Okay I write this not as a Fresno fan but as the father of 2 NCAA athletes.

Travel is difficult for the student athletes and long road trips are the worst. Navy in the West would be at least 3 long road trips. Going East to West is even worse as travel back takes an extra day. They likely will have more trips in their OOC schedules. To have flexibility to travel OOC, you need local league games.

Putting Navy in the west will be a disaster. The AD may say he is okay with it but any plan that puts Navy in a western division will not end well. It's not the right thing to do for the young men that will have to deal with it. Whether Fresno joins the Big East is immaterial.

There are no easy solutions. Right now, there are 8 eastern teams and 5 western teams. Even if #14 is a western school (highly likely), at least one school from Kentucky eastward has to be in the west, unless they go to 16, which nobody official has ever indicated they are willing to do.

One eastern team is just going to have to suffer. Navy seems the most logical candidate. They already have a talent/recruiting ceiling, and they like playing a national schedule.

How is putting them in a western division any different than the national schedule they already employ? They already play SMU, SDSU is a no brainer, Memphis isn't that far, so you're left with Boise and Houston as the only two that are a stretch. Except...they won't be traveling to all of those schools every year and will actually only cross the Mississippi two times most years for conference play. Doesn't sound that far removed from what they do now...

I know divisions are still up in the air but I thought I read that the divisions more than likely wouldn't be geographical. Something where the focus would be to have the rivals in separate divisions but playing each other every year like USF-UCF, BSU-SDSU, SMU-UH.

No one cares about Navy, the old guys want to stick together, but they keep adding teams in the east for some reason

Navy in the west makes tons of sense. Everyone is looking at it from the wrong perspective. Navy WANTS a National Schedule. Unsure how much I can stress that. Its their recruiting lifeline as an Service Academy. If College Players from Navy can't get used to air travel like that now, unsure how they're going to live on a boat for months at a time.

(10-22-2012 10:27 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  I know divisions are still up in the air but I thought I read that the divisions more than likely wouldn't be geographical. Something where the focus would be to have the rivals in separate divisions but playing each other every year like USF-UCF, BSU-SDSU, SMU-UH.

The idea of a zipper format, which you are describing, came out of the BE meetings this summer, supposedly pushed by FB coaches. But lately, Aresco has made it clear he favors an east-west split. Thus, the conflict.

(10-22-2012 10:08 PM)Lord2FLI Wrote:  How is putting them in a western division any different than the national schedule they already employ? They already play SMU, SDSU is a no brainer, Memphis isn't that far, so you're left with Boise and Houston as the only two that are a stretch. Except...they won't be traveling to all of those schools every year and will actually only cross the Mississippi two times most years for conference play. Doesn't sound that far removed from what they do now...

EXACTLY

(10-22-2012 10:28 PM)monty Wrote:  No one cares about Navy, the old guys want to stick together, but they keep adding teams in the east for some reason

I don't think that's gives an accurate picture. The BE never promised an all-western team division. They simply promised to bring SDSU with Boise. They also invited SMU and Houston, along with UCF and Navy. That's 4 west and 2 east.

Then the BE added Memphis and Temple for BB, and Temple b/c they could start this season in FB. That's one west and one east.

The next team will be western. That's likely gonna be it. Six "western" teams (counting Memphis), + Navy, who requested to be west.

I was a gymnast at Temple from 2003 to 2007. We had to travel all over the country: Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Arizona, AFA, Stanford, UC-Berk, U-IL, U-IL Chicago, UNLV, etc.

We traveled around the country a lot. It's doable. The students will love it!!

(10-22-2012 10:37 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(10-22-2012 10:28 PM)monty Wrote:  No one cares about Navy, the old guys want to stick together, but they keep adding teams in the east for some reason

I don't think that's gives an accurate picture. The BE never promised an all-western team division. They simply promised to bring SDSU with Boise. They also invited SMU and Houston, along with UCF and Navy. That's 4 west and 2 east.

Then the BE added Memphis and Temple for BB, and Temple b/c they could start this season in FB. That's one west and one east.

The next team will be western. That's likely gonna be it. Six "western" teams (counting Memphis), + Navy, who requested to be west.

In addition, if Air Force is #14 they will be in the same division... West.

(10-22-2012 09:59 PM)Sactowndog Wrote:  Okay I write this not as a Fresno fan but as the father of 2 NCAA athletes.

Travel is difficult for the student athletes and long road trips are the worst. Navy in the West would be at least 3 long road trips. Going East to West is even worse as travel back takes an extra day. They likely will have more trips in their OOC schedules. To have flexibility to travel OOC, you need local league games.

