(02-14-2012 02:44 PM)k5james Wrote:  

(02-14-2012 02:33 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-14-2012 02:11 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  In Quo world the BE will never be the SEC therefore, why bother. Reality time: we may never be the SEC...(neither will the ACC, Pac12, or Big 12) but we can still be a great conference with ranked teams, nice college atmosphere etc. And I think we can compete for a national title...in 2009 UC was a missed fieldgoal away from going to the title game...

IMO Big East football between 2004-2010 developed into a nice league with, in some years, genuinely interesting teams, coaches, and rivalries. No, it wasn't the SEC, but so what? It was what it was, and it wasn't too shabby. And contrary to what the media pundits said, we weren't always the worst AQ conference those years either.

However, we've lost some key football programs, so the issue i am prone to discussing is the only issue that IMO really matters: Can the NBE be a viable big-time college football league? Not the equivalent of the SEC (we both agree it can't be), but still a big-time league, with our champion invited to BCS bowls, and our schools receiving media dollars that are ballpark for a "major" football league.

And i simply see no evidence that it can. And i'm trying really hard to find it.

You know, other than the fact that Boise went to two BCS Bowls during that same time period...

Boise has very little intrinsic interest as a media property. They are only interesting when playing the little-engine-that-could underdog in big games against traditional powers. If they had that value, the PAC and/or Big12 would have invited them. They went to two BCS bowls by feasting on soft western competition and being given special dispensation thanks to 2004 congressional belly-aching. If the NBE is really a lot better than CUSA and the MWC, do you see Boise going 12-0 every year like they did in non-AQ leagues?