Topic: IMO....Marshall will end up with best of rest

[DJdaHERDfan]

The Big East is finally dead.

Boise St and SDSU go back to MWC
SMU and Houston join MWC.
UTEP and Tulsa join MWC

CUSA adds UCONN then welcomes back ECU, Tulane, Memphis, UCF, USF

MWC and CUSA start back up the alliance/merger

Both conferences could raid the SBC of even more schools.
Creating a super conference playoff

[herdfan429]

Uconn will NOT be in cusa.

[iherdya]

Uconn will NOT be in cusa.

Agreed. As much as they don't want to, they'll end up in the ACC.

[_sturt_]

Agreed. As much as they don't want to, they'll end up in the ACC.

UConn doesn't want to be in ACC?... that's news to me.

Assuming DJ's proposition (and I'm not completely sold on the MWC additions just yet)... my working theory would be that UConn, Cincy, Temple and Memphis would attempt to negotiate to keep a relationship with the Big East in basketball, and rather than accept all of the CUSA upstarts, start their own football conference beginning with ECU, UCF, and Navy.

[phillyherdfan]

I think ESPN will put their weight behind a new all sports conference to replace the BE.

[iherdya]

UConn doesn't want to be in ACC?... that's news to me.

Assuming DJ's proposition (and I'm not completely sold on the MWC additions just yet)... my working theory would be that UConn, Cincy, Temple and Memphis would attempt to negotiate to keep a relationship with the Big East in basketball, and rather than accept all of the CUSA upstarts, start their own football conference beginning with ECU, UCF, and Navy.

There has been several articles, they much rather preferred to be in the Big East because of basketball, their olympic sports, etc. They wouldn't have outright said "no" to the ACC, but they haven't been aggressively pushing for entrance to the ACC.

[cincyherd]

B12 needs to get it over with and raid ACC.  Then ACC takes what it needs and the rest form a new eastern conference. IMHO

[cincyherd]

UCONN has been in the press lobbing to enter ACC.  When ACC passed them up recently taking Louisville, UCONN was pissed and has since been lobbing Boise and SD to stay in BE.  UCONN would give left *** to get in ACC.

[GreenDaddy]

I'm a little worried that the remaining BE schools will just merge with the MWC and create a all America conference. Once again leaving us behind.

[cincyherd]

I'm hoping the money isn't big enough for mid-majors to justify a cross continent conference and geography will count again.

[bbcard1]

Geograhically, Tulsa is in a tough spot. They aren't really close to many other schools that are not bigtime. I like the program myself...they are as close to Memphis as they are to Dallas...they may be a better fit in the east than the west.

[herdfan429]

I'm a little worried that the remaining BE schools will just merge with the MWC and create a all America conference. Once again leaving us behind.

Im in the same boat.  This is when strong leadership from conf commish and school presidents and ADs would have helped things. 

[_sturt_]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21389753/sources-big-east-now-expected-to-split

...But a source told CBSSports.com that no announcment is expected that soon (ie, this afternoon).

This all comes after ESPN.com reported late Wednesday that the Big East's seven nonfootball-playing members -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova -- were "leaning" toward separating. USA Today subsequently reported that Big East commissioner Mike Aresco is "exploring all avenues to hold the conference together" but added an "official at a school moving to the Big East in 2013 [said] the football schools are under the impression that a breakup is imminent."

What happens next is unclear.

"Lawyers are going to have to sort it all out," a source told CBSSports.com. "I don't think anybody knows exactly how this is going to happen. They just know it's time to separate."

Whether a new league featuring DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova would be called the Big East or something else is, like almost everything else, unresolved. But a source told CBSSports.com that those seven schools would target at least three and perhaps five basketball programs to join them, and that Xavier, Dayton, St. Louis, Creighton and Butler would be among the targets.

Why is this happening now?

A source told CBSSports.com that the league's nonfootball-playing members have simply determined that they're going to have to move on someday and are finally ready "to just go ahead and do it." That belief seems to trump the idea that the nonfootball-playing members might be leaving television revenue on the table by separating -- although it should be noted that athletic directors at those schools aren't sure they can't get a comparable or even better TV contract with a basketball-only league.

"Everybody likes the idea of being in a conference with Connecticut, Cincinnati, Memphis and Temple, but what happens when Connecticut and Cincinnati leave one day?" said a source from one of the nonfootball playing schools. "It's not like this is over. Eventually, Connecticut and Cincinnati would be gone, too. So I think the opinion from our side is to just move on. And I think we're just tired of it. That's the bottom line. We're just tired of this because none of this is helping us."

But if UConn and Cincy leave, and the Big East doesn't add any additional members, the Hardwood Seven as they're being called would still have a majority and could dissolve the league then... after exit fees had been collected.

I remain skeptical.

*******************************

EDIT: Strike that... just learned that they need a 2/3 majority to dissolve.

