MWC gets a BCS auto-bid?

Charlotte 49er Football šŸˆ
1

Junior Johnsonā€™s comment at halftime got me thinking, what would happen if the BCS awarded an automatic bid to the Mountain West Conference (they deserve it) and makes the Cotton Bowl a 5th BCS game (there has been talk about this already). Would this affect Charlotte? I think so!

Letā€™s get in depth with this. If the MWC gets a bid, then it would immediately try to strengthen itself beyond where it is. There are nine MWC teams currently. Letā€™s say they go after the money of a 12th game. Who deserves to be in a BCS conference, that is also geographically in that region? Boise State, Fresno State, and Hawaii. With an autobid, it would be almost guaranteed that these teams will jump at the chance to join the MWC. Where does the WAC go to replace the three teams that they lost? The western half of C-USA, of course. UTEP, SMU, and Tulsa (pleaseā€¦ please donā€™t take Houston!) Weā€™ll assume that LaTech tries to get into C-USA because it actually makes sense, rather than being in the WAC. That still leaves C-USA needing two more teams. Whatā€™s to stop one of those teams from being Charlotte, if we agree to join as a football member in 2017, after the required 4-years in FCS.

Sure itā€™s farfetchedā€¦ but you guys know I enjoy doing these hypotheticals. Hereā€™s how it works out in the end:

[i][u][size=4]Mountain West[/i][/u][/size]
Fresno State
Boise State
Hawaii
TCU
BYU
Utah
Colorado State
Air Force
New Mexico
Wyoming
SDSU
UNLV

[i][u][size=4]Western Athletic Conference[/i][/u][/size]
UTEP
Tulsa
SMU
Idaho
Nevada
NMSU
SJSU
Utah State
Houston/Rice

[i][u][size=4]Conference USA[/u][/i][/size]
Marshall
ECU
UCF
UAB
SMU
Tulane
Memphis
Houston/Rice
La Tech
Charlotte
two of the following: Buffalo, FIU, FAU, WKU, USA, possibly App State/Ga State

Itā€™s not the Big East, but geographically it does make more sense. Also, if WKU and USA get in, along with us, Houston, Memphis, and UABā€¦ could actually be a pretty damn good basketball conference as well.

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I kid. I just wanted to use that image.

As a football conference? Okay. As a basketball conference, I want no part of it.

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[QUOTE=UNCCTF;373654]

I kid. I just wanted to use that image.

As a football conference? Okay. As a basketball conference, I want no part of it.[/QUOTE]

mehā€¦ if WKU and USA join, and C-USA can keep Houston, I think it would be an ok conference.

Either way, I would still rather be in C-USA than the A10. More notoriety, and makes more sense geographically.

4

I assume we are speaking the fun language of Hypotheticalese, because this will not happen without the creation of TWO new non-BCS FBS conferences.

The current NCAA FBS Committee votes by conference, so 6 BCS conferences vs 5 non. I think you see my point.

Now a 6th non-BCS Conference will create gridlock, but as the BCS folks like the current situation, they donā€™t need to vote too many changes.

A 7th non-BCS conference would force them to add one of the non-BCS conferences (currently most likely the MWC) so that they could maintain gridlock and prevent silly stuff like a real playoff. Currently they like splitting the money 6 ways better then 7.

Same situation with the bowls, they like splitting their portion 4 ways better then 5 and have the national championship every 4 years better then every 5.

Even if the sky fell tomorrow and the MWC was invited in they would be given an auto-bid in one of the 4 current bowls, reducing the chances of non-BCSers to get in.

Also, while the MWC might consider adding Boise St. so they can have a regular 8 game in-conference schedule, I doubt they go for 12 teams, BCS or not. The ACC experiment has yet to be anywhere near as successful as the SEC or Big 12, and has cooled conferences from the 12 team/Championship Game Fever.

The Big East is currently satisfied with 8 teams and the Big T1E1N and Pac 10 all but said hell would freeze before they go that route. They think NOT having a conference champ game gives their champs an advantage, and not having to split their BCS money 12 ways makes them happy too.

Both conferences AND the Rose Bowl would be happy to scrap the BCS all together and go back to the old system, so donā€™t expect them EVER to support a silly playoff system!

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I want football just as bad as the rest of usā€¦ but Iā€™m still basketball minded. Its established and it can pull football along rather than wait 15 years to start really winning at the top level of football (if weā€™re even that lucky). I donā€™t want to hinder it and this would DEFINITELY hinder it. At least right now weā€™re playing with Dayton, Xavier, Temple, UMass, St. Joes - all of which are established and still solidly established names in basketball (not to mention teams like, and I feel retarded saying this, fordham and bona who have at least some history in their past). Houston has been gone for a while, UAB floats up and down the charts and the minds of all of us, and Memphis is the only solid contender who is (and your crazy if you deny it) just aā€™waiting for a better bball conf. to come a knocking.

Iā€™m happy floating.

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[QUOTE=zerogeneticsdc;373697]I want football just as bad as the rest of usā€¦ but Iā€™m still basketball minded. Its established and it can pull football along rather than wait 15 years to start really winning at the top level of football (if weā€™re even that lucky). I donā€™t want to hinder it and this would DEFINITELY hinder it. At least right now weā€™re playing with Dayton, Xavier, Temple, UMass, St. Joes - all of which are established and still solidly established names in basketball (not to mention teams like, and I feel retarded saying this, fordham and bona who have at least some history in their past). Houston has been gone for a while, UAB floats up and down the charts and the minds of all of us, and Memphis is the only solid contender who is (and your crazy if you deny it) just aā€™waiting for a better bball conf. to come a knocking.

