(05-22-2020 03:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:00 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I have said many times that West Virginia would fit extremely well in the SEC. The rabid fan base, no pro sports, good in both football and basketball, etc. It just makes sense.

(Please don't take me to task for posting this, JRsec.)

Yes, WV has those things, but there is also a cultural disconnect between WV and the SEC. WV is that part of Virginia that seceded from the state rather than join the confederacy. That was a momentous step, as the area we call WV today had been a part of Virginia for 256 years.

The state might be mostly MAGA country, but it is also at heart a Northern state, not a southern one. And southerners can still smell that.

That’s a very simplified version. Like modern day West Virginians are some group of high morality freedom fighters? Lol. I’ll remind you WVU was in the SoCon for like half a century.

What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

Regardless of all this. Nobody should feel bad for Pitt. They made their bed in the early 80’s. Penn State moved on, and without them any northeastern conference has a giant hole in it.

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  Regardless of all this. Nobody should feel bad for Pitt. They made their bed in the early 80’s. Penn State moved on, and without them any northeastern conference has a giant hole in it.

Penn State is the only school in the northeast with ambitions of being the national champions in football every year. All the other schools have a life that exists outside of football. If a northeast conference is to be formed, it would have to be one that de-emphasized competing in football at the national level year in and year out.

(05-22-2020 02:57 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:50 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 10:29 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 09:10 AM)JRsec Wrote:  IMO the Big 10 and SEC and Big 12 need to be more honest about their mistakes as well instead of playing happy families.

I think we all - except radical ACCers from the Carolina Core - agree that the reason the ACC needs a GOR is that (a) it makes considerably less than its competitors, the SEC and B1G, and (b) it is a three-sectioned hydra with grafted-on southern (read Florida) and northeastern wings that have no cultural ties with the Carolina-VA core and thus are amenable to bolting for more money. Who knows, maybe the ACCN is even right now closing that money gap and hence the problem, but probably not.

As for the SEC, the only real mistake I've seen, and it is a mild one, is Missouri. Missouri just doesn't fit as well as we thought it might. They aren't a terrible fit, but they aren't a particularly good one. I'd personally be happy if the B1G or Big 12 took them off SEC hands. That said, if getting Mizzou was the price for getting TAMU, then it was well worth paying, as TAMU has been a Grand Slam, the best post-2009 expansion acquisition that any conference has made.

WVU would have been a better fit. And might have been the team added today. But 9 years ago, markets for conference networks were the prime requirement.

I agree that WV would be a better fit for the SEC than Missouri. But, let's face it, WV has a reputation. A sofa-burning reputation. Missouri smells better.

But that thing about markets - while WV is itself ensconced in Appalachia, its graduates generally leave for two places, Pittsburgh and the Virginia side of Washington DC. You go to Northern Virginia and you will be surprised at how many WV t-shirts you see out and about. There is a market for WV eyeballs in both of those areas.

Kentucky burns couches too. It's a cultural thing.

(05-22-2020 04:54 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:57 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:50 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 10:29 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 09:10 AM)JRsec Wrote:  IMO the Big 10 and SEC and Big 12 need to be more honest about their mistakes as well instead of playing happy families.

I think we all - except radical ACCers from the Carolina Core - agree that the reason the ACC needs a GOR is that (a) it makes considerably less than its competitors, the SEC and B1G, and (b) it is a three-sectioned hydra with grafted-on southern (read Florida) and northeastern wings that have no cultural ties with the Carolina-VA core and thus are amenable to bolting for more money. Who knows, maybe the ACCN is even right now closing that money gap and hence the problem, but probably not.

As for the SEC, the only real mistake I've seen, and it is a mild one, is Missouri. Missouri just doesn't fit as well as we thought it might. They aren't a terrible fit, but they aren't a particularly good one. I'd personally be happy if the B1G or Big 12 took them off SEC hands. That said, if getting Mizzou was the price for getting TAMU, then it was well worth paying, as TAMU has been a Grand Slam, the best post-2009 expansion acquisition that any conference has made.

WVU would have been a better fit. And might have been the team added today. But 9 years ago, markets for conference networks were the prime requirement.

I agree that WV would be a better fit for the SEC than Missouri. But, let's face it, WV has a reputation. A sofa-burning reputation. Missouri smells better.

