A football conference is measured, from outside the conference, by it's ooc win totals. OOC wins are the first thing that come up when talking about the polls and bowls. I think in business terms, which focuses on goals. Setting goals without providing incentives for achieving the goals, and consequences for failing to meet your goals are meaningless. Why don't we set goals as a conference of how many games we aim to win in a given year. So, if it were the standard that each team had a goal of winning at least one ooc game or face consequences, maybe we would see more favorable schedules. We would also know that we should get to at least 9 ooc wins per year, which would be a good start. Those teams that won 2 or more ooc games would be rewarded. These consequences or rewards would not have to be money. They could be tied to number of televised games or bowl preferences for example. OOC wins are the key to improving the perception of our conference. I just wish we could find a way to hold every school accountable for contributing. Your thoughts.....

One reward is going to a bowl game. When more than half of the conference can't even become bowl-eligible, even with a possible bowl game at stake, then why would they do any better with any other incentives? A bowl game is what everybody wants.

... but I do see where you are getting at, and I would like to see the OOC wins improve, especially with the schedules our teams have this upcoming season.