BaltoBull

Note - there are other poster's comments and opinions though out this post. I got on a roll and didn't realize how much I was saying what has already been said. My apologies. Because ultimately, ESPN and the other networks have too much money invested in broadcasting these games and need to ensure 'brands' win the championship and 'brands' play in the big games. In the minds of the media and the public, the 'pecking order' has been established and is not changing anytime soon. Far fewer people want to see USF win than Texas - this would especially be the case if we were in the B12. In the last ten years, Oklahoma has won the B12 5 times, Texas twice, Kansas State twice and Oklahoma State once.Those teams represent less than 1/2 of the conference. Given their budgets, facilities, fan bases, etc...do you really believe The University of South Florida is going to waltz into the B12 and win the conference any time soon? The B12's interest in FSU is taking a team that 'moves the needle' in regards to revenue; the Noles are a team that belongs in the 'elite' category given their championships, fan base, brand recognition and merchandise sales. They are a team that will be regarded and treated as an 'equal'. If the B12 were ever 'forced' to add USF, the priorities would change somewhat and I think the Bulls would just be thought of as an afterthought, a doormat, a way to expand the conference's footprint for television and as a way to gain access to Florida recruits. As Bull94 said, we would be lumped in with Kansas and Iowa State. As a fanbase, is this what we really want? Furthermore, if you thought it was difficult trying to keep local talent from going to conference foes like Louisville, Rutgers and West Virginia; wait until they see Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State's fan bases, stadiums and facilities - not to mention K State's. Let me add this, Texas and Oklahoma's budgets far exceed the rest of their conferences budgets. Michigan and Ohio State's budgets dominate the B10. Alabama and Florida's budgets are in the top 3 of the SEC's 12 teams. Oregon and USC are the top spenders of the PAC. When WVA was winning the Big East? Top budget. Louisville before they left for the ACC? Top budget. Money wins championships. So what if we were to make more money in a 'big 4' conference? We will ALWAYS be behind - especially in a scheme like the B12's where Texas makes more than anyones else. I believe USF got to taste the big time and have a chance to prove itself. It didn't happen. How many MILLIONS of dollars have we spent building this program without a championship (in the Big East, no less) to show for it, let alone our own stadium? It's time for us to get off the treadmill, stop burning money and time for us to reevaluate where we belong. This is a great opportunity to readjust our priorities and find a place where we can play and be competitive. I'm sorry fans who want to thump their chest with Gators and Noles and say, "Yeah, we're in the same club, too". - We're not and we're not going to be.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. The only time D-III/D-II/FCS gets television time is playoffs. Because Lenoir-Rhyne v Wingate is not gonna draw what an Ole Miss v Clemson game would draw. Winning cures dang near everything, but I think we're gonna be seeing the football world from the back seat for a long, long, very long time. why do people care so much about how much money their program is bringing in. I'd rather be d-1aa and play for championships then to be on the bottom of the totem pole at a higher level. This is EXACTLY what I am saying. At this point, I don't understand the desire to go running to another conference if all it means is we get to have shinier facilities. Sure, say we get the invite to the ACC. It won't matter. The perception will always be we are new blood and not one of the 'elites'. "Oh, cool - USF is in the ACC." "Well, UF is in the SEC and FSU is in the B12 (or the B10)." "We're the 'elite' conferences, y'know?" When all is said and done, how many contract bowls do you think the NACC/NBE hybrid will be playing in? "That's neat, you guys won the NACC/NBE Championship. Here's an access bowl spot against one of our #6 ranked teams on a Wednesday." "You guys couldn't win in OUR conferences." I just think the notion that we are ever going to have a seat at the big boy table is fallacy and will lead USF to more disappointment. What does winning mean when ESPN and the powers that be are against you? You can make an argument either way for Boise State and all the success they've had, but I think they are still on the outside looking in.