But that thing about markets - while WV is itself ensconced in Appalachia, its graduates generally leave for two places, Pittsburgh and the Virginia side of Washington DC. You go to Northern Virginia and you will be surprised at how many WV t-shirts you see out and about. There is a market for WV eyeballs in both of those areas.

Kentucky burns couches too. It's a cultural thing.

Well both states have a large % of their retirement investments tied up in Barcolounger.

(05-22-2020 06:34 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  The lack of a strong, Eastern all sports conference really kills Pitt. Imagine if it had been economically viable for Penn St to anchor such a league:

Penn St
Pitt
Syracuse
BC
UConn
Rutgers
Temple
Maryland
WVU
VT
Miami

Unfortunately, circumstances and internal politics within the Big East prevented that from ever being a reality and rather than be a cohesive, united region the football programs in that part of the country got Balkanized.

To add insult to injury, when the ACC entered into its relationship with ND, Pitt lost that ever important annual game.

Pitt’s biggest draws are Penn St, ND, and WVU. Now they rarely play any of them. Annual games with Syracuse and Miami hardly make up for why was lost. Those were 4th or 5th rate rivalries at best.

It’s too bad that back in 2005, when the ACC was gutting the Big East of its football programs they didn’t have the foresight to expand past 12 to create a Northern and Southern division that could have kept some of those programs together

VT, as well as Maryland and Miami, would likely prefer partnerships with ACC schools...versus the Eastern all sports conference proposed above.

Without multiple anchor schools that consistently strive for national recognition, there was no way to create a stable Eastern Conference. It would have taken a partnership of Penn State and Notre Dame to create a viable Eastern Conference. Schools like Pitt, WVU, Syracuse and BC would have been the middle class that kept the conference together. Universities like Rutgers, Temple, UConn, Army and Navy would be good geographic members.

(05-22-2020 04:58 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 06:34 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  The lack of a strong, Eastern all sports conference really kills Pitt. Imagine if it had been economically viable for Penn St to anchor such a league:

Penn St
Pitt
Syracuse
BC
UConn
Rutgers
Temple
Maryland
WVU
VT
Miami

Unfortunately, circumstances and internal politics within the Big East prevented that from ever being a reality and rather than be a cohesive, united region the football programs in that part of the country got Balkanized.

To add insult to injury, when the ACC entered into its relationship with ND, Pitt lost that ever important annual game.

Pitt’s biggest draws are Penn St, ND, and WVU. Now they rarely play any of them. Annual games with Syracuse and Miami hardly make up for why was lost. Those were 4th or 5th rate rivalries at best.

It’s too bad that back in 2005, when the ACC was gutting the Big East of its football programs they didn’t have the foresight to expand past 12 to create a Northern and Southern division that could have kept some of those programs together

VT, as well as Maryland and Miami, would likely prefer partnerships with ACC schools...versus the Eastern all sports conference proposed above.

Without multiple anchor schools that consistently strive for national recognition, there was no way to create a stable Eastern Conference. It would have taken a partnership of Penn State and Notre Dame to create a viable Eastern Conference. Schools like Pitt, WVU, Syracuse and BC would have been the middle class that kept the conference together. Universities like Rutgers, Temple, UConn, Army and Navy would be good geographic members.

I would take that as an 11 team league even with the Miami folks being out of their element in the Mid-Atlantic region.

(05-22-2020 04:57 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 04:54 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:57 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:50 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 10:29 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  I think we all - except radical ACCers from the Carolina Core - agree that the reason the ACC needs a GOR is that (a) it makes considerably less than its competitors, the SEC and B1G, and (b) it is a three-sectioned hydra with grafted-on southern (read Florida) and northeastern wings that have no cultural ties with the Carolina-VA core and thus are amenable to bolting for more money. Who knows, maybe the ACCN is even right now closing that money gap and hence the problem, but probably not.

As for the SEC, the only real mistake I've seen, and it is a mild one, is Missouri. Missouri just doesn't fit as well as we thought it might. They aren't a terrible fit, but they aren't a particularly good one. I'd personally be happy if the B1G or Big 12 took them off SEC hands. That said, if getting Mizzou was the price for getting TAMU, then it was well worth paying, as TAMU has been a Grand Slam, the best post-2009 expansion acquisition that any conference has made.

