Semperfiblue Wrote:By the way, the U.S. Department of Education operates on Fiscal Years. The information I provided above is for the '05-'06 Fiscal Year.

Yet some universities are operated by states, and others by private foundations or institutions, whose years may be fiscal or calendar, the relevance of which cannot escape the inquiring mind beind distracted by the federal government's irrelevancy to such questions.

USU "Didn't we once fight a war about such issues?" 78

Semper Wrote:

NuMexAg Wrote:And I agree - it seems La Tech is going to have to find a more travel friendly place to call home - but the WAC will probably always offer a much bigger payday than the Sun Belt. I could see La Tech staying if CUSA doen't come calling.

I'm not going to disagree with you there. And it's much more revenue that is going to be garnered for schools located in the west, but for a school that must spend over half their revenue on travel cost as La Tech does, then the better revenue is negated.

Just a couple of comments Semper.

1. Tech is going to do what they think is in the best interest of their program. Currently that is to remain in the WAC and lobby for a CUSA membership. The Sun Belt is only on their radar as the last option before Purgatory.

2. North Texas DID say no to the WAC, but circumstances can change. There's always the possibility it could be considered as a future option if in the best interest of the WAC and North Texas. Never say Never.

MeanGreen61 Wrote:

Semper Wrote:

NuMexAg Wrote:And I agree - it seems La Tech is going to have to find a more travel friendly place to call home - but the WAC will probably always offer a much bigger payday than the Sun Belt. I could see La Tech staying if CUSA doen't come calling.

I'm not going to disagree with you there. And it's much more revenue that is going to be garnered for schools located in the west, but for a school that must spend over half their revenue on travel cost as La Tech does, then the better revenue is negated.

Just a couple of comments Semper.

1. Tech is going to do what they think is in the best interest of their program. Currently that is to remain in the WAC and lobby for a CUSA membership. The Sun Belt is only on their radar as the last option before Purgatory.

2. North Texas DID say no to the WAC, but circumstances can change. There's always the possibility it could be considered as a future option if in the best interest of the WAC and North Texas. Never say Never.

That's one thing that concerns me about Norval Pohl's stepping down. As for CUSA, they aren't going to add anybody unless they lose somebody.

Travel in the Sun Belt is not as close knit as portrayed. Football is very regional, but the rest of the sports span 3 time zones from Denver, Colorado to Boca Raton, Florida. Seems that I saw a post on http://www.latechbbb.com that showed ULL's travel expense was greater than Tech's this year. That fact that we don't want to be in the conference that is recognized as the worst D-IA conference in the country by nearly every source just bugs the crap out of a lot of SBC fans. A lot of SBC fans they really don't have much history with us have been swayed by some old time rivals animostiy towards LA Tech. We are in the WAC because it is a better conference, and it enhances our chances of joining CUSA one day if an opening appears.

We do have facility issues, but WAC membership is not impacting this. We were not in the WAC from 1988-2000, and our facilities did not get better one bit during that time. Our campus leadership is pouring most of our capital outlay into academic facilities. I graduated in 1995. Since that time, the university has added 3 academic building (including the micromanufacturing facility and nanotechnology facility) and apartments, and have renovated & updated some of the older buildings on campus. Our president has more energy focused on academics than athletics. He likes that the women's basketball team is our flagship sport. Our issues start and stop right there. Travel has nothing to do with it.

Lolly Popp Wrote:The Big East might never split. We will never need more than 9 football teams. If scheduling becomes too big of a problem, I see the Big East expanding to 18 teams, adding one new football school and one new Eastern Catholic basketball school. I think that the new football school will be UCF and I think that the new Eastern Catholic basketball school will be either Fordham or Holy Cross.

Conference USA will have no choice but to replace UCF with Louisiana Tech. The Florida Sun Belt schools are too far behind to be viable right now and there are already four Texas schools there. Louisiana Tech it is. This will be a major blessing for the WAC. Karl Benson will then have no choice but to get serious about a plan that grooms Sacramento State and UC Davis for future entry.

The Mountain West will be unable to pull anybody from Conference USA as they will remain strong with a mostly geographically friendly 12 team nucleus. They will also be unable to pull anyone from the WAC as you will be more geographically friendly than at any time in recent memory. If the Big 10 ever steals Missouri, by the way, look for the Big 12 to replace them with Colorado State.

I tend to agree the BE may be together for quite a while as they now are..

not sure UCF would be the team... could very well be memphis..

if it was UCF... CUSA could add N. tex....la tech.... or one of the better Mac schools...Cusa for the biggest part tried to take large market schools.. and I think that will play apart in its decision again.

Someone posted on BCS being open to another conf in 08.... my guess is that is part of why cusa went to 12 schools and as many large markets as possible... market size is now considered in the mix... as a protection for the BE.