[svherd]

I am not worried about us. The Big 5 leagues will have the money and even if the BE stays and is revamped, the money thet get will not be much more than ours, if that. Now that the B'ball schools have gone, they have the rights to the name. They take that. The leftovers like UC, Temple and UCF have no conference name, no bowl tie ins, no tv package. Its a cluster bomb. Marshall needs to win games in football and b'ball and let things take care of themselves.

Marshall needs to re-build our brand.

[firstate]

doesn't change a thing.

football in big east still much more profitable to teams than football in cusa

[_sturt_]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/21393175/remaining-big-east-schools-could-be-worth-40-million-per-year

A 13-team conference consisting of the remaining Big East football-playing schools would be worth approximately $40 million per year, multiple industry sources told CBSSports.com.

That would net the 13 members approximately $3 million each annually. However, with the news only hours old that Big East private basketball schools are breaking away, nothing is certain. If the league officially dissolves, it could be that “everybody heads for the hills,” according to one highly-placed source....

...The value of a new contract -- up or down -- hinges on the number of all-sports members, specifically Boise State. Whether the school stays with the diminished league or goes back to the Mountain West -- its home from 2010-12 -- is still to be determined....

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/13/bmurphy/with_big_east_verge_collapse_what_will_boise_state_do#storylink=cpy

...So what are the Broncos' options?

• Remain in the Big East: The television contract could still generate more money than the Mountain West deal and give the Broncos greater exposure across the country. The league could still swipe a few teams from the Mountain West. The Big East has BCS AQ status in 2013 — unlike the Mountain West – so the Broncos are likely to play at least one season in the Big East.

Even if the basketball schools leave, the Big East could still have a league that sponsors football.

• Return to the Mountain West: The league is willing to take Boise State and San Diego State back. It would give the conference 12 members, allowing it to stage a conference championship game and renegotiate its television contract with CBS. The Mountain West could grow even more, taking UTEP and Tulsa from Conference USA in an attempt to weaken that league. (Or it could attempt to grab Houston and SMU from the Big East.) The Broncos would also have to bring its non-football programs back into the Mountain West from the Big West.

• Go independent: BYU signed a television contract with ESPN and has been able to schedule enough attractive games to make independence work. Idaho and New Mexico State are moving to independence next season. The Broncos have always had a good relationship with ESPN and should be able to sign a decent TV deal. Scheduling and bowl agreements could be problems, and coach Chris Petersen has always valued winning conference championship.

Dodd's story makes it clear that there is a television market for Boise State football.

The Broncos would have no problem getting games with BYU (already scheduled), Idaho and New Mexico State. But coming up with nine more games could get ugly.

• Join the Big 12 (or Pac-12): If Kustra isn't burning up the phones to both conferences then he is not doing his job. If only it were that easy, however. The Broncos are way down the list of teams the Big 12 would consider and the Pac-12 has given no indication that it wants to expand again. The Broncos' lack of a TV market, its overall athletic program and its academic ranking and reputation are all impediments to a move to either league. The Broncos' main (only?) selling point is a stellar football program that draws ratings and has a (limited) national following.

Boise, as always, is the lynchpin in how things develop.

Of the above, the last two options aren't really options.

Because I think Boise will perceive they can make just as much $ from association with their MWC brethren and they can with what's left of the Big East, I'm with those who think Boise and SDSU return to MWC.

Do Houston and SMU get invited to the MWC? I think so. For the MWC, adding top 10 markets like those is only logical. For Houston and SMU, being in a league with Boise and thus, what is perceived to most likely to be the strongest Go5 league, is only logical.

I don't see the same rationale for MWC adding UTEP and Tulsa.

Does BYU get tempted to join the MWC with Boise returning? I remain unconvinced. I think the forces that drove them to decide on independence haven't changed, and that they're loathe to put themselves in a division below Utah.

So... I'm on the 14-school MWC bandwagon.

Back on this side of the country, UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Memphis would love to keep their basketball with the Catholics, and one would think that the Catholics would perceive value in keeping those 4 regardless of UConn and Cincy's flirtaciousness with the ACC. Here's why I think that... what I'm reading in these quotes from Catholic school officials tells me that this move by the Catholics at this point in time is largely a matter of not wanting to be in a political posture where they are at the mercy of the current and newbie BE football schools. Having these four big-time basketball schools is not going to put them into any political jeopardy, and moreover, they can throw UConn and Cincy (the two voting schools) a bone in exchange for supporting whatever contingencies the Catholics want--most importantly perhaps, the Big East name and trademark.

So, put me down for a new Big East basketball conference that includes the Hardwood Seven, the Football Refugee Four, plus some number of other basketball-only schools.

The Football Refugee Four (UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Memphis), then, remain with the Big East Wannabees (Tulane, UCF, USF, ECU and Navy) in a football-only league that adds Army (to pair with football-only Navy) and six others to the mix to get to 16... not 16 for the sake of 16 but rather to get to 10 for all other sports so that the conference has some viability beyond football.

Naturally, the established CUSA schools fit that... UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Southern Miss, UAB, and yes, Marshall.

For football...

North Division: UConn, Army, Navy, Temple, Cincinnati, Marshall, Memphis, ECU
South Division: UAB, USF, UCF, Southern Miss, Tulane, Rice, Tulsa, UTEP

So, for basketball and other sports...

