MHSCard Wrote:I would think that they would take Memphis rather than Louisville because UK doesn't want the Basketball competition and the league doesn't want another tough football team either. Memphis is a better geographical choice for the SEC, it is not bad in either Basketball or football, but it would not challenge the status quo in either. I think that Louisville is in the Big East for awhile guys.

I can think of 3 schools that would have a major problem with Memphis right off the bat not including Arkansas. UT, Ole Miss, Miss State among others all recruit Memphis fairly hard. There is no doubt in my mind Louisville would get the nod before Memphis if it came down to the two candidates. We bring a higher profile and a marquee basketball rivalry on the level of duke/unc to the table.

cardtopper Wrote:Back to the original thought of this post. I really feel that BIGGER is not better for the BE. We should take a wait and see attitude because there are just not that many quality programs around right now. Let's just get strong....invest the money we make off the bowl series back into athletics and institutions increase their budgets as much as possible. Recover some of our luster in Football...we will undoubtedly be the cream of the crop in basketball, and wait for fallout from some of the other leagues or for UMass, Villanova, or Temple to get serious about Football...and then move when the time is right, not out of desperation to be like the Jones. Believe me, the grass is not always greener on the other side and I bet there is a lot of desention going on in other conferences.

See CUSA. Louisville fought to prevent the bigger is better mentality in that conference to the point of threatened expulsion by expansion forces. One thing is for certain though; the Big East will not be stable until there is a split.

I agree L-yes.

Quote:the Big East will not be stable until there is a split.

-- I agree as well...but I will take it a step further...the BE football schools will not be stable untill there is a split and all of the new league's membership is in place....then we can actualy start building traditions etc


Jackson

L-yes Wrote:

cardtopper Wrote:Back to the original thought of this post.  I really feel that BIGGER is not better for the BE.  We should take a wait and see attitude because there are just not that many quality programs around right now.  Let's just get strong....invest the money we make off the bowl series back into athletics and institutions increase their budgets as much as possible.  Recover some of our luster in Football...we will undoubtedly be the cream of the crop in basketball, and wait for fallout from some of the other leagues or for UMass, Villanova, or Temple to get serious about Football...and then move when the time is right, not out of desperation to be like the Jones.  Believe me, the grass is not always greener on the other side and I bet there is a lot of desention going on in other conferences.

<span style='color:red'>
See CUSA. Louisville fought to prevent the bigger is better mentality in that conference to the point of threatened expulsion by expansion forces. One thing is for certain though; the Big East will not be stable until there is a split.</span>

It’s good if we learn from that experience.

Jackson1011 Wrote:

Quote:Sorry things aren't exactly like you'd want it, Texas. Join the Duke and UNC fans for a beer at the bar, then realize you simply need to make better with what you've got.

-- Hey Gunner....any room for BE football fans at the bar as well?:D

Jackson

Touche, Jackson. Touche.

lets say that this b12 split occurs. who would the new nswc pick up afterwards to get to 12 teams and same w/ the nb8. we're talkin pretty much another 12 teams moving into bcs conferences

swc
Oklahoma
Texas
Oklahoma State
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Baylor
Arkansas
TCU

big8
iowa
iowa st
nebreska
mizzou
k state
colorado
kansas
kentucky/tennessee/memphis/loiusville

i think both conferences would stop @ 9/10 teams. knowing that a 12 team conference would probably fail again. could utah go to the new swc. who knows. i think this split helps the half nots get into a bcs conference. we'll have 7 bcs conferences. the big 10 will be a 10 team conference again w/ i say iowa moving to the big 8. that makes alot of sence in my book. the sec possibly goes to 10/11 w/ arkansas moving to the new swc and a possibility of tenn/kentucky goin to the big 8. i think 12 teams are too many teams and the pac 10 big 10 won't make the same mistake. and the big east just pickin up 1/2 more teams will be close to the level or even as good or better than the big 8 teams. and this shakeup will give dame a shy of relief knowing that they wont really need to join a conference

also what bout bowl bids. there will be another round of reshuffling of bowl bids after such a shakeup.

