NCAAF conference realignment thread - C-USA and Mountain West to merge

The Game Room
1

Previous threads about conference realignment:

College Football Re-Alignment 2: Aggie Boogaloo
Official Big 12 Implosion/Expansion Thread (and it’s goodbye to a&m?)TCU to Big XII

From here: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/standings
This is the current MWC:


 Mountain West Conf All 
TCU  2-0 4-2  
 
Colorado State  1-0 3-2  
 
San Diego State  1-1 4-2  
 
Boise State (5)  0-0 5-0  
 
Wyoming  0-0 3-2  
 
UNLV  0-0 1-4  
 
New Mexico  0-1 0-5  
 
Air Force  0-2 3-3

Here is Conference USA:


Conference USA Conf All 
 East Division 
UCF  1-0 3-2  
 
Marshall  1-1 2-4  
 
East Carolina  1-1 1-4  
 
Southern Miss  1-1 5-1  
 
Memphis  0-2 1-5  
 
UAB  0-2 0-5  
 
 West Division 
Houston (25)  2-0 6-0  
 
Southern Methodist  2-0 4-1  
 
Tulsa  1-0 2-3  
 
Rice  1-1 2-3  
 
Tulane  1-1 2-4  
 
UTEP  0-2 2-3

And, for completeness, the current Big East:


Big East Conf All 
Rutgers  2-0 4-1  
 
West Virginia (13)  1-0 5-1  
 
Pittsburgh  1-1 3-3  
 
Cincinnati  0-0 4-1  
 
Louisville  0-0 2-3  
 
South Florida  0-1 4-1  
 
Syracuse  0-1 4-2  
 
Connecticut  0-1 2-4

This C-USA and MWC merger got me to thinking that the best thing for everybody would be for the C-USA to offer the Big East their Eastern division, and the MWC their Western Division. This would give the MWC 14 teams and the Big East 12 football teams. Geographically it would make more sense for everybody (I’m assumming that the C-USA western teams are out west. I know where the eastern division teams are.)

To make this deal, the C-USA comissioner would be negotiating himself out of a job, but a nice severance package would probably take care of him (and whatever other staff are involved.)

By offering the Big East a package deal, take it or leave it, it would prevent the Big East from poaching some teams and leaving others out in the cold.

What think y’all? Good idea? Feasible at all? Would it have been feasible before this current C-USA/MWC deal?

Also, feel free to talk about any of the conference realignment stuff, and not necessarily just about my proposal.

2

Details here. Just to comment on the charts, Syracuse and Pitt are leaving the Big East for the ACC, and TCU is going from the MWC to the Big 12.

Nobody is going to implode his conference or give up a job, but I think the Big East is desperate enough to try anything at all. Right now they’re reportedly inviting Central Florida, plus Boise State, Air Force, and Navy, and then go after SMU and Houston. It’s a pretty far-flung strategy. I don’t know if there is any chance it’s going to work. Army already turned them down and the best two schools in that group, Boise and Air Force, are supposedly skeptical. Just because the conference is big does not mean it’s going to be any good.

3

What a scheduling clusterfuck this will be. A metric shitload of mediocre teams doesn’t make a power conference. All it makes is a mess.

4

And the MWC is adding Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii next season as well.

5

A few years back in a BCS/Playoff thread I mentioned they should take the 6 BCS conference champs in a playoff and the lesser conferences could partner with another conference to have a “Play-in game” (to get to 8 total). This could be a step in that direction.

6

Two GQ type questions:

  1. Can the C-USA play a championship game, then this champion play another championship game against the MWC champ?
    (On further thought, I guess we need to find out if this is a merger, where the current divisions could be mixed up to be more geographically favorable, or more of just a partnership.)

  2. Can this conglomeration replace the Big East as the 6th AQ conference in 2013?

7

When this story first started circulating, I read that C-USA wanted to keep their Championship game, then play the winner of the MWC “division” winner in a Conference Championship game. I can’t find a story repeating this since.

8

May not need to be a deal. The Big East has reportedly invited UCF, Houston, SMU, Boise and Air Force.

If all go, that leaves MWC with five teams and C-USA nine.

9

No. the MWC would have 8. If Air Force, Boise, & TCU all bail, the MWC would be Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, SDSU, Wyoming, plus the new teams Fresno, Nevada, & Hawaii.

They would still only need the single title game. But that would be a big conference both in number of members and in geographical footprint. Greenville, North Carolina to Honolulu Hawaii is a massive area to cover.

10

WVU to the Big 12

http://www.wvmetronews.com/news.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=48734

Thank God we landed somewhere.

11

As an SEC fan I keep saying that we should invite WV to the SEC and let the Big 12 keep Missouri. Geographically it makes more sense. However, these days geography seems to be of minor concern.

BTW, I believe I read somewhere today that the C-USA and Mountain West invited the Big East to join their conglomeration. I, for one, would be OK with the best team out of those 30+ teams getting an Automatic BCS bid.

12

Interesting. WVU’s departure probably kills the Big East as an AQ BCS conference. So no reason now for Boise or any of the other potential suitors to bother joining the Big East which is now solidly a football mid-major.

13

I kinda feel like Boise St’s numbers could tip the balance either way.* So if they stay where they are, they will be in a AQ conference in 2013, but if they go to the Big East, they will be in one immediately. I personally would rather wait than travel, but perhaps they are tired of waiting.

  • I do not have the numbers or formulas. Years ago I thought that the MWC should replace the Big East as the 6th AQ conference. Then I read an article that explained what it would take for that to happen, and, essentially, what kept the MWC out was the fact that Cincinatti and West Virginia had a couple good years a few years ago.
14

Or maybe not: West Virginia senators unhappy after Big 12 delays invitation

This could turn amusing.

15

And for the second time in a week, WVU in the Big 12 officially. :slight_smile:

http://www.wvmetronews.com/wvu.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=48885

16

And WVU files suit against the Big East over the 27 month wait provision.

http://www.wvmetronews.com/wvu.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=48892