http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3434062
What I wouldn't give to get Hansen signed on as a consultant to the MAC; he's done a terrific job with the PAC 10. They win multiple sport titles every year, have high academics and are a conference associated with class.
Top candidates to be new Pac-10 commish could be Karl Benson or Kevin Weiberg per Sporting News.
Sporting News also believes Pac-10 could look to expand to 12 and BYU, Utah and Boise would be candidates.
My take is that Boise is a glitzy name because of their BCS win, but BYU and Utah are two better choices (package deal).
Pac 10 ain't looking to expand that was just a journalist throwing out speculation.
This is an interesting summer with the Big East, Pac 10 and WCC's commish's all getting ready to retire.
Okay, saying the "Sporting News also believes" is the same as saying a writer writing in the Sporting News wrote.
Regardless, it is interesting speculation as the loss of BYU and Utah would be huge to MWC.
I take the speculation at face value, speculation.
Would MWC have to raid the WAC for Boise?
I believe there will be major, major changes in college FB iin the next several years including conference expansion/realignments, bowl realignments, new commishs (this thread), etc. etc.
BTW, I read that ND and NBC are working on a new TV deal. That, to me, would argue against them joining a FB conference.
Guess the BT won't have Indiana, Pa due, and ND playing for the mythical champsionship of Indiana.
emu steve Wrote:BTW, I read that ND and NBC are working on a new TV deal. That, to me, would argue against them joining a FB conference.
They aren't working on it. It was announced yesterday as official
Notre Dame, NBC renew TV deal
emu steve Wrote:Okay, saying the "Sporting News also believes" is the same as saying a writer writing in the Sporting News wrote.
Regardless, it is interesting speculation as the loss of BYU and Utah would be huge to MWC.
I take the speculation at face value, speculation.
Would MWC have to raid the WAC for Boise?
I believe there will be major, major changes in college FB iin the next several years including conference expansion/realignments, bowl realignments, new commishs (this thread), etc. etc.
BTW, I read that ND and NBC are working on a new TV deal. That, to me, would argue against them joining a FB conference.
Guess the BT won't have Indiana, Pa due, and ND playing for the mythical champsionship of Indiana.
.... I do not see any reason why there should be a MAJOR realignment.
Everyone is printing coin right now. For there to be a major realignment they would have to squeeze someone out of the party NOT invite anyone to the party.
When the ACC made their move last time Syracuse was to be a new member not Va Tech, but the Governor of VA stepped in and said Va Tech gets in or there is no changes. The politicans will be waiting on any new moves that squeezes one of their guys out. That is one reason no one dares **** with ARMY or NAVY.
[quote=emu steve]
Regardless, it is interesting speculation as the loss of BYU and Utah would be huge to MWC.
That would be a major hurt for MWC but a balzy commission can pull them out of that funk.
Would MWC have to raid the WAC for Boise?
If the MWC gets raided by the P10, it sets off a chain reaction.I think they'd go for broke and invite Fresno, Boise, Nevada, UTEP and either NM St or another Texas program to give TCU an instate rival so they can go 2 divisions and have a conference title game. Adding those 5 would make up for the loss of BYU & UT and make them an even more attractive entity for CBS College Sports.
onlinepole Wrote:[quote=emu steve]
Regardless, it is interesting speculation as the loss of BYU and Utah would be huge to MWC.
That would be a major hurt for MWC but a balzy commission can pull them out of that funk.
Would MWC have to raid the WAC for Boise?
If the MWC gets raided by the P10, it sets off a chain reaction.I think they'd go for broke and invite Fresno, Boise, Nevada, UTEP and either NM St or another Texas program to give TCU an instate rival so they can go 2 divisions and have a conference title game. Adding those 5 would make up for the loss of BYU & UT and make them an even more attractive entity for CBS College Sports.
Does that leave Hawaii for the MAC?
We've already tried a W.V. school and a Florida school.
I would think that if BYU & Utah left, SDST & UNLV would be real intrested joining WAC
In that Sporting News article where is direct quotes from any A.D. or a school President about expanding the PAC 10. There isn't, so its just speculation on the writers part.
MWC: BYU, Utah, Air Force,Colorado State, New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, San Diego State and TCU
WAC: Boise State, Idaho, Nevada, Fresno State, San Jose State, Utah State, New Mexico State,La Tech and Hawaii.