Just thought I'd join your reindeer game for fun. Assuming that the schools take the 12 team/championship formula:

SOUTHWESTERN Conference
WEST
New Mexico
Texas-El Paso
Texas Tech
Texas Christian
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
EAST
Texas
Texas A&M
Baylor
Houston
Arkansas
Tulane

BIG 12/ HEARTLAND Conference
WEST
Wyoming
Colorado State
Colorado
Air Force
Kansas
Kansas State

EAST
Nebraska
Iowa
Iowa State
Missouri
Missouri State*
Tulsa

Of course this is based on 4 big assumptions:
1. Arkansas would leave the SEC
2. Iowa would leave the Big 10
3. Four MWC schools would throw their conference to the wolves for a shot at a near guaranteed BCS bid (not far fetched)
4. Missouri State could move up (#2 in a BIG state shouldn't be that hard)

Realigning is Fun!

bearcatfan Wrote:I don't like the idea of playoffs.....

are you a BCS Conference Commissioner or President of a BCS school??? That is about the only kind of person who could make this statement with a straight face......every other level of football does just fine having a TRUE champion crowned with a playoff - EVERY level.........HS, NFL, all levels of college - except Division I, where you don't even have to win your conference title game to play in the BCS......amazing......

Pac-10 is 5th in TV markets with 45 mill, B-12 is 6th with 40 mill. If the b-12 So wants bigger TV contracts it will be some type of merger & SWC could hit 80 mill. SWC So [Tex-TexAM-TexT-Okla-Missouri-Kansas-Neb] SWC West [ USC-UCLA-ASU-Cal-Stanford-Utah-Colo] Pac-10 {Wash-WSU-Org-OrgSt-Ariz-BYU-Frenso-SDST-UNLV-Haw] B-12 No [OSU-ISU-KSU-ColoSt-Wym-AF] B-12 So [Baylor-NM-UTEP-TCU-Hous-Tulane ] Kills off MWC, WAC has 7 left & C-USA has 9 left.

L-yes Wrote:

MHSCard Wrote:I would think that they would take Memphis rather than Louisville because UK doesn't want the Basketball competition and the league doesn't want another tough football team either.&nbsp; Memphis is a better geographical choice for the SEC, it is not bad in either Basketball or football, but it would not challenge the status quo in either.&nbsp; I think that Louisville is in the Big East for awhile guys.

I can think of 3 schools that would have a major problem with Memphis right off the bat not including Arkansas. UT, Ole Miss, Miss State among others all recruit Memphis fairly hard. There is no doubt in my mind Louisville would get the nod before Memphis if it came down to the two candidates. We bring a higher profile and a marquee basketball rivalry on the level of duke/unc to the table.

I believe you are correct in that Louisville would receive the nod before Memphis ... but I don't see Kentucky jumping up & down at that thought either.

I firmly disagree with the post above that the SEC would never take West Virginia. Most talk show hosts (yeah, I know, what do they really know?) seem to think WVU is a natural for the SEC and think they would be the slam dunk #1 choice if the SEC were to expand. I agree.

Question is, would WVU take it?

Also, Arkansas is not as successful in SEC football as they were in the SWC. Why? Perhaps #1 is that they no longer clean up in Texas recruiting. Even their hard core SEC supporters admit that they can't recruit Texas like they used to. Plus, even after a decade of SEC membership they seem to have a yearning for beating Texas and I'm sure Oklahoma. In the very northwest corner of Arkansas they certainly are a much more geographical natural for the SWC/Big 12.

Expect no moves until Lucifer himself, Frankenbroyles, has departed the good earth.

The SEC has had some interest in the Ohio market, so I guess you can't rule out UC in a potential SEC swipe. That being said, it would take a crazy, out-of-this-world scenerio for the SEC to expand, someone to bolt the SEC, or someone to be kicked out of the SEC. The SEC is fine as is, they know it, and they're working to build themselves from the inside. As for the Big East, with the Gator Bowl gone and possibly the Insight.com bowl following suit, there is no reason to cowtow to Notre Dame and keep this conference together. Now would be the perfect time to split. And if Notre Dame wants to stay with the football playing schools then they need to agree to join the conferene full-time or play a partial schedule.

