Suppose things play out like they are looking and Nova accepts the invite and moves up.

You now have a 10/17 league. 10 is fine on the FB side but 17 is imbalanced for a basketball conference.

If the Big East decided that the best way to fix this problem was to add just a single, basketball only member to get them to 10/18, then who would you pick to be that member?

Don't think like this for this is the problem with conference to begin with. I don't think they need another basketball school only for what value do they bring in??? I would just bring in the best available football schools that are available to the Big East conference for there are a couple of pipe dreams at best that the BE could pull in a BCS school, but it's not happening, and should just go after the best available. NO to basketball onlys.

While 17 is an odd number, I don't think it works against basketball at all. If you aren't going to do divisions (and I personally think they take away more than they add in basketball), then there is no significant advantage with 18 over 17. Going to 18 would just take away one more rematch (something ESPN won't want) and add another mouth to feed.

(03-01-2011 03:33 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Suppose things play out like they are looking and Nova accepts the invite and moves up.

You now have a 10/17 league. 10 is fine on the FB side but 17 is imbalanced for a basketball conference.

If the Big East decided that the best way to fix this problem was to add just a single, basketball only member to get them to 10/18, then who would you pick to be that member?

I'm still not convinced that expansion will stop with Villanova (if they get the financial support)...

Hints I've gotten out of Morgantown seem to indicate that another move is in the works, since 'nova won't be able to join The BEast for 5-6 years after upgrading their football program. Everything I've heard seems to indicate that The BEast will have 10 football members in 2012, and one of them will NOT be 'nova...

(03-01-2011 03:47 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  

(03-01-2011 03:33 PM)10thMountain Wrote:  Suppose things play out like they are looking and Nova accepts the invite and moves up.

You now have a 10/17 league. 10 is fine on the FB side but 17 is imbalanced for a basketball conference.

If the Big East decided that the best way to fix this problem was to add just a single, basketball only member to get them to 10/18, then who would you pick to be that member?

I'm still not convinced that expansion will stop with Villanova (if they get the financial support)...

Hints I've gotten out of Morgantown seem to indicate that another move is in the works, since 'nova won't be able to join The BEast for 5-6 years after upgrading their football program. Everything I've heard seems to indicate that The BEast will have 10 football members in 2012, and one of them will NOT be 'nova...

I tend to agree. I think the schools that are primarily interested in football agreed to invite Nova because it was necessary to begin expansion. They probably assumed or at least hoped that Nova would decline because of the costs and lack of feasible stadium. Now, Nova is still considering the move and appear to have settled on playing in a soccer stadium that fits under 20k. This is not at all what the football leaders wanted (it undoes any national goodwill that TCU would bring) and therefore it may lead to expanding to 12 teams. Personally, I think the Big East would be best served as a 10 team league but not with Nova.

I'll stick by my guess that if nova says no, they will stay at 9/17 and 'continue to monitor landscape'....

(03-01-2011 03:42 PM)BigOwensboroCard Wrote:  Don't think like this for this is the problem with conference to begin with. I don't think they need another basketball school only for what value do they bring in??? I would just bring in the best available football schools that are available to the Big East conference for there are a couple of pipe dreams at best that the BE could pull in a BCS school, but it's not happening, and should just go after the best available. NO to basketball onlys.

Well the "BEST AVAILABLE" is clearly Boise State and BYU. Is that the plan?

What is CUSA deadline on announcing that so and so are leaving a conference for another one??? If there are to be 10 football playing members for the 2012 season even if Nova says yes then it will be safe to say SOMEONE amongst CUSA will be moving to the Big East. So with that said the obvious choice seems to be UCF, but could someone else beat them to the punch? I have always said ECU would be the next Virginia Tech if invited to the conference, but could they ( BE ) be looking at Houston or even a long shot in SMU as an invite as well as ECU and the obvious choice.

I don't see anyone moving from the Big12-2 for the Big East season of 2012 so it must be a CUSA team to be added for that season if the plan is indeed to have 10 teams even if Nova say yes. So WHO will it be???

As some have mentioned, 17 is fine for basketball except for the BET. In that scenario, you just don't invite team #17. Then if you still play an 18 game conference schedule, you play everyone once and 2 teams twice.