West Division: UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Tulane, Southern Miss
East Division: UAB, USF, UCF, ECU, Marshall

[dshoe]

There has been several articles, they much rather preferred to be in the Big East because of basketball, their olympic sports, etc. They wouldn't have outright said "no" to the ACC, but they haven't been aggressively pushing for entrance to the ACC.

I don't know what you've been reading, but it must have been fiction!!!  UConn did EVERYTHING they could to get into the ACC over Louisville......

[GreenBison]

I don't know what you've been reading, but it must have been fiction!!!  UConn did EVERYTHING they could to get into the ACC over Louisville......

I agree, that's the impression I got and I don't know squat

[field pass]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/21393175/remaining-big-east-schools-could-be-worth-40-million-per-year

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/13/bmurphy/with_big_east_verge_collapse_what_will_boise_state_do#storylink=cpy

Boise, as always, is the lynchpin in how things develop.

Of the above, the last two options aren't really options.

Because I think Boise will perceive they can make just as much $ from association with their MWC brethren and they can with what's left of the Big East, I'm with those who think Boise and SDSU return to MWC.

Do Houston and SMU get invited to the MWC? I think so. For the MWC, adding top 10 markets like those is only logical. For Houston and SMU, being in a league with Boise and thus, what is perceived to most likely to be the strongest Go5 league, is only logical.

I don't see the same rationale for MWC adding UTEP and Tulsa.

Does BYU get tempted to join the MWC with Boise returning? I remain unconvinced. I think the forces that drove them to decide on independence haven't changed, and that they're loathe to put themselves in a division below Utah.

So... I'm on the 14-school MWC bandwagon.

Back on this side of the country, UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Memphis would love to keep their basketball with the Catholics, and one would think that the Catholics would perceive value in keeping those 4 regardless of UConn and Cincy's flirtaciousness with the ACC. Here's why I think that... what I'm reading in these quotes from Catholic school officials tells me that this move by the Catholics at this point in time is largely a matter of not wanting to be in a political posture where they are at the mercy of the current and newbie BE football schools. Having these four big-time basketball schools is not going to put them into any political jeopardy, and moreover, they can throw UConn and Cincy (the two voting schools) a bone in exchange for supporting whatever contingencies the Catholics want--most importantly perhaps, the Big East name and trademark.

So, put me down for a new Big East basketball conference that includes the Hardwood Seven, the Football Refugee Four, plus some number of other basketball-only schools.

The Football Refugee Four (UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Memphis), then, remain with the Big East Wannabees (Tulane, UCF, USF, ECU and Navy) in a football-only league that adds Army (to pair with football-only Navy) and six others to the mix to get to 16... not 16 for the sake of 16 but rather to get to 10 for all other sports so that the conference has some viability beyond football.

Naturally, the established CUSA schools fit that... UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Southern Miss, UAB, and yes, Marshall.

For football...

North Division: UConn, Army, Navy, Temple, Cincinnati, Marshall, Memphis, ECU
South Division: UAB, USF, UCF, Southern Miss, Tulane, Rice, Tulsa, UTEP

So, for basketball and other sports...

West Division: UTEP, Rice, Tulsa, Tulane, Southern Miss
East Division: UAB, USF, UCF, ECU, Marshall

This all looks to be the most realistic....but what about odu, Charlotte, Mtsu, an Louisiana tech?

I'd have to guess Mtsu would be left out.  I'd like to see odu and Charlotte be included bc their future potential upside looks big.


I'd prefer to take odu, Louisiana tech, and Charlotte, and send Tulsa, rice, and Utep packing.

[HerdChemist89]

I'm hoping the money isn't big enough for mid-majors to justify a cross continent conference and geography will count again.

THIS.

The only way to make things more appealing is to go back and look at geographical considerations...regional proximity is what creates rivalries. It allows more of the fanbase to travel "on a tank of gas and a six-pack of beer"...This thing of flying our athletes and fans all over the country to see football games has gotten to be ridiculous.

Hopefully this will shake out to be some form of an Eastern / Southeastern based league that includes Marshall.

..

[cincyherd]

Doing a 180, Cross Continent Conference, the CC or 3C, would be a catchy name for a mega two division (east and west) mid-major cross continent conference.

[MUsince96]

I don't think we'll end up with our old conference mates in the nBE unless the rumors of B1G taking a 2 team combo of (GT, UVA, FSU or BC is true).  Then we know the ACC will take Cincy and UCONN.    Still rumors of FSU and Clemson to the B12 as well.    There a lot of moving parts but I just don't see us being included in a coast to coast conference until some of the bigger conference start taking things to 16 team leauges.

Either way. Just win. The new rule is in place that as long as we're the highest ranked team from the Group of 5 we get a BCS bowl game.  No longer do we have to go undefeated.

[_sturt_]

Doing a 180, Cross Continent Conference, the CC or 3C, would be a catchy name for a mega two division (east and west) mid-major cross continent conference.

I like it.