference...that would have been a fun league. Some funny decisions were made once Louisville and Rutgers defected.

Its Boise State that didn't follow through ... they decided that with the money on the table, only getting 70% of it, plus having to pay the travel subsidy for their Olympic sports, that the MWC offer was just as good and a better conference for them to play in, so they canceled the move.

When I say the Big East didn't follow through, it is because as part of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Boise State to join the league, the Big East was to negotiate in good faith for other western teams to join the league. When Louisville and Rutgers left, the Big East immediately brought in Tulane and East Carolina...hardly a good faith effort to expand westward. Yes, Boise State pulled out of the Big East, but it was due to the league going in a completely different direction than what the Broncos had signed up for in the MOU with the Big East. The Big East did not fullfill the conditions of the MOU; had the Big East been true to those terms, it is likely we would have stayed on board. Boise State's contention is that the Big East failed to meet the terms of the MOU; that is why we are refusing the $5M exit fee, and why we have a court date.

And I'm not saying the money didn't make a difference...of course it did. But the decision-making process of the Big East in regards to long-term membership repulsed Boise State far more than an uncertain TV contract.

You understand that BYU said no period and Air Force, UNLV, and Fresno, all said no to splitting their teams into two conferences aka football and olympics right? I think the BE tried to get more western teams and were told no thanks. You can't force western teams to join.

Air Force had no problems with splitting their teams into two conferences. In fact, that is what they wanted to do. Football was to go to the old Big East and basketball and some other sports to the Missouri Valley. The MVC said no very emphatically.

(04-15-2014 08:08 AM)lew240z Wrote:  Air Force had no problems with splitting their teams into two conferences. In fact, that is what they wanted to do. Football was to go to the old Big East and basketball and some other sports to the Missouri Valley. The MVC said no very emphatically.

That's interesting ... source?

In any event, the Air Farce being willing to do that and the old Big East being willing to do that but the MVC blocking the move ... also wouldn't normally be described as the Big East "not following through".

(04-15-2014 12:55 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 08:08 AM)lew240z Wrote:  Air Force had no problems with splitting their teams into two conferences. In fact, that is what they wanted to do. Football was to go to the old Big East and basketball and some other sports to the Missouri Valley. The MVC said no very emphatically.

That's interesting ... source?

In any event, the Air Farce being willing to do that and the old Big East being willing to do that but the MVC blocking the move ... also wouldn't normally be described as the Big East "not following through".

The source was AFA AD Hans Mueh. He wanted to get basketball and some of the other teams out of the MWC because they are not competitive. The MWC would not let AFA stay as football only. The Big East was willing to take the football team. The interview was in the Colorado Springs Gazette. I don't believe the article is still available.