Doc

I don't consider Pitt/Cuse/UL/ND ACC schools yet, at least not officially. If only BC/WF and someone else remain, it would be cheaper for them to stay in BE.

If enough current ACC schools have offers (8/11), why don't they just vote to disband the conference? Then we can have our old BE back, except with Temple replacing WVU and the ACC leftovers replacing RU. New invites rescinded (and paid by Pitt/Cuse and WVU/RU exit fees). BBall stays put in an 18-team league (10 for FBall). Or, split FB/BB (BE name stays with BB) and add UCF/Mem for 12 teams and call it something else (no reason to keep ACC name which is retired).

Carnesecca does have seats on both sides (at least it did in 2011). In addition, I've been to the Bradley Center (very nice especially along concourse -- it is an NBA arena afterall), the Rosemont Horizon (a big, old, dusty, empty ricketty shell), Freedom Hall (love the history), Yum (nice, but lacks the history -- much better location than Freedom Hall, though), Shoemaker (only modestly better than highschool gym), Joyce Center (nice experience if not for annoying Irish security), XL Center in Hartford for women's tourney (nice setup and outstanding atmosphere).

Yeah, have been to SJU's Carnesecca Hall in Queens for senior night against us a few years ago and it does remind me of the old UCF arena or McGrath in Chicago where DePaul's women play. Seats mostly along the sidelines, with a balcony behind one of the buckets for a token student section that even we could fill on a bad night. Made everyone empty out their pockets and walk through metal detector towers to get in.

Disagree with posts about "new ACC" being no better than new BE. Agree with Hem about Duke/WF and throw in UL/Pitt/Cuse as name brands. Even if not in FB 4 conf bonanza, a merged BE-ACC would be relevant in BBall and retain high-major status across the board.

That would mean UNC/UVA to B10,and VT/NCSt to SEC in my opinion. That leaves only BC/Duke/WF. That should make it cheaper for Pitt/Cuse/UL/ND to stay put. Reverse poach. Give UConn veto power over BC??? Wouldn't that be sweet?

cmsnow24, I think a reconstituted ACC, made up of mostly former BE members, could be reasonably stable. There wouldn't be the intraregional poaching like what we've experienced. If another conference goes down, it could very well be the B12 once the GoR expires, Texas/OKla decide to move out (Pac?), and the other "haves" separate from the Iowa States and Baylors of the world. That's what can ultimately happen when you institute an unbalanced revenue system.

UC/UConn (and/or even Temple) to the C7 WITHOUT USF would be the worst of all scenarios and the one I've feared the most. Have to stay with them to remain on the radar for the next round of realignment; stay with the old BE minus the defections and w/o the dilutional invites. Just a temporary home until the next round, and it would be widely understood as being exactly that. Kind of what I've wanted all along. The more we tie ourselves to UH/SMU/UCF/Mem/Tul/ECU, the less likely we get out, in my opinion.

Just read an interesting interpretation from the G'Town Hoya Talk board. They claim that the official release from the C7 is carefully worded such that it doesn't specifically say they're leaving the conference, just that they're looking at all options (I'll trust their lawschool grads on that). If the C7 retains voting rights, they could block any western replacements for BoiseSt. All the more reason for SDSU and maybe UH/SMU to leave as well. If the ACC implodes before July, then none of this matters. If not, we essentially replace Pitt/Cuse with Memphis/UCF (Temple already replacing WVU). This gives the ACC another year to implode. If not, then RU/UL are replaced by Tulane/ECU. Who knows about Navy. Throughout, we keep the minimum of 8 FB schools -- and fewer mouths to feed and more flexibility if the ACC falls apart. The BBall schools get to add Temple and Memphis, while keeping Cincy/UConn (better quality than they could get from A10 in new league and without having to pay for BE name or MSG rights). The question is, would the BBall schools be better off staying in this scenario (w/o Texas travel, and only USF/UCF and maybe Tulane as long road trips)? More importantly for us, would the payout be better per school in this arrangement? Why have a BE/MWC megaconference (w/o BoiseSt apparently) that mostly operates as two distinct conferences with few crossover games, when you can actually have two distinct conferences, keep the BBall reputation, and still arrange for a BE/MWC interconference championship if you want?

