• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

Jump to latest Follow Reply

Which Teams Should the Big Ten Add? (please limit to four selections)

  • Boston College

    Votes: 32 10.2%

  • Cincinnati

    Votes: 19 6.1%

  • Connecticut

    Votes: 6 1.9%

  • Duke

    Votes: 21 6.7%

  • Georgia Tech

    Votes: 55 17.6%

  • Kansas

    Votes: 46 14.7%

  • Maryland

    Votes: 67 21.4%

  • Missouri

    Votes: 90 28.8%

  • North Carolina

    Votes: 39 12.5%

  • Notre Dame

    Votes: 209 66.8%

  • Oklahoma

    Votes: 78 24.9%

  • Pittsburgh

    Votes: 45 14.4%

  • Rutgers

    Votes: 40 12.8%

  • Syracuse

    Votes: 18 5.8%

  • Texas

    Votes: 121 38.7%

  • Vanderbilt

    Votes: 15 4.8%

  • Virginia

    Votes: 47 15.0%

  • Virginia Tech

    Votes: 62 19.8%

  • Stay at 12 teams and don't expand

    Votes: 27 8.6%

  • Add some other school(s) not listed

    Votes: 25 8.0%
  • Total voters
    313
Sort by date Sort by votes
Muck;2025288; said:
There are measurable metrics in place that a conference must meet in order to earn an automatic BCS bid. CUSA & MWC individually are nowhere close to meeting the requirements...and a merger of the two is going to hurt more than it helps as they are bringing along all the bottom feeders that kill them under the written guidelines.

There is currently no quantifiable method by which a conference can be stripped of an automatic qualifier.

So we know unequivocally that that staying in CUSA/MWC or an amalgamation of the two is guaranteed to result in no automatic bid (barring a miracle).

We also have no way of knowing how or why a conference would be stripped of said bid.

So going by what we know to be true, could you explain specifically how CUSA/MWC is more likely to have a bid in five years than the Big East using the verifiable information we have available?

[/i]

Really one has to assume that?

One couldn't for example assume that it might be due to trying to mitigate legal or political interference?
Click to expand...

What legal or political interference would come by announcing that they are offering a spot to Navy, which is an independent?

If they are going to get sued, they are going to get sued regardless of whether they state who they are inviting or not. It isn't like we haven't heard who is on the list already, and there are already leaks from "Big East Sources" that it is Navy, Air Force and Boise in Football, and SMU, Central Florida and Houston in all sports.

As to whether or not the CUSA/MWC merged conference is more likely to get a bid than the Big East is to keep one, that's just my opinion. But can you honestly tell me that any of the teams remaining in the conference deserve to have a BCS bid? Out of those teams, only Rutgers was a BCS team when the BCS started, and only Rutgers, Cincinnati and Louisville were Division 1A. UConn is flirting with being barred from post season competition in basketball, due to abysmal academic standing.

As to the additions, Navy, Air Force and Houston have fielded winning programs over time, and much of Navy's success came pre 1970. Funnily enough, Conference USA's Southern Miss has a higher all time winning percentage than any of these teams, as does Fresno State of the MWC (not to mention the MAC's Bowling Green Miami of Ohio, and Central Michigan). While I agree that the dregs of Conference USA and the MWC are bad, None of the current Big East or prospective Big East members is ranked in the top 50 in winning percentage of the current teams playing FBS football for at least 30 years. Every other BCS conference has at least 2 teams that rank in the top 20. (Hell, even the MAC comes close with Miami of Ohio at #17 and CMU at #21) I realize that South Florida, UConn (moderately) and Boise have had success since they moved up, but what have they done to show they merit being in the elite of college football over the long term?
 
Upvote 0
Woody1968;2025311; said:
What legal or political interference would come by announcing that they are offering a spot to Navy, which is an independent?

If they are going to get sued, they are going to get sued regardless of whether they state who they are inviting or not. It isn't like we haven't heard who is on the list already, and there are already leaks from "Big East Sources" that it is Navy, Air Force and Boise in Football, and SMU, Central Florida and Houston in all sports.
Click to expand...

It's easier to beg forgiveness than it is to ask permission.

Just by holding their cards close to the vest before playing them the Big East can potentially head off some resistance from developing. People are less likely to fight something that is a done deal than they are if it's something they can see as being stopped ahead of time.

I think we've seen with both Missouri & WVU how letting information out to soon can make things more difficult to get done.

But can you honestly tell me that any of the teams remaining in the conference deserve to have a BCS bid?
Click to expand...

In the immortal words of Will Munny..."Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."

It's not about what's fair it's about what the rules are set up to do.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Idaho clears Boise State to join Big East

BOISE, Idaho -- The Idaho State Board of Education has given Boise State permission to pursue membership with the Big East Conference, a move that would mean more revenue and give the Broncos a clear path to the Bowl Championship Series.

The board voted 7-1 Thursday to give university president Bob Kustra the authority to move Boise State's football program out of the Mountain West Conference and into the Big East for the 2013 season.

Kustra has had ongoing discussions with Big East representatives, including during a campus visit by conference leaders last week. Boise State has not yet received a formal invitation to join, but Kustra told trustees he expects one to come in the next few days.

This week, Big East presidents met in Philadelphia and signed off on a plan to add more teams to a conference hit by the defections of prominent schools like Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia. To offset those losses, the league is looking to add Boise State, Navy and Air Force for football only, and SMU, Houston and Central Florida for all sports.

But Boise State's entry into the Big East carries a critical caveat.

Kustra told the state board -- and board members agreed -- that the formation of a Western division is essential to joining the conference. Kustra suggested that SMU, Houston, Air Force and one other western school could make up that division. He declined to identify any other western schools that are now in talks with Big East officials.

"The Big East is working on partners for a western division, with a championship game" with the winner of the eastern division, Kustra said.

.../cont/...
Click to expand...

UCF may accept Big East invitation next week, could resume USF series early

UCF President John Hitt said he would be surprised if the Knights formally joined the Big East Friday, but he expects the school to resolve all conference affiliation questions within the next week.

Hitt said in an exclusive interview with the Orlando Sentinel he does not think UCF will compete in the Big East until the 2013 season, but the Knights could restart their football rivalry with USF.

"You look at all this and if it holds together as it's shaping up, it could be a heck of a good conference," Hitt said of the Big East. "Maybe stronger than it was."

Hitt said fellow Conference USA members SMU and Houston and Mountain West member Boise State have expressed an interest in joining the Big East together because it would make a bigger splash. He hopes it will soften the blow on Conference USA, which would be losing one-fourth of its current membership.

Navy and Air Force are expected to jump on board once the C-USA schools and Boise State make the official move to the Big East.

The Idaho State board of education voted Thursday afternoon to give Boise State President Bob Kustra the authority to execute a change in conference membership. The Broncos still need to line up a spot for its other sports and make sure it has a Western Division travel partner. Air Force will likely fill that role, but BYU and San Diego State have been mentioned as strong candidates if the Falcons ultimately don't decide to pick the Big East.

.../cont/...
Click to expand...

Even if AF & Navy join they are going to need one more member to get to 12 (to replace WVU)...so maybe we are talking SDSU instead of Temple.
 
Upvote 0
Hm - I thought that the reason Army left C-USA was because they were going to 12 teams and the conference championship game, and they wanted to maintain the end-of-year rivalry with Navy.

Much funny if Navy says, "screw the rivalry" and joins the Big East.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top