Marshall AD talks about Big East expansion

[TyBull]

Marshall AD expects the Big East to expand to 12 in football

http://wvgazette.com/Sports/Marshall/200806150380

By Doug Smock

Staff writer

As you may have seen Sunday, I had a lengthy chat with Bob Marcum, Marshall's athletic director, and you haven't seen all the topics discussed just yet.

We touched briefly on Conference USA expansion, which you shouldn't hold your breath over. I have heard East Carolina would love to expand the league's eastern wing to set the table for a future breakaway, and such an idea isn't without merit. Won't happen anytime soon, but keep the thought tucked away.

Of course, ECU would love for an angel to fall out of the sky toting a Big East invitation. So would Central Florida, Memphis and even Marshall, as you probably know.

Marcum has long predicted another realignment. In our conversation last week, he said he still sees the day the Big East expands to 12 teams in football.

As well as he reads the tea leaves in collegiate sports, I have to bet against this one. Somehow, someway, the Big East has emerged as the winner in the 2005 realignment earthquake - and shoot, it may not be close.

To me, the numbers have held the key. The 16-team league has not been too unwieldy, and I don't think it will split. Why not? I figure any breakaway faction would lose TV money and prestige, the reverse of what happened when the Mountain West schools left the Western Athletic Conference.

The eight-team football league has been an asset, not a liability. While I keep hearing that 12 is the magic number, I think Big East schools have figured out that, numerically, they have the best shot to land in a BCS bowl. I know one school has figured that out, at least.

Here's what I could see in the next five to 10 years: DePaul or a similar basketball school decides to quit banging its head against the Big East wall and finds a safer neighborhood. Then Mike Tranghese's successor lobs a speed-dial call to the 901 area code. The next thing you know, John Calipari, Rick Pitino and Bob Huggins are reunited in conference play.

That would give the Big East nine in football, which I believe is the perfect number. And basketball would be even more of a hoot with Memphis among its 16. And Conference USA basketball tournaments would become interesting again.

[SRQ]

Marshall AD expects the Big East to expand to 12 in football

http://wvgazette.com/Sports/Marshall/200806150380

By Doug Smock

Staff writer

As you may have seen Sunday, I had a lengthy chat with Bob Marcum, Marshall's athletic director, and you haven't seen all the topics discussed just yet.

We touched briefly on Conference USA expansion, which you shouldn't hold your breath over. I have heard East Carolina would love to expand the league's eastern wing to set the table for a future breakaway, and such an idea isn't without merit. Won't happen anytime soon, but keep the thought tucked away.

Of course, ECU would love for an angel to fall out of the sky toting a Big East invitation. So would Central Florida, Memphis and even Marshall, as you probably know.

Marcum has long predicted another realignment. In our conversation last week, he said he still sees the day the Big East expands to 12 teams in football.

As well as he reads the tea leaves in collegiate sports, I have to bet against this one. Somehow, someway, the Big East has emerged as the winner in the 2005 realignment earthquake - and shoot, it may not be close.

To me, the numbers have held the key. The 16-team league has not been too unwieldy, and I don't think it will split. Why not? I figure any breakaway faction would lose TV money and prestige, the reverse of what happened when the Mountain West schools left the Western Athletic Conference.

The eight-team football league has been an asset, not a liability. While I keep hearing that 12 is the magic number, I think Big East schools have figured out that, numerically, they have the best shot to land in a BCS bowl. I know one school has figured that out, at least.

Here's what I could see in the next five to 10 years: DePaul or a similar basketball school decides to quit banging its head against the Big East wall and finds a safer neighborhood. Then Mike Tranghese's successor lobs a speed-dial call to the 901 area code. The next thing you know, John Calipari, Rick Pitino and Bob Huggins are reunited in conference play.

That would give the Big East nine in football, which I believe is the perfect number. And basketball would be even more of a hoot with Memphis among its 16. And Conference USA basketball tournaments would become interesting again.

I think the key paragraph is the one right before the ones you bolded.  The best path to a BCS championship game is in the BE.  Sweep 7 and you're in with a clean OOC slate.

[Bull Martin]

It's funny how ECU and UCF keep talking about the BEast, but Memphis is the only team that brings something to the table.  UCF and ECU are still 2nd and 3rd in a line that may never move.

[80mins]

This article touched on something most of the dreamers never have--one of the basketball schools LEAVING. There's no way we go to 17 in basketball, and no way we invite someone in for football only, so until we lose a b-ball school, we've got what we've got.

[SANJAY]

This also assumes that the basketball schools would agree to expand in such a fashion so that the basketball-nonbasketball ratio was anything other than 1:1.  Prior history says that will not happen.

[80mins]

This also assumes that the basketball schools would agree to expand in such a fashion so that the basketball-nonbasketball ratio was anything other than 1:1.  Prior history says that will not happen.

I wonder if this would play as much as a factor though? I feel in our conference there are the clear basketball schools (those that do not field DI-A football) but there are then also the schools that do field football, but are still basketball schools. Syracuse (which was a charter member) and UConn (though perhaps less so after this past year) come to mind. I think Memphis would be one of the latter types that perhaps the b-ball schools could live with.

[Jamie]

It's like, if they keep talking about the Big East expanding, maybe it will happen. I mean I keep talking about getting $100 million tax-free and having Scarlett Johansson as a mistress, but that won't work.

[Costa]

I would love to see a b-ball only school like Depaul or St. Johns leave. They never do anything in the BE and they are hindering us from going to 9 in football. The next BE Commish needs to sack up and give one or two of those schools the boot.

[USF-PMR]

Long time prediction is:  Memphis, Marshall, and Navy to BE.