(03-01-2011 05:27 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  

(03-01-2011 03:42 PM)BigOwensboroCard Wrote:  Don't think like this for this is the problem with conference to begin with. I don't think they need another basketball school only for what value do they bring in??? I would just bring in the best available football schools that are available to the Big East conference for there are a couple of pipe dreams at best that the BE could pull in a BCS school, but it's not happening, and should just go after the best available. NO to basketball onlys.

Well the "BEST AVAILABLE" is clearly Boise State and BYU. Is that the plan?

With in reason of course. I honestly think it will be teams from CUSA, but who is the answer no one has. I think the BE will look with in their footprint, and not beyond it.

People who predict a 9 team conference keep ignoring the the fact that WVU AD Oliver Luck stated that all football Programs were told to adjust their schedule to a 9 game conference schedule. It is next to a program to undo scheduling like that so we will definitely have a 10th team.

(03-01-2011 05:27 PM)The Brown Bull Wrote:  

(03-01-2011 03:42 PM)BigOwensboroCard Wrote:  Don't think like this for this is the problem with conference to begin with. I don't think they need another basketball school only for what value do they bring in??? I would just bring in the best available football schools that are available to the Big East conference for there are a couple of pipe dreams at best that the BE could pull in a BCS school, but it's not happening, and should just go after the best available. NO to basketball onlys.

Well the "BEST AVAILABLE" is clearly Boise State and BYU. Is that the plan?

The beat available also takes into account market size, budget and reasonable geography. Boise is not one of the best available.

No more basketball only schools. We would stay at 10/17.

Not to worry. The bylaws require a 3/4 vote for approval. That means at least 4 FB members would need to vote to admit a BB member. Once TCU comes on board it would require 5 FB members. I don't see any BB school that could get the approval of 4 much less 5 members.

I think the most practical long term solution would be contraction. But shiver me timbers, maties! Which scurvey dog could we possibly choose to walk the plank without coming off as a bunch of lily-livered scallywags? Which league school is a private, basketball only school that is never even competitive in basketball, draws poorly at home and has no television worth at all in it's own market which is shares with another league school?

I guess we'll never know on whom we should be placin' the black spot and introducin' to Davey Jones' Locker so as to increase our booty? It's enough to drive a man to drink a pint of grog and sing songs.

I agree that Boise St. makes no sense geographically for the Big East, but I have no idea how big their market is. I don't think they're a traditional city like school. I almost want to say that they're the flagship school of the Plain States; Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. And adding them to a BCS league like the Big XII would most likely take that program to another level market wise. They're in a different situation than say a ECU or UCF who are surrounded by BCS programs. Boise St. is totally on an island of its own. I may be wrong on this because I don't know the landscape out there.

The "ECU can be the next VT" talk is always puzzling. Virginia Tech was/is the second BCS (and FBS) school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ECU would be the 5th BCS school in the state of North Carolina. Not quite an accurate comparison.

(03-02-2011 09:00 AM)MichaelSavage Wrote:  The "ECU can be the next VT" talk is always puzzling. Virginia Tech was/is the second BCS (and FBS) school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ECU would be the 5th BCS school in the state of North Carolina. Not quite an accurate comparison.

Actually, it could be very accurate....# of schools in the state has nothing to do with it.....anyone who knows anything at all about college football in the state of North Carolina would/could understand that.....

(03-02-2011 09:00 AM)MichaelSavage Wrote:  The "ECU can be the next VT" talk is always puzzling. Virginia Tech was/is the second BCS (and FBS) school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ECU would be the 5th BCS school in the state of North Carolina. Not quite an accurate comparison.

MS, the problem with your comparison is you're comparing apples to oranges. The number of BCS programs in their respective states has nothing to do with the statement being discussed...

What is at issue here is where each program stood prior to BCS membership. Virginia Tech's football program was exactly where ECU's is today, prior to their entry into The BEast. They didn't come in and suddenly become a good team. It took them a few years. But once they had that BCS label, success followed...

ECU could very well do the same, if given the chance. The only question is whether they'll get that chance or not...

(03-01-2011 11:25 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  I think the most practical long term solution would be contraction. But shiver me timbers, maties! Which scurvey dog could we possibly choose to walk the plank without coming off as a bunch of lily-livered scallywags? Which league school is a private, basketball only school that is never even competitive in basketball, draws poorly at home and has no television worth at all in it's own market which is shares with another league school?

I guess we'll never know on whom we should be placin' the black spot and introducin' to Davey Jones' Locker so as to increase our booty? It's enough to drive a man to drink a pint of grog and sing songs.

I laughed.