Entire Article: UCF MUST ADMIT THE BIG EAST IS DEAD
By Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, Dec 13, 2012

Now, it's just a foolish dreaming.

Wishful thinking.

False hope.

The time has come for the UCF Knights to vacate their state of denial and stop acting like everything is just fine with the Big East.

They must accept reality, stop the membership process before it goes any further and start immediately exploring other options.

It's not easy, but they must come to the realization that everything they've worked toward for a decade is now crumbling around them.

The Big East is about to become the Big Deceased, and the Knights should not pay a dime--let alone millions of dollars--to join a league that is really no better than the one they are leaving.

The Big East death knell began to chime and the funeral procession began to form as the seven Catholic basketball centric schools strongly considered dissolving the league on Thursday. That's right, UCF could be leaving Conference USA next season to join a Big East that literally no longer exists. If the Catholic basketball schools dissolve the league, there's talk they will form a new league and even take the "Big East" name and brand with them.

That would leave UCF in a new league that might as well be named the Big Least because it has so little marketability and Marquee value. This is why the Knights and other Conference USA partners who announced they would be jumping to the Big East should save themselves a lot of money, hassle, and stress.

According to its CUSA exit agreement and its Big East entrance requirements, UCF might have to shell out nearly $10 million (up to a $7 million exit fee to leave CUSA and a $2.5 million initiation fee to join the so called Big East. In this economic climate, with universities slashing budgets, could UCF really justify spending $10 million to go from one low profile league to another?

Granted, UCF would likely negotiate and legally wrangle its way out of having to pay such an exhorbitant sum to switch leagues, but why even bother? The only real benefit of UCF joining the Big East now is that Knights are in the same league as USF. Why not just have USF join Confernce USA and be done with it?

My brother is a manager for the USM football team and brings home programs from every game. He brought programs from SMU, Memphis and UCF. UCF was the only one with a BE ad in the program and it was a big one promoting the "history" and "prestige" of the BE.

This humors me.

Ya Mike Bianchi isn't even a UCF fan. He's a UF fan forced to write drivel on UCF.

He's constantly mocked openly among Orlando residents and UCF students alike.

In no way is this article indicative of UCF's intentions, nor is what he is proposing even the easiest or best solution.

He fails to tell exactly how we would come back, considering our spots have been backfilled before, or how we would convince USF to come with us.

TL;DR. Bianchi is an idiot.

Wow Tallgrass, two Big East threads in three minutes.

Wow, you guys are seriously obsessed.

Articles like this make me laugh. CUSA2.0 is still head and shoulders better than the current Sun Belt2.0 we're about to be stuck in. The only way I'd want Tulsa to stay in this conference is if we kicked out all the newbies and all the old schools came back+ maybe usf and cincy

He fails to tell exactly how we would come back, considering our spots have been backfilled before, or how we would convince USF to come with us. (quote)

Not so fast my friend, there might be two current members who might be heading out to the mwc pretty soon if thing work out for them. If I was one of those nbe members I'd keep an eye out to those changes.

(01-05-2013 03:14 PM)Kruciff Wrote:  Ya Mike Bianchi isn't even a UCF fan. He's a UF fan forced to write drivel on UCF.

He's constantly mocked openly among Orlando residents and UCF students alike.

In no way is this article indicative of UCF's intentions, nor is what he is proposing even the easiest or best solution.

He fails to tell exactly how we would come back, considering our spots have been backfilled before, or how we would convince USF to come with us.

TL;DR. Bianchi is an idiot.

There are so many discussions regarding the merits and issues of the current state of the nBE/CUSA that I just refuse to get involved in those discussions. However, when you ignore all the surrounding noise; the one point that should follow his comments is that the entrance fee should be adjusted to match the quality of the conference that we're joining.

In my opinion, that's a legitimate point that all new members should ask to be reevaluated once the media rights contract is finalized.

Please tell me why anyone in Conf USA cares about what happens in the BE. SMU, UH, ECU,Tulane and UCF are finished with Conf USA. What does it matter what the BE does and does not do? I really do not get it.

(01-05-2013 04:05 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  Please tell me why anyone in Conf USA cares about what happens in the BE. SMU, UH, ECU,Tulane and UCF are finished with Conf USA. What does it matter what the BE does and does not do? I really do not get it.