WVU would have been a better fit. And might have been the team added today. But 9 years ago, markets for conference networks were the prime requirement.

I agree that WV would be a better fit for the SEC than Missouri. But, let's face it, WV has a reputation. A sofa-burning reputation. Missouri smells better.

But that thing about markets - while WV is itself ensconced in Appalachia, its graduates generally leave for two places, Pittsburgh and the Virginia side of Washington DC. You go to Northern Virginia and you will be surprised at how many WV t-shirts you see out and about. There is a market for WV eyeballs in both of those areas.

Kentucky burns couches too. It's a cultural thing.

Well both states have a large % of their retirement investments tied up in Barcolounger.

Interesting how the SEC powers-that-be sacrificed cultural fit (WVU) for academic snobbery (Mizzou) in the last expansion. BIG leaders would be proud of that decision.

(05-22-2020 05:10 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 04:57 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 04:54 PM)XLance Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:57 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:50 PM)bullet Wrote:  WVU would have been a better fit. And might have been the team added today. But 9 years ago, markets for conference networks were the prime requirement.

I agree that WV would be a better fit for the SEC than Missouri. But, let's face it, WV has a reputation. A sofa-burning reputation. Missouri smells better.

But that thing about markets - while WV is itself ensconced in Appalachia, its graduates generally leave for two places, Pittsburgh and the Virginia side of Washington DC. You go to Northern Virginia and you will be surprised at how many WV t-shirts you see out and about. There is a market for WV eyeballs in both of those areas.

Kentucky burns couches too. It's a cultural thing.

Well both states have a large % of their retirement investments tied up in Barcolounger.

Interesting how the SEC powers-that-be sacrificed cultural fit (WVU) for academic snobbery (Mizzou) in the last expansion. BIG leaders would be proud of that decision.

And that would be wrong. Missouri had 6 million and West Virginia just over 1. Market footprint recommendation from ESPN says, Missouri! Very much like market footprint recommendation from FOX says, Rutgers!

When the Eers first applied to the SEC in '91 they lacked the required sports to fit the SEC and were considered an outlier as was Virginia Tech who also expressed interest at that time. The SEC's first choice was always going to be Virginia Tech in that market because of the population and academics. West Virginia likes to think they were in competition with Missouri. They weren't. Mizzou only got in because Boren insisted upon Oklahoma State otherwise the SEC's big additions might well have been Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

But your quip about academic snobbery is not too far off base as there is a concerted effort in the SEC to improve on that count. We finally all received R1 Carnegie status, something that was not true in either '92 or 2012. The last set of additions included two AAU schools.

West Virginia is a fine school hampered in the same way as the two Mississippi schools in that all three are tasked with bringing up the standard of living for the state's population as a priority as opposed to enhancing research for national matters. WVU does a fine job in that regard. But it goes unrecognized because Carnegie doesn't have a recognition for actually serving the needs of your state, meaning the people who fund you.

(05-22-2020 02:38 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 01:09 AM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  I know that this would result in a loss of TV revenue, but perhaps worth the risk. I think Pitt should go back to independent, and use a league (like ND does) for bowl tie-ins. I miss the traditional schedule Pitt had with BC, Temple, Rutgers, Navy, WVU, Syracuse and so on. There's zero traditional rivals on our schedule. I'd rather play Navy on a yearly basis than Duke, I'd rather play Rutgers on a yearly basis than North Carolina. This is nothing personal against the likes of Virginia and Georgia Tech, but these games just don't get me excited for Saturdays. Maybe I'm wrong with this opinion. But conference realignment and the chase of money really destroyed what was left of northeastern football. Big East was a valiant effort to create a northeastern league, but wasn't meant to be. But being in a southern based league with no rivals isn't the fit I was expecting it to be. Virginia Tech is the closest thing we have to a yearly rival, and it doesn't come close to the hatred we had with WVU and likely never will. We may hate a Miami, but we're not close to being Miami's top rival either. Florida, FSU and ND are much more rivals for Miami than Pitt is. Call this buyer's remorse, I don't know. But if I'm Pitt admin, I'm closely looking to what UConn and BYU are doing.

Gimme this sample schedule:

Army
Virginia Tech
Temple
Maryland
Boston College
Rutgers
Navy
BYU
Notre Dame
Syracuse
UConn
WVU

And I'm sure many Pitt fans will disagree, and that's ok. My opinion doesn't represent that of all Pitt fans nor those that run Pitt athletics.

convince the ACC to let Pitt switch places with Louisville. Then Pitt is in the division with SU and BC.

