Division 1 College Conference Realignment

[Island_Style]

The two Big East schools are the Cards and Bearcats.

I am hearing the Big 12 is willing to pay FSU's exit fee.

The ACC meetings are in my hometown right now. Doubt any news will leak. They are all probably drinking scotch and playing golf all weekend.

[dfwabel]

Derrick Brooks says the Big 12 and FSU has been talking.

He has rank

I also read some tweets from Greg Swaim. Take it for what it's worth but he tweeted this.

"# Big12 already formulating plan to help cash strapped # FSU buyout of # ACC deal, if needed. No word on other schools possible buyouts."

"Per Brian Ethridge. 10 teams have called Big XII to open dialogue. Seven of them coming from the ACC. One from Big East. One independent"

He may have "rank" , but he may not have correct information and his quote to Brando proved it.

Meanwhile, Big XII Commissioner...err Texas AD Deloss Doss, said this on Monday:

"There's no traction. There've been no conversations between Florida State and the Big 12."

In addition, the Big XII schools will not meet until May 30, so all of this is just conjecture.

"We are a process-oriented league," one source close to the situation said.

The credit for that goes to interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas, sources said.

Neinas was Big Eight commissioner from 1971-80. He was executive director of the College Football Association from 1980 to 1997. And he was the founder of Neinas Sports Services, which helps colleges and universities across the country place coaches and athletic directors. (Neinas helped Texas select Mack Brown.)

Sources said Neinas won't tolerate "back-door dealings" when it comes to any possible expansion.

The league's expansion committee would have to convene and go through transparent protocols with another conference before making any contact with an individual school, the sources said.

For Neinas, who has worked with schools in every major conference and has credibility to protect, this protocol is essential, the sources said.

And sources across the Big 12 continue to say there may well be interest in Florida State as a potential expansion target. But those sources say nothing will happen until everyone is in the same room and can have a conversation about it - most likely at the league meetings in Kansas City May 30 or even later in the summer.

A few voices in the league have said there should be no decision on expansion until the picture of what the new BCS, with a potential four-team playoff, becomes clear.

One source in the Big 12 laughed that any decision making about expansion would be made while new commissioner Bob Bowlsby is still the athletic director at Stanford. Bowlsby takes over his new job on June 15, although he will be at the Big 12 meetings.

Lastly, WVU and TCU will not get a full share of the media money until Year 4.

Year 1: 50%

Year 2: 67%

Year 3: 84%

Year 4: 100%

FSU will have the same caveat.

[Island_Style]

The higher ranked are the ones crying about the ACC and talking about the Big 12. It is the underlings saying they are happy with the ACC. Classic business PR. Staying in a basketball conference will kill FSU football. FSU football still pulls in ratings and the Big 12 sure could use a Florida school right about now. I am a huge believer in where there's smoke, there is fire. Too much chatter for nothing to be happening. I'd bet the farm that FSU wont be in the ACC five years from now.

Oh, and Louisville and the Big 12 has been talking for awhile. FSU and Clemson calling the Big 12 (Who has been sewn at the hip lately) threw in the monkey wrench. Just another fun rumor.

[DarkJourney]

Old Dominion makes it official

Old Dominion to join Conference USA

ESPN.com news services

Old Dominion is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association and joining Conference USA.

The move will be effective July 1, 2013, school president John R. Broderick said in a release Thursday. The Monarchs, who restarted their football program only three seasons ago, will play at the Bowl Subdivision level after one more year in the Championship Subdivision.

ODU becomes the second school to leave the CAA this week. VCU announced Tuesday that it is heading to the Atlantic 10 in July 2012, and the league faces the likelihood of having UNC Wilmington and Towson banned from postseason play in men's basketball next season for not meeting the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate. Those penalties will be announced late next month.

"We saw this as a game changer for us relative to football reclassification and also a way to enhance the majority of all of our 16 intercollegiate athletic programs," ODU athletic director Wood Selig told ESPN.com's Andy Katz. "Sometimes conference moves are all about assisting one sport, perhaps two, this was a move that greatly enhanced our national visibility and opportunities across the majority of our programs relative to competing at the highest level possible."

CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said Thursday that the Monarchs will have to pay a $250,000 exit fee and forfeiture of $400,000 in revenue distribution this year. However, Monarchs boosters have already pledged $3 million in private support to help meet the school's expenses, which will include added football scholarships, Broderick said.

The move also will be made without an increase in student fees, he said, which was among the factors he viewed as critical while the school studied the impact the change would make.

"While the university was not actively seeking a change, recent events necessitated an earlier consideration of our future, and in particular, for our football program," Broderick said in the release. "C-USA's invitation provided the right opportunity at the right time to reclassify our football program and broaden the national footprint of our athletic program."

Details of ODU's move are not yet finalized, Broderick said, including finding homes for its sports that are not offered by C-USA.

Based on CAA bylaws, ODU will not be allowed to compete in any championship sport next season. The same bylaw applies to Georgia State, which is leaving for the Sun Belt in 2013-14. That bylaw was the reason VCU pushed up its exit to July 1.

ODU men's basketball coach Blaine Taylor told ESPN.com that he was hopeful "cooler heads would prevail" and the league would allow the Monarchs to compete for the conference tournament title.

"I would hope they would revisit that," Taylor said. "We've been in this league a long time."

Echoing Taylor's desire to push the CAA to overturn its bylaw banning a departing member from playing in the conference tournament, Selig said: "There are several in the league, even some who are not looking to move, who believe the rule is too restrictive and punitive for student athletes. We will work with those similar in thought."

Taylor said that the Monarchs could be ready to go to C-USA immediately, but the football program, which is being bumped up a level, isn't.

Taylor said he believes the CAA will be fine without VCU and ODU. George Mason decided to stay instead of pursuing possible membership in the Atlantic 10. A source close to the process told ESPN.com that the athletic department wanted to make the jump but the president did not.

"Basketball-only schools are a rare breed now," Taylor said. "They are like the white buffalo."

Taylor believes the ODU basketball program will be the first to show whether it can compete for a title in C-USA. The conference will look considerably different in 2013 with the departures of Memphis, Southern Methodist, Houston and Central Florida to the Big East, and the additions of ODU, Charlotte, Texas-San Antonio, North Texas, Florida International and Louisiana Tech to join existing members Rice, UTEP, East Carolina, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, Marshall and Alabama-Birmingham.

The CAA, which is expected to pursue Charleston and Davidson out of the Southern Conference and possibly Boston University and/or Stony Brook out of the America East, will be left with Drexel, George Mason, Delaware, Northeastern, James Madison, UNC Wilmington, William and Mary, Hofstra and Towson in 2013.

Towson and Wilmington are ineligible for the 2013 postseason due to low APR scores, but Towson is appealing the penalty. If Georgia State and ODU both are barred for leaving, per bylaws, then the conference tournament will have only seven teams eligible in 2013.

[4_tattoos]

Sure has been alot of 1AA/FCS schools moving up to 1A/FBS recently. I thought the NCAA placed some sort of freeze on schools being able to move up recently.

[Burmy]

Sure has been alot of 1AA/FCS schools moving up to 1A/FBS recently. I thought the NCAA placed some sort of freeze on schools being able to move up recently.

I believe that moratorium is expiring July 1...

[dfwabel]

Sure has been alot of 1AA/FCS schools moving up to 1A/FBS recently. I thought the NCAA placed some sort of freeze on schools being able to move up recently.

I believe that moratorium is expiring July 1...

The NCAA moratorium on moving up to D-I or from FCS to FBS, expired on August 1, 2011.

Announcements were made prior since the D-I Board of Directors do not meet every day.

[Island_Style]

Interesting tweet from Greg Swain.

Greg Swaim ‏ @ GSwaim # FSU, # VaTech, # Clemson fans fasten your seatbelts...this may happen much quicker than even we anticipated!!

The new Bowl deal between the Big 12 and the SEC is a big indicator to me.

[DarkJourney]

It's highly unlikely the the Big 12 Champ and SEC Champ will ever meet each other in this new bowl game because they will most likely be in the new 4-team BCS playoff the majority of the time. So it's another runner-up bowl game.

[Island_Style]

It's highly unlikely the the Big 12 Champ and SEC Champ will ever meet each other in this new bowl game because they will most likely be in the new 4-team BCS playoff the majority of the time. So it's another runner-up bowl game.

