BaltoBull

Really, it's just so sad. The state has the ability to have a far-reaching network of excellent schools and they would rather piss it away over pride then think about the future. If anything, they should be dumping money into USF to establish a third, renowned and prestigious school in a state our size. No one is saying what will happen when UF and FSU do jack-up their rates and fill to capacity. How is Florida supposed to be producing all of these graduates prepared for high-paying jobs if we squeeze the other schools dry and attempt to force all the 'scholars' through two well-connected and well-funded schools? Really, with as easy as they are trying to make it to graduate HS in Florida, you would think they would be gearing up all of the colleges, expecting an influx of these 'scholar' students. If they really believe online bachelor's degrees are the future and the way to bestow the masses with a 'quality' degree earned at the preeminent university of a state that can't get it's priorities straight, eventually, all college graduates in Florida are going to be looked upon poorly. We are being lied to about the goals and intentions of academic reform and all of us are going to pay the price for it.

Just my two cents... I'm sure Syracuse would LOVE to be New York, especially NYC's team, but I suggest NYC's team is Notre Dame. I guess we'll see what the split in the stadium is when they play in the Meadowlands. I don't know, looking at the t-shirt above reminded me of our "Welcome to the Big 4" billboard.

School spirit? Hell, half the state wears Gator shirts or have UF license plates wether they actually went to UF or not. Now, we get to see people who will claim, "I go to UF, I'm a Gator" for taking an online course in "Appreciation of UF Football" or something. JTrue is right, it's all about the money. I will be really curious to see what the graduation rate for this new venture is. I really wonder as well if the courses will be made widely available to HS graduates who didn't graduate with 'scholar' degrees because they could not earn them for academic reasons and taking online courses will be a "great way" to get your foot in the door of a "preeminent university". Also, and this may sound like sour grapes, how many Gator FB and BB players will be earning online degrees and never have to set foot in a classroom? I am sure they will be held to the highest and most honest and academic standards, won't they?

What will happen once all the eggs are in two baskets and as our population continues to swell as Tallahassee keeps promising it will and we only have two schools the state cares about and therefore are funded adequately? How will we accomplish Scott's goal of producing more STEM graduates? Via UF's new online BS degrees? Will Poly get preeminent status? Nevermind, Poly will be given to UF in order to ensure their status. What a f****ing joke this state and it's politics are.

You mean like Boise State? Boise State is in Boise Idaho, one of the smalles states in the country population wise, also with zero recruits locally. If Boise State was in the South East and/or Florida, they would be in either the ACC or Big 12. There's been absolutely no precedent set that winning really big is a solution and "the only way any more" to a seat at the P5 table .... unless you know something we don't ... but we may as well go ahead and do it .... couldn't hurt. So explain Rutgers. They started selling tickets after winning games and even expanded their stadium. Having AAU status helped of course. You think if Rutgers sucked they would be going where they are headed? 'You call what Rutgers did as "winning big", busting the door down? Rutgers is headed where they are primarily because of where they're located ... Since when did Rutgers move? The ONLY difference between Rutgers with an invite and without one is WINNING. They had the longest bowl win streak in the nation the second half of the last decade, had to expand their stadium because attendance wasn't 17k anymore, now its over 50k. Their former HC is now an NFL HC. Rutgers is headed toward a decade with a solid program and I think that played a large role in their invite. If they still were a 1-2 win team, do you really think they get an invite due to location? Really? As is common in here, it's shifted away from the original argument so as to make it easier on one side. Here's the comment that started all this: USF's final hope and only solution is to win big. I mean really big and bust th door down. That's the only way any more. To me, that says the only way we get moved up now is to do such a great job of winning that conferences will want us primarily because of our awesomeness on the field, really big wins, busting the door down type winning. You can babble all you want about Rutgers WINNING but I personally don't see any really big, busting the door type winning from a program that hasn't won a conference outright and never been to, much less won, a BCS bowl. Yep. I don't think there is any way we would win the B12 conference within a reasonable amount of time, either.