If Pac Ten did take BYU and Utah. The two conferences could merge together and have 16 teams. La Tech could go to the Sun Belt and North Texas to the WAC-MWC
Mountain Division
North Texas
TCU
Air Force
Colorado State
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Wyoming
Utah State
Pacific Division
Boise State
Idaho
Nevada
Nevada-Las Vegas
Fresno State
San Jose State
San Diego State
Hawaii
The travel cost would be reduced with this setup and the Conference could hold a football title game
The PAC-10 is happy at 10 schools because they can play a round robin football schedule. Its really the ideal size for a conference.
It would hurt recruiting at some of those PAC-10 schools if they din't get to play USC every year.
The Big Ten has already taken a step down the path toward 12 with Penn State. Rutgers with its expansion to 55,000 is fast becoming a candidate for the Big Ten. They have everything else in place from academics and markets that the Big Ten is looking for. Instant rival for Penn State. They would have no problem filling an 80,000 seat stadium in the Big Ten which I believe is what Schanio wants. Its why he ultimately turned down a series with Notre Dame.
A Big Ten championship game in Chicago would be a huge TV draw.
That would wound the Big East further and possibly cost them the BCS bid. If that was the case all hell would break loose. MAC schools could be moving to the Big East. The Big East may look like the old CUSA basketball conference.
There also could be a mandate that all BCS conferences have at least 10 schools and that would force the Big East to add a few schools. The question is footprint and most CUSA schools are not in the Big East's footprint, but all of the MAC schools are. I'm counting Temple in this obviously. The Big East is going to fight hard to keep that Northeastern identity.
Northeastern identity, as in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville. I guess if someone hasn't been paying attention the last few years...
Airport KC Wrote:Rutgers with its expansion to 55,000 is fast becoming a candidate for the Big Ten. They have everything else in place from academics and markets that the Big Ten is looking for. Instant rival for Penn State. They would have no problem filling an 80,000 seat stadium in the Big Ten which I believe is what Schanio wants. Its why he ultimately turned down a series with Notre Dame.
A Big Ten championship game in Chicago would be a huge TV draw.
That would wound the Big East further and possibly cost them the BCS bid. If that was the case all hell would break loose.
Rutgers leaving the big east making them lose their BCS bid... If you said that to any college football fan 10 years ago you would have been an idiot.... amazing how a few winning seasons changes someones perception.
victory engineer Wrote:Airport KC Wrote:Rutgers with its expansion to 55,000 is fast becoming a candidate for the Big Ten. They have everything else in place from academics and markets that the Big Ten is looking for. Instant rival for Penn State. They would have no problem filling an 80,000 seat stadium in the Big Ten which I believe is what Schanio wants. Its why he ultimately turned down a series with Notre Dame.
A Big Ten championship game in Chicago would be a huge TV draw.
That would wound the Big East further and possibly cost them the BCS bid. If that was the case all hell would break loose.
Rutgers leaving the big east making them lose their BCS bid... If you said that to any college football fan 10 years ago you would have been an idiot.... amazing how a few winning seasons changes someones perception.
I don't think it will be Rutgers leaving that will cause the Big East to lose its BCS bid. I just question if the surprisingly high level of play by the Big East the last couple of seasons is sustainable.
West Virginia is tradtionally a mid level BCS team not a top 10 power. They can't carry a BCS conference on their shoulders over the long haul. Its programs like USC, Texas, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Miami FL that are #1 in a talented state/region that will be able to more often than not compete for the top 10.
The closest thing the Big East has is Pitt and Rutgers as programs sitting on a lot of home grown talent. I don't know if those two are enough to carry a BCS conference. Rutgers leaving would be a serious blow for UConn & Syracuse in recruiting because all the New Jersey/New York players are going to want Big Ten with Penn State/Rutgers.
The BCS powers would have more of an arguement for keeping the Big East out of the BCS if they lost Rutgers combined with weaker play from the other schools. Half the Northeast BCS schools will be in The Big Ten or ACC.
Rutgers (Big Ten)
Penn State (Big Ten)
Boston College (ACC)
Maryland (ACC)
UConn (Big East)
Syracuse (Big East)
Pitt (Big East)
West Virginia (Big East)
I don't see Penn State leaving the Big Ten or Boston College leaving the ACC. Those ships have sailed. More ships will be sailing in the future.
axeme Wrote:Northeastern identity, as in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville. I guess if someone hasn't been paying attention the last few years...
If you divided the country into 4 quadrants then East of the Mississippi and North of Tennesse would be considered Northeast.
