CSNbbs

So I was reading the “weekly College football chat” on the Orlando Sentinel’s website, and the UCF Beat reporter (Iliana Limon) made some interesting statements:

Quote:Iliana Limón: I don't think the Big East will be waiting on Villanova. I think Villanova is just trying to run down the clock rather than having to formally turn down the Big East. Last I heard, the Big East will make some decisions on potentially adding a 10th football member in January or February.

Iliana Limón: Still hearing lots of positive talk about UCF to the Big East in all sports. All schools except USF seem to be supporting the move. The vote does not have to be unanimous. The question is what will make the Big East act and extend the invitation. They know UCF will accept it whenever it is offered. I have heard the earliest an announcement would come is January or February.

Now Iliana is a pretty respected sports reporter around this part of town. I don’t thinks she would just speculate that Nova and team #10 are separate decisions without having some decent sources.
Note she didn’t say UCF was a lock either, but was a strong contender, and a fan of 15 of the schools.

Last time we went into Big East Expansion UCF was actually on the agenda as being the #8/#16 school but was replaced by USF at the last minute. Could happen again.

Here’s where it gets interesting. There have been a few message board posters that “claim” to have “inside” sources. We all know these can be complete BS…but when you combine it with Iliana’s talk, it kind of makes sense:

LongIslandWildcat posted this on the Nova board a few days ago (before Ilianas chat):

Quote:The April deadline is set as to decide whether Villanova will be part of the 12 team BE football. Their plan is to get to 10 for 2012 and 12 for 2015-16 at which time they will introduce a championship game to be played most likely in Yankee Stadium but DC and Dallas are options as well.

Central Florida will get their invite next month. Then it's either us and Houston or Temple and Houston for 2015-16. The plan for the last two teams may change slightly especially if the Big10 takes Rutgers and one or two others.

DoTheMath1 (a Rutgers fan) posted this on the UCF board last night:

Quote:nothing new in terms of plans from the last time I was here, however the Nova Board met recently and the feeling is that the upgrade is definitely going to happen for Nova. They will meet again in February to make sure they have everything worked out, then vote in April.

UCF could be invited before Nova decides to upgrade in April. And a 12th team to join Nova in the "second wave" will be decided on sometime in the future (probably before the Big East needs to renegotiate its next TV contract).

The Big East wants Dallas (TCU), Philly (Nova), Orlando (UCF) and to be determined in their deck when the next tv contract comes around (Houston seems to be the trendy name, but this spot is still up for grabs).

Regarding Philly, Temple was a disaster last time around and nobody in the Big East wants to go back to them, this is why Nova is being pushed so hard. The Big East has been in discussions with Nova for years trying to get them on board, it was not until this summer that Nova took the consideration seriously. It should not be a surprise that it will take until April for them to finalize their commitment, but as far as can be determined their board of trustees is now set to move up.
Some fat may be trimmed (Seton Hall), but this conference is going to have a great look moving forward, will be very profitable, will provide great exposure, and will have stability and a BCS bid.

Now putting it all together we have something like this:
- #10 may get invited before Nova decideds (since they are unrelated)
- If Nova accepts, it’s going to take YEARS for them to be ready for BIG EAST football (say 2015). If they accept as Team #11, the Big East will add #12.
-Houston would probably be the front runner for #12, but may need a few years (once again, say 2015) to upgrade their basketball facility to BCS standards (from what I understand it’s not in the best of shape..something about homeless people living in it?).

I think ECU could also be in the running for the #12 spot if the Big East wants to limit all-sport invites.

Anyways, lots of rumors going around…is there going to be some fire soon?

Sorry don't buy it. I am not holding my breath.

-Houston would probably be the front runner for #12, but may need a few years (once again, say 2015) to upgrade their basketball facility to BCS standards (from what I understand it’s not in the best of shape..something about homeless people living in it?).

Not that long maybe 2013 at the latest.

(12-16-2010 09:29 AM)goodknightfl Wrote: [ -> ]Sorry don't buy it. I am not holding my breath.

Agreed. I'll believe it when it happens, but there is no certainty in it right now.

That said, I would not be shocked to see the Big East with 12 football playing schools in 2015. The next round of whatever shape the BCS takes will start in 2015, and I personally think you may see a requirement for conferences to have a championship game if they want to have an AQ spot. With the Big 10, ACC, SEC, and Pac 10 all at 12 schools now, I think we have reached a tipping point where those power conferences will want all AQ conferences on equal footing. That means the Big 12 will need to add 2 schools by then and the BIG EAST will need to add 3.

(12-16-2010 09:11 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]-Houston would probably be the front runner for #12, but may need a few years (once again, say 2015) to upgrade their basketball facility to BCS standards (from what I understand it’s not in the best of shape..something about homeless people living in it?).