I think this will happen ^^^ It just makes sense. Also this has been talked about in the past and it would basically make the top 5 conferences into a minor league NFL. Instead of conferences you would have regional divisions broken up into 2 conferences, with 3-4 divisions each. So instead of a SEC, B1G, PAC, ACC, or BIG12 you would have a National College Football League (NCFL) with two conferences, most likely Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Then within the conferences you would have 3-4 divisions in each conference... they would likely be a North-South-Central type breakup. It has been discussed before... the new NCFL would work like the NFL... it would have a preseason and a post season with a single championship game like the super bowl. All of the schools excluded from this elite new league would be left behind in the smoldering wreck that is the NCAA to pick up the pieces. I would stop watch CFB all together if this happened. I think that may be the pin that bursts the bubble in CFB. If USF is not at the big boys table when all is said and done, I probably wont be much of a CFB fan. I'll still watch USF, but my interest in the Major conferences will become zilch. The major teams are trying to corral so much of the money they might end up excluding too many teams and isolating fans. I was thinking about this on my drive into campus this morning. I do think if it comes to the P5 splitting, they will eventually collapse under their own weight. Texas and ND will still want more revenue and perks than anyone else. The increased costs will eventually trickle down the the fans in the form of higher ticket prices, concessions, etc... Once fans catch on to the fact that the conferences exist solely to prop up the Texas, Alabamas and Ohio States of the world and be expected to travel to bowls that exist solely to create television programming, I think things will change. The more I think about it, the more content we are where we are right now.

You mean like Boise State? +1 Exactly!

It is very unlikely the B12 would be allowed to have a championship game with 10 schools. They want the NCAA to change the rules. If they don't, just another reason for them to want to leave the NCAA with the rest of the Power group. That's what I'm thinking. I don't know, the B12 would be great and all. I know I've done a "what if..." scenario to land us there previously. And certainly, the need for the B12 to add two teams gives a glimmer of hope but, I'm just not feeling it though. Unless the rumors about Fox pressuring the conference to go into FL are true, and for all we know, that might have been contingent only on getting FSU or Miami to 'move the needle'. I'll get excited when something happens, but really, I am for the most part completely content playing like-minded and similar urban-based universities. It might not be the sexiest conference, but given the hand we've been dealt and the fact we've never won a conference, something tells me the AAC is where we should be.

We knew this was coming. UF and FSU are the only two schools that matter in this state. The state is not worried about having a highly-educated population like they do in North Carolina or California to attract high-paying jobs, those in control in Tallahassee just want to take care of their own. This is yet another reason why I believe UF will be given the keys to Poly eventually. Get ready for more budget cuts and valuable programs to be taken away and given to the 'worthy' schools. It's quite sad, really. *Also, don't forget - If I'm not mistaken, UF and FSU were the ones who wrote the criteria. Believe they are written in such a way as to not allow other state schools to meet their lofty status.

Has there been any more word on wether or not the B12 would be allowed to continue having a championship game with 10? I imagine this might have something to do with what the B12 does as well, right?

Personally, I am not sold on USF getting an invite to the B12 - and I understand the whole Florida thing. But, who says both USF and UCF would go? I could easily see a scenario where one of the Florida directionals gets the nod and Cincy. If I'm the B12, then I have gained market presence and recruiting trips to Florida and Ohio/Kentucky, right?

Being from Crofton, I will definitely fly home to be at this game!

According to Athlon Sports: http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-top-10-head-coaches-rise I hope he is.

Fun if you have no hopes for a conference championship trophy. I hope that was a joke. You're an idiot if you think our current situation would be better than bolting to the Big 12 or ACC. A conference championship trophy doesn't mean anything when nobody gives a **** about the garbage conference you play in. Tell that to WVU. Or Rutgers. Or Pitt. Or Louisville. Or even Syracuse who shared the Big East football championship last season. Or are you saying that the Big East hasn't been garbage since 2005? Cincy and UConn, acknowledged by many as the two most desirable left of the recent Big East members, have also won the conference championship. Who is last on the list? Last of the entire Big East of the 2005 membership? The same school that hasn't won even a share of the championship. Not to mention the schools like Boise St that the Big East was attempting have join the conference or which Sun Belt teams are moving up. Championships DO seem to increase the chance of upward mobility in a lot of cases, regardless if its a garbage conference. If conference championships increase upward movement, it adds only an infinitesimal chance, and mostly moving from one "garbage" conference to another ... 5 of the 8 Big East members from 2005 went to garbage conferences? The first of those 5 to leave wasn't the one with the huge TV market or top notch academics, it was the one that dominated the conference. 2 of the 3 left are on the top of the lists to leave next. All 7 won all or part of the Big East Championship since 2005. The one not on anyone's list didn't win a championship. Yep.

You and me both.

Thanks for sharing the post above, Mission9!

Yes. This has been the plan ALL ALONG.

Excellent!

