(12-27-2012 06:14 PM)muskienick Wrote: Can a king be impeached?
I mean absolutely no disrespect to your idea, but you have just reintroduced the C7 to another hybrid situation by the addition of a school with major college football aims (BYU). Why would they want to create another situation that could eventually lead to a schism they have just gone through?
Your East/Midwest 10 are just fine. By leaving it at 10, you negate the necessity of going to divisions and an unbalanced Conference schedule. Evereybody would play an 18-game League schedule with H/A games against each fellow member.
If ESPN or another major bidder on a TV contract for the new league "suggests" 12 teams, they you'll need one more in the East and one more in the Midwest, neither of which has (or covets) major college football. I prefer a Richmond presence in the East and I have no problem with VCU (large alumni base, good facilities, solid commitment to its basketball program) despite its non-private status. In the Midwest, SLU seems to stand out due to its strong media presence (no overlapping), good facilities, and partnering possibilities with Creighton.
No disrespect taken, Muskie. I'd be a benevolent king.
I really do believe, though, that if the new Big East wants to market itself as something truly elite and attract an elite-level TV package without Louisville, Syracuse, Pitt, et al, you need to add as high-profile programs as possible.
And BYU offers a unique opportunity for a couple reasons: Its admin has already established a willingness (perhaps bordering on eagerness) to go indy in FB; and, if that doesn't happen, its ability to park its football in whatever western-based (non-BCS) league it wants without having to commit to all sports. I just can't see football being a major issue in their case.
The five household names that would immediately add huge credibility to the C7: Gonzaga, Xavier, Butler, BYU and Creighton.
For all of its recent success, VCU is not a household brand name on that level. Neither are Dayton, SLU, Wichita State, Richmond or any of the other schools that have been mentioned.
And the increase in travel costs wouldn't be as significant as you'd think. Smart scheduling can easily limit the number of trips each East Coast team would have to make out to Utah and Spokane. For the Midwest schools, those trips won't be much more taxing (logistically or fiscally) than the frequent eastern trips they already make.
As a bonus, the eastern schools' non-revenue sports would never have to go out there. There are already leagues where all Olympic sports teams don't play each other during the regular season and only get together in a central location for the conference tournament. I think this trend is only going to take greater hold as ADs seek to further cut costs.
Between TV and the 6-7 NCAA bids you'd expect to bank in an average season, starting up a league like this would basically be like printing money ... lots of it.