Just curious, someone with the NCAA video game should try running backwards on the PAT after scoring a TD and take an intentional conversion safety out the back of their OWN endzone 98 yards away. Should be one point for the defense (6-1 score). I wonder how the game would handle it. . .

In the NCAA, a safety on a conversion is always worth one point (whether first kicked or on a 2-point try). Theoretically, the team who just scored can get tackled in their own endzone (98 yards away) for a conversion safety for the other team (and the score be 6-1); very unlikely, but could happen if there is a turnover, long return, a second turnover before the player scores, the kicking team then recovers, retreats into their own endzone, and is tackled. Another question: if it is the 3rd OT and the team has to go for 2, but the play results in a turnover and a conversion safety worth one-point, can that team win if the other team fails on its two-point try? I assume so, since you only have to "go" for two, but if you somehow get one-point on a conversion safety, it should still stand. Something like this once almost happened (Kent/Tenn I think) where the ruling should have been a safety (for the win) but the refs missed it an no points were awarded. Oddly enough, in the NFL rulebook, there is a stipulation for a "conversion safety" as well, worth 1-point. However, on a try, a change-of-possession results in the play being blown dead instantly, so the defense cannot retreat into its own endzone after a recovery. However, on a loose ball, a defender could bat the ball into his own endzone, providing a new impetus and resulting in a conversion safety of one point for the originally-scoring team (7-0). In the NFL, a missed kick (blocked or otherwise) results in a dead play; once the ball leaves the kicker's foot, it is either good or no-good, and a blocked kick cannot be advanced by either team. Also, the team just scored upon CANNOT score on a point-after in the NFL, ever, regardless of the situation.

Hem, the campers DID get the final shot at Bubba and his buddy. Maybe it's UCF they'll make squeal like a pig. Knightro always did have a pretty mouth. Skingraft, I agree that something bigger is coming, and BSU is positioning themselves for a world where the current BE members have left as well. Ernesto, I also favor a smaller conference arrangement to facilitate movement when the next shake-up occurs. If UH/SMU are out, we can keep a compact 8-team FB league (UConn/UC/USF/Temp/UCF/Mem/Tul/ECU) +/- Navy. Convert Tulane to FB-only and the only new school the BBall schools would have to hold their nose for is UCF (they are fine with Temple/Memphis, and in this scenario the Texas schools are out). This can keep things together long enough (up to 2015 before BBall schools are supposed to leave) for the ACC to implode. Fewer mouths to feed and fewer anchors holding back the merger possibilities.

I read it a bit more optimistically. If SDSU/Hou/SMU/Navy are out as well, that leaves fewer schools who will have to find new homes when UConn/UC/USF get absorbed into the BE/ACC merger (when it happens). Depending on how many leave the ACC, there will be room for Temple, and maybe Memphis/UCF as well. There is more to college athletics than pinning all our hopes and dreams on some theoretical "Access Bowl" football crumbs. Trying to find an arrangement that facilitates that to the detriment of everything else (geography, non-FBall sports) is a bad long-term fix. I suspect the TV wouldn't much different with or without Boise St.

This is what I've been worried about. We are now more closely linked to the southern cUSA schools than to the BE. Should the BBall schools take UC/UConn, don't be surprised if they pickup Temple and Memphis too, as long as they all park their FB elsewhere for now. And when the ACC needs to backfill, their BBall-first mindset could have them go after UC/UConn/Temple and maybe even Memphis before USF. Worst case scenario.

I got nothing against Buzz. Remember him dancing to Country Road on the court after beating WVU and the toothless rabble behind the anouncers threating his life during the postgame interview? Priceless! Mike Deane, however, was a whole different story...

I can still see us in a 12-team ACC with 16 for BBall (ND/GTown/SJU/Nova) once all the shuffling is done. Be careful what you wish for, Providence and Seton Hall, as the Hoyas and Johnnies may yet stab you in the back. This isn't over yet.

As for KC, I know they have a bigtime BBall arena downtown to lure an NBA team. I think they host the B12 tourney, at least on some years. I'm not a big fan of going to KC for much of anything, and Arrowhead is one of only two NFL venues where I was physically threatened by opposing fans (Tampa was the other). Saw my Cardinals in 23 NFL cities (yes, including Philly), and never had a problem anywhere else!

