Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[dfwabel]

Boise State staying put in MWC:

http://espn.go.com/c...nce-sources-say

That will be the move that will put the final nail in the BE's coffin. Boise did the right thing by staying and the move put the MWC into the position where the BE used to stand in.

How so?

In 2013, the BE will still have an AQ spot in the BCS meanwhile the MWC will not.

In 2014, once the BCS is done and the playoff system is in place both the BE and MWC will be on equal footing in terms of opportunity to get into the "Access Bowls". Also, each will most likely have the same amount of annual TV revenue.

[jkrdevil]

Boise State staying put in MWC:

http://espn.go.com/c...nce-sources-say

That will be the move that will put the final nail in the BE's coffin. Boise did the right thing by staying and the move put the MWC into the position where the BE used to stand in.

Exactly. I think Boise State was very smart staying put. And you are right, the Big East is dead...

If so where are the other 10 teams that are either scheduled or in the conference already going to go? Conference USA has already backfilled so for the schools planning on joining it probably isn't in their interest to go back vs sticking it out with the others. Yes, the big East isn't what it was, but neither is CUSA. The new Big East is still better than the new CUSA.

The best options for the those schools is to stick together as an 10 team all sports conference. They do probably need to work to keep the Texas schools because they could get MWC invites, but if they keep them the conference should be as good as the MWC and compete for the Gang of 5 slot.

Finally, in said scenario that conference might not be the Big East because they could sell the name off to the catholic schools, but it will likely remain as a conference.

[McCall]

Boise State staying put in MWC:

http://espn.go.com/c...nce-sources-say

That will be the move that will put the final nail in the BE's coffin. Boise did the right thing by staying and the move put the MWC into the position where the BE used to stand in.

How so?

In 2013, the BE will still have an AQ spot in the BCS meanwhile the MWC will not.

In 2014, once the BCS is done and the playoff system is in place both the BE and MWC will be on equal footing in terms of opportunity to get into the "Access Bowls". Also, each will most likely have the same amount of annual TV revenue.

SDSU can leave, or rather not join, without paying an exit fee due to no teams west of the Rocky Mountains now with Boise State staying put. Apparently SMU and Houston are on the target list of the Mountain West, too. And Navy is evidently wavering on whether to join the Big East or not as well.

[jgiff17]

With Houston getting a new stadium and hopefully a new coach after another horrible season coming up this year they should be doing anything possible to either keep the big east together and grab some good MAC schools or sell their souls to the devil to get into the big 12.

On another note I heard from an avid lsu fan that there are talks in Baton Rouge that lsu might want to leave the sec because of the scheduling along with other issues...anyone else hear anything about this? The big 12 would be even bigger with those guys.

[Nomad]

With Houston getting a new stadium and hopefully a new coach after another horrible season coming up this year they should be doing anything possible to either keep the big east together and grab some good MAC schools or sell their souls to the devil to get into the big 12.

On another note I heard from an avid lsu fan that there are talks in Baton Rouge that lsu might want to leave the sec because of the scheduling along with other issues...anyone else hear anything about this? The big 12 would be even bigger with those guys.

That LSU rumor seems to have started from this article not directly from anyone at the university. The writer does make some good points, however.

[Chicageaux]

I've heard the rumor just based on the article and honestly, it seemed written for a slow news day. LSU has done pretty well the past few years under the Alabama reign and not sure they'd play under the dictation of the Red River 4. They'll stay put and if they do leave, I'll eat my words.

[4_tattoos]

So basically they the "new" Mountain West Conference is the old MWC plus the WAC minus Utah, BYU, & Eventually Idaho?

[Raysfan12]

Boise State staying put in MWC:

http://espn.go.com/c...nce-sources-say

That will be the move that will put the final nail in the BE's coffin. Boise did the right thing by staying and the move put the MWC into the position where the BE used to stand in.

How so?

In 2013, the BE will still have an AQ spot in the BCS meanwhile the MWC will not.

