Interesting recent thread about B12 expansion on a Cleveland Browns site about the rumor of Cincy and ECU to the B12 Conference with 1 month. Anyone hearing any confirmation of this is the realignment-sphere?

http://cle.scout.com/forums/4409-the-wat...7312?s=149

I'm sure most of you are Buckeye fans but Cincy an ECU to B12
05/06/2015

Just heard from a good friend an someone who works in WVU atheletic office. That we can expect Cincy an ECU to be added to the Big 12 within the next month. Both schools taking a huge revenue cut to play with the big boys. The other 10 teams are to remain at 30 million a piece. Finally we get some regional opponents. THANK GOD Hail WV!

Lets Go Mountaineers!

I think it's wishful thinking to include ECU in those thoughts... Cincy has a case, ECU has... nice weather this time of year?

But whatever, makes room in the AAC for NIU to get the hell outta the MAC, and if the AAC is losing a strong football member it makes sense to replace it with another strong football member =)

#DatTVMarketYo

While I believe there's not one shred of fact in this post, I believe Big XII expansion is certainly possible with a "pay to play" strategy. Just like buying into a poker game, many companies require putting some skin in the game in order to get a seat at the table. In the case of Big XII expansion, if the right candidates offered up provisional entry to the league with low or even zero TV payouts, the Big XII might be inclined to expand.

Some folks here had somewhat jokingly suggested Arkansas St and Missouri St to the Big XII under the same premise. Some of these schools are so eager to move up, they'll agree to almost any deal.

Now, even paying the Big XII upfront and/or agreeing to low or zero TV revenue still doesn't mean the Big XII would expand. The Big XII doesn't have a TV network, so they have different motivations for expansion than the SEC, Pac-12, and B1G. Big XII expansion would mean one of a few things: a TV network is planned for the next contract lifecycle, the league's TV deal sweetens substantially with Cincy and ECU as junior members, and/or deregulation of the CCGs is not going to happen and the Big XII needs 12 teams to add on the lucrative championship game.

Won't believe it till the Dude tweets about it.

ECU / Greenville, NC does have the profile of a typical SEC school / City thus similar for the B12. The metro area population is nearly 200,000. It is also part of the Raleigh TV market. North Carolina is in the top 10 for population growth so could be some legs to this "unqualified rumor". It would make sense that ECU eventually ends up in the B12 or SEC and is a great fit to both conferences culturally. Plus would give the Big 12 more exposure on the East Coast by adding Cincy and ECU beyond WVU. Ohio and NC would be new markets.

http://www.forbes.com/places/nc/greenville/

I guess its easier to start these rumor threads with "a good friend of mine just told me" rather than "what do you guys think about this idea."

not happening.

Is this scenario possible? Sure; never say never in the world or realignment. But I believe it's unlikely to happen in one month without more sources corroborating it at this point. It would allow the B12 to hit the marker as far as getting teams on board in time for adding a CCG in 2016. I believe it is significant that Cincinnati is named in combination with some other school in nearly every 2015 rumor.

(05-15-2015 12:28 PM)Danger in Carolina Wrote:  I guess its easier to start these rumor threads with "a good friend of mine just told me" rather than "what do you guys think about this idea."

not happening.

Nah, the way to start one of these threads is to post your "what do you think about this idea" on one message board, then go on several other message boards and link to your first message board post as a source to support your "rumor".

Not my rumor and don't shoot the messenger. Just linking what was found recently to see if there is any "truth" to this out there.

sounds like a mountainneer that accidentally chewed wacky tobbaccy.

(05-15-2015 12:30 PM)indycat Wrote:  Is this scenario possible? Sure; never say never in the world or realignment. But I believe it's unlikely to happen in one month without more sources corroborating it at this point. It would allow the B12 to hit the marker as far as getting teams on board in time for adding a CCG in 2016. I believe it is significant that Cincinnati is named in combination with some other school in nearly every 2015 rumor.

I agree it is significant that Cincy is thrown in every made up, stupid rumor out there. I just am not sure what the significance is.

Of the B12 options out there, new markets, good TV ratings, healthy fan support, and a "play for pay" mentality are critical. ECU, Cincy, Memphis, and UCF fit that mold well from The American. ECU and Cincy and Memphis are more regional to WVU.

I'll believe it when I see it. When CUSA started, we were rejected. Then when the Big East selected us, the basketball only members left and took their name with them. We have good relations with West Virginia and have them on the schedule in the near future but not as a conference game. I would love for it to be true though.

I don't trust anything coming out of Cleveland.

Whenever you hear these ideas about teams agreeing to join a P5 without getting a share of the conference revenue, there is always lurking in the background the expectation that such a financial arrangement is only temporary. Presumably, after some probationary period, they will become full-fledged members. But if they don't add sufficient value at the beginning, why would you assume they will add some later? And, if they don't add enough value later, will they be bounced back to wherever they came from? And is the mechanism for being so relegated built into the initial contract the wannabe members agree to?

I have said before that:
1-ECU "looks" like a B12 school,
2-ECU makes sense for WVU and that WVU would advocate for ECU,
3-I could see ECU along with some sort of UC combo for the B12.

BUT...
The B12 is NOT expanding and most certainly NOT with UC. They have been pretty candid about both items. UC has been vetted by the Big XII and has been repeatedly rejected. They don't want UC...yesterday, today, or tomorrow. UC fans had better learn to accept this simple fact.

(05-15-2015 01:34 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  I have said before that:
1-ECU "looks" like a B12 school,
2-ECU makes sense for WVU and that WVU would advocate for ECU,
3-I could see ECU along with some sort of UC combo for the B12.

BUT...
The B12 is NOT expanding and most certainly NOT with UC. They have been pretty candid about both items. UC has been vetted by the Big XII and has been repeatedly rejected. They don't want UC...yesterday, today, or tomorrow. UC fans had better learn to accept this simple fact.

I think that ECU only looks like a B12 school with respect to football. In every other respect, athletically speaking, it falls short. For all those "other respects", ECU's location would get old fast for their B12 mates. If ECU were to agree to be a football only add, would somebody like Cincy agree to do the same for balance? Can a school be a football only add under current NCAA conference realignment rules? Would the B12 be OK with not being balanced?

(05-15-2015 01:34 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  .....The B12 is NOT expanding and most certainly NOT with UC. They have been pretty candid about both items. UC has been vetted by the Big XII and has been repeatedly rejected. They don't want UC...yesterday, today, or tomorrow. UC fans had better learn to accept this simple fact.

What a refreshing post. If only more posters had your objectivety.

Arghhhh!

http://youtu.be/syZA7f8HuLo