Putting Navy in the west will be a disaster. The AD may say he is okay with it but any plan that puts Navy in a western division will not end well. It's not the right thing to do for the young men that will have to deal with it. Whether Fresno joins the Big East is immaterial.

I agree with you on Navy. They simply DO NOT draw enough on the West Coast to make it worth it. Again, listen to us that have seen it in person. They are not a draw on the West Coast.

By the way...Fresno State would be the perfect fit in the Big East.

Solution 1 -- Navy pulls out of full membership, opting instead for a limited scheduling agreement and bowl sharing deal, so the Big East adds BYU and Fresno State.

ATLANTIC
UConn \ Rutgers
Temple
Cincy \ Louisville
USF \ UCF

PACIFIC
Memphis
Houston \ SMU
BYU \ Boise State
Fresno State \ SDSU

Solution 2 -- Navy stays and the Big East expands to 16 with BYU, Fresno State, and Air Force. Alignment is same as above plus one military school in each division.

ATLANTIC
UConn \ Rutgers
Temple \ Navy
Cincy \ Louisville
USF \ UCF

PACIFIC
Memphis \ Air Force
Houston \ SMU
BYU \ Boise State
Fresno State \ SDSU

Someone help me when has Airforce ever hinted at saying yes. Then there is the fact that they should be lower on the list than ECU.

(10-23-2012 05:54 AM)FUB Wrote:  Someone help me when has Airforce ever hinted at saying yes. Then there is the fact that they should be lower on the list than ECU.

Yeah the conference pitched the service academies as a package and only Navy said yes. Army said no, which is a good thing -they would be perennial bottom dwellers. AF said "not at this time". That leaves wiggle room and the changes within the MWC over the past few years along with the albatross of a TV contract that could conceivably last until the end of the decade makes the MWC much less appealing.

I prefer Fresno over them, but that decision won't be made from message board suggestions so I'm hoping BYU comes to terms so the debate ends. Can't wait for the TV contract to be settled!

(10-23-2012 03:55 AM)Lolly Popp Wrote:  Solution 1 -- Navy pulls out of full membership, opting instead for a limited scheduling agreement and bowl sharing deal . . .

The Big East has wanted to add Navy for YEARS. A couple of weeks ago, Aresco mentioned something about wanting Navy to join sooner. Navy responded with "We'll be ready in 2015."

What's this about Navy pulling out? Just some message board fantasy? If there are any grounds/basis besides pure speculation, post a link please.

(10-23-2012 03:55 AM)Lolly Popp Wrote:  Solution 1 -- Navy pulls out of full membership, opting instead for a limited scheduling agreement and bowl sharing deal, so the Big East adds BYU and Fresno State.

ATLANTIC
UConn \ Rutgers
Temple
Cincy \ Louisville
USF \ UCF

PACIFIC
Memphis
Houston \ SMU
BYU \ Boise State
Fresno State \ SDSU

Solution 2 -- Navy stays and the Big East expands to 16 with BYU, Fresno State, and Air Force. Alignment is same as above plus one military school in each division.

ATLANTIC
UConn \ Rutgers
Temple \ Navy
Cincy \ Louisville
USF \ UCF

PACIFIC
Memphis \ Air Force
Houston \ SMU
BYU \ Boise State
Fresno State \ SDSU

Where is ECU? ECU fans stirred up division discussions so they can be admitted to Big East. Still nothing after so much has been done?

(10-22-2012 10:37 PM)TripleA Wrote:  + Navy, who requested to be west.

What that every actually confirmed? If it's merely a matter of wanting to play SDSU every year then SDSU could be Navy's permanent cross division opponent.

Same think with Louisville and Cincy.

If I were Aresco I'd go straight east/west with UL in the west and Navy in the east.

And don't give me this losing traditional rivals BS. Lousville has as much of a history with Memphis and Houston as it does with Cincy and anybody esle in the east.

I really thought they'd do a zipper format... so that each division had a team in Texas and Florida for recruiting access to those states to maximize exposure for all members.

(10-23-2012 09:28 AM)IceJus10 Wrote:  I really thought they'd do a zipper format... so that each division had a team in Texas and Florida for recruiting access to those states to maximize exposure for all members.

I think a lot of people did. However, Aresco it seems that Aresco feels very strong about each division having it's own "identity" to use his word. No setup would be perfect. I hope he stays firm with the east west split.