The only scenerio I see for a new team in the SEC is if one leaves first. They will not kick out any of their weak sisters, ie. Vanderbilt, Miss State because, for one, they were charter members. Though, by far, the real reason is it's good to have competetive teams in your conference, but still beatable year after year (ie. Kentucky, South Carolina, Miss State, Vandy, Ole Miss, Arkansas). You gotta know that the other 6 love this Conference for that reason. Granted, the "have nots" are solid and upsets occur every year, but thats whats great about the conference. Auburn and Florida can look at the schedule and say, "yeah, we can go undefeated". They don't always, but it's possible. Vanderbilt, on the other hand, cannot, and that's just fine by the rest of the SEC. They get paid same as the others. Plus it's good to have Vandy for academics. Very good.
The only team I could ever see leaving would be Arkansas, for the reasons stated above. I think Memphis, Louisville, and West Virginia are all good candidates. But I wouldn't be shocked if nearly every team on the eastern seaboard wouldn't at least entertain the option.
I always thought another Carolina school like NC State would fit in geographically and demographically in the SEC. Any chance an ACC 12 member would bolt this early if there was an opening in the SEC?
Do you think any Big East school would NOT bolt for the ACC or SEC if either had an opening?

The SEC is arguably the best fb conference out there. It was their success with the 12-team playoff format that spurred the megaconference idea. They are swimming in money and no one will be leaving soon. Arkansas left the SWC for that set-up. There is no way they would return to a new SWC.

The B12 south teams have no intention of seceding. They may want a home field advantage for the best winning percentage team in the playoff (I'm unaware of this, if true, and I live in Texas), but they are solid in their commitment to the 12-team conference. I think the news writer let his imagination get the best of him.

The ACC is still a work in progress, so we don't know how they'll like it until it's up and running. My guess is that they'll like it just fine and that BC will stay there unless PSU joins with BE FB schools to form a mega NORTHEASTERN CONFERENCE.

The 12-team conference is far from a dead idea, and the 8-team conference is the one BEHIND THE CURVE.

The PAC10 won't worry about expansion unless the B10 does it first or they are in danger of losing a bcs bid, neither of which seem imminent. The B10 says they're not interested in a playoff game, regardless of the money to be reaped. However, not too long ago, they said they'd never have a conference bb tournament either. They gave into the money on that one and will probably do the same for fb somewhere down the road.

If the B10 does decide to expand, it will happen in the blink of an eye without a drawn-out discussion. They will not accept egg on the face like they did the last time Notre Dame rejected them. They would take ND as a first choice, but Syracuse would likely be the second option. Pitt and WVU might be dark horse candidates, but only one spot would be available.

The new bcs appeal process that allows population/market as a criterium has bought the BE fb schools some needed time. They appear to want to keep the BE in the bcs fold. That is good. That sentiment will rapidly change if we can't keep 3 teams in the top 25 over the next few years. Maybe, they wanted to give us time to find our teams for when we split.

The split is a done deal in my estimation. Anyone who doesn't know that is either in denial or doesn't understand the landscape of contemporary college sports.

I believe the BE fb schools have 9 or 10 schools they will be watching the next few years in order to find the 4 that will let us go to five. As someone once said, "Even if you're on the right track, you're going to get run over if you don't keep moving." It might have been Will Rogers.

I would love to have WVU in the SEC.

Vanderbilt has been itching to ditch football, so how about a trade with the BE for WVU.

Vandy can be the 9th non-FB school, WVU goes to the SEC East, and Memphis goes to the BE as the 8th FB school. Add Temple as an all-sports member to make it 9 FB schools to even out the home and home slate.

Everybody goes home happy.

thatauburnguy Wrote:I would love to have WVU in the SEC.

Vanderbilt has been itching to ditch football, so how about a trade with the BE for WVU.

Vandy can be the 9th non-FB school, WVU goes to the SEC East, and Memphis goes to the BE as the 8th FB school.&nbsp; Add Temple as an all-sports member to make it 9 FB schools to even out the home and home slate.

Everybody goes home happy.

well everyone except the big east