In 2014, once the BCS is done and the playoff system is in place both the BE and MWC will be on equal footing in terms of opportunity to get into the "Access Bowls". Also, each will most likely have the same amount of annual TV revenue.

SDSU can leave, or rather not join, without paying an exit fee due to no teams west of the Rocky Mountains now with Boise State staying put. Apparently SMU and Houston are on the target list of the Mountain West, too. And Navy is evidently wavering on whether to join the Big East or not as well.

McCall made a good point, SDSU can leave at any time and not have to pay the exit fees. Also SMU and Houston can stay at C-USA and go to the MWC. That's why I think this move would end the BE.

[dfwabel]

Boise State staying put in MWC:

http://espn.go.com/c...nce-sources-say

That will be the move that will put the final nail in the BE's coffin. Boise did the right thing by staying and the move put the MWC into the position where the BE used to stand in.

How so?

In 2013, the BE will still have an AQ spot in the BCS meanwhile the MWC will not.

In 2014, once the BCS is done and the playoff system is in place both the BE and MWC will be on equal footing in terms of opportunity to get into the "Access Bowls". Also, each will most likely have the same amount of annual TV revenue.

SDSU can leave, or rather not join, without paying an exit fee due to no teams west of the Rocky Mountains now with Boise State staying put. Apparently SMU and Houston are on the target list of the Mountain West, too. And Navy is evidently wavering on whether to join the Big East or not as well.

McCall made a good point, SDSU can leave at any time and not have to pay the exit fees. Also SMU and Houston can stay at C-USA and go to the MWC. That's why I think this move would end the BE.

Nice of you to use other to try to salvage your original point, yet you still did not answer how the MWC would "replace" the Big East in terms of the former "Power Six".

TV doens't have nor will have an immediate replacement for the BE. The MWC contract is through 2016 and they did not get any eyeballs with their own d@mn network, which went to air before BTN. Overall, they are a combination of schools the nation does not give a $hit about, hence why their contract may rise from $1M per team to $2.5M per team while the ACC gets $14-17M per team at the first look-in.

[Seadragon76]

One thing I'm wondering with the move by Boise:

What does this do for their other sports? Remember, they were heading to the Big West for everything else other then football. Does the move back to the Mountain West (which seems to be much stronger now then the currently-crumbling Big East) also mean all their other sports move back?

[dfwabel]

One thing I'm wondering with the move by Boise:

What does this do for their other sports? Remember, they were heading to the Big West for everything else other then football. Does the move back to the Mountain West (which seems to be much stronger now then the currently-crumbling Big East) also mean all their other sports move back?

Most likely. Boise was to have their entry fee to the Big West covered by the Big East TV contract. $2.5M over five years.

Remember, they also were to give the Big West $750k/year in travel expenses to facilitate those schools to get to Boise by air. 50% of that subsidy was to be also paid by the Big East. Boise State is out of pocket about $250K to the Big West without ever officially re-joining/playing a game.

[DaytonBlue]

This is still somewhat respectable (assuming SDSU goes back to MW)

UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, ECU, UCF, USF, Tulane, SMU, Houston, Navy, Temple

I think the New Big East though is down to its last life. If the ACC or MW swipe any more teams I think that will be all she wrote.

[Raysfan12]

Here's a really interesting article discussing the Big East's future.

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=4584#more-4584

[hailstateunis]

Here's a really interesting article discussing the Big East's future.

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=4584#more-4584

I actually really like the C-USA and Big East merger idea.

[Philsphan]

Here's a really interesting article discussing the Big East's future.

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=4584#more-4584

I actually really like the C-USA and Big East merger idea.

I do too, but can Conference USA just cancel the additions of Louisiana Tech, UTSA, North Texas, FAU, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Charlotte. If they can, then most of those schools would probably go to the Sun Belt, which has also added teams.

[pianoknight]

Here's a radical thought I had the other day.

Many of the "smaller" schools in C-USA, SunBelt, Big East or MWC/WAC have rivalries that stretch outside conference borders. Those schools have been tossed around a fair bit more than the big guys have. They face a tremendous challenge - try to preserve their own classic rivalries (many out-of-conference) or adapt to this shoehorned mega-conference idea that will force them into giant, sprawling conferences where they have virtually no chance of getting to a playoff game and their travel budget spirals out of control.

