Interesting WVU article on 12th Game w/slap @ USF

[Brad]

12th game not much of a bonus for WVU

Dave Hickman

MORGANTOWN — How much excitement is a game with Eastern Washington going to generate under any circumstances, much less plopped down between Marshall and Maryland?

Then again, would Buffalo have been any different? Probably not.

That whole 12th-game thing is working out really well for West Virginia, isn’t it?

First the school was arm-twisted by the governor to schedule Marshall in that extra spot. OK, so in the long run that will work out just fine because the game really is good for both sides. But you can bet there will long be resentment in Morgantown over being forced into the deal.

If that was the worst thing about the 12th game, though, it would be nothing. The bigger picture is this: With an extra week to play, every mediocre program in the country sees it as an opportunity to cash in. And the BCS schools are, in most cases, happy to oblige.

Why is that a problem? Because West Virginia and most of the rest of the teams in the Big East can’t afford to pay. In essence, that’s what happened with Buffalo. The Bulls were offered a lot more money to play at Auburn and Wisconsin, so both West Virginia and Rutgers were kissed off.

It’s a fact of life, though, so get used to it. It isn’t going to get any better.

The thing is, West Virginia and Pitt are the only schools in the Big East with both the stadium capacity and the interest to draw even 60,000 fans to a home game (South Florida has the capacity but not the interest, Louisville the interest but not the capacity). The Auburns and the Wisconsins of the world (and the Penn States, the Tennessees, the Michigans, the Ohio States; do I really need to continue?) will draw 80,000, 90,000 or even 100,000 and more no matter the opponent. The extra seats translate into extra money. Duh.

But that’s not West Virginia’s only problem. For starters, the Mountaineers have that whole self-sufficiency thing hanging around their necks. That’s an easy one to forget when the football team is playing in BCS bowls and the basketball team is playing deep into the NCAA tournament and selling tickets like mad. But it’s still there, so frugal always has to be the word.

Another thing that puts a crimp in scheduling for West Virginia and Big East teams is the league itself, made up of just eight teams. That’s a two-fold problem in scheduling. First, it means every other year there are just three league home games. Second, every year there are just seven conference games total.

That’s a problem because while other BCS leagues are giving their schools eight conference games, membership in the Big East gets you just seven. So every year there are five non-conference slots to fill, at least three of which have to be home games in order to get to seven. In the years when you play just three Big East home games, four of the five non-conference games have to be at home in order to reach seven.

Why seven home games? Well, it’s a vicious cycle. Teams in those other BCS leagues, the ones with bigger stadiums and four conference home games each year, need only play three of five non-league games at home to get to seven. With 12 games now, sometimes they’ll even play eight at home. That’s even more money to lure more of the Buffalos of the world.

This year, with four Big East home games and three of five non-league games at Mountaineer Field, West Virginia will reach seven home games. Next year the split is six and six, although who is to say next year’s schedule means anything right now? After that it’s a crapshoot because there are still open dates to be filled. Then there’s that bizarre 2009 thing with Marshall (winner of two of the first three games gets home field for the fourth), where the site of the game won’t be known until at least September of 2007, perhaps 2008.

The point is, West Virginia is going to try to avoid scheduling Division I-AA teams as much as possible in the future. No one likes those games and WVU officials know it. Wofford last season and Eastern Washington next were forced on the Mountaineers when Central Florida and Buffalo both backed out of contracts in February. Villanova is on the schedule in 2008, but that was done before any of this happened.

But don’t be surprised if there aren’t many options other than I-AA teams in the future. You can play a couple of non-league games against BCS teams every year, and WVU has those scheduled. But adding any more is counterproductive both competitively and from the standpoint of the home games. You don’t buy home games against BCS schools. You buy them against Buffalo.

The richer schools are going to buy Buffalo every time, though. For any school that can’t afford seven-figure guarantees, Eastern Washington might be all that’s left.

To contact staff writer Dave Hickman, call 348-1734 or send e-mail to dphickman1@aol.com.

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[lotsofbull99]

Sadly, for now it's true, gotta win to change things

[turkeysoup]

Dave Hickman has 20/20 vision.

[Joe]

I don't think it's a slap it's a reality...(however, you need to mention the program has existed for TEN years...name any program drawing 60,000)

I've been saying it for awhile, the 12th game was the WORST thing that could happen to BE football. FIVE games annually is going to hurt schools in the long run no other conference outside of the Sun Belt is going to have to schedule like we will. Other schools know we NEED games and will use this as leverage when it comes to scheduling...

[Brad]

Allow me to clarify, he clearly is correct.  I do not mean a slap that is not well supported...We are going to take these slaps in articles until we build our base.  It ought to motivate Bulls fans to help build the fan base and not just complain.  I'd love us to be the Big East example of how to fill an NFL stadium.  But until everyone associated with the program (fans included) get involved in selling our program we will continue to be looked at in this light.  

[USF03]

No choice but to agree with Bulliever's reasoning.  We need the fan base to grow... thats including season ticket holders for the $$$, and the students for the atmosphere and filling the seats.  Once the program gets the shock they need, we will go big time, and we wont look back.  We had a little one last year, with UofL, but it will take an "no doubt about it" win over a big time team to say we are now big time.  Not to mention not getting beat up at the end... we need to survive the end of the season!  Condition the boys CJL!

[BULLfreak]

It will end up being 13 games if and when the BE expands and has a Conference Championship game. It all comes down to $$$$$ the 12 game makes it and so will a championship game so it wont be long until you see two schools join the Big East...... Maybe Marshall, ECU, Memphis and dare I say those stinkin Tin men just north of us.

I also could see Vandy coming to the big east instead of  UCF.

[BULLfreak]

Allow me to clarify, he clearly is correct.  I do not mean a slap that is not well supported...We are going to take these slaps in articles until we build our base.  It ought to motivate Bulls fans to help build the fan base and not just complain.  I'd love us to be the Big East example of how to fill an NFL stadium.  But until everyone associated with the program (fans included) get involved in selling our program we will continue to be looked at in this light.  

No choice but to agree with Bulliever's reasoning.  We need the fan base to grow... thats including season ticket holders for the $$$, and the students for the atmosphere and filling the seats.  Once the program gets the shock they need, we will go big time, and we wont look back.  We had a little one last year, with UofL, but it will take an "no doubt about it" win over a big time team to say we are now big time.  Not to mention not getting beat up at the end... we need to survive the end of the season!  Condition the boys CJL!

I totally agree with both of you and is part of the reason why I wear something USF every day, other than just BULL pride, I want people to see the U of USF and get to know it. The more we support USF and get their name out there USF will grow and Winning helps too. It’s a joint effort of fans, Alumni, Students, and the University to fill the stadiums both basketball and football.

[WoolyBully]

Slap is a subjective term.

It is a true statement that we have the capacity for 60K but not the interest. That's not to say that it won't change over time, but I don't see us pushing 60K for at least another 10 years.

[BULLfreak]

5 years Max