Big East football facing major scheduling problems

[79 Bull]

The Big East Conference has not announced its seven-games-per-team schedule for 2005. WVU is uncertain if it will receive three or four home league games.

I thought the BE has officially informed everyone that the 4 newest teams (incl. UConn) would have 3 home games and the remaining 4 teams would have 4 home games in the first season.  Isn't that correct?

[smazza]

sue ftu/ou/oc

who can't win on the field or the courtroom

[TyBull]

West Virginia might sue:

It seems to me that UCF just said "Bye-Bye" to any possible future invite to the Big East. They would need every vote possible and they just lost WVU.

Why didn't they just drop ULA-LA? Oh! Guess they wanted a chance for a victory. That decision could come back to bite them in the rear....

[TyBull]

sue ftu/ou/oc

who can't win on the field or the courtroom

Hey SMAZZA, ftu/on/oc could probably use an attorney.

[goodknightfl]

the wv game is the last game of a 2 for 1.. UCF didnt overschedule.. when we signed the deal we were an indy... didnt have enough to make a schedule.. then joined mac and now cusa.. then we had too many... Ucf has been trying to reschedule.. (move) or find teams to replace us for some time.. I dont think we intended to drop wv to pretty late in the game.. there was talk of rescheduling s. carolina... but it became a ESPN game.. it is true the payout would be bigger now... but so wouldnt the price they would pay to have us come play..

[Guest guest]

good, ucf doesn't bring anything to the conference. they had their chance when daunte was there and now with our development their window of oppurtunity is closed. they can stay in conf. usa and get an annual beating from us every year, couldn't of happened to a better program, and anyone who wants them in the big east is out of their mind. stick with the 8 teams until the big east builds itself back up, that is what mike t. has been quoted as saying and i don't see that changing anytime soon especially given the currrent football only alternatives.

[Guest Hail Pitt]

I think a lot of people are really missing the point...which is that it is very hard to get around not scheduling a D-1AA team without having a 9th member.  Scheduling 5 OOC games would be impossible starting next year.  If you look at schools in the ACC, SEC, Big 12, and B10, many of their schedules are already filled, while each Big East school will have at least one or two openings.  

Then you have your choices, and I respect people's opinion, but here is my opinion on this whole deal.

UMass would take too long, but could be an option down the road.  The BE will not add a team just because they need to add one.  There will be some plan behind adding a team.  UMass could be an option within the next 10 or so years, but we would need a good fix right now.

ECU would be the best choice.  Someone mentioned that they had a small media market; however, I have read and have been told by other Pitt fans in the south that ECU games are carried on radio and TV throughout the state of NC, in the Tidewater, VA area, Richmond, VA, and throughout the coastal parts of South Carolina.  Actually if you put all these homes together, this would be one of the largest markets in the Big East.  Remember, this is a football only decision, and ECU has had a pretty good history with bowls, traveling fans, and beating top teams.  In my opinion, they have earned their stripes and can make some noise in a BCS conference.  Pitt has had many great games with ECU in the past.  Plus 30% of their living alumni live in the northeast, with 18% of their current students coming from DC, MD, PA, NJ, NY, Conn, and RI.

Memphis would be a far fetched choice, mainly because they are too far to the west.  I don't think the Big East could eliminate MD, DC, VA, NC, and SC when they have a chance to really move into that area.  Their football team has been good the past two seasons, but before that, they only had 4 winning seasons in a 25 year span.  Memphis media market size is about the same as UofL, but as far as recruiting, time zone, being a commuter schooll with a small out of state student population, and their academic status, I don't think many Northeastern BE fans would enjoy the Tigers.  

Army and Navy have stated that they will not join a conference for football.

Notre Dame will not join a conference.

Penn State is happy in the Big 10.

Only reasonable choice is ECU.  I really agree that they should have been added instead of Marquette or DePaul.  A 9 team football conference is perfect.  We all have to remember when we first had an 8 team conference, it did not work out so we went out and got Temple.

[GarySJ]

If having eight teams is such a huge obstacle, it seems to me the BE could have easily kept Temple around for football-only. It's not like they have anywhere else to go. Yeah, they suck, but having them around will not hurt the league's prestige. The BCS position is based solely on how well the best team does. So having them drag down the conference power rating isn't a great loss.

As for East Carolina as a football-only... well, I hope you're prepared for a 17-team basketball league, because the minute you give them FB-only they will immediately start yapping like a little dog for full membership. We know, because this is what happened in C-USA. Which also began a series of events that delayed USF football's entrance by two years, costing USF a bowl trip. So tell Mr. Tranghese to expect at least one "nay" vote on that proposal.

And I don't think USF/UofL/UC would embrace an 8-game league schedule right now, because we are obligated to play CUSA teams home-and-away as part of our exit agreement. In other words, we already have eight mandated games. Expanding the BE for football would give us nine.

[WoolyBully]

Dontcha think that if it were really a crisis, the ones with their hands on the tiller would have addressed it before now? It's not like they didn't see 8-teams on the big board when they were initially kicking this around.  

ECU: magnificent, wonderful choice for addition to the Big East. Why? Because every other year it gets me a trip home coupled with a ball game.  

Who do I really think - if you do tack on another team - will get the nod? Umass. Geographic common sense prevails.  I don't see anyone abandoning the ACC or SEC to join the NBE anytime soon, nor do I think The Irish would join a conference, what with them being a conference unto themselves.

[TripleB]

And I don't think USF/UofL/UC would embrace an 8-game league schedule right now, because we are obligated to play CUSA teams home-and-away as part of our exit agreement. In other words, we already have eight mandated games. Expanding the BE for football would give us nine.

Only having to fill 2 OOC games for awhile would be a bad thing??