No doubt. Meaningless exhibition bowl game, anyway. So happy for this four team playoff.

I think this will be the final straw for ND to go somewhere. I think the ACC is about to get carved up.

[RyanMcD29]

So with this whole new championship deal looking more and more like a Pac 12/B10 vs. SEC/B12 affair, doesn't that basically render the rest of D-1 college football useless? You think eventually the other 7 conferences would consider forming a second subdivision or something like that if it's going to be even more impossible to make this playoff than it would be to make a BCS bowl? Yes I understand this championship game is if the teams aren't going to be in the playoff, but you get what I mean.

I mean, granted Syracuse's bread and butter is basketball and lacrosse, and the ACC's bread and butter is basketball and lacrosse, and even with the likelihood of FSU bolting is more and more likely it's still not as dire as the Big East, so I don't care that much considering we're never gonna contend for a national title these days anyway, but...

[Island_Style]

So with this whole new championship deal looking more and more like a Pac 12/B10 vs. SEC/B12 affair, doesn't that basically render the rest of D-1 college football useless? You think eventually the other 7 conferences would consider forming a second subdivision or something like that if it's going to be even more impossible to make this playoff than it would be to make a BCS bowl? Yes I understand this championship game is if the teams aren't going to be in the playoff, but you get what I mean.

I think this was all foreseen. I think the playoff will become the contracts in the first round. I think this is why they made the move to the FBS so easy and dropped old standards. There will be two FBS. They will be known as two different entities. The SEC likes it the Big 12 is getting good. It is healthy for both. Same with B16 with Pac 12.

[Lights Out]

So with this whole new championship deal looking more and more like a Pac 12/B10 vs. SEC/B12 affair, doesn't that basically render the rest of D-1 college football useless?

Pretty much. The Big Four conferences will probably just end up raiding the remnants of the ACC and the new Big East and that will be that. Thanks, BCS, for ruining college football.

[Island_Style]

So with this whole new championship deal looking more and more like a Pac 12/B10 vs. SEC/B12 affair, doesn't that basically render the rest of D-1 college football useless?

Pretty much. The Big Four conferences will probably just end up raiding the remnants of the ACC and the new Big East and that will be that. Thanks, BCS, for ruining college football.

I see where you are coming from. Luckily my school got in the big four (fingers crossed) so im happy with it. I will miss the underdogs coming out of nowhere. FSU became FSU by doing that.

I think this will be the last earthquake for CFB conferences but it will be a doozy.

[DarkJourney]

FBS Elite will consist of the Big 10, Big 12, SEC & Pac-12

The 4 conference championship game (8 teams) winners will advance into the 4-team FBS Elite playoff.

[Island_Style]

FBS Elite will consist of the Big 10, Big 12, SEC & Pac-12

The 4 conference championship game (8 teams) winners will advance into the 4-team FBS Elite playoff.

A 8 team playoff if you think about it. Me likey.

[rams80]

It's highly unlikely the the Big 12 Champ and SEC Champ will ever meet each other in this new bowl game because they will most likely be in the new 4-team BCS playoff the majority of the time. So it's another runner-up bowl game.

So they just made the Cotton Bowl at JerryWorld have slightly higher prestige?

----------------------------

Hey guys... super excited to be wishing for the destruction of Rutgers football during the fall now.

[Island_Style]

It's highly unlikely the the Big 12 Champ and SEC Champ will ever meet each other in this new bowl game because they will most likely be in the new 4-team BCS playoff the majority of the time. So it's another runner-up bowl game.

So they just made the Cotton Bowl at JerryWorld have slightly higher prestige?

He isn't a very good GM but he is an awesome business man. Cotton Bowl might end up hosting a playoff game.

[Lights Out]

In other news, Boise State is officially committed to the Big East.

Good news for two reasons: firstly, this likely means their Olympic sports have found a home, and secondly, this puts them in position to be cherrypicked by an Elite 4 conference when they inevitably circle the Big East and ACC like vultures.

[rams80]

I'd like to add that I hope any Big Ten invite to Maryland is made contingent on the athletic department growing at least a small sense of dignity.