Conference Realignment (Part 1)

Why the hell would someone want Utah St?

You’d have to ask the Mountain West that question. They offered to Utah State before doing so to Nevada and Fresno St. Better question, what the f*** was Utah State thinking when they said “no thanks”?

You’d have to ask the Mountain West that question. They offered to Utah State before doing so to Nevada and Fresno St. Better question, what the f*** was Utah State thinking when they said “no thanks”?[/quote]

Yea, that’s a head scratcher. MWC must want to keep their Utah presence pretty badly to want Utah State for football.

You’d have to ask the Mountain West that question. They offered to Utah State before doing so to Nevada and Fresno St. Better question, what the f*** was Utah State thinking when they said “no thanks”?[/quote]

Yea, that’s a head scratcher. MWC must want to keep their Utah presence pretty badly to want Utah State for football.[/quote]

Geographic map of the states in the MWC would (without Utah, BYU or Utah St.) have a Utah shaped hole in the middle.

Well, they want them more than just for football. The men’s hoops program is the main attraction. Realtime RPI numbers go back to 2004 and here are the yearly finishes for the Aggies during that time, which are comparable to BYU (also listed below):

Utah State Final RPI:
2004 = 50
2005 = 36
2006 = 46
2007 = 45
2008 = 75
2009 = 23
2010 = 30

BYU Final RPI:
2004 = 36
2005 = 270
2006 = 68
2007 = 19
2008 = 32
2009 = 29
2010 = 23

Well, they want them more than just for football. The men’s hoops program is the main attraction. Realtime RPI numbers go back to 2004 and here are the yearly finishes for the Aggies during that time, which are comparable to BYU (also listed below):

Utah State Final RPI:
2004 = 50
2005 = 36
2006 = 46
2007 = 45
2008 = 75
2009 = 23
2010 = 30

BYU Final RPI:
2004 = 36
2005 = 270
2006 = 68
2007 = 19
2008 = 32
2009 = 29
2010 = 23[/quote]

That would be the only reason to add them right now as far as sports go. The Aggies’ football team has not been ranked since 1966. They are 1-50 all time against AP ranked teams. :o Their last season with a winning record came in 1995, and they’ve only had two bowl trips in the last 50 years. Yeah, I’d say the basketball program would be what would get them in the MWC.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Chron.com: Rhoades says UH happy in C-USA — for now

Nevada and Fresno decided to remain in the WAC for one more football season so they would not have to pay the heavy exit fee. They get a reduced exit fee, though the actual amount was not released. Montana, Texas State, and UT-San Antonio are the football replacement candidates for the WAC. Denver and Seattle are hoping to join as non-football members.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5735144

La Tech is hoping somebody leaves CUSA so they can get the heck out of the WAC.

Of course, Seattle would LOVE to rejoin the West Coast Conference. Gotta think at some point the WCC will make it an even 10 members after BYU joins.

per Jeff Goodman:

It’s confirmed that both Southern Utah and North Dakota are headed to the Big Sky in July of 2012.

Apparently South Dakota has an invite to the Big Sky on their desk as well.

http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2010/11/1/GEN_1101105326.aspx

Latest on Big East…

NJ.com: Big East to hold ‘pivotal’ meeting to discuss conference expansion, according to report

[quote=“Run49er, post:52, topic:23766”]Latest on Big East…

NJ.com: Big East to hold ‘pivotal’ meeting to discuss conference expansion, according to report[/quote]

The report cites TCU, Houston, Temple, Villanova and Central Florida as possible candidates to join the conference

tcu and houston? are they going to rename the conference? big tex east? big east tex?

The report cites TCU, Houston, Temple, Villanova and Central Florida as possible candidates to join the conference

Is it just me or does this whole recent Big East love affair over TCU scream of desperation? It’s kind of like not being able to get the hot girl in your city, so you go to 3 cities over but you still just get a high-medium chick. Looks like Menpiss can’t catch a break and their state actually touches a Big East state.

[quote=“49RFootballNow, post:54, topic:23766”]

The report cites TCU, Houston, Temple, Villanova and Central Florida as possible candidates to join the conference

Is it just me or does this whole recent Big East love affair over TCU scream of desperation? It’s kind of like not being able to get the hot girl in your city, so you go to 3 cities over but you still just get a high-medium chick. Looks like Menpiss can’t catch a break and their state actually touches a Big East state.[/quote]

i think mempiss state falls under the category of “likely to have a disease” more so than “hot girl”. maybe that’s your answer. ;D

[quote=“LakeNorman49er, post:55, topic:23766”][quote=“49RFootballNow, post:54, topic:23766”]

The report cites TCU, Houston, Temple, Villanova and Central Florida as possible candidates to join the conference

Is it just me or does this whole recent Big East love affair over TCU scream of desperation? It’s kind of like not being able to get the hot girl in your city, so you go to 3 cities over but you still just get a high-medium chick. Looks like Menpiss can’t catch a break and their state actually touches a Big East state.[/quote]

i think mempiss state falls under the category of “likely to have a disease” more so than “hot girl”. maybe that’s your answer. ;D[/quote]

I was just going to say they were still the ugly chick, but we’ll go with disease infested.

The fact that ECU isn’t a choice is pretty telling to me. I know a lot of you hate ECU, but they have dominated CUSA football the past 3 years. I think that media market, as some of us have speculated, is playing a big role here.

The 2/3 of America Conference

That’s probably the biggest factor, and the fact that most teams would have to fly to Raleigh and drive to Greenville. That doesn’t help you get into a major conference.

I agree that their credentials in football should help them overcome some of those obstacles, though.

I hope ECU doesn’t get an invite. Not because I don’t like them (I’m pretty indifferent to them honestly), but because if there is any hope of a decent Non-BCS conference in the east, ECU would be a great conference mate for football. With Memphis not making the list of teams being discussed for BE expansion, I’d like to have them as conference mates again as well.

ECU does OK on ratings when they’re on ESPN but they don’t have a large “home” media market and that probably scares the Big East a bit. They’ve been good the last decade, but the BE thinks like the “big boys” even if they really aren’t. They think that if the teams that want in don’t have several decades worth of football success then they are unreliable in adding value to the conference long term. The Big East is also VERY basketball focused. You can even say its part of the reason they are poached for football schools.The current and former commissioners came out of basketball only programs and the conference is HQ’d in Providence RI. Let’s face it, ECU is the limp phallus of east coast basketball programs.