Realignment - A quick look at the haves and have nots

[Gismo]

So essentially the entire Big East is in the top 80 athletic budgets in the country, but the good ol'boy network of college sports is trying to cut them out of this picture. Now if this list were cut to top 60 schools only then only 3 of the 9 big east teams listed would make the cut, so the Big East schools for the most part, are right between the haves and have nots.... close to gaining a seat at the table, the other conferences are doing their best to prevent it.

http://www.mrsec.com...ence-shuffling/

In other words — and Alden’s own words tie into this — any new wave of realignment will likely be driven by schools trying to find a seat at the main table rather than by leagues looking to add schools.

Because of this, we still don’t think there will be that much more shuffling. Sure, schools will be waving their hands and yelling, “Take me, take me!†but that’s not likely to make a conference open its doors. Only the promise of additional revenue will do that.

Looking at the top 80 FBS, football-playing athletic budgets in the country we find that most schools are already married to one of the “money†leagues (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-12 and SEC). Using the Department of Education’s 2010-2011 athletic budget figures, we found that those big budget schools not in major conferences are:

Louisville (14th biggest athletic budget, Big East conference)

Notre Dame (23rd, recently partnered with the ACC but will technically remain an independent in football),

Connecticut (36th, Big East)

UNLV (50th, MWC)

Rutgers (55th, Big East)

South Florida (65th, Big East)

Memphis (67th, moving to the Big East)

BYU (68th, Independent)

UCF (70th, moving to the Big East)

SMU (71st, moving to the Big East)

Cincinnati (72nd, Big East)

San Diego State (75th, moving to the Big East)

Houston (77th, moving to the Big East)

EDIT: why when I cut and paste into a quote it often gets resized to very small font? This has happened to me a lot recently.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Gismo

[Ghost]

Someone is going to take Louisville. There is no reason not to.If there is any more expansion, they will be the first to go.

[South_Florida_Flip]

Someone is going to take Louisville. There is no reason not to.If there is any more expansion, they will be the first to go.

If it's based on the competitive standpoint, then they will go.

Their tv market is certainly a drawback.

[Gismo]

The question now is.... what separates us from UCF.... if it comes to taking a Florida school how would a conference decide between USF or UCF at this point? Past AQ record?

[BullFan98]

Yes, but their basketball draw is impressive. People want to watch their basketball team play Louisville, so in that respect they are a big draw.

[BullFan98]

Yes, but their basketball draw is impressive. People want to watch their basketball team play Louisville, so in that respect they are a big draw.

This was in response to South Florida Flip's post.

[Danm1983]

The question now is.... what separates us from UCF.... if it comes to taking a Florida school how would a conference decide between USF or UCF at this point? Past AQ record?

Tampa wins slightly in the TV market dept (like 14th vs 19th). USF has the more direct bowl access since we play in that very stadium, but the Outback Bowl is pretty much tied to the Big Ten and SEC, so unless RJS got a 2nd bowl game like the Citrus Bowl does, that won't be a huge factor.

It would probably come down to the strength of the overall athletic program. Which is why it's still important that basketball is good, and baseball/softball and soccer.

[Ghost]

The question now is.... what separates us from UCF.... if it comes to taking a Florida school how would a conference decide between USF or UCF at this point? Past AQ record?

Not as much as it used to. Aside from football, our sports had a very good year last year. Better than UCF in most, if not all aspects I believe(could be forgetting some). Our football needs to step it up.

Someone is going to take Louisville. There is no reason not to.If there is any more expansion, they will be the first to go.

If it's based on the competitive standpoint, then they will go.

Their tv market is certainly a drawback.

True, but at least they dominate their own market for the most part. As we learned two Saturdays ago, we dont dominate our own market. A conference like the ACC doesnt need USF. FSU has this market already.

[Gismo]

The question now is.... what separates us from UCF.... if it comes to taking a Florida school how would a conference decide between USF or UCF at this point? Past AQ record?

Not as much as it used to. Aside from football, our sports had a very good year last year. Better than UCF in most, if not all aspects I believe(could be forgetting some). Our football needs to step it up.

Someone is going to take Louisville. There is no reason not to.If there is any more expansion, they will be the first to go.

If it's based on the competitive standpoint, then they will go.

Their tv market is certainly a drawback.

True, but at least they dominate their own market for the most part. As we learned two Saturdays ago, we dont dominate our own market. A conference like the ACC doesnt need USF. FSU has this market already.

So you think if it were FSU - UCF that the crowd wouldn't be 50% UCF fans? I think not.

[hm101]

endowment is 3x bigger than UCF.

we sell more tickets

our non football sports have more success.

Most valuable schools in BE are

1a. UL

1b. RU

2. UCONN CINCY USF