The MWC wants to become the 7th BCS Conference.
Thoughts, Predictions? How will this effect us if it happens?
They deserve the BE’s spot. They have been consistently better the last couple of years.
BCS will say “Get stronger”
Mountain West, with a promise that they can recieve an automatic bid if they expand and continue playing at the level they have been at, do just that.
Boise State joins the Mountain West. Fresno State as well. They might as well add another, so that they can have a conference championship. Who might that third addition be?
Could be Nevada. The Wolf Pack are a solid basketball program, and a football program on the rise. They also give a geographical rival to UNLV.
But, let’s think outside the box. What if they go knocking on Baylor’s door?
There has been talk of Baylor leaving the Big XII for some time. This is a lateral move for them: they remain in a BCS conference, and to boot, it’s one that they have a chance of finishing better than last in. Then, we see Arkansas move into the Big XII, and Clemson finally gets to realize their dream of playing in the SEC.
So the ACC loses Clemson, and again, they go to the Big East. Syracuse was originally supposed to go ACC a few years ago… but on second thought, the ACC decides that Miami’s jerseys are ugly enough, no need to add the hideous Syracuse garb. That, and UConn has continually impressed on the hardwood, and their football program has risen very steadily over the past few years. Huskies to the ACC.
Now is where the fun begins. The Big East knows it must add another football school, and it’s between Memphis and Notre Dame. Notre Dame, however, decides to go Big Ten. Yes, I mean this, by this time they will realize that being in a conference is a must. The Big East takes Memphis, and this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The private, catholic, basketball-only members of the Big East, angry that another public secular University joined, secede to form what I will call the “Holy Northern Conference”. Now, consider a conference of seven Catholic/Jesuit universities with major basketball programs and small-time or no football programs… where would they go to expand? Duh, the A-10. Dayton, Xavier, and Saint Louis are all attractive Catholic universities with big-time facilities and great basketball. St. Joseph’s is less attractive due to their undersized arena, but they’re still a possibility. For this model, however, we’ll leave them out of it.
But… but… but… what about us? We’ll get into that in the next edition.
In other news, I want a million dollars!
[QUOTE=Mullins Maniac;380149]In other news, I want a million dollars![/QUOTE]
Quit spamming the message board with meaningless dribble. I’ll be up there if you keep on.
[QUOTE=The Lax;380135]The MWC wants to become the 7th BCS Conference.
Thoughts, Predictions? How will this effect us if it happens?
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3861079[/QUOTE]
I don’t think they’ll be successful, but they are worthy. They had an 8-10 record against other BCS schools this season, which equaled the Big East record and bettered the ACC’s. This despite the fact that their members are at a MAJOR football recruiting disadvantage by not being in one of the Big 6 Conferences. Lots of scenarios if it does happen. The “get stronger” argument from the BCS schools is lame, to me. They will get stronger by simply being included in the BCS. The MWC school’s recruiting will improve since their champion would then be automatically included in a BCS bowl. The Big East only has 8 football members as of now, so I don’t think the Mountain West Conference should be required to add anybody since they already have 9 members. If no teams are added, this BCS addition would not affect us at all. The only way we get into the mix is if the dominoes start falling, but I’m not sure we’re in a position to make a move right now anyways being almost 5 years away from having football and 9 years away from being able to play D1.
In part 1, I explained how I foresee the possibility of a MWC autobid affecting the current BCS conferences, but how does it affect Charlotte? After all of this, here’s how the Atlantic Ten looks:
Charlotte
GW
St. Bon
St. Joseph’s (basketball is good enough for Holy North, but facilities are not)
Richmond
Temple
Duquesne
La Salle
Fordham
UMass
URI
While still somewhat competent, this is a fairly depleted conference as far as basketball goes, and still limits Charlotte, UMass, and Temple… all schools with FBS or FBS aspirations. Temple could go MAC in all sports, or do what they are doing now… but without Dayton and Xavier, I think they can do better. This is where I think we grow the balls to recreate a ‘metro’ conference, bringing in similar institutions with up-and-coming athletics programs, in moderate to large markets.
Charlotte (pending FBS)
UMass (pending FBS)
Buffalo
Temple
East Carolina
Central Florida
Florida Atlantic
Florida International
Georgia State (pending FBS)
Appalachian State (pending FBS)