It's pretty obvious. The leftovers know they will never move up in the world, so if the BE were to collapse and the defectors were forced to come back, the leftovers improve their situation by association.

Kudos to Tallgrass. You know you're a boss when you can get troll and get by in using an article that is over 3 and a half weeks old.

(01-05-2013 04:13 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 04:05 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  Please tell me why anyone in Conf USA cares about what happens in the BE. SMU, UH, ECU,Tulane and UCF are finished with Conf USA. What does it matter what the BE does and does not do? I really do not get it.

It's pretty obvious. The leftovers know they will never move up in the world, so if the BE were to collapse and the defectors were forced to come back, the leftovers improve their situation by association.

Kudos to Tallgrass. You know you're a boss when you can get troll and get by in using an article that is over 3 and a half weeks old.

+1

(01-05-2013 04:05 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  Please tell me why anyone in Conf USA cares about what happens in the BE. SMU, UH, ECU,Tulane and UCF are finished with Conf USA. What does it matter what the BE does and does not do? I really do not get it.

and you ask why???

Honestly, some nbe posters have been good about the transition, but you have a large amount of posters on the other hand, who have put their foot in their mouth on this board and on the big east board. Then you have posters like yourself, who have never been on this board and suddenly an invite is extended and they pop out of nowhere and want to push and talk how "great" the big east is. I don't know, but I guess it comes down to... he who laughs last, laughs the loudest.

$10 million


It's going to be 20 years before UCF breaks even, if ever, and that's providing the NBE maintains it's current membership, which it won't.

The truth is sometimes hard to swallow, I can see why Bianchi is such a respected journalist.

(01-05-2013 04:13 PM)Kronke Wrote:  It's pretty obvious. The leftovers know they will never move up in the world

SMU, UH, Tulane, Memphis, UCF, and ECU's football didn't move uo. They moved on. By moving on, that did cause CUSA to fall back a step. So you guys are a step above us even though you didn't actually move up. Playing games against Temple, UCONN, USF, and Cincinnati isn't a move up.

That being said, I think this was a great move for UH, Memphis. And UCF. In the end, it will probably work out great for you guys.

Fuel for Tallgrass conspiracy theories:

Aresco is not going to announce the TV numbers until after the newbies have formally given notice to CUSA. Once they have given formal notice, they are locked into the exit fees. No reason to tell them the real number until they are committed, just in case it might change their mind. I believe this deadline is July 2013.

GET THIS CRAP OFF THE BOARDS.

I hate the Sentinel. I has severe disdain for Bianchi. Just, go away.

(01-05-2013 05:23 PM)CurveItAround Wrote:  Fuel for Tallgrass conspiracy theories:

Aresco is not going to announce the TV numbers until after the newbies have formally given notice to CUSA. Once they have given formal notice, they are locked into the exit fees. No reason to tell them the real number until they are committed, just in case it might change their mind. I believe this deadline is July 2013.

What a scoop. Thanks man. I will let the folks at ECU know about this. Good thing we have insiders like you to help us out.

(01-05-2013 05:53 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 05:23 PM)CurveItAround Wrote:  Fuel for Tallgrass conspiracy theories:

Aresco is not going to announce the TV numbers until after the newbies have formally given notice to CUSA. Once they have given formal notice, they are locked into the exit fees. No reason to tell them the real number until they are committed, just in case it might change their mind. I believe this deadline is July 2013.

What a scoop. Thanks man. I will let the folks at ECU know about this. Good thing we have insiders like you to help us out.

No problem.

(01-05-2013 04:54 PM)randaddyminer Wrote:  

(01-05-2013 04:05 PM)baruna falls Wrote:  Please tell me why anyone in Conf USA cares about what happens in the BE. SMU, UH, ECU,Tulane and UCF are finished with Conf USA. What does it matter what the BE does and does not do? I really do not get it.

and you ask why???

Honestly, some nbe posters have been good about the transition, but you have a large amount of posters on the other hand, who have put their foot in their mouth on this board and on the big east board. Then you have posters like yourself, who have never been on this board and suddenly an invite is extended and they pop out of nowhere and want to push and talk how "great" the big east is. I don't know, but I guess it comes down to... he who laughs last, laughs the loudest.

LoL, I live for the BE.