I'm not trying to be called stupid or anything with this post, I'm just trying to think outside of the box and share what I've been thinking as of late. This is amalgam of other's ideas in addition to some of my own. It is a radical departure from the status quo, but in light of the NCAA's repeated favoritism & ineptitude and the further consolidation of 'power' and access - Seriously, why wouldn't the Gang of Five form a coalition, blow-up everything, separate from the NCAA and form it's own league? My thoughts associated with this idea: - We wouldn't have to be "The Gang of Five". We wouldn't have to be the 'poor step-children' of the collegiate sporting establishment. We could be our own thing, setting our own destiny. - Realize our attendance and ratings are not on par with the 'power' conferences. Set expectations accordingly and go from there. - It would be a lot like the NFL. Everything has to have as much parity as possible. Remember, this is about 'student-athletes' - we could have the chance to set a new standard for competition and conduct - beat the NCAA at their own game. No more Texas budget vs. Iowa budget. This is a really out-of-left field idea, but put a "cap" on booster donations. Anything above the cap goes to a general conference fund and then is dispersed equally. As the league becomes more successful, the 'cap' can be raised. - Or, allow the schools to bank the excess money from boosters and put a limit on how much can be spent on facilities per five year cycle, adjusting for market where the construction is taking place. I don't know. There has to be someway to prevent the sizable gaps between certain schools. - I'm not sure what to do about schools that already have inherent advantages (stadiums and facilities) like say, Houston's new stadium vs. say, Southern Miss. - It would be a lot like the Aresco plan, but on steroids. Where Aresco failed before, by spreading himself to thin, this will be avoided by the sheer number of schools and not competing with other 'bests of the rest'. Everyone is under the same umbrella with the same mission. - Basically, in addition to markets, the teams that show the most commitment to athletics (attendance & budget averaged over the last 5 yrs.) from the four best remaining conferences: Big East, C-USA, MAC, MWC would become the teams of this true "SUPER CONFERENCE". If the ACC does implode, those teams, along with Army & Navy can be incorporated into the model as well. This isn't so much about potential (sorry, USA and Georgia State) as much as forming the best we can with what we have available. - Yes, this means you will be playing with some schools that you think are 'inferior'. But this about safety in numbers, creating a level playing field and perhaps most importantly, playing in a competitive conference with similar schools. - 10 teams per conference division. Play everyone round-robin and two out of division. Stop worrying about 'pay day' games; as has been stated elsewhere before, when the 'super conferences' finally form, there won't be room on 'elite' schools schedule anyways. If they want to hurt their chances to play in a post-season game, let them kill their ranking by playing a Sun Belt team. - Give an ultimatum to Cincy and UConn, "You are either in or out". Seeing the number of teams signing up, they may have no choice other than to "downgrade' and wait for their call up or go independent. Boise, would no longer have their advantageous contract. If the other schools in the MWC who are having second thoughts see a 'reset' button, I don't think they will hesitate to disband and start over. - Unfortunately, some teams will be 'left behind'. If there is one thing the expansion process has taught us, this is business. Right now, it's about survival and creating something from the ashes of realignment. - Some teams would have to be reassigned and shuffled around to make divisions competitive and somewhat geographically minded to allow for reasonable travel costs and rivalries to develop. - Pitch to the networks a HUGE inventory of non-stop games on Saturday. Again, just like Aresco's plan, only much bigger. - Forget the bowls. We are going to be locked out of them eventually. ESPN owns a bunch of them and wont want a team not associated with them to play in those games. The other, 'marquee' bowls are beauty contests and with the 'selection committee' will never give a team outside of the 'power' conferences a sniff, under ANY circumstances. To them, it's about 'brands', 'tradition' and protecting their own. - We'll have our own playoffs and championships. This is where is gets hairy. How much would it be worth? Would the contract be enough to split amongst all the teams equally? Like I said, costs can be reduced by forming tight, geographic conferences. But that might give the southern schools too much of an advantage. I don't think I have all the answers, but I have long favored starting-over from scratch and getting out of the shadow of the 'big boys'. I have no problem accepting where we are in the hierarchy of college sports and making the best of it. I also realize the likelihood of something like this happening are next to none.

Less likely to be challenged in court? I think it is much more likely to be challenged in court. With the previous split there were some logical (if self-serving) delimiters. Here they are just saying "Buh Bye". They are clearly freezing out competition. That is generally frowned upon in our open market society. I know the general feeling is that un-invited schools are left out, but they won't be left out any more than a FAU is being frozen out of the NCAA basketball tournament. For the next round of bowl games, the "best of the rest" gets an invitation to one of the existing BCS bowls. Win and you are in - yes you may have to run the table and get some help from others to make the NC game, but again its no different than a lower-level DI schools needing to win its conference tournament to get into the dance. This is why we need to come to the realization of what we are for right now. That doesn't mean that the university should be happy with it, or not be working on a long-term plan so that it can join one of the Big 4/5 conferences. There are several schools out there that have blazed a path to success, and we certainly have the resources to do it. It all boils down to our ability to execute on that plan going forward. Until they change the rules again. Exactly, we should take every advantage of the opportunity to play in a marquee bowl while we can, but eventually it will not make economic sense for the networks or the bowls themselves to "have to take a 'Gang of Five' school when there can be a way to take one of at least 64 'Power 4' schools, if that is indeed the endgame we are bracing for.

