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+---- Thread: 10 football vs. 12 (/thread-569154.html)
10 football vs. 12 - arkstfan - 05-08-2012 09:20 AM
I don't see either option as being nearly as clear-cut as many of you do.
The virtues of 10.
1. The conference members have already expressed an intention to go to a 9 game schedule that would permit playing everyone, guarantee 5 home games every other year, and make it more difficult for schools to overload on money games. It would also strengthen interest and awareness in the other schools.
2. There is instability apparent in the Big East. The C-USA expansion looks like the Missouri Compromise, no one (except the new members) came away with what they wanted. The possibility of dramatic shifts looms. A Sun Belt with 10 has room to accomodate members if one of the leagues is left so damaged it can no longer retain automatic bids or existing contracts.
3. You avoid a conference title game which presents a 50-50 chance of your best team of the year getting knocked out of the BCS hunt.
4. You retain schedule flexibility. Depending on the year, the college season is either 14 weeks or 15 weeks. If you play a title game you have either 13 or 14 weeks to accomodate the schedule. Most of our members do not want to play Thanksgiving week. If you accomodate that you are left with 12 or 13 weeks to fit in 12 games. Our practice has been for the members to submit their non-conference games to the league office and then build the league schedule around it which creates even more scheduling issues. Throw in the specter of Tuesday games which knocks you out of playing the prior week and scheduling becomes even more difficult.
5. A title game is almost certainly going to be played on a weeknight. If you are a metro based team relying on fans within the metro area for the most part a weeknight is not that big of a problem. For schools who depend on season ticket holders an hour or two away, getting off work on a week notice is problematic. The MAC now ends its regular season on the Friday prior to the title game to reduce the impact of the weeknight title game.
The virtues of 12
1. Creates an additional event to market to television.
2. Limits travel and strengthens ties to more local teams.
3. If the Big XII expands, it would mean all 10 FBS leagues will feature a title game.
4. Moves the cushion for future raids from 2 to 4.
5. Once you get past the potential scheduling issues presented in 2013, makes scheduling a bit easier if the league stays at 8 games.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - statefanatic - 05-08-2012 09:27 AM
Those are all great points. You always know how to break it done in a way for every body to undrstand. I'm not sold on a title game. I think we should stay at 10 for football and play 9 conference game and 3 ooc games. This would help to better our record by taking away a money game.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - panama - 05-08-2012 09:32 AM
Would prefer 4 OOC but still like staying at 10 for now
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - Panthersville - 05-08-2012 09:32 AM
Regarding you "virtues of 10":
1. Can still happen with 12.
2. I agree, but this is the flip-side of #4 in your "virtues of 12".
3. I don't like the idea of making decisions based on fear.
4. Why wouldn't we play Thanksgiving week?
5. Don't know why it would be played on a weeknight - unless it is going to be in a fixed location (like Atlanta the Thursday before the SECCG ).
I'm fine with staying at ten for now, I just wanted to point out some counter-points.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - arkstfan - 05-08-2012 09:47 AM
It would be a weeknight unless you are willing to move away from ESPN for the title game and play before a much smaller TV audience. ESPN doesn't have a place to slot us on Saturday (see MAC title game). You can go to Fox Sports or CBS College but you lose a lot of eyeballs.
Most schools don't want to play Thanksgiving week because the students are gone. That might not be an issue in Atlanta where the students are still in the metro area but in places like Jonesboro, Troy, and Lafayette are large part of the student body is now an hour or more away and in many cases don't even have a place stay in town. The coaches and players have to give up the chance to be with family and it ends up costing the athletic department quite a bit to deal with providing meals (cafeteria is closed) and dealing with housing.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - TrojanNation - 05-08-2012 09:59 AM
(05-08-2012 09:47 AM)arkstfan Wrote: Most schools don't want to play Thanksgiving week because the students are gone. That might not be an issue in Atlanta where the students are still in the metro area but in places like Jonesboro, Troy, and Lafayette are large part of the student body is now an hour or more away and in many cases don't even have a place stay in town. The coaches and players have to give up the chance to be with family and it ends up costing the athletic department quite a bit to deal with providing meals (cafeteria is closed) and dealing with housing.
I can't remember the last time that TROY did NOT play on thanksgiving weekend. As a fan, it is a good excuse to get back on the road away from the inlaws, haha. It is also a good way to wrap up the thanksgiving week.
But attendance deffinately declines and the team/support staff/coaches don't get the chance to have a break like everyone else.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - Ragu - 05-08-2012 10:25 AM
We need 12. The conference title game is such a fun experience. Most of my friends went to MAC schools ( I live in and grew up in Ohio). I always think of the Sun Belt as the MAC South and I want it to be a similar league. Tight geographically with the title game as well. We can easily accomplish this by adding App St and Georgia Southern but our leadership is once again failing us. This league is largely a joke to fans who didn't go to a Sun Belt school. We need to get to 12, keep the membership and establish rivalries as the MAC does. With the population shifts that are happening in this country, a SE conference should be able to thrive over one in the rust belt. But the MAC has great leadership all around and we will lag behind until we do the same.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - RaiderDoug - 05-08-2012 10:39 AM
Maybe it's just me, but i've no interest in playing everyone in the conference just for the sake of scheduling everyone in the conference.
I could not care less if MT plays TxSt or ULM every year. I've no interest in those teams, they might as well be on the other side of the planet.
I'm much rather a nice, tight east division and west division. I'd much rather play my east division rivals right up the road in WKU/App/GST/Troy/whoever else might be in the east every year, and then maybe we see one or two of those west teams a year. It would be a novelty, then, it might be interesting.
We need to get to 12 ASAP, with strong additions (there aren't that many out there). If we wait on App, then we might get stuck with UTA football or Lamar. We need to make the Sunbelt someplace we all want to be. We go to 12 with a strong plan to develop the conference- and we have a chance to be that.
We stay at 10 because we don't know what might happen later, then we might as well just wait for CUSA to pluck the next one of us.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - GoApps70 - 05-08-2012 10:58 AM
Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieved by those that do nothing.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - Panthersville - 05-08-2012 11:26 AM
(05-08-2012 10:58 AM)GoApps70 Wrote: Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieved by those that do nothing.
Sounds great, says nothing.
The difference is proactive action vs. reactionary action. Getting to 12 for the sake of getting to 12 without paying attention to the other considerations mentioned above is foolish.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - arkstfan - 05-08-2012 11:48 AM
(05-08-2012 10:58 AM)GoApps70 Wrote: Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieved by those that do nothing.
Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieve by those who do something merely for the sake of doing something.
Having a conference title game for the mere sake of having a conference title game is just a d@mn stupid idea.
Having a conference title game for the mere sake of having one more telecast game is just a d@mn stupid idea.
RE: 10 football vs. 12 - dahbeed - 05-08-2012 12:04 PM
(05-08-2012 11:48 AM)arkstfan Wrote:(05-08-2012 10:58 AM)GoApps70 Wrote: Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieved by those that do nothing.
Nothing beneficial is ever going to be achieve by those who do something merely for the sake of doing something.
Having a conference title game for the mere sake of having a conference title game is just a d@mn stupid idea.
Having a conference title game for the mere sake of having one more telecast game is just a d@mn stupid idea.
![[Image: Agree.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-usZbhTjZPuk/T3PR_icxCfI/AAAAAAAAA2o/1Pix3TVidZA/s1600/Agree.jpg)