The upper midwest and Northeast share a lot in common. In the primary election between Obama and Clinton there was much discussion of the blue collar voters of Pennsylvannia, Ohio, and New Jersey all voting the same way. The rust belt stretches from Indiana/Illinois to Western Massachusetts.
If you start throwing darts all over the south it really dillutes the identity. That is why I forsee the Big East taking a second look at Temple down the road. Some MAC schools could be in play if they can build up their fan support because of regional proximity. You are correct in stating though that nobody in the MAC is currently on the path to developing a BCS level fanbase.
Airport KC Wrote:axeme Wrote:Northeastern identity, as in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville. I guess if someone hasn't been paying attention the last few years...
If you divided the country into 4 quadrants then East of the Mississippi and North of Tennesse would be considered Northeast.
The upper midwest and Northeast share a lot in common. In the primary election between Obama and Clinton there was much discussion of the blue collar voters of Pennsylvannia, Ohio, and New Jersey all voting the same way. The rust belt stretches from Indiana/Illinois to Western Massachusetts.
If you start throwing darts all over the south it really dillutes the identity. That is why I forsee the Big East taking a second look at Temple down the road. Some MAC schools could be in play if they can build up their fan support because of regional proximity. You are correct in stating though that nobody in the MAC is currently on the path to developing a BCS level fanbase.
Nobody considers those 4 northestern schools and neither is USF. The BE is actually doing the opposite of your contention: they are broadening their base, not trying to maintain a NE identity.
axeme Wrote:Airport KC Wrote:axeme Wrote:Northeastern identity, as in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Louisville. I guess if someone hasn't been paying attention the last few years...
If you divided the country into 4 quadrants then East of the Mississippi and North of Tennessee would be considered Northeast.
The upper Midwest and Northeast share a lot in common. In the primary election between Obama and Clinton there was much discussion of the blue collar voters of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey all voting the same way. The rust belt stretches from Indiana/Illinois to Western Massachusetts.
If you start throwing darts all over the south it really dilutes the identity. That is why I for see the Big East taking a second look at Temple down the road. Some MAC schools could be in play if they can build up their fan support because of regional proximity. You are correct in stating though that nobody in the MAC is currently on the path to developing a BCS level fanbase.
Nobody considers those 4 northeastern schools and neither is USF. The BE is actually doing the opposite of your contention: they are broadening their base, not trying to maintain a NE identity.
Do you not see shades of gradation Axeme? Or is everything black and white to you?
Many Clevelanders consider themselves part of the Northeast and not the Midwest. Cincinnati and Louisville along with Notre Dame are stretching the definition of Northeast not breaking the definition.
From religion, politics, industry the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois are much more aligned with the Northeast than what Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas are.
South Florida has a lot of retirees from the Northeast and is not considered to fit the definition of Southern.
Cincinnati & Louisville I thought were natural additions to the Big East footprint. They may attract more students from the Northeast with a changed perception as part of the Big East conference.
You can define the Northeastern identity in many ways. Is it reserved only for the Washington-New York-Boston corridor?
Does Upstate NY and Western PA count as Northeast? Some people don't think those areas do.
I just think for territorial integrity there is going to be only so far the Big East is going to be willing to go.
When I advocated for Ohio in the Big East prior to Cincinnati joining I was told that Ohio wasn't east enough for that conference. The argument was used against a lot of other MAC schools at the time. That argument isn't valid any longer with UC and UL in the Big East.
The final schools to miss the BE cut were Temple and UCF. Memphis, UAB, and ECU were quickly dismissed due to Southern geography.
Memphis may get in the BE someday because of FedEx but you aren't going to see a day where Southern Miss and Tulane are getting invites to the Big East. They'll look at the MAC again if they get so desperate.
Your trying to pigeonhole Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky and Ohio as somehow having something to do with "Northeastern" is almost amusing. Big EAST has no inherent meaning anymore. It's just a name. Like the Big 10, which, in case you haven't heard, has 11 members. I suppose you will want to make a case that Penn. St. should really be considered one of the 10, since it is in the Big 10. They are names without meaning.
axeme Wrote:Your trying to pigeonhole Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky and Ohio as somehow having something to do with "Northeastern" is almost amusing. Big EAST has no inherent meaning anymore. It's just a name. Like the Big 10, which, in case you haven't heard, has 11 members. I suppose you will want to make a case that Penn. St. should really be considered one of the 10, since it is in the Big 10. They are names without meaning.
A lot of people would disagree with you and say the names Big East and Big Ten still have meaning. You are taking things too litterally.