It’s not like BC or Syracuse really move the needle for Pittsburgh football fans. This Pitt problem can’t be solved by restructuring the ACC...or even leaving the ACC. Pitt needs/wants to play Penn State, Notre Dame and WVU. Unfortunately, Pitt has been unable to schedule those games.

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:00 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I have said many times that West Virginia would fit extremely well in the SEC. The rabid fan base, no pro sports, good in both football and basketball, etc. It just makes sense.

(Please don't take me to task for posting this, JRsec.)

Yes, WV has those things, but there is also a cultural disconnect between WV and the SEC. WV is that part of Virginia that seceded from the state rather than join the confederacy. That was a momentous step, as the area we call WV today had been a part of Virginia for 256 years.

The state might be mostly MAGA country, but it is also at heart a Northern state, not a southern one. And southerners can still smell that.

That’s a very simplified version. Like modern day West Virginians are some group of high morality freedom fighters? Lol. I’ll remind you WVU was in the SoCon for like half a century.

What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

Regardless of all this. Nobody should feel bad for Pitt. They made their bed in the early 80’s. Penn State moved on, and without them any northeastern conference has a giant hole in it.

From the U.S. National Geodetic Survey, a federal entity with which I have no familiarity (found on Wikipedia).

"West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States, though it is also considered to be a part of the Mid-Atlantic Southeast Region."

I don't consider West Virginia part of the "North" at all but I'm a hillbilly from Tennessee whose Anglo-Celtic ancestors settled in Appalachia, so what do I know. I love bluegrass, whiskey and the highland warpipes-fueled sound of the Dropkick Murphys — just like most of the fine folks in West Virginia enjoy (the first two things and not the third, mind you).

(05-22-2020 04:58 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 06:34 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  The lack of a strong, Eastern all sports conference really kills Pitt. Imagine if it had been economically viable for Penn St to anchor such a league:

Penn St
Pitt
Syracuse
BC
UConn
Rutgers
Temple
Maryland
WVU
VT
Miami

Unfortunately, circumstances and internal politics within the Big East prevented that from ever being a reality and rather than be a cohesive, united region the football programs in that part of the country got Balkanized.

To add insult to injury, when the ACC entered into its relationship with ND, Pitt lost that ever important annual game.

Pitt’s biggest draws are Penn St, ND, and WVU. Now they rarely play any of them. Annual games with Syracuse and Miami hardly make up for why was lost. Those were 4th or 5th rate rivalries at best.

It’s too bad that back in 2005, when the ACC was gutting the Big East of its football programs they didn’t have the foresight to expand past 12 to create a Northern and Southern division that could have kept some of those programs together

VT, as well as Maryland and Miami, would likely prefer partnerships with ACC schools...versus the Eastern all sports conference proposed above.

Without multiple anchor schools that consistently strive for national recognition, there was no way to create a stable Eastern Conference. It would have taken a partnership of Penn State and Notre Dame to create a viable Eastern Conference. Schools like Pitt, WVU, Syracuse and BC would have been the middle class that kept the conference together. Universities like Rutgers, Temple, UConn, Army and Navy would be good geographic members.

(05-22-2020 05:59 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:03 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:00 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I have said many times that West Virginia would fit extremely well in the SEC. The rabid fan base, no pro sports, good in both football and basketball, etc. It just makes sense.

(Please don't take me to task for posting this, JRsec.)

Yes, WV has those things, but there is also a cultural disconnect between WV and the SEC. WV is that part of Virginia that seceded from the state rather than join the confederacy. That was a momentous step, as the area we call WV today had been a part of Virginia for 256 years.

The state might be mostly MAGA country, but it is also at heart a Northern state, not a southern one. And southerners can still smell that.

That’s a very simplified version. Like modern day West Virginians are some group of high morality freedom fighters? Lol. I’ll remind you WVU was in the SoCon for like half a century.

What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

Regardless of all this. Nobody should feel bad for Pitt. They made their bed in the early 80’s. Penn State moved on, and without them any northeastern conference has a giant hole in it.

From the U.S. National Geodetic Survey, a federal entity with which I have no familiarity (found on Wikipedia).