Homeless people? Really? Do we (and are we) need to upgrade. Yes! But that process is in motion. Fundraising in this economy is a challenge. We will break ground on our new FB stadium once the naming rights are announced.

Geeze the sense of entitlement and you guys are not even in the league yet. UCF's pimping is so old. All I see posted by most UCF people is stuff other people say about them "belonging". Provide real reasons other than your best friend says the popular guy in school may "like" you..... Insert giggling here.

(12-16-2010 09:38 AM)billetingman1 Wrote: [ -> ]Not that long maybe 2013 at the latest.

Another reason could be to delay the "CUSA Vibe" in the press.

Half of the Big East is already made up of CUSA Alumni... if you add two CUSA schools at once it might get some negative backlash.

Get team #10 in by 2012, let Nova move up but announce 2015 as their date as team #11, and announce #12 around 2013/2014 to join with Nova.

(12-16-2010 09:41 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]Homeless people? Really? Do we (and are we) need to upgrade. Yes! But that process is in motion. Fundraising in this economy is a challenge. We will break ground on our new FB stadium once the naming rights are announced.

Geeze the sense of entitlement and you guys are not even in the league yet. UCF's pimping is so old. All I see posted by most UCF people is stuff other people say about them "belonging". Provide real reasons other than your best friend says the popular guy in school may "like" you..... Insert giggling here.

Calmn down buddy, it was a joke. Somebody posted an article the other day about the homeless guy living in there! (believe an interview with your HC)

As I have suggested elsewhere, I think that the situation has been much more fluid than many UCF backers realize. I do think that they will pull the trigger on #10 before April, but it won't necessarily be UCF (although they are certainly under firm consideration). There are other factors at play here that are not being discussed. I think if Nova moves up then the conference will immediately go to 12 football schools.

If UCF had 15 of 16 votes you'd be here right now. There is no way any other candidate besides Nova would have all 16 votes and Nova can't be here until 2014-2015. I don't think TCU got all 16 to get voted in.

(12-16-2010 09:46 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]Calmn down buddy, it was a joke. Somebody posted an article the other day about the homeless guy living in there! (believe an interview with your HC)

The point is even if you "know" it may or may not be true you present it as a possible fact. You would be livid (or at least most UCFers) if we made similar made up claims like.....

"I heard that UCF's head coach is paying players. I just heard it from someone"....

(12-16-2010 09:41 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:11 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]-Houston would probably be the front runner for #12, but may need a few years (once again, say 2015) to upgrade their basketball facility to BCS standards (from what I understand it’s not in the best of shape..something about homeless people living in it?).

Homeless people? Really? Do we (and are we) need to upgrade. Yes! But that process is in motion. Fundraising in this economy is a challenge. We will break ground on our new FB stadium once the naming rights are announced.

Geeze the sense of entitlement and you guys are not even in the league yet. UCF's pimping is so old. All I see posted by most UCF people is stuff other people say about them "belonging". Provide real reasons other than your best friend says the popular guy in school may "like" you..... Insert giggling here.

It was your head coach who said they found homeless people living in your luxury boxes. See article linked below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/sports...uston.html

"He said that his office is bigger than the team’s locker room in Hofheinz Pavilion, an 8,500-seat multiple-purpose arena that opened in 1969. The edges of the arena’s court are cracked and held together in some places by duct tape. Some seats have protruding springs, and Penders says the “luxury suites” that line the top of the arena resemble World War II pill boxes. Over the years, he recalls having to kick out several homeless people who were living in the arena."

Also, I agree UCF is posting every article that is written about us relating to expansion, but since this is an expansion board it makes sense to post the articles here. I am sure if Houston had articles including it and expansion, we would enjoy reading them here as well. Feel free to post them at your leisure.

(12-16-2010 09:51 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:46 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]Calmn down buddy, it was a joke. Somebody posted an article the other day about the homeless guy living in there! (believe an interview with your HC)

The point is even if you "know" it may or may not be true you present it as a possible fact. You would be livid (or at least most UCFers) if we made similar made up claims like.....

"I heard that UCF's head coach is paying players. I just heard it from someone"....

It is a fact. See article linked here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/sports...uston.html Care to apologize?

(12-16-2010 09:51 AM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote: [ -> ]It was your head coach who said they found homeless people living in your luxury boxes. See article linked below.

Our ex-coach who just got fired. How many ex-coaches have nice things to say about the school who just kicked you out the door? Do we need to upgrade? As I said YES! But it is not like the roof is caving in or anything. It is a decent facility in the mean time.

