And the real winners are, the envelope please:

[Water Pony]

1. Louisville: Whether Miami goes or not, the Cardinals are added to the Big East. This is the biggest improvement for any school in the realignment derby. Here is a fine article on moving from Coach to First Class. Talk about the Miami Model, perhaps the Louisville model is the most impressive.

<A HREF="http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/forde_pat/1554081.html" TARGET=_blank>http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/forde_pat/1554081.html</A>

2. Notre Dame: Whether independent or Big East, ND (with it's TV deal - they earned it the old fashion way, 80 years of excellence) wins by saving the Big East with football membership with an asterisk (on their terms).

3. Big East: With ND, Miami stays with Syracuse and BC. Add to the mix Penn State, who would love to face East again. The BB only schools take Marquette, DePaul, Charlotte, Xavier, etc. for a great non-FB league. They could remain affiliated with Big East some way.

4. Navy: joins Conf USA for FB only, like Army

5. College FB (SMU & Rice)in Texas gets a shot in the arm by joining in a Conf. USA-West.

6. Cincinnati follows Louisville to Big East

7. Missouri replaces Penn State (who also joins the Big East) in Big Ten

8. Geographical, region rivalries and cost reduction improvements in the East, Big Ten and the old SW.

Overall, this feels better for us and college FB in general whether ACC pulls this expansion off.

[Water Pony]

Here are six, reasonably good variations on the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Conf. USA moves. Enjoy

<A HREF="http://espn.go.com/ncaa/s/2003/0514/1553593.html" TARGET=_blank>http://espn.go.com/ncaa/s/2003/0514/1553593.html</A>

[Hoop Fan]

I'm with you on most of that, but why would the Big 10 invite Missouri to get back to only 11 teams without Penn State? Also who takes Missouri's Big 12 spot? The worst thing that could happen IMO is for the Big Ten to satisfy Penn State by inviting Pitt as #12. With the 3 BE schools going ACC, I think CUSA might survive in that case and add Va Tech and West Virginia and maybe Navy. That leaves SMU in the cold. The wildcard in all that is Uconn who wields alot of hoops power. I think Uconn will push hard for a northeast presence and might save Rutgers and Temple by convincing Lousiville that UAB, Houston, Tulane and TCU are not worth fighting for.

[EastStang]

From what I have gathered from reading the CUSA board, Louisville has always only cared about Louisville and could care less about its conference mates. The BE is a member of the BCS they qualified this year and have to place a team in the top 12 within the next four years to keep their seat at the table. I think Va. Tech if they don't end up in the ACC (and they won't) will be able to keep up that end of the table. So, the BE will be able to dangle BCS gravy in front of any mid major school and they will lap it up and I don't blame them. Thus, if the ACC gets its wish, the BE will raid CUSA and those schools will jump even if Pitt leaves. That means that TCU will probably get shut out because they are geographically undesirable. Missouri might prefer the Big 10 because of Missouri's proximity to Illinois. That would create a shuffle as well. If MO left the Big XII, they might take a run at Ark. Who if they left the SEC might make the SEC take a run at Va. Tech. It could all get rather circular.

[Kiper]

Would moving to the Big East really make Louisville a winner if the league is so watered-down that it becomes no more high-profile than C-USA? Subtract Syracuse, Miami, maybe Virginia Tech, maybe Pitt, and the Big East doesn't offer much, in my opinion.

And there's something morally wrong about breaking up the hoops rivalries Syracuse has had over the years with Georgetown, St. John's and Villanova. Those teams aren't what they once were, but they still play great games in the conference. Even if they continue to play out-of-conference games, it's a shame they won't mean anything, and that they won't meet in the Big East tournament.

I hope that somehow this whole deal falls through. I like the ACC and the Big East the way they are.

[Southland]

Sad as it may be, college sports are totally bastardized; and it is only going to get worse once the new Division 1A status rules kick-in in July 2004. It’s about money, not competition...

1. Miami lost $1.2M in 2001-2002, a year they won the National Championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The ACC can guarantee them a $10M payout, which is 35% more than the Big East can offer. Unless the Big East can match $10M, it loses Miami. It loses Miami; it loses Syracuse and either Boston College or VA Tech.

2. The Big East cannot increase its revenue to $10M without Notre Dame as a full partner. Notre Dame isn't going to give up 100% of its TV deal, 100% of Bowl revenue, and total scheduling freedom. I know the Big East doesn’t distribute its revenue equally, but the bottom line is the Big East can't meet all Notre Dame's variables and still guarantee Miami $10M/yr.

3. The Big East brand is still stronger than the Mid-majors, and it certainly will be more desirable to the corporate world than a new Catholic basketball league. Those schools aren't going anywhere; they simply will find replacements - one all-sports school, and 2-3 football affiliates, who undoubtedly will be shorted on the revenue distribution. Yes, the current Big East members will take in a lot less revenue, but they will still take home more revenue in a scaled down Big East, than they would in CUSA or a newly launched brand.

4. The Big Ten makes more $$ than the Big XII, that is why Missouri would leave if offered Big Ten membership. Adding Missouri extends the Big Ten into the St. Louis market (larger than Pittsburgh) and there wouldn't be an issue of splitting the Michigan schools into separate divisions. Penn State would lobby for Pittsburgh, but in the end it makes more sense financially to go with Missouri.

5. The SEC is number 1 in total revenue, and number 2 behind the ACC in dividends. The conference makes much more money than the Big XII; Arkansas isn't going anywhere.

It will be interesting to see how it shakes out, but be assured of one thing… $$$ will be the first (and in some instances, only) variable considered in all decisions.

[NavyCrimson]

what u said is the cold reality of college football today.