Appalled at the paltry $2 million dollars they were getting annually from CBS College Sports and Vs., Brigham Young has all but declared it's independence from the Mountain West Conference in football and pull a Notre Dame by placing basketball(and the other not-on-the-bus sports) in the Western Athletic Conference. The MWC, however, in the realignment equivalent of the formation of Mount Everest, has responded by inviting Fresno State and Nevada to join fellow ex-WACer Boise State and seven others in a new 10 team concoction, but a 5 million dollar penalty may make the Bulldogs and Wolfpack stay put(and allow the WAC to reclaim Boise, but also San Diego State and UNLV in the process). Not that it will mean much, even for the brief period of time the Cougars, Broncos, TCU and Utah there was little chance the MWC would even have a fleeting chance of securing a BCS AQ spot. It's all about BYU's opprotunity to present it's own sports programs on it's BYU-TV channel, which is available to about 50 million homes.
And speaking of confusing battle cries....
DEATH BY BROWN PANTS!!!!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
What's taking the NCAA so long?
It amazes me that almost 3 years from now, the NCAA still hasn't named a host site for the 2013 Men's East Regional site. When the other sites were announced back in September, the smart money had Madison Square Garden as the money, but that was until the arena pushed back it's renovation completion schedule to the Fall of 2013, meaning it's likely to wait for 2015 or 16 before putting up a bid. Who else could serve as the host? It appears now that IMO, the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and the Comcast Center in College Park, MD are the leading candidates to host the East Regional, unless the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is convinced to move up from hosting preliminary round games.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Dan Beebe - HERO!
Well, the deed is done. Dan Beebe, the Big 12-2 commissioner, was able to sell the University of Texas an 11th hour and 59th minute TV deal/bribe/payola scheme to secure the Longhorns place in the conference and preserve it at ten teams. The most striking part of the new TV deal, which is still being worked on, is the ability for schools, like the Longhorns, to create their own networks(Say hi to LonghornTV in a few years). Texas is said to have the opprotunity to make as much a $5 million a year within a few years. Oklahoma and Texas A&M are also expected to reap in more TV cash, as much as $20 million annually. One major loss, is the loss of the conference championship game in football. It's unlikely the NCAA will allow for a ten-team league to have such a contest, even if it would be held at JerryWorld. Losing Nebraska to the Big Ten+2 and Colorado to the Pacific-10+1 will do that to you.
What does this mean for superexpansion? Texas' move probably stops it dead in it's tracks for now, but it could all change. The SEC, for instance, could still court Texas A&M for it's league, but the Aggies are likely to say no. But if they do(and the SEC goes all-out to raid the ACC as well), it could once again leave the Longhorns making a phone call to Larry Scott of the Pacific-11 to join Colorado(and possibly Utah, whom the Pac-11 will now covet).
UPDATE: Both Oklahoma and Texas A&M have reversed course and will stay in the Big 12-2.
What does this mean for superexpansion? Texas' move probably stops it dead in it's tracks for now, but it could all change. The SEC, for instance, could still court Texas A&M for it's league, but the Aggies are likely to say no. But if they do(and the SEC goes all-out to raid the ACC as well), it could once again leave the Longhorns making a phone call to Larry Scott of the Pacific-11 to join Colorado(and possibly Utah, whom the Pac-11 will now covet).
UPDATE: Both Oklahoma and Texas A&M have reversed course and will stay in the Big 12-2.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bonkers....just bonkers
When I first read the link above this afternoon, I was agog with chills. The Pac-10 couldn't be the first one to act in the realignment dance, could they? Well unless Stanford exercises it's super veto, the left coasters are about to adopt a Texas twang. The report from Orangebloods.com says that Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech will be invited to join the Pac-10 as early as this weekend, possibly to trump the Mountain West's move to invite the Boise State Fighting Smurfs for 2011.
The move will force the Big Ten to respond in kind. Since Nebraska and Missouri are rumored to be close to accepting Jim Delany's affections, could Kansas also be on the radar(Don't snicker, KU will help secure the Kansas City market and it's hoops program would immediately bolster the Big Ten's hoop rep). For the east, look for Rutgers and Syracuse to be included, with Notre Dame and Pittsburgh left out. And of course the SEC will respond as well, but they won't take the likes of Clemson or Georgia Tech or even Miami. The SEC will want to rip the heart out of the ACC by inviting Duke and North Carolina, plus Virginia and Florida State. The ACC is then forced to merge with what's left of the Big East.