As far as us posting articles. They are out there we are mentioned as much as UCF. The thing is ALL these articles are the same story retold over and over again.

In fact this thread is based on an Orlando reporter (biased? I think so)

(12-16-2010 09:54 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:51 AM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote: [ -> ]It was your head coach who said they found homeless people living in your luxury boxes. See article linked below.

Our ex-coach who just got fired. How many ex-coaches have nice things to say about the school who just kicked you out the door? Do we need to upgrade? As I said YES! But it is not like the roof is caving in or anything. It is a decent facility in the mean time.

As far as us posting articles. They are out there we are mentioned as much as UCF. The thing is ALL these articles are the same story retold over and over again.

In fact this thread is based on an Orlando reporter (biased? I think so)

Your coach said it before he was fired, so Im not sure him being an ex coach is relevant. I would love to read some UH articles about expansion, so feel free to post away. If you don't like reading the UCF articles on an expansion board, its easier to ignore them than it is to reply to them.

(12-16-2010 09:29 AM)goodknightfl Wrote: [ -> ]Sorry don't buy it. I am not holding my breath.

Come on GKF! It's more fun to live your life on an emotional roller-coaster

(12-16-2010 09:11 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]So I was reading the “weekly College football chat” on the Orlando Sentinel’s website, and the UCF Beat reporter (Iliana Limon) made some interesting statements:

Quote:Iliana Limón: I don't think the Big East will be waiting on Villanova. I think Villanova is just trying to run down the clock rather than having to formally turn down the Big East. Last I heard, the Big East will make some decisions on potentially adding a 10th football member in January or February.

Iliana Limón: Still hearing lots of positive talk about UCF to the Big East in all sports. All schools except USF seem to be supporting the move. The vote does not have to be unanimous. The question is what will make the Big East act and extend the invitation. They know UCF will accept it whenever it is offered. I have heard the earliest an announcement would come is January or February.

Now Iliana is a pretty respected sports reporter around this part of town. I don’t thinks she would just speculate that Nova and team #10 are separate decisions without having some decent sources.
Note she didn’t say UCF was a lock either, but was a strong contender, and a fan of 15 of the schools.

Last time we went into Big East Expansion UCF was actually on the agenda as being the #8/#16 school but was replaced by USF at the last minute. Could happen again.

Here’s where it gets interesting. There have been a few message board posters that “claim” to have “inside” sources. We all know these can be complete BS…but when you combine it with Iliana’s talk, it kind of makes sense:

LongIslandWildcat posted this on the Nova board a few days ago (before Ilianas chat):

Quote:The April deadline is set as to decide whether Villanova will be part of the 12 team BE football. Their plan is to get to 10 for 2012 and 12 for 2015-16 at which time they will introduce a championship game to be played most likely in Yankee Stadium but DC and Dallas are options as well.

Central Florida will get their invite next month. Then it's either us and Houston or Temple and Houston for 2015-16. The plan for the last two teams may change slightly especially if the Big10 takes Rutgers and one or two others.

DoTheMath1 (a Rutgers fan) posted this on the UCF board last night:

Quote:nothing new in terms of plans from the last time I was here, however the Nova Board met recently and the feeling is that the upgrade is definitely going to happen for Nova. They will meet again in February to make sure they have everything worked out, then vote in April.

UCF could be invited before Nova decides to upgrade in April. And a 12th team to join Nova in the "second wave" will be decided on sometime in the future (probably before the Big East needs to renegotiate its next TV contract).

The Big East wants Dallas (TCU), Philly (Nova), Orlando (UCF) and to be determined in their deck when the next tv contract comes around (Houston seems to be the trendy name, but this spot is still up for grabs).

Regarding Philly, Temple was a disaster last time around and nobody in the Big East wants to go back to them, this is why Nova is being pushed so hard. The Big East has been in discussions with Nova for years trying to get them on board, it was not until this summer that Nova took the consideration seriously. It should not be a surprise that it will take until April for them to finalize their commitment, but as far as can be determined their board of trustees is now set to move up.
Some fat may be trimmed (Seton Hall), but this conference is going to have a great look moving forward, will be very profitable, will provide great exposure, and will have stability and a BCS bid.

Now putting it all together we have something like this:
- #10 may get invited before Nova decideds (since they are unrelated)
- If Nova accepts, it’s going to take YEARS for them to be ready for BIG EAST football (say 2015). If they accept as Team #11, the Big East will add #12.
-Houston would probably be the front runner for #12, but may need a few years (once again, say 2015) to upgrade their basketball facility to BCS standards (from what I understand it’s not in the best of shape..something about homeless people living in it?).

I think ECU could also be in the running for the #12 spot if the Big East wants to limit all-sport invites.

