How long before we hear Judy/Doug say how great BE is

[BullsOnThaRize8]

Were better off joining the MWC..with them anyway. Why stay in the big east. Us and Cinci should join their conference.

[Florida Bull]

name='Cpa_bull90'timestamp='1357000788' post='1118513']

I understand, they have accomplished a lot, and Cincinnati would offer a more 'new' market to somebody like the ACC or even SEC. UConn would certainly offer a very new market to the SEC or Big 10.

But, regarding the rebuttal of market size being important, i don't think anybody said it was just market size.

Being located in Florida-almost tied for being the third most populous state-with a big football culture and offering excellent recruits, USF would help a conference like the Big 12.

Adding a school in Florida-particularly Tampa-would entail great exposure for the Big 12.

The Big XII is doing just fine for quality recruits as it is now. I have no doubt the league, in an ideal scenario, wouldn't mind having a team in Florida, but unless you have a link from a conference official saying otherwise, I don't think it's important enough to justify taking in a league member that would add little if anything to the value of the conference's television contract and/or overall prestige. The league has managed just fine to produce quality football teams and players under the current alignment.

It is not just if the conference is OK for now, but what is in its long-term interests.

I know the Big 12 gets great recruits, but to some extent most FBS conferences do.

With Texas A&M joining the SEC, and some of the western members on the rise, I would not be surprised if some SEC coaches put more emphasis on recruiting in Texas.

And, it is about more than just getting satisfactory recruits for the time being. The Big 12 could claim to have a stronger conference overall and even be right (like the Big East vs. the ACC). but, people would not notice with the round-robin scheduling.

Another issue is the footprint. It is largely contained in one region of the country isolated from eastern markets and fans. Lessening exposure and potentially losing recruits can have an effect.

A part of exposure is also nominal comparisons. How embarrassing would the Champions Bowl be-already with potentially the Big 12 round-robin champion playing the SEC #2 or 3-with announcers pointing out the Big 12 only has

10 members compared to the SEC's 14, and can only rely on the state of Texas for recruiting and big media whereas the SEC a presence in Texas and the Southeast (particularly with Florida)? And, no conference championship game from the Big 12?

The tv contract is obviously good, but includes 9 games per member while I think the other AQ conferences only include 8 each, so that might inflate how much money the conference can get in a tv contract without expanding. If the ACC had nine conferences games per member, even it would likely have more tv contract money per member.

There may not be many great teams left, but I think at least the pre-2012 Big East teams would contribute to the inventory and even excitement.

Complacency is not beneficial for the Big 12.

Edited January 1, 2013 by Florida Bull