Yep. This is what I've been thinking for a while. The 'haves' are locking the door and throwing away the key. Sooner or later, the slot for the access bowl is going to disappear. The argument will be made something along the lines of, "Does Major League Baseball allow the best minor league team to play in their playoffs for a chance at the World Series?". Furthermore, as has already been established, once these conferences go to 16, (personally, I don't see the 'super conferences going to 20) how is anyone supposed to earn a quality win against a "Big 4" team if there is no room on their schedule to play the 'little guys'? The playoff selection committee won't be looking kindly at 'cream puffs' on the schedule and television won't be thrilled about having to air 'non-marquee' games that they paid handsomely for. Once the dust settles and the separation is complete, it will be time for the 'have nots' to sit down figure out a way to have their own playoffs and their own championship within their own 'league'. Those left behind (most of them know who they are already) really should be thinking long-term, going to the table, redrawing the lines and determining how to split the remaining teams amongst the NBE/NACC, MWC, MAC, CUSA, etc...into tight-knit, regional, similarly minded and worthwhile conferences. Some of you may not like it, but ultimately, this is what I think makes the most sense. We need to be playing Tulane and ECU. We can't continue to keep insisting we're better than everyone else if we've never won anything and we're being left behind anyways. I'm not going to go into which teams should be where, but I think we need to think about schools that are close by. We need to encourage road trips to fill stadiums and we need to play schools we can fuel rivalries with. A lot of you are going to see this as a step down, but realistically, we need to be thinking about survival and being proactive - imagine what must be going through the minds of those possibly left behind in the ACC. If this comes to fruition and we do this right, we have the chance to be an anchor and premier school of something new. Just my two cents.

Yep. Or have the two conferences host a Championship Game between the two. And what will that accomplish? You're right - it might not accomplish much. But, I've thought about it and let me propose to you this... We need to accept where we are and do something like this, the highest-ranked Gang of Five team gets the 1 slot in the six marquee bowls. What I am suggesting is this - the NBE and MWC enter into an agreement and contract a bowl and the #1 and number #2 from our conferences on years one of gets the slot. In the case that we don't, #1 plays #1. To me, it is demeaning and makes no sense to have our #1 (or #2) go against the ACC's #5 or SEC's #7. I think it is an interesting idea and gives an incentive to the teams not chosen for the single marquee bowl slot. The other NBE and MWC teams that don't make the "Championship" game can then be selected and play in other bowls. I understand mine is not a popular opinion though.

Yep. Or have the two conferences host a Championship Game between the two.

Sorry to be all doom and gloom, but here is an article form USA Today stating SEC teams revenue could increase 50% to $34 million a piece in 2014-2015. Guys, it doesn't matter where we go or what we do, we will NEVER compete with this. Facilities? Ability to retain coaches getting calls from big-time teams? Please. Just wait until what the B10 will get once they are potentially done expanding. I do not buy the logic USF will get an invite to the B12. Eventually, either the B10 or B12 will take FSU. Then, I truly believe the conference that doesn't land the Noles will take Miami for their academics and 'brand'. There is simply no way with the impending gap we will EVER get close to a playoff or the National Championship Game. There will be simply too much money invested in the power conferences and their contracts to allow someone other than a 'brand name' to win it all (this is the case now, really). As I said earlier, I believe the advantage of getting into a truncated ACC will not be that great when ESPN revokes the contract and draws up a new one, offering to pay 'what the market dictates' - likely more than what the NBE will be making (wherever we land) but NOWHERE close to what the other conferences will be making. I wish the NBE and the MWC would just figure out a way to form their own league with conference championships and then a game against each other's champions. Yes, it is admitting defeat, but I believe it is the only way we will be able to be competitive and at least, win SOMETHING. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2013/01/16/sec-conference-money-increases/1836389/

Can't imagine they'll uninvite ECU, but in concept I agree that the Big East should be almost exclusively if not entirely a full membership league. Does anyone know why Navy won't consider (apparently) putting its other sports, including basketball, in the Big East? If competition was the concern, the departure of the 7 Catholic schools should alleviate that concern somewhat. Or is it that their RPI is too low and the Big East won't consider it? I guess my question is why is it that Navy is ONLY considered as a football-only add? Ya, well what I am saying, let all of these members leave the Big East, then the invite is void. USF, Cincy and Uconn could vote to disband the leage and form their own league with the other schools. Then the old invites are void because the league no longer exists. It would be a new conference and all members would be full members. I think it is the best decision for those involved. Yep. I totally agree.