Far-fetched? Perhaps, but time will tell if the move goes through or not.
The move will force the Big Ten to respond in kind. Since Nebraska and Missouri are rumored to be close to accepting Jim Delany's affections, could Kansas also be on the radar(Don't snicker, KU will help secure the Kansas City market and it's hoops program would immediately bolster the Big Ten's hoop rep). For the east, look for Rutgers and Syracuse to be included, with Notre Dame and Pittsburgh left out. And of course the SEC will respond as well, but they won't take the likes of Clemson or Georgia Tech or even Miami. The SEC will want to rip the heart out of the ACC by inviting Duke and North Carolina, plus Virginia and Florida State. The ACC is then forced to merge with what's left of the Big East.
Far-fetched? Perhaps, but time will tell if the move goes through or not.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Supersize Me: The College Conference Edition
When I was thinking about making a post about the impending expansion of the Big Ten Conference, I had several titles in mind: 20 is the new 16, War of the College Conferences, Conference Roulette, The Axis of College Athletic Superiority, The Same Ole' Order(but in new packaging), and so on. But when I decided to pay homage to Morgan Spurlock's homage to American decadence by McNuggets, the title of this post made sense.
Now that it appears that the Big Televen is on the verge of becoming the Big Ten-Six, who's to say the conference landscape, with respect to the Division I-FBS level, won't stop at 16? Will 20 teams be the new level of dominance? Well, I got to thinking about it, and folks, it's not pretty.
The initial salvo
The Big Ten, as it has been speculated, is expected to open the proceedings in the next few weeks to formally announce it will add from 1 to 5 teams to it's harem. If it only one, particularly if it's only Notre Dame, the next move could be the Big East fortifying it's ranks by adding Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida and either Buffalo or Temple. Conference USA would then add Louisiana Tech, Georgia State(Football newbie) and Florida Atlantic. If it's either Missouri or Nebraska, the Big 12 welcomes Texas Christian to the group. If it's Rutgers, the Big East finally convinces Notre Dame to surrender it's football independence (which would be detrimental to the success of the Big Ten).
An alternate route
Should the Big Ten go to 14, the shake out could end up like this:
-Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers to the Big Ten
-Colorado State and TCU to the Big 12
-Buffalo, Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, and Temple to the Big East
-Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, and Utah State to the Mountain West
-Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State to Conference USA
-Marshall to the MAC(again)
-Sun Belt reorganizes with Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, UTSA, Troy, Western Kentucky
-Idaho and San Jose State leave the FBS to join the FCS(The Vandals to the Big Sky, the Spartans to the Great West)
Response and counter-response
If the Big Ten gets to the ultimate goal of 16 teams, the consequences could virtually render the scene unrecognizable:
Let's say the Big Ten gets Notre Dame to finally say yes to membership, it still leaves one spot open. With Missouri, Nebraska, and Rutgers already on board, Jim Delany offers membership to Syracuse(a compliment to Rutgers in the New York City market), completing the expansion with a collection of markets and research dollars far superior to the other conferences out there. However, Mike Slive and the SEC decide they need to "UP THE ANTE" by announcing that they will pursue 20 teams(in essence, Zillioning Down on their growth). To do so, they expel Mississippi State(no offense Bulldog Fans, it's a hypothetical expulsion) and proceed to go Rumsfeld on the Big 12 and the ACC. From the East; Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Duke are invited(thereby pumping up the SEC's weak academic resume). From the West; Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State join in, thereby killing off the Big 12 in the process. In response, the Big Ten adds Iowa State and Kansas from what's left of the Big 12, also adding Pittsburgh from the comatose Big East and Maryland from the comatose ACC. Out West, the Pac-10, tired of Stanford's Supermega Veto, secretly vote to change the rules to require only 7 votes to expand, then they proceed to invite Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas Tech to the league. But to cement it's status as the Big Kahunas out West, they get BYU, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah, and Colorado State from the Mountain West, as well as Boise State of the WAC to become the Pac-20.
Meanwhile, the leftovers of the Big East(UConn, Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia and South Florida) and the ACC(Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) come together with other misfits(Army, Navy, Temple, Memphis, East Carolina, South Florida, UAB, Georgia State and Missisippi State) to become the Eastern 20.