Iā€™m happy floating.[/QUOTE]

Iā€™m not. Iā€™m happy weā€™re in a good basketball conference, but I am sick and tired of playing nothing but Catholic schools and state schools that are hundreds of miles away. The only school within a dayā€™s drive is Richmond. GW is pushing it.

We have no rivalsā€¦ we have no good travel gamesā€¦ Iā€™d gladly trade the A10 for a conference that can support a rivalry and gives us a chance to go to 4+ away games per year, if we want to.

We have to get over the fact that the Big East ship has sailed. If weā€™re going to move up as a school, weā€™re either going to have to fight our way back into C-USA, or get some other schools together and charter a new conference.

IMO, anything that gets us playing schools that people nationwide have heard of like ECU, UCF, So Miss, Houston, etc. is better than Duquesne, LaSalle, St. Bonn, etc. At the very least, C-USA gets rid of that ā€œmid-majorā€ label. Whether it is fair or not, the A-10 will always be labeled as a mid-major, until the conference brass decide to do something about it and gets rid of some schools. Sadly, if the A-10 is going to downsize, weā€™re out. The Catholic schools would love nothing more than to get us out of that conference.

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[QUOTE=thelew1014;373699]Iā€™m not. Iā€™m happy weā€™re in a good basketball conference, but I am sick and tired of playing nothing but Catholic schools and state schools that are hundreds of miles away. The only school within a dayā€™s drive is Richmond. GW is pushing it.

We have no rivalsā€¦ we have no good travel gamesā€¦ Iā€™d gladly trade the A10 for a conference that can support a rivalry and gives us a chance to go to 4+ away games per year, if we want to.

USA and WKU are both teams that can carry a conference, along with us. If we can get Temple in on this, basketball in this new C-USA would be good again.[/QUOTE]

I wonā€™t happy trade prestige so that I can drive to an away basketball game against ECU - no matter how fun it is. The point is that in the minds of the powers at be, weā€™d be taking a step backwards. With a final goal aimed towards being in a conference like the BE I donā€™t think that would bode well towards our resume.

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[QUOTE=zerogeneticsdc;373700]I wonā€™t happy trade prestige so that I can drive to an away basketball game against ECU - no matter how fun it is. The point is that in the minds of the powers at be, weā€™d be taking a step backwards. With a final goal aimed towards being in a conference like the BE I donā€™t think that would bode well towards our resume.[/QUOTE]

See edited post:

[QUOTE=thelew1014;373699]Iā€™m not. Iā€™m happy weā€™re in a good basketball conference, but I am sick and tired of playing nothing but Catholic schools and state schools that are hundreds of miles away. The only school within a dayā€™s drive is Richmond. GW is pushing it.

We have no rivalsā€¦ we have no good travel gamesā€¦ Iā€™d gladly trade the A10 for a conference that can support a rivalry and gives us a chance to go to 4+ away games per year, if we want to.

We have to get over the fact that the Big East ship has sailed. If weā€™re going to move up as a school, weā€™re either going to have to fight our way back into C-USA, or get some other schools together and charter a new conference.

IMO, anything that gets us playing schools that people nationwide have heard of like ECU, UCF, So Miss, Houston, etc. is better than Duquesne, LaSalle, St. Bonn, etc. At the very least, C-USA gets rid of that ā€œmid-majorā€ label. Whether it is fair or not, the A-10 will always be labeled as a mid-major, until the conference brass decide to do something about it and gets rid of some schools. Sadly, if the A-10 is going to downsize, weā€™re out. The Catholic schools would love nothing more than to get us out of that conference.[/QUOTE]

9

I love conference speculation as much as the next guy but none of this makes any sense. If the MWC gets a BCS bid why would they add additional members to split the pie with? Also, the teams that you have joining the WAC just left the WAC to go to CUSA. Why would they want to go back to a gutted WAC?

If MWC ever changes its because the Pac 10 decides they want to be the Pac 12 and I donā€™t see that happening.

10
Sure it's farfetched... but you guys know I enjoy doing these hypotheticals. Here's how it works out in the end:

[SIZE=4]Conference USA[/SIZE]
Marshall
ECU
UCF
UAB
SMU
Tulane
Memphis
Houston/Rice
La Tech
Charlotte
two of the following: Buffalo, FIU, FAU, WKU, USA, possibly App State/Ga State

Itā€™s not the Big East, but geographically it does make more sense. Also, if WKU and USA get in, along with us, Houston, Memphis, and UABā€¦ could actually be a pretty damn good basketball conference as well.

How does a conference like that make more sense geographically, but the current A-10 doesnā€™t.

The schools listed with WKU and USA as the extra two from your list would have an average distance of 607 miles away from Charlotte and an average driving time of 9.4 hours.

The current A-10 has an average distance of 564 miles away from Charlotte and an average driving time of 9.1 hours.

No major or semi-major conference is going to geographically make sense for Charlotte other than the ACC, if everyone is stuck on having nearby rivals.

At least the A-10 schools are in locations with major airports.