Yeah, but what's it going to mean to be in the ACC after it's been gutted? Then, once the ACC is cherry-picked, everyone will talk about the "Power 4" conferences, since naturally, they will be comprised of the "best" teams. You're kidding yourself if you think the ACC will be a step-up by the time we are invited. Just watch, bowl contracts will be renegotiated. ESPN will terminate the contract citing the loss of too many members and the radical reformation of the conference. The mantra will be, "Well, the B10 (or SEC, B12, PAC) now has 16 teams, and fans of their number 8 team will travel better and get a better audience than anyone in the "New" ACC." And don't forget about the playoff selection committee - no "NEW ACC" team will ever be considered, because now, the "Power 4" conferences will be SO MUCH BETTER, have SO MANY TEAMS, SO MUCH TALENT and SO MUCH COMPETITION, of course, only their schedules would be worthy to be selected for the playoffs. It will be the same song, different tune.

The big losers in realignment are USF, Cincy, and UConn. All of which meant nothing in college football 10 years ago. Yep, and these moves made by the 'power' conferences amount to nothing more than keeping the status quo and making sure no one else crashes the party.

I just don't see what's in it for Cincy and UConn to take us along for the ride. I mean, what would happen, we'd go out to the MWC, Cincy and UConn get the calls up and we are on an island by ourselves on the east coast? Who would our closest conference foe be in that scenario? Potentially Houston? Granted they are closer than UCONN or Cincy, but still... Oh, and nevermind. I had not seen what someone responded to his tweet, UConn has already shot the idea down. Sorry to waste everyone's time. Mods, delete this if you'd like.

I know we have to take everything he says with a grain of salt, but this is interesting...UConn and Cincy don't want to leave us behind? https://mobile.twitter.com/MHver3/status/291335000555667456?p=v

I just wonder how long it will be before we hear about Weiner getting a 'dream job' at a Big 3 school. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but maybe some boosters from other schools saw what we were trying to accomplish with the hiring of Weiner and put the kibosh on it by telling him to stay put and wait for an opportunity coming soon. Maybe the other schools didn't want to risk ANY high-caliber player coming to USF, thus giving us any sort of momentum or notoriety. I feel like the cards are so stacked against us sometimes.

Yikes! Yeah, Greg should look to take action against these guys!

Yeah, I was sitting in the first level behind the basket surrounded by UCF fans with my 6 yr. old and we didn't have a single issue. I have to give the Knight fans credit - they were cool.

My son and I will be there.

This is what I would like to see!

If this is the case NBE has to worry about MWC keeping Boise, SDSU and then making a run at BYU, SMU, Houston, and Tulsa. That would make the most sense. The MWC will be the 'best of the rest' of the west and the NBE will be the "best of the rest" of the east. Each conference can have their own semi-finals and then both champions can play one another for a title. The winner of that game can then go on to be a representative in a prestige bowl if possible? I don't know. To me, a national all-sports conference does not make sense.

Regional conference of the 'leftovers', here we come!

Exactly. Have a West-Coast and an East Coast all-sports conference playing each other exclusively with occasional cross-over games under one banner if you need to, but the new conference needs to be all-sports! Add an NFL-like playoff system within the conference for football and you got yourself a smashing hit. Yeah, now that you mention it, that's pretty much it. I really do believe this is the best way to go. Call me a pessimist, but I do not see ANY scenario that any team from the NBE gets to the NCG. I would rather do our own thing and have our own championship. Well, under the new BCS rules, if they finish in the Top 4 in the nation, they will get a spot in the BCS 4-team playoffs. That's not entirely accurate. It's not how you finish in some poll, it's whether a committee picks you as one of the 4 playoff teams ... At least, that's the way I understood it when it first came out. Exactly.

Exactly. Have a West-Coast and an East Coast all-sports conference playing each other exclusively with occasional cross-over games under one banner if you need to, but the new conference needs to be all-sports! Add an NFL-like playoff system within the conference for football and you got yourself a smashing hit. Yeah, now that you mention it, that's pretty much it. I really do believe this is the best way to go. Call me a pessimist, but I do not see ANY scenario that any team from the NBE gets to the NCG. I would rather do our own thing and have our own championship.

Exactly. Have a West-Coast and an East Coast all-sports conference playing each other exclusively with occasional cross-over games under one banner if you need to, but the new conference needs to be all-sports!

You know that's what they are trying to do, "Sign us up (to the ACC) now or we're going to sign a GOR with a new league and we might not be available when you come calling." The question is wether the ACC will bite or leave the Cats and Huskies hanging on the vine.

Picked up a new gig kinda quick. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/bruce-feldman/21393242/holtz-offered-la-tech-job