When we get to the era of 4/5 Mega-Power Conferences (Pac-29, Big-42, etc), I propose the smaller conferences (almost) completely dissolve and all members go independent - lumped into Eastern Independents and Western Independents. Any playoff model would include berths for the best Western Independent school and the best Eastern Independent school, provided they finish in the Top 25.

This model provides that ever-elusive "access" for those teams and gives smaller schools more flexibility in their scheduling and travelling. As a by-product, it also gives larger schools the chance to pick up better non-conference opponents since each of those independent schools won't be confined to their own conference schedule. By providing conditional berths in a playoff system, you're also ensuring that only those true "BCS Busters" (see: Boise State) actually make it into the playoff.

The traditional independents fall into this category, too - Irish, BYU, Militaries - so for the 2012 season, the Eastern Independent berth is eaten up by a (quite deserving) Notre Dame. You could argue that #19 Boise State's inclusion is unfair, but you have to draw a line somewhere. And to be honest, if "better" schools wanted into the playoff, they should have played harder in the regular season. There are still 6 more (or 10 more) berths open, so nobody can complain that an independent robbed them of a shot.

Here's a hypothetical 8-Team Model using this year's rankings.

#1 Notre Dame (E. Indy) v. #19 Boise State (W.Indy)

#2 Alabama (SEC Champ) v. #5 Kansas State (Big 12 Champ)

#3 Florida (at-Large) v. #6 Stanford (at-Large)

#4 Oregon (PAC Champ) v. #7 Georgia (at-Large)

And a 12-team. Note that in a 12-team model, I've capped each conference at a maximum of 3 teams each. That's not so much to preclude this year's heavy-SEC rankings, but because an all-SEC playoff looks dull and stupid, and it doesn't really illustrate the point nearly as well.

#5 Kansas State (Big 12 Champ) v. #19 Boise State (W.Indy)

- - Winner @ #1 Notre Dame (E. Indy)

#6 Stanford (at-Large) v. #14 Clemson (at-Large)

- - Winner @ #2 Alabama (SEC Champ)

#7 Georgia (at-Large) v. #13 Oregon State (at-Large)

- - Winner @ #3 Florida (at-Large)

#11 Oklahoma (at-Large) v. #12 Florida State (ACC Champ)

- - Winner @ #4 Oregon (PAC Champ)

[GriffinM6]

Here's a really interesting article discussing the Big East's future.

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=4584#more-4584

I actually really like the C-USA and Big East merger idea.

I do too, but can Conference USA just cancel the additions of Louisiana Tech, UTSA, North Texas, FAU, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Charlotte. If they can, then most of those schools would probably go to the Sun Belt, which has also added teams.

I'd say they can keep Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion, because they can actually compete at the level of the C-USA.

[dfwabel]

After reviving football in 2009, ODU has never played a FBS school. Their next FBS game will be their first.

There is no idea on how they can deal with playing a team with 80 scholarships and the ability to dress 105 for a home game.

[Geoff]

If you're going to be pompous, at least get you're facts straight. FBS schools have 85 scholarships.

ODU's coach is a big believer in not traveling for a payday and has said when they reach the FBS level, it's home-and-home deals or nothing. Now I'm sure if the money is enough, that can change (and probably should at times to increase cash available for the program and department), but that explains why they haven't played one yet. They're looking for success and not a payday. That money can't take away the sting of a loss from the players since they won't see any of it.

ODU has put together a simply yet high power offense and a decent enough defense. They have recruited pretty damn well and are continuing to do so. They play ECU, Maryland, UNC and Idaho next year with only 10 games on the schedule right now (they're working on adding another FCS school and they could add another FBS game for #12).

[raysfan24]

Here's a question, what happens to Boise State's conference schedule? They have already announced the conference schedule for the Big East so what happens? Do they play all those games against Big East opponents or does the conference have to completely alter the schedule?