Other than Louisville, CIncy and UCF, I personally don't see a lot we share in common with those schools. I know it might not matter in the scheme of things, but I really am starting to like where we're at. That's just my opinion though.

The war flamingo is completely dead. TSA will not allow them into the stadium because "they are projectiles." That is the dumbest rationale. I liked the idea of the War Flamingo. That being said, some of you will hate it, but it might be time to come up with a USF/UCF trophy for the (now) annual game. I think that would be if anything, at least, a start.

That's what I think if Houston and Cincy are supposedly on deck. Miami to claim carriage for cable in Florida and Houston to expand carriage for cable in Texas or Cincy in Ohio. It's not a totally fair comparison, but the SEC has only one in Texas and Florida. I think it kinda makes sense for the ACC to allow Miami to remain on it's own and chase new, untapped markets for the ACC brand (and potential network?). But, if USF has a shot in hell, we really need both FSU and Miami to leave in order for the ACC to need a replacement school in Florida.

Brett McMurphy â€@McMurphyESPN If 2 teams from UConn, Cincy, Temple & UH leave; or 1 of those & 1 of remaining teams, new TV deal for former Big East can be terminated So it appears USF is not as valuable to ESPN as UConn, Cincy,Temple, or Houston. That could be why USF hasn't received an invite to join the big-boy conferences. Willie needs to get rid of the bus, and learn to pilot a jet! They picked group A because they were the ones most likely to go to the ACC, at least in the case of Cincy and UConn, per McMurphy. So its the other way around, USF isn't in group A because insider talk doesn't have them going anywhere. Yep. I admit, this is worse than what I was originally thinking - I was holding out for a shot at a truncated ACC. With the aforementioned contingency plan for ESPN in place however, if we ever made it to the Atlantic Coast Conference, it would be, for the most part the same conference we are in now with a new name. If it is indeed these four teams before us, it's over. Here are my thoughts. Feel free to rip apart and explain why my logic doesn't make sense. UCONN and Cincy make sense. Decent markets with no exposure, a flagship school and better basketball than what the rest of us have to offer - except Temple, or maybe...Memphis. Temple makes sense I guess for the basketball and (elite academics)? Maybe also, the ACC knows it can't win the football arms race and isn't trying to compete with the B10 and SEC in football, maybe they are trying to compete with the C7 and everyone else in basketball. Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Louisville - not bad. They've got ESPN watching their backs for the most part and must know as long as they remain a conference, they won't be ignored or downplayed by the WWL. Which leads to FSU potentially running for the exit. Who else then? Right now, I'm thinking Clemson, VT and someone else? UH makes some sense if the tea leaves are saying only FSU might be leaving the ACC - leaving Miami. Maybe then the ACC would be satisfied with only one team and market in South Florida* and then would covet a team, exposure and carriage fees in Texas? Houston sure as hell isn't leaving this conference for the B12 or B10. By the looks of it, we are a mid-major program for life. I just hope to hell the administration has a plan in place to make this down-shift as easy as a transition as possible. Again, let me know where I am missing the mark on this. Thanks!

Help me understand "adjusted to a level for success in the Sports Field". Is this just a euphemism for 'dumb jock classes'? Not at all..I had a foreign language requirement for graduation... Engineers take different math courses compared to Business majors... The entrance requirements should be realistic... If a student athelete wants to specialize in sport medicine then he would be required to take...medical doctor type of courses with pre-requirements met. If he want's to specialize in finance/salaries...then Business requirements would be more realistic... Similar to a Chemical Engineer, Civil Engineer or Electrical Engineer. Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying. I'm on board as long as your plans do not make USF eager to make concessions and 'exemptions' for student athletes given the position we are in and will likely find ourselves being. I really hope USF takes the opportunity given it by the conference realignment to raise it's standards and emphasize academics. I've mentioned it previously, I'd rather be Tulane than Southern Miss or ECU.

Help me understand "adjusted to a level for success in the Sports Field". Is this just a euphemism for 'dumb jock classes'?

Aren't USF's student athletic fees like, amongst the highest in the nation? In the top 10, right? Will the debt secured with future increases in student athletic fees be worth it if we ultimately don't land in a 'power' conference? What will everyone be saying about Doug Wollard, about the administration and about athletics in general if we continue to pay higher fees than most, including 'power' schools, are we are where we are in a non-power conference, respectively and without an OCS? I'm not trying to be difficult, I guess I'm just playing a little more conservatively.