I'm not sure if new Busch could hold a FBall field. It has similar dimensions to old Busch, but there they used to slide the seats apart to make room for the endzone in centerfield. Would still much prefer that idea over the Edward Jones Dome, which just feels like a big, sterile, airplane hangar. As an overall "sports town," StL is a bit over-rated. They love their baseball, and hockey gets good support too. But football is all bandwagon (Rams likely gone soon after they already kicked out my Cardinals). And for college hoops, good luck finding a sportsbar that carries the FullCourt package - I've been struggling for years! As for the MVC's Arch Madness, it does get good buzz, and much of the interest is generated by the traveling fans that overrun the city as many of the schools are nearby. ScottTrade is a 20K seat arena with a hockey rink configuration, nothing special but adequate. Arch Madness usually ends just before the BE tourney starts, and so there would be time to hold two tournaments here. Chaifetz Arena, where the Billikens now play, is a sparkling new gym which feels a lot lke the SunDome in that you're right on top of the action. Although at only about 10K capacity, probably too small for a tourney.

I only wanted the championship game to be in StL for selfish reasons as that's where I live. Realistically, you'd still want to have it on a campus site. The BBall tourney could be Arch Madness, although the MVC already has claim to that.

I have confidence that the SEC will expand into VA/NC to complete their Confederacy; afterall, they stuck Mizzou in the "Eastern Division" only as a temporary solution. Once this takes place, more movement will occur. We just need this to happen BEFORE July (when the new BE schools are scheduled to join) or the perception that we're a happy fit with the new-member southern-based football schools will only get worse (as is already happening as seen in the UC/UConn story where we're only mentioned as an afterthought).

Travel costs for non-revenue sports would still be the biggest problem. They also left out SMU/UH/Tulane/Navy. A possibility would be to have 6 west (BSU/SDSU/UNLV/UNM/ and BYU/AFA or SMU/UH?) and 6 east (USF/Mem/UC/UConn/Tem and Navy/Tulane/ECU/orUCF?). With BYU/AFA the western states would all be contiguous (if that means anything). In a 16-game schedule (for BBall), you could play everyone each year and only play 3 conference road games on the other side of the continent. Of course the north-south travel within your region would still be long-distance. Put the championship games/tournaments in St. Louis and maybe I'll sign on. . . Agreed that it's not a serious idea anyway, however.

I tend to agree with this. But what concessions would make them happy? We aren't likely to un-invite Tulane. Maybe split the BBall conference into 7+(UConn or Temple) vs other 8FB schools and play games mostly within your half (7x2 intradivisional, plus 4 of 8 teams against cross-over division) to cut down on their travel costs (only 2 such road games).

Any rumor of BoiseSt, SDSU, Houston, and SMU going to a western-based conference is not necessarily a bad thing for USF. If there is any truth to this (along with ESPN jumping all over that supposed split of the BBall schools), then what it suggests to me is that the next round of realignment is in the works and that there will be fewer stray schools needing a home once a possible BE-ACC "merger" happens. If six ACC schools leave (2 each to B10/SEC/B12), then that leaves 5 current, plus the 3 coming in. . . plus 3 more BE schools (USF/UC/UConn) for 11. On the outside, you'd have Temple, Memphis, UCF, Tulane, with Navy and ECU for FBall, and it then depends on how big the "new" conference would want to become. ND is currently in for non-FB (but that could easily change), so maybe Navy balances them out for 12 on the FB side. Take your pick from there if you want to go to 14 or 16. Bottom line is that the new BE western full-member schools (Houston/SMU) wouldn't be clouding things up demanding compensation. Plus, as Navy/ECU/Tulane aren't scheduled to enter for at least another year, only Temple/Memphis/UCF would be on the hook for 2013.

The BWW in St. Louis (South County) will have a USF watch party. . . yeah, I'll probably be the only one there, but against Georgia, another USF alumnus just happened to wander in.

Does anyone know how many votes it takes to dissolve the ACC? Right now they would appear to have 11 voting members (not counting Maryland or those coming in). If, say, 8 schools have new potential homes lined up (2 to B10, 4 to B12, 2 to SEC), could a vote of 8-3 dissolve the conference and negate any exit fees those eight members might have to pay?