Conference realignment "Rumors" "tweets" "etc"

[Bull Matrix]

1 hour ago, Triple B said:

That only gives 8 teams a chance ...

16 teams!! Give all D1 conferences auto bid. Give them a chance! Would be great to see a SunBelt team win it all!

[Rocky Style]

 

[TigerJay]

15 hours ago, Who'sYourData? said:

Sorry, I just don't see Memphis getting in.  For years, Memphis was rumored to be a Big East candidate.  The whole FedEx thing came up, and how much FedEx money would pour into the program and the Big East if Memphis was added to the BE.  And the BE passed over Memphis time and again.

Only after the BE implosion was Memphis able to work its way into the AAC, as one of the last choices.  I can't see Memphis jumping over everyone to suddenly be a top choice of the B12.  Though I guess stranger things have happened.

Well it's going to get weird for you. Memphis bid to the Big East was lead by leadership with no vision. Memphis bid to the Big 12 has been led by one of the best AD and President we have had in a while. Rudd has done nothing but worked on improving our school since the mess of a leadership Shirley Raines and RC Johnson. Bowen has helped get our athletic department out of debt along with balancing out basketball and football. This leadership has led us through one of the worse contracts ever made for an unproven coach in Pastner and grabbed the Big 12 Coach of the Year and HOF in Tubby. 

Saying all that they have made big time strides and establishing relationships in the community and getting corporations on board with our bid to the Big 12. FedEx is the biggest one but we have some other heavy hitters that are also involved with this. It's really a team effort by the city. Something you don't see with other cities. Our president is a UT grad and has some relationship throughout that state and has been working this for 18 months. They have put us in a prime position for this moment. 

Also USF is still very much in it because the Big 12 is going to 14. They are still deciding or not telling who 13 and 14 are. 

Hey guys, Memphis fan here. I come in peace. I lurk in this thread a lot, because I'm interested in the same topic you are. But I would like to clear up the misconception about the FedEx/Memphis/Big East thing.

Yes, similar pledges were made by FedEx to the Big East in 2012, when Memphis was invited. In fact, a generic clause mentioning FedEx future efforts was included in the Memphis/Big East contract. Highly unusual. Same thing as now. A promise of sponsorship of the league CCG, and additional sponsorships for both football and basketball. But it never was a contractual obligation in writing.

What happened soon after the invite was that the Big East fell apart. Notre Dame left. UL and Rutgers soon followed. Then the C7 bailed. All before Memphis played a single game.

So, for FedEx, it no longer made business sense to pour that kind of money into what was left of the league. And when it became the "American," that made it an even less wise investment as a sports entity.

It's not like FedEx is ever offering something that doesn't make business sense. Fred Smith would be run out on a rail by his Board of Directors, if that ever happened.

Now we come to this opportunity with the Big 12. Again, it's a pledge, not a contractual obligation in writing. That will come later. Right now, it makes good business sense. FedEx spends tens of millions of dollars yearly on sports marketing of all types, and receives a healthy return.

It also makes sense for FedEx to support a Big 12 effort, b/c it improves both the image of the city and the University of Memphis. This in turn helps FedEx with recruiting, and improving the pool of employee talent attracted to the area.

As for the Liberty Bowl, they have promoted and followed Memphis to every conference Memphis has joined. Same situation with the Big East as FedEx. When the league fell apart, it no longer made business sense to keep a BE/American tie-in. So the LB doubled its payout to replace the BE tie with a Big 12 tie.

Since then, LB execs have also helped with pushing Memphis to the Big 12.

As for how that turns out, nothing is ever 100% until the presser, but from what I hear at Memphis, from people who have knowledge of the negotiations, I think UC and UM are in at 12. Talks have actually been going on since late 2013, and UC and UM have been working in tandem. The issue has always been getting enough votes to expand, much more than who the teams would be.

That's why Boren got frustrated last summer, and starting pushing his expansion/CCG/B12N idea in public. When they started discussing the B12N in earnest, that's when the idea of 14 popped up, late last year. Various teams have been mentioned on and off, but I'm not as certain about that as I am UC and UM. Names we have heard since February include BYU, Boise, UCF and USF. And in the last few days, UConn and Houston have popped up.

Hope all that helps clear up a few things. And no, I don't want to debate the validity of what I've heard. I try to be responsible, and I have kept this private for over 2 years now. But since it is so public, there is no harm in sharing this much. Other Memphis boosters are doing the same.

This is what I have been told, and believe to be true. I'm not getting involved in any sniping contests. Like everything, you are free to agree or disagree.

I wish you guys the best of luck.

 

 

 

[Skingraft]

4, 16 team conferences

Conference champions make up the 4 team playoff...

Just make it happen...

[Shockley3333]

36 minutes ago, Skingraft said:

4, 16 team conferences

Conference champions make up the 4 team playoff...

Just make it happen...

Wouldn't we be left out of that 64 group though?

[namuh-bull]

There was an article a few days ago that even had us left out of his theoretical 80 school P5.  

We will change the national perception of insignificance this year.

 

Go Bulls!

 

 

 

[Who'sYourData?]

8 hours ago, TigerJay said:

Well it's going to get weird for you. Memphis bid to the Big East was lead by leadership with no vision. Memphis bid to the Big 12 has been led by one of the best AD and President we have had in a while. Rudd has done nothing but worked on improving our school since the mess of a leadership Shirley Raines and RC Johnson. Bowen has helped get our athletic department out of debt along with balancing out basketball and football. This leadership has led us through one of the worse contracts ever made for an unproven coach in Pastner and grabbed the Big 12 Coach of the Year and HOF in Tubby. 

Saying all that they have made big time strides and establishing relationships in the community and getting corporations on board with our bid to the Big 12. FedEx is the biggest one but we have some other heavy hitters that are also involved with this. It's really a team effort by the city. Something you don't see with other cities. Our president is a UT grad and has some relationship throughout that state and has been working this for 18 months. They have put us in a prime position for this moment. 

Also USF is still very much in it because the Big 12 is going to 14. They are still deciding or not telling who 13 and 14 are. 

 

 

I appreciate your optimism, but I don't see it.  The guy from Fedex has been pushing Memphis for years and years, and it hasn't worked.  A different president doesn't change that.

[Rizman]

23 hours ago, Bear said:

At this rate, it would be the BE 2.0

Why because it will become a Basketball driven conference based mostly out of the Northeast.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Skingraft said:

4, 16 team conferences

Conference champions make up the 4 team playoff...

Just make it happen...

That actually can never happen because those left out would sue for anti-trust violations.

UNLESS we adopt the Promotion/Relegation model that is used in European football.

Every school has to have a 'path to access' ... technically event a D3 school like Mount Union has to have a path.  And right now they do... there are criteria to move up in the divisions, then once in the FBS there are criteria to get access.  Is it nearly impossible? Sure... but it's still possible.

So you cannot make the playoff ONLY the champions of ONLY four conferences because then you make it completely impossible.

[MMW]

29 minutes ago, Rizman said:

Why because it will become a Basketball driven conference based mostly out of the Northeast.

No,  because it is a league with members who

1. Think they are better than their conference mates.

2. Don't think they are making enough money because of their conference. 

3. Refusing to do what is best for the conference while they look for a better situation. 

On top of that,  they are the smallest of the P5 and is only a matter of time before they implode when their best programs get poached because they refuse to be proactive.