"West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States, though it is also considered to be a part of the Mid-Atlantic Southeast Region."

I don't consider West Virginia part of the "North" at all but I'm a hillbilly from Tennessee whose Anglo-Celtic ancestors settled in Appalachia, so what do I know. I love bluegrass, whiskey and the highland warpipes-fueled sound of the Dropkick Murphys — just like most of the fine folks in West Virginia enjoy (the first two things and not the third, mind you).

I grew up 25 miles north of Morgantown and 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

You are in the upper reaches of Appalachia there, but metro Pittsburgh is the heart of Western Pennsylvania and the center of gravity there.

Morgantown, Wheeling, etc....(northern West Virginia) are oriented more towards Pittsburgh and the North.

They tune in to Pittsburgh television stations there.

Southern West Virginia (Charleston, Beckley, etc...) is obviously more "Southern" in orientation. It is more like Kentucky.

(This Irish-American Western Pennsylvania coal country boy also likes whiskey, bluegrass and Dropkick Murphys).

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

No matter how hard some of y'all try, nobody up north will ever regard North Carolina as anything but a southern member of the Confederacy.

(05-22-2020 06:18 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

No matter how hard some of y'all try, nobody up north will ever regard North Carolina as anything but a southern member of the Confederacy.

Red Solo will never take the place of Dixie Cups! I feel like singing Bonnie Blue Flag! I've been isolated for so long my whiskers looked like Robert E. Lee's the other morning. I told my wife to make me a uniform. Now if I could find a supplier for mini balls and patches I'd be ready! But all of that said I can't stomach Dixie Beer! But with any kind of blockade runner maybe we could get some Guinness. But I have discovered what social distancing does. It makes you want to sin or fight or both. So a reprise of the Civil War would be a great distraction for all of us.

Whenever the discussion turns to northeastern football I keep being reminded of how all of these programs all had different priorities and why these made it practically impossible to have a viable northeastern-based football conference.

Penn State thinks it's above everyone else and only really regard Ohio State and Michigan as peers

Pitt thinks it's above Penn State, even though they don't have nearly the fan base as Penn State

Syracuse thinks it's above both UConn and Rutgers, even though they're a few miles from Canada. I guess that qualifies as "above"

The northeast private schools that are too small to host football rightly focus on basketball but Villanova can't seem to get with the program fully. Yet, they find it convenient to block Temple from joining fully in all sports.

Nobody really wants to have West Virginia in the conference, except maybe Pitt and even that's not certain as the academic snobs are in charge at Pitt

How are Memphis, Tulane, TCU or Houston "Eastern" in any way?

Notre Dame is just too good to be in a conference in general. Conferences are beneath them

What I like about the Big Ten and the SEC is they understand the importance of working together and advance mutual goals. As opposed to the northeastern programs who are in it for themselves and don't care about the other programs. I would rather stick with the Big Ten, thank you very much. Maybe Pitt can join in the future, as they fit the criteria. Otherwise, I'm fine either way.

(05-22-2020 06:18 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

No matter how hard some of y'all try, nobody up north will ever regard North Carolina as anything but a southern member of the Confederacy.

I suppose so.

(05-22-2020 06:57 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  Whenever the discussion turns to northeastern football I keep being reminded of how all of these programs all had different priorities and why these made it practically impossible to have a viable northeastern-based football conference.

Penn State thinks it's above everyone else and only really regard Ohio State and Michigan as peers

Pitt thinks it's above Penn State, even though they don't have nearly the fan base as Penn State

Syracuse thinks it's above both UConn and Rutgers, even though they're a few miles from Canada. I guess that qualifies as "above"

The northeast private schools that are too small to host football rightly focus on basketball but Villanova can't seem to get with the program fully. Yet, they find it convenient to block Temple from joining fully in all sports.

Nobody really wants to have West Virginia in the conference, except maybe Pitt and even that's not certain as the academic snobs are in charge at Pitt

How are Memphis, Tulane, TCU or Houston "Eastern" in any way?

Notre Dame is just too good to be in a conference in general. Conferences are beneath them

What I like about the Big Ten and the SEC is they understand the importance of working together and advance mutual goals. As opposed to the northeastern programs who are in it for themselves and don't care about the other programs. I would rather stick with the Big Ten, thank you very much. Maybe Pitt can join in the future, as they fit the criteria. Otherwise, I'm fine either way.

