CSNbbs

For those who may be a bit older, does anyone know why the Metro could not be sustained and why the schools did not include football as part of the membership/ agreement?

thanks.

(01-11-2019 11:03 AM)newtiger Wrote: [ -> ]For those who may be a bit older, does anyone know why the Metro could not be sustained and why the schools did not include football as part of the membership/ agreement?

thanks.

Louisville ruined it

And Bobby Bowden blocked the football deal.

(01-11-2019 11:14 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-11-2019 11:03 AM)newtiger Wrote: [ -> ]For those who may be a bit older, does anyone know why the Metro could not be sustained and why the schools did not include football as part of the membership/ agreement?

thanks.

Louisville ruined it

Nailed it.

(01-11-2019 11:23 AM)3601 Wrote: [ -> ]And Bobby Bowden blocked the football deal.

plus there wasn't a Tom Boowen around to make it happen

It was awesome! Think about where those school are now:

Louisville
Georgia Tech replaced by Virginia Tech
Florida State
Cincinnati
South Carolina
So Miss and other usual suspects that we stuck with (Tulane, etc)
Saint Louis was there for a minute


Georgia Tech left early in the game. VT replaced. i thought FSU to ACC and SC to SEC in early 90's started the fallout. Then CUSA was created. Louisville was there.

Confused by your statement BinghamptonNed

That was a fun conference tho! Imagine if we stayed together and those schools still had the success they've had. That's impossible because the revenue would have been different. Fun to think about tho.

I was young. What happened with Louisville? Other than we hated each other and had equivalent programs.

(01-11-2019 11:31 AM)gusrob Wrote: [ -> ]I was young. What happened with Louisville? Other than we hated each other and had equivalent programs.

As I recall, UL football coach Howard Schnellenberger did not want to join a football conference (our, at least, not this one). He wanted to play a Notre Dame-style Independent schedule. Without UL, it didn't happen.

Howard knew what he was doing, got it done in Miami and Lewisville

Louisville also had an AD with a vision and agreed to be on EPSN on Thursday nights as a sacrificial lamb to Florida State and other programs. That improved their profile nationally. With Howard's success they were able to parlay that to the ACC invite.

He was good. And after Howard Schnellenberger they had several coaches that came in, won and then moved on to a bigger job.

Ron Cooper - their version of Larry Porter
John L Smith went to Michigan St
Bobby Petrino went to Arkansas
Steve Craigthorpe - bust
Charlie Strong went to Texas

Depressing to see their path because it is probably our most likely path to P5. And Schnellenberger started in 1985. Got into Big East 2005. TWENTY YEARS. And they are the #1 revenue generating basketball team in the country.

Louisville's days are behind them.

One more accreditation issue and the ACC gives that clown college the boot.

It is a shame that the 1983-1991 Metro couldn't make football happen. That league was: Florida State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Louisville, Cincinnati, Tulane and Memphis State. The 10-yr period from 1981 - 1990 was our chance. By 1991, it was too late. The conferences had figured things out, and ESPN had become a major player. The Big East started playing football, and the larger conferences started pulling in the independents.

The TV revenue rules changed in 1984 when the NCAA lost control of football TV revenue. It's a shame the Metro didn't have a commissioner with vision, someone that could have convinced Florida State, South Carolina, Virginia Tech & Louisville to stick together and control the Metro Conference TV revenue.

One thing unique about the Metro was the fact that it did not have revenue sharing. The football powers could have pulled a Notre Dame/Texas play and kept the lion's share of the Metro Conference's football revenue. That would have stunk for teams like Memphis, Cincinnati & Tulane, but perhaps the Metro could have negotiated a lucrative TV contract, and kept the Big East from raiding Louisville & Cincinnati in 2005. It may have also gotten the Tigers more TV exposure, and allowed us to recruit better players.

(01-11-2019 12:11 PM)rolexjames Wrote: [ -> ]Louisville also had an AD with a vision and agreed to be on ESPN on Thursday nights as a sacrificial lamb to Florida State and other programs. That improved their profile nationally. With Howard's success they were able to parlay that to the ACC invite.

Louisville was not a good football team, with an overall losing record and only 3 winning seasons during the '80's. They had their "break-out" year in 1990. They got their break when several teams declined invitations to the Fiesta Bowl when Arizona voted not to make MLK day a state holiday. Louisville got the invitation to the Fiesta Bowl, and beat an average 7-4 Alabama team in a major New-Year's day bowl on national TV.

Its funny to think that had Arizona voted for the MLK Holiday, Louisville would have played in a 2nd tier bowl - The Liberty, Independence, All American,....or some bowl like that. Back in 1991, the only independents that played in New Year's Day Bowls were Penn State, Miami, Notre Dame & Florida State. That game "legitimized" Louisville, and the job that Howard Schnellenberger was doing there.

(01-11-2019 12:05 PM)memphisike Wrote: [ -> ]Howard knew what he was doing, got it done in Miami and Lewisville

In the 10 years he was at Louisville, Howard Schnellenberger had an overall losing record. He had the one Fiesta Bowl win (1991), followed by a 2-9 and a 5-6 season, and a Liberty Bowl win (1994) followed by a 6-5 season before he left.

If he did anything at Louisville, he got the administration to pay attention to football instead of pouring every dollar into Denny Crum's basketball program. So, you can say he started the process, but Louisville became a "football school" under John L Smith & Bobby Patrino.

(01-11-2019 11:14 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-11-2019 11:03 AM)newtiger Wrote: [ -> ]For those who may be a bit older, does anyone know why the Metro could not be sustained and why the schools did not include football as part of the membership/ agreement?

thanks.

Louisville ruined it

and Florida St

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Conf...conference

Think what could have been

Some great basketball games for sure. I think this was from the 1979-80 season. I loved the student section at the Coliseum and got great shots with my Minolta camera. Legend Fred Cook on the mic right over the M.

Spook Murphy screwed the pooch when he put us in the mo valley
Horrible for our football, however Howard figured things out and got Lewisville in the BIG TIME

(01-11-2019 12:11 PM)rolexjames Wrote: [ -> ]Louisville also had an AD with a vision and agreed to be on EPSN on Thursday nights as a sacrificial lamb to Florida State and other programs. That improved their profile nationally. With Howard's success they were able to parlay that to the ACC invite.

That was nowhere near this timeline.

You do realize Howard was Coach two decades prior to anything dealing with the ACC?!! Not to mention that he only had four winning seasons in his ten years. I don't think that had anything to do whatsoever with their ACC invite.