The End Result
Big 20:
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Eastern 20:
UAB, Army, Boston College, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, Connecticut, East Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Navy, North Carolina State, South Florida, Temple, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia
Pacific-20:
Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Boise State, Brigham Young, California, UCLA, Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas State, UNLV, New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SEC:
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Miami(FL), Ole Miss, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia
The Left Behinds
Those not included in the new power structure are forced to drop down to the FCS level.
Note: This is all hypothetical, if it does turn out the way it does, feel free to call me a prophet.
Now that it appears that the Big Televen is on the verge of becoming the Big Ten-Six, who's to say the conference landscape, with respect to the Division I-FBS level, won't stop at 16? Will 20 teams be the new level of dominance? Well, I got to thinking about it, and folks, it's not pretty.
The initial salvo
The Big Ten, as it has been speculated, is expected to open the proceedings in the next few weeks to formally announce it will add from 1 to 5 teams to it's harem. If it only one, particularly if it's only Notre Dame, the next move could be the Big East fortifying it's ranks by adding Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida and either Buffalo or Temple. Conference USA would then add Louisiana Tech, Georgia State(Football newbie) and Florida Atlantic. If it's either Missouri or Nebraska, the Big 12 welcomes Texas Christian to the group. If it's Rutgers, the Big East finally convinces Notre Dame to surrender it's football independence (which would be detrimental to the success of the Big Ten).
An alternate route
Should the Big Ten go to 14, the shake out could end up like this:
-Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers to the Big Ten
-Colorado State and TCU to the Big 12
-Buffalo, Central Florida, East Carolina, Memphis, and Temple to the Big East
-Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, and Utah State to the Mountain West
-Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State to Conference USA
-Marshall to the MAC(again)
-Sun Belt reorganizes with Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, UTSA, Troy, Western Kentucky
-Idaho and San Jose State leave the FBS to join the FCS(The Vandals to the Big Sky, the Spartans to the Great West)
Response and counter-response
If the Big Ten gets to the ultimate goal of 16 teams, the consequences could virtually render the scene unrecognizable:
Let's say the Big Ten gets Notre Dame to finally say yes to membership, it still leaves one spot open. With Missouri, Nebraska, and Rutgers already on board, Jim Delany offers membership to Syracuse(a compliment to Rutgers in the New York City market), completing the expansion with a collection of markets and research dollars far superior to the other conferences out there. However, Mike Slive and the SEC decide they need to "UP THE ANTE" by announcing that they will pursue 20 teams(in essence, Zillioning Down on their growth). To do so, they expel Mississippi State(no offense Bulldog Fans, it's a hypothetical expulsion) and proceed to go Rumsfeld on the Big 12 and the ACC. From the East; Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Duke are invited(thereby pumping up the SEC's weak academic resume). From the West; Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State join in, thereby killing off the Big 12 in the process. In response, the Big Ten adds Iowa State and Kansas from what's left of the Big 12, also adding Pittsburgh from the comatose Big East and Maryland from the comatose ACC. Out West, the Pac-10, tired of Stanford's Supermega Veto, secretly vote to change the rules to require only 7 votes to expand, then they proceed to invite Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas Tech to the league. But to cement it's status as the Big Kahunas out West, they get BYU, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah, and Colorado State from the Mountain West, as well as Boise State of the WAC to become the Pac-20.
Meanwhile, the leftovers of the Big East(UConn, Cincinnati, Louisville, West Virginia and South Florida) and the ACC(Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) come together with other misfits(Army, Navy, Temple, Memphis, East Carolina, South Florida, UAB, Georgia State and Missisippi State) to become the Eastern 20.
The End Result
Big 20:
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Eastern 20:
UAB, Army, Boston College, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Clemson, Connecticut, East Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Mississippi State, Navy, North Carolina State, South Florida, Temple, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia
Pacific-20:
Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Boise State, Brigham Young, California, UCLA, Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas State, UNLV, New Mexico, Oregon, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, Texas Tech, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SEC:
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Miami(FL), Ole Miss, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia
The Left Behinds
Those not included in the new power structure are forced to drop down to the FCS level.
Note: This is all hypothetical, if it does turn out the way it does, feel free to call me a prophet.
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