MU42 Wrote:Since my C-USA pals don't want to talk about expansion anymore, and I hate the MWC and MAC fans, I figured that I would try to make some new friends with the WAC.
When I read the MWC boards all they talk about is taking Fresno, Boise St., and UTEP to create their BCS ready conference. But I feel that in a few years that all of the BCS conferences are going to go 12 teams. This means that the Big East adds 4, the PAC 10 adds 2, and the Big 10 adds 1. The question is, who fills those 7 spots and then what does the WAC, MWC, and C-USA do (assuming that all 7 teams are taken from these 3 conferences.

Here is what I think:
The Big East adds:
UCF
ECU
Navy
Memphis (My school, Marshall, would be considered in Memphis' place because of geography, but Memphis will win out)
Marshall is added only if WVU or Pitt go to Big 10

The PAC 10 adds:
Utah
Fresno St.

The Big 10 adds:
Here is were it gets tricky, because we all know that they want Notre Dame, and we also know that as long as NBC is paying the big bucks that ND isn't going anywhere.
Do they stay in Big 10 territory or go outside of it?
I think that they will fill the last spot by stealing from the Big East or Big 12. They would either take Pitt or WVU from the BE or take Iowa St. from the Big 12.
If neither of these choices work then they would have to go after Navy before the Big East got them, or take a MAC school, and none of them are ready to jump to a mid-major much less a BCS conference. (sorry had to take a shot at the former mates)

The Big 12 adds:(If the Big 10 some how steal away Iowa St.)
TCU

So if worst comes to worst then
C-USA will lose at least 3 but up to 4
WAC will lose at least 1
MWC will lose at least 2

So now the C-USA needs at least 3 teams to get a C-USA championship game back.
C-USA will add: (along with UTEP, SMU, Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, Houston, UAB, USM, and Marshall)
Louisiana Tech
Miami (OH)
Toledo

Now the WAC needs 2 and MWC needs 2 and the MAC just need 1 to get back to 12(Because of the additition of Temple this year the MAC has 13). This is where the WAC overtakes the MWC as the best non-BCS conference in the west.
The WAC will add:
UNLV
North Texas
Colorado St.

Now the MWC needs at least 4.
MWC adds:
Arkansas St.
UL-Monroe
UL-Lafayette
Troy

The MAC adds:
Army

This is my prediction of the not to distant future. I have accepted the fact that I have no life during the summer, and NEED more than anything for college football to come back in to my life ASAP. Hope you have an opinion my prediction, so that I will have a sense of accomplishment. One last thing, GO HERD!!!

Give it a rest dude, you have too many ifs and whens.

Big East Conference (After Split)
1: Buffalo (from MAC)
2: Cincinnati
3: Connecticut
4: Louisville
5: Pittsburgh
6: Rutgers
7: South Florida
8: Syracuse
9: Temple (from MAC)
10: West Virginia

Pioneer League
1: Butler (from Horizon)
2: Dayton (from A-10)
3: De Paul (from Big East)
4: Marquette (from Big East)
5: Notre Dame (from Big East)
6: Saint Louis (from A-10)
7: Valparaiso (from Horizon)
8: Xavier (from A-10)

Atlantic Athletic Association
1: Duquesne (from A-10)
2: Georgetown (from Big East)
3: Holy Cross (from Patriot League)
4: Providence (from Big East)
5: Saint Bonaventure (from A-10)
6: Saint John's (from Big East)
7: Seton Hall (from Big East)
8: Villanova (from Big East)

Atlantic 10
1: College of Charleston (from Southern)
2: Drexel (from CAA)
3: Fordham
4: La Salle
5: Longwood (from Independents)
6: Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) (from A-East)
7: North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) (from Southern)
8: Saint Joseph's

America East
1: Albany
2: Binghamton
3: Boston University
4: Hartford
5: Hofstra (from CAA)
6: Maine
7: Massachusetts (from A-10)
8: New Hampshire
9: Northeastern (from A-10)
10: Rhode Island (from A-10)
11: Stony Brook
12: Vermont

Colonial Athletic Association
1: Charlotte (from A-10)
2: Delaware
3: George Mason
4: George Washington (from A-10)
5: Georgia State
6: James Madison
7: North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW)
8: Old Dominion
9: Richmond (from A-10)
10: Towson
11: Virginia Commonwealth
12: William & Mary

Conference USA
Eastern Division
1: Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
2: Central Florida (UCF)
3: East Carolina (ECU)
4: Marshall
5: Memphis
6: Southern Mississippi (USM)

Western Division
1: Houston
2: Rice
3: Southern Methodist (SMU)
4: Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
5: Tulane
6: Tulsa