Tulane's actual student body and fanbase has more of the composition of a Big East school than any kind of southern school. If our basketball wasn't a tire fire, you'd really notice it.

(05-22-2020 06:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 06:18 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

No matter how hard some of y'all try, nobody up north will ever regard North Carolina as anything but a southern member of the Confederacy.

Red Solo will never take the place of Dixie Cups! I feel like signing Bonnie Blue Flag! I've been isolated for so long my whiskers looked like Robert E. Lee's the other morning. I told my wife to make me a uniform. Now if I could find a supplier for mini balls and patches I'd be ready! But all of that said I can't stomach Dixie Beer! But with any kind of blockade runner maybe we could get some Guinness. But I have discovered what social distancing does. It makes you want to sin or fight or both. So a reprise of the Civil War War of Northern Aggression would be a great distraction for all of us.

(05-22-2020 02:48 PM)Jackson1011 Wrote:  Pitt, Penn st and West Virginia should play each other in every sport/every year. The idea that all three are in different leagues is beyond insane

I’ll see this trio and raise you a Syracuse. Seriously underrated rivalries there between the Orange and PSU and Pitt. At the very least, Cuse and BC found each other again, and Pitt has them around, but, yeah, there’s some gaping holes.

All of the northeastern schools are at fault for what no longer exists between its “core,” but, that’s precisely the problem. Different kinds of schools, different outlooks on athletics, and different motivations. There was never a core. It was like you needed PSU, but it didn’t help not having Army and Navy around, either. You had much of the schools banded there in the Big East, and it didn’t work. Notre Dame prancing around. PSU sucked because they wanted 2-1’s, blah-blah-blah, but even without them, BE schools were awful to each other. What was done to Temple was one thing; how BC played the move to ACC another, then all of these great rivalry games dying for what?

I will say that the Big Ten took the wrong eastern schools, especially if Pitt and Cuse did apply to the conference. Potential and reach be darned, Rutgers and UMD football have no place in the Big Ten, and they will never “keep” PSU truly satisfied, and you could have had the northeast by the neck reviving those rivalries.

(05-22-2020 08:32 PM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 02:48 PM)Jackson1011 Wrote:  Pitt, Penn st and West Virginia should play each other in every sport/every year. The idea that all three are in different leagues is beyond insane

I’ll see this trio and raise you a Syracuse. Seriously underrated rivalries there between the Orange and PSU and Pitt. At the very least, Cuse and BC found each other again, and Pitt has them around, but, yeah, there’s some gaping holes.

All of the northeastern schools are at fault for what no longer exists between its “core,” but, that’s precisely the problem. Different kinds of schools, different outlooks on athletics, and different motivations. There was never a core. It was like you needed PSU, but it didn’t help not having Army and Navy around, either. You had much of the schools banded there in the Big East, and it didn’t work. Notre Dame prancing around. PSU sucked because they wanted 2-1’s, blah-blah-blah, but even without them, BE schools were awful to each other. What was done to Temple was one thing; how BC played the move to ACC another, then all of these great rivalry games dying for what?

I will say that the Big Ten took the wrong eastern schools, especially if Pitt and Cuse did apply to the conference. Potential and reach be darned, Rutgers and UMD football have no place in the Big Ten, and they will never “keep” PSU truly satisfied, and you could have had the northeast by the neck reviving those rivalries.

"Little" Rutgers didn't put a gun to the heads of the Big Ten and told them to take us. The core schools preferred similar institutions over old northeastern rivalries. They could have had Pitt, Syracuse and Boston College any time before 2005. Heck, they could have taken Missouri and Kansas as well but passed on all of them. Why? Because the academics running the institutions have their particular standards. It's just that it worked out for us the last time.

But, of course, the sports snobs and geography snobs will never accept us, so what's the damn difference!

(05-22-2020 06:18 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(05-22-2020 03:17 PM)esayem Wrote:  What the hell is a “northern state” anymore besides geography? Hell, the most racist people I’ve met in my life are from Ohio. What does the confederacy have to do with anything?

No matter how hard some of y'all try, nobody up north will ever regard North Carolina as anything but a southern member of the Confederacy.

In the South there is only one thing worse than a sorry cracker and that's a Yankee wannabe.