How about the “Really BIG Conference”? 
Let’s cut to the chase: The Conference, or just Conference
That is not what I am talking about.
The Army/Navy game has been this weekend, after bowl bids are given out. the CFB featured game this weekend.
Big East (or whatever they end up calling it) will want one of its members playing a game after the bowl bids are given out. Bowls cannot? give bids to a Navy that is 5-6 which would be contingent on winning the Army/Navy game.
Simple - either move Army-Navy back two weeks, or, have Navy agree that they can’t be in the Big East championship game, and then have Army-Navy on the same day. (Grambling and Southern have no problem agreeing not to be eligible for the FCS championship in exchange for playing their annual game against each other after the FCS tournament starts.)
As for bowls being required to give out their invitations on the day the BCS bowl bids are announced - there’s nothing set in stone about that, either. Isn’t there one bowl that gives the winner of the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy a spot? It’s quite possible that the Army-Navy game decides who gets that spot (even if it ends up being Air Force).
Of course, they have already announced they are not changing the name for reasons of branding or “brand equity” or whatever. The same as with the Big Ten and Big 12.
True. Although, to their sorta-credit, the pro sports have tried to make their divisions more logical in recent years and overall it’s gotten better, not worse. Arizona is no longer in the east, Atlanta is no longer in the west, etc.
I remember years ago (1980’s) when there was talk of switching St Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs with Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds (Western Division <==> Eastern Division).
Cubs management protested vehemently.
One of their arguments that they would be losing TV ratings from their WGN Superstation West coast games that started at 9 pm local. (which would increase from by going to the Western Division).
Of course they would have got better ratings by actually playing home night games instead of all day games.
Geography divisions have made little sense for years and years.
Unless the SEC wants to totally lose divisional rivalries, they will end up putting either TAMU or Mizzou into the East Division.
Proposed New Titles:
The Big Beast(s)
The Big Win
The Big Telev-(ision contract)
FTR, Dallas wasn’t kept in the east for “historical” reasons. They were kept in for economical reasons. (money, I mean.) It is much more profitable for the Cowboys to not only pretend they are an East Coast team, but they get to play New York, Philadelphia, and Washington twice a year… That’s big exposure, which sells merchandise, and helps them sell the America’s Team nonsense.
If the NFL had balls, they’d have booted Dallas out of the East, but no one wanted it.
Anyway, back to the Big Easy Conference. I actually think this is a good thing, because it is so stupid, maybe finally something will be done. The Big East will have football only schools, everything but football schools, and a few schools that are in both. What a clusterfuck.
I don’t see what the big deal is with the travel, though. Basketball and football teams travel all over the country. At least football is on a weekend (unless ESPN wants them for a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday night matchup.) Hell, Long Beach State played Pitt in Pittsburgh during last week in basketball and yesterday, they played Kansas (I think)… anyway, trying to pass these kids off as scholar athletes has been a joke for years. I don’t know why anyone is so surprised.
If the Big East survives this, they could come out stronger than ever in football. Boise State is instantly the class of the conference, and SD State will be up there as well. Houston? Not a bad football school, but not great. Too bad they lost TCU. They will finally have a conference champ worthy of a BCS bowl, and maybe Boise State won’t get screwed. I can see them easily going undefeated in the conference, and winning any conf. championship game. THEN, the “integrity” of the system will come crashing down, as a one loss SEC team will STILL get in to the championship game. At least Boise State will get a real bowl, like the Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, or Orange with its big payday. But what happens to the money? Does it just go to the BEConf, or since they are still in the mountain west for everything else, will they have to share some of it with them too?
I like the new name of the conference suggested in this thread.
The Conference.
That will allow them to swallow teams up all over the country, potentially sucking ND in eventually (ND can’t go to the Big 10 now… not with PSU and their stink).
Every time a great team gets screwed out of a BCS birth, move to THE CONFERENCE. Get Army, Navy and Air Force all into TC.
Hell, Now I wish Pitt was staying in TC… I always wanted to see them play on the BLUE FIELD.
Maybe in a couple of years, they can grab Fresno State. BYU. Memphis. (I’m just pulling these out of my buttocks).
Ah, the NCAA. One of the most corrupt organizations on the planet.
A lot of good points but I’ll add . . .
The biggest complainer of Dallas moving west would be the Dallas franchise owner(s), the Cowboys fans and the TV networks. Dallas relishes the rivalry with the Redskins, Giants and Eagles. As they say, “That’s big money.”
Travel-wise, moving basketball teams around is a lot different than moving football teams around. The number of people, the equipment and a lot of logistical considerations are night and day. Taking 15 student athletes (ah-hum) and the coaching staff through three time zones is a lot different than taking 50 or 60 along with everything that a football team requires.
I still think that ND really blew it when they turned down the Big 10 invite. They’ve already lost a ton of money due to the decision.
Yes, the NCAA is . . . well, let’s just say the NCAA is not what they pretend to be.
That’s basically what I was driving at. Money is at the root of almost every decision, and Dallas in the east is no different. I don’t think many people are getting excited about a Dallas-Tennessee game, or Dallas-Arizona. Or Dallas- St. Louis. That is some seriously lost TV revenue.
Excellent point. I wasn’t even thinking of the logistics of moving 60 players and equipment vs. a basketball team.
I agree with this as well. I think ND is a perfect fit for the Big 10, even though they don’t have any desire to be in a conference without the lion’s share of the TV revenue.
Personally, unless Penn State hits a home run with their coaching hire, that program may be down for a very long time. I think the NCAA has to seriously consider giving PSU football the death penalty, but since it’s in one of its marquee conferences, I doubt it will. After all, the NCAA is there for the kids.
It’s refreshing to discuss an issue where posters aren’t trying to cut each others throats. One thing we didn’t even bring into the equation is the fact that the cheerleaders and marching bands want to be included. If BSU or SDS makes a Big East Championship game all the hanger-on’s will want to be there. In a typical regular season conference match-up the schools will bus the cheerleaders and maybe the marching band to a close regular season match-up. Flying them through 2 or 3 time zones when few of your fans will be at the game? I don’t think so.
As it is, minor bowls don’t really produce revenue for the participants. It’s all marketing, practice time and exposure. The minor bowls are money losers for the schools. If BSU and SDS can’t produce big bucks by getting major bowl bids for the conference this could be a disaster.
Basketball is a different animal. Not saying that all is well with it but there is a big difference, at least as to logistics.