Sun Belt Conference
1: Arkansas State (ASU)
2: Florida Atlantic (FAU)
3: Florida International (FIU)
4: Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL)
5: Louisiana at Monroe (ULM)
6: Middle Tennessee (MTU)
7: North Texas (UNT)
8: Troy
9: Western Kentucky (WKU)
10: Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) (No Football)
11: Denver (DU)
12: New Orleans (UNO)
13: South Alabama (USA)

Western Athletic Conference
1: Boise State
2: Fresno State
3: Hawaii
4: Idaho
5: Louisiana Tech
6: Nevada
7: New Mexico State
8: Portland State (from Big Sky)
9: Sacramento State (from Big Sky)
10: San Jose State
11: Utah State

Sorry David, no to Portland State, and Sac State. We would be doing the Big Sky a huge favor by taking those two, they would love to get rid of them. If a I-AA league wants to unload them why would we want them?

Not to mention that Buffalo and Temple don't help the Big East's perception at all. They've already booted Temple once and Buffalo is the laughing stock of the MAC. They are gonna take the best from a mid-major...Memphis, Toledo, UCF, or ECU. They'll never be able to get Navy. I could see them adding a football only. Of the teams I've listed, I think ECU would have the least reservations about a football only invite. They are a 100% football school with good facilities and good history.

http://home.comcast.net/~jma155/images/cfb/map/HelmMap.gif

http://home.comcast.net/~jma155/images/c...elmMap.gif


I think that the MWC takes Boise State in 2007, and Fresno State in 2008 or '09.

The Big east football schools will split in 2010 and add only one (they don't want to make their pie too big or water down their conference too much). Memphis wins based on great basketball, having a bowl game, and decent football. They're not very far from Louisville, Kentucky after all. UCF loses a close battle, ECU is sad, and Marshall is held out by WV.

The MWC will announce expansion to 12 soon after, plus a championship game (always trying to one-up the BE). Nevada will be go. Or maybe UTEP. Then the MWC is done expanding until the PAC-10 raids them (never).

C-USA takes some teams to make up their losses to the BE (and possibly UTEP to the MWC). The WAC's Louisiana Tech is an option (and maybe even NMSU). MAC schools are a more eastern option. The Sunbelt has some interesting choices, such as North Texas and Troy. In the end, more power to C-USA, but I won't care all that much.

The MAC will regain losses by raiding the Sunbelt. The Sunbelt will bring up some more I-AA schools. The WAC will also likely bring up I-AA replacements, though who knows if ANY school out of this group --Montana, Montana State, Sacramento State, UC Davis, Cal Poly, Portland State, Northern Arizona, Weber State, Southern Utah, Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Texas State-- is really ready to fully make that jump just yet. My fingers are crossed for the WAC and all west-coast teams. I like them, and root for them.

If not, the WAC will have to merge with the Sunbelt, but I don't think that is likely.

Other non-likely scenarios:
The Big Ten goes to 12 by adding... Notre Dame (great for college football, but not attractive to the golden domers just yet, with their special TV and BCS deal), or Iowa State (the Big XII responds by taking TCU or Colorado State or Arkansas, requiring further response) or West Virginia or Pitt (the BE takes Marshall, or maybe Navy).
The PAC-10 goes to 12, by adding... Utah likely. And then maybe BYU. Or Colorado State. Or Hawaii. Or UNLV/Nevada. Who knows? The MWC grabs from the Boise State / Fresno State / Nevada / UTEP / Hawaii / Utah State.


BTW, I really hope that the MWC never takes another Central Time Zone school. That would be suicide (or at least stupid). Just for reference, UTEP is a MT school, not CT (they are in the very western corner of Tejas). Houston is too far away, and SMU/Rice are terrible.

I don't think the MWC will go to twelve. Why should they? Will the revenue from a conference championship game make up for splitting revue up more ways? I don't think it will. Then will be the problem of division set up, no one will want be in the division opposite of BYU.

I do think the MWC will eventually go to 10, but all indications I have heard (mainly the USU AD, who was the AD at AFA) that it will be a TX/OK school. You know that is what TCU would like to see. Which makes perfect sense from a tv market perspective. I don't think it will be Boise State (nothing against them I like BSU) because of market size, and academic "fit" with most of the MWC schools.

As long as the Pac-10 is a ten team league and the Big 10 is an eleven team league, the MWC will see no need to expand to 12.

Eldermars..I don't want to be in your conference..No shared history, wierd TV deal, no rivals other than Nevada Southern, who I would prefer not to play anyway.

The WAC is just fine.

eldermars Wrote:The MAC will regain losses by raiding the Sunbelt.

The SBC football schools have as much interest in the MAC as they do in the WAC; the MAC schools are too far away and the local fans have no interest in them. SBC football schools are focused on CUSA should an opportunity present itself.