Big East needs to expand...

[Bova Fett]

Well i don't know about y'all but I sure would like to see the Big East expand to a 10 or 12 team Conference, which would involve a Conference Championship Game.

What do you guys think  ???

[Economics_Nerd82]

Aren't there 5 or 6 threads already about this?

[SANJAY]

The problem with expansion (leaving aside the football/nonfootball issues already existing) is money.  We need 4 teams to get a conference championship.  Now the 4 most likely schools are some combination of UCF, USM, ECU, Memphis and Marshall.  None of those schools are going to increase the overall revenue to the conference, yet will be entitled to an equal share of revenues. If the conference revenues this year were $30million, divided by 8 is $3.75million a school.  Add 4 new members with no new revenue now each school gets $2.5million.  No way does that happen.  Also, a conference championship game would not come up with enough revenue to make up that difference.  Anyone dying to see a UConn/ECU championship game?

Any expansion, even by one school, has to be someone who long term will bring in more revenue and increase payouts.

[Economics_Nerd82]

Couldn't we entice a current BCS school to move over here? Do we need Notre Dame? Get rid of them and draw another BCS school over... sheesh, I mean, how HARD can that be to do.

[SANJAY]

Couldn't we entice a current BCS school to move over here? Do we need Notre Dame? Get rid of them and draw another BCS school over... sheesh, I mean, how HARD can that be to do.

Leaving aside Notre Dame, there has been some speculation about Maryland or Penn State.  However, both of those schools receive significantly higher payouts from their conferences than they would if they joined the Big East.  The Big East ha sthe lowest revenue of the BCS conferences, so why would any existing BCS team join?  Notre Dame would be the most obvious choice, but they won't do it. 

If the league were to expand, a big if at this point, it could be a school that does what Louisville did pre-shakeup which is spend significant money and upgrade teams in all sports especially football.  The team to the east of us is acting as if another shakeup is inevitable and are positioning themselves to be chosen next time.  ECU is also spending money to upgrade.

[SoFlaEer]

The problem with expansion (leaving aside the football/nonfootball issues already existing) is money.  We need 4 teams to get a conference championship.  Now the 4 most likely schools are some combination of UCF, USM, ECU, Memphis and Marshall.  None of those schools are going to increase the overall revenue to the conference, yet will be entitled to an equal share of revenues. If the conference revenues this year were $30million, divided by 8 is $3.75million a school.  Add 4 new members with no new revenue now each school gets $2.5million.  No way does that happen.  Also, a conference championship game would not come up with enough revenue to make up that difference.  Anyone dying to see a UConn/ECU championship game?

Any expansion, even by one school, has to be someone who long term will bring in more revenue and increase payouts.

good analysis sanjay - this is the point i always bring up when these fantasy expansion discussions come up and teams like memphis, marshall, ecu, etc are mentioned as candidates.  aint gonna happen.

if anything, the conference will fracture between the football and non-football schools, if there was a possibility of getting a penn state and or maryland to join for a "new" all-sports conference, but this is unlikely in the forseeable future as well because the Big East has an auto BB tournament bid, and there would be a huge legal fight over which group gets to keep the Big East name (and tv contracts etc),  the spin off conference that is not called the Big East would not have an auto bid for a couple years at least (i forget the specifics of the rule) and the new all-sports group conference would in all likelihood not have an auto BCS bid either without adding a psu or miami back into the mix (unless it is successful in retaining the Big East conference title etc).

[Jihme]

would FAU be an option?

[Bova Fett]

Yeah I know its a long way away from becoming a reality, if it becomes one at all, but figured with the College season in the books, and my Dolphins sucking this sadly is all that is left for me.

Yeah I tried to skim over the NCAA and could not come up with many teams that would bring in a huge amount of revenue either, and understand the whole sharing thing and how it works.

But you also need to factor in that the Big East is the smallest of the BCS Conferences; if we add 3 more teams (brings the Conference to 10 teams), then we would be making a bit more then we were before, but even if Notre Dame were to join by itself we still would not be able to leap frog the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, or PAC 10.

In my opinion the Big East should tell Notre Dame to either crap or get off the pot and join as a football school or get out. They are not known for Basketball, Baseball, or Water Polo they are known for football and in their current capacity they are less then worthless to the Conference.

Besides Notre Dame, I think the Big East should look at the following teams:

1.) Marshall

2.) UCF

3.) ECU

4.) Southern Miss

5.) Florida Atlantic

6.) Tulane

7.) Troy

Unfortunately this appears to be it, I don't see the Big East being able to steal Maryland, or any other team from another BCS Conference until we add more teams to the mix. Like you said it is based on revenue and until we have it the Maryland's will not bite.

[SANJAY]

Another issue, outside revenue, is perception.  Adding 4 weak teams would create the perception (rightfully or not) that the Big East was CUSA on steroids.  That is why I said that if a non-BCS team started doing what Louisville did prior to the Big East then that team could potentially be a choice.  I can't see 4 teams making that type of noise.

[Bova Fett]

Another issue, outside revenue, is perception.  Adding 4 weak teams would create the perception (rightfully or not) that the Big East was CUSA on steroids.  That is why I said that if a non-BCS team started doing what Louisville did prior to the Big East then that team could potentially be a choice.  I can't see 4 teams making that type of noise.

True, however I don't see how ECU or Marshall would lower the perception of the Big East. ECU has beaten big name programs, including the Canes when they were title contenders back in the 1990's, now they have not done crap really since then but have not really fallen apart either. Then you have Marshall which is well, Marshall, they have a aura around them that makes them immune from looking bad no matter how bad they really are.

Now I will agree with you about UCF, Southern Miss, Memphis, etc. which still need to grow and pull a "Louisville" as you put it, but Marshall and ECU would be good additions to the Conference; especially Marshall since WV is their main rival.

We should not add a bunch of teams just to add them, but still need to contemplate expansion if we hope to remain in the BCS and contend down the road with the bigger Conferences in the NCAA.