Anyways, lots of rumors going around…is there going to be some fire soon?

I will agree and disagree with your assessment based on the pieces you have listed.

1) Iliana IMO has 0 credibility. She has essentially been "pimping" UCF for years now in her paper and comes across as having less actual knowledge then many of the posters on this very message board. For that matter, the Orlando Sentinel, while definitely interested in covering UCF and its potential expansion, also has 0 credibility. The Sentinel could be referred to as the Orlando "Sensational", for all the Sensational journalism they provide. It is clearly a "homer" paper and Iliana is its "homer" journalist. That being said:

2) I agree with the idea that this is a two phased approach, to get to 10 by 2012 and then to get to 12 by 2015 or so. BUT...to get to 10 by 2012, you have until mid June to make a decision, so there would be no need to do anything prior to then, which will allow for the Nova decision to play out and give the Big East a clearer path to what it must do by June (2 or 3). Sure the Nova decision wont come to fruition until 2015 or so if tis affirmative, but then the BE knows they are in and will act accordingly with #10 after reviewing the landscape. Of course, Iliana and the "Sensational" don't want to stop running stories until April because that is what makes money and they have a significant investment involved. So they are going to continue with the party line that sounds reasonable.

Additionally, if the BE is planning on expanding to 12 and Nova says no, there is a distinct possibility that the BE does not do a two phase approach and instead, goes all in with THREE programs by mid June. This would help with TV negotiations and expediting a CCG (which TV wants as well). I for one believe that this is a real possibility and that the BE allowed Nova until April to get their info together to support their decision (too much $$$).

Two other pieces of small info to add is that Houston is fundraising for a new football stadium and the renovations to the bball facility.

Additionally, ECU recently listed on its facility improvement plan the design of a new (6 story-type) football building/luxury suites/pressbox facility on the South Side of the stadium with a completion date of 2015.

So, we now sit and wait on Nova.......and read crap from the "Sensational"

Nova in April. UCF, ECU, Houston, ...never. Big East does not go to 12...why split the pie 12/19 when there would be zero excitiemnt about a conference championship game....

If Nova say no, then probably UCF is added...unless USF can gather enough votes for Houston.

Father Donahue's newsflash yesterday tells me Nova is really looking into this and is doing there due diligence...if they can find a justification to move up...Nova will move up.

(12-16-2010 10:01 AM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:54 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:51 AM)Knights_of_UCF Wrote: [ -> ]It was your head coach who said they found homeless people living in your luxury boxes. See article linked below.

Our ex-coach who just got fired. How many ex-coaches have nice things to say about the school who just kicked you out the door? Do we need to upgrade? As I said YES! But it is not like the roof is caving in or anything. It is a decent facility in the mean time.

As far as us posting articles. They are out there we are mentioned as much as UCF. The thing is ALL these articles are the same story retold over and over again.

In fact this thread is based on an Orlando reporter (biased? I think so)

Your coach said it before he was fired, so Im not sure him being an ex coach is relevant. I would love to read some UH articles about expansion, so feel free to post away. If you don't like reading the UCF articles on an expansion board, its easier to ignore them than it is to reply to them.

He was already told that he was out the door when he said that statement. He was gone and was TAKING a pot shot at the Hof. When we do the upgrade we will play our games at Toyota center until the Hof is complete. The basketball arena is a non issue. If we had to play at Toyota Center we would if that was a requirement by the Big East. Where does St Johns play alot of there games? MSG? The football stadium is more of a priority, and we will be breaking ground after next years season is over. Your statements have no basis.

(12-16-2010 09:51 AM)GO Coogs GO!!! Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-16-2010 09:46 AM)saxamoophone Wrote: [ -> ]Calmn down buddy, it was a joke. Somebody posted an article the other day about the homeless guy living in there! (believe an interview with your HC)

The point is even if you "know" it may or may not be true you present it as a possible fact. You would be livid (or at least most UCFers) if we made similar made up claims like.....

"I heard that UCF's head coach is paying players. I just heard it from someone"....

How about comments from one of the leading scorers in the nation last year that just happened to be then Univ of Houston star senior Aubrey Coleman who said this about UH's facilities in the same NYTimes article from March:

“Everything’s just old around here,” Coleman said. “I would think for Division I it would look way better than this. When we go to Memphis or Central Florida, it’s like, ‘Oh.’ ”

And UH's fairly new Athletic Director followed with his comments in same article:

“There’s no question that our facilities need some T.L.C.,” Rhoades said.

Relax...don't be so defensive...as maybe without those comments...UH wouldn't be pressing as hard as they are in regards to drastically needed improvements done ASAP.

The only smoke you smell is the space heater that got turned on in your head. Go back to sleep, nothing is happening out here.