BaltoBull

Not really getting that happy feeling anymore if what's being tweeted pans out. Big12, etc. killing off ACC to leave only four super conferences to suck up most of the TV revenue. Even if we go to the (new) ACC, as others have already mentioned, we'd still be on the outside looking in and we'd still be making a fraction of the money the Big 4 conferences would make. If we stay in NBE or go to NACC, we're still minor league. And once the Big 4 load up with 16 teams each (or whatever), why would they need to expand again? We're hosed. 

 

Of course these tweets are just from one guy, but in general I don't think the ACC being poached is going to be quite the opportunity we'd hoped for. The ACC is dead man walking, just like the BE.

 

Greg Swaim Show @GSwaim

#BigEast had to go first, and #ACC next, to get down to four. Hoop conferences in a football world, is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

 

Greg Swaim Show @GSwaim

They had to blow up once conference to get to four super conferences, and the #ACC was always the obvious choice.

 

Greg Swaim Show @GSwaim

Of course it makes sense with TV folks having to deal with four major conferences instead of five. It's cheaper.

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.

Merge best of BE (and BE to be) to MWC. Best of the rest conference. Seems like our only option these days unless there is a major shift again.

 

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.

Merge best of BE (and BE to be) to MWC. Best of the rest conference. Seems like our only option these days unless there is a major shift again.

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

SMU,

Houston,

USF,

UCF,

Cincy,

UConn,

Temple,

Memphis 

Tulane

 

Should just separate as our own full member league from the basketball members. Forget about ECU, Navy and Old Dominion (field hockey only member?).  I guess I understand Uconn and Cincy wanting their basketball to stay with the catholic schools, but it would be better if all members were full members.  

 

No, we may not get a lot of money and the competition is a lot weaker than the Big East was, but I think it would be the best we can do with the hand we've been dealt (until Cincy, Uconn or USF leave).

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.

I'm not worried one bit...we will either end up in the MWC until the ACC comes calling after they get wrecked by the other Big Boys or we will be in CUSA 2.0 untill the ACC comes calling after they get wrecked by the other Big Boys. Sounds cocky I know...but we are in Tampa freaking FL not some bum&%$# town in the middle of nowhere. We will find a good home. Just support Willie and the gang, show up to as many football/basketball/olympic sports games as you can and the rest will sort itself out....

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.

BE should disband and have a cooling period

It's a series of rash decisions (Tulane) and pies in the face(sdsu quits).

It's not a league if everyone wants out. . . . It's jail

I wonder if USF will be on a 30 for 30 in ten years as a demolished victim loser in the conference realignment game

 

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!

The arena wasn't full but there was a good crowd. If you've been to any of the USF games this season (outside of the dome opening), you wouldn't be calling out UCF.

The arena was pretty nice, but they needed more concession stands open. All the UCF fans I came across were very respectful. Can't wait to get back there for some more games. I think this is a good series for both schools in all sports.

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.

20 team conference (BE & MW Merger) with two 10 team divisions in all sports:

West

Boise State

Fresno State

San Diego State

Air Force

Nevada

Wyoming

Colorado State

UNLV

New Mexico

Hawaii

East

South Florida

UCF

East Carolina

Memphis

Southern Methodist

Houston

Tulane

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Temple

This is what I would like to see!

Pete Thamel â€@SIPeteThamel

Three sources told me today that Boise's depature from the Big East is inevitable. “I would be shocked if it didn’t happen.â€

Retweeted by Greg Auman

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.

Pete Thamel â€@SIPeteThamel

Three sources told me today that Boise's depature from the Big East is inevitable. “I would be shocked if it didn’t happen.â€

Retweeted by Greg Auman

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

I would prefer to have 12 members who are full members. Everyone should play football and basketball, and most should be playing baseball/softball and soccer. This patchwork stuff is exactly what hurt the Big East in the long run. Have 12 members on equal footing committed to the same thing.

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.

I would prefer to have 12 members who are full members. Everyone should play football and basketball, and most should be playing baseball/softball and soccer. This patchwork stuff is exactly what hurt the Big East in the long run. Have 12 members on equal footing committed to the same thing.

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.

I would prefer to have 12 members who are full members. Everyone should play football and basketball, and most should be playing baseball/softball and soccer. This patchwork stuff is exactly what hurt the Big East in the long run. Have 12 members on equal footing committed to the same thing.

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!

I'm fine with that. What the **** else is there.

BUT if UConn and Cincy use this as some sort of leverage to get in the ACC, god help them because they will have crossed a line with us, with some ACC members, and potentially even US antitrust law.

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

Nothing has gone the way we needed it to go as of yet. We will probably end up having to hit the restart button.

USF

UConn

Cincy

Temple

Houston

SMU

UCF

ECU

Maybe throw in Ohio and UMass. and end up with 2 FL teams, 2 TX teams, 2 OH teams, 2 New England teams, and 1 partridge in a pear tree Carolina school.

I could live with this conference. Many of the schools are near large airports making travel easy.

It would be great if we could start to get the ball rolling on something like this and begin talking about staging our own Championship series with MWC, C-USA and Indys. I don't care what some of you say, after all of this realignment and re-positioning, there is no way in hell the powers that be will let any team outside of the Big 4 (5) anywhere NEAR a large payout bowl, let alone the NCG.

Speaking of the ACC, do not be surprised to see UConn as the next addition to the conference even if they do not lose anyone else. The governor of Conn has called in a favor. There has been speculation that ESPN received a large tax break from the state and is now being told it is time to return the favor. Just like Rockefeller did with WVU and McConnell did with UL. ESPN now sees the ACC as an eventual avenue to Notre Dame. Losing control of the ACC could potentially mean losing Notre Dame to the B1G. Just like every conference, ESPN feels Notre Dame is a big prize.

http://www.landthiev...ll=1#post990713

This would not surprise me in the least.

Balto,

Reports suggest leaving and starting their own conference could face a lot of legal roadblocks.

I'm not doubting you and I thank you for your feedback.

Everything thus far about realignment has been 'fixed' with money. There were supposed to be legal roadblocks pertaining to lots of things. I guess we will see how many roadblocks apply to the Univ. of Maryland going to the B1G.

Forgive me for being pessimistic and skeptical. I just see all of the pieces moving and the fact we are not one of them bothers me immensely.

I do not see the lifeline forthcoming.

ESPN won.

Sorry stupid question. I keep reading this but I'm unclear how ESPN is responsible for all the realignment. Thanks for a simplified understanding.

ESPN loses if these guys join the A-10, they have a contract with NBC...

I'm not so sure it won't be the other way around - A10 teams joining the Big East BB schools. I imagine the BB schools will keep the Big East name and rebuild a metro-based BB league under contract to ESPN. You don't think Bristol would love to have another premier league under contract in addition to the ACC?

I don't like ESPN for what the network has done with respect to realignment and I don't trust them either.

My gut tells me at the end of the day, ESPN will get what it wants and the current Big East schools who haven't been tossed a lifeline are about to be kicked to the curb.