Big East looks to expand (UH, UCF, TCU?)

[Cheesesteak]

Big East looks to expand
By LENN ROBBINS
New York Post - November 1, 2010

In what several sources around the Big East described as a pivotal meeting, Big East presidents and athletic directors will meet tomorrow in Philadelphia to discuss probable expansion plans, The Post has learned.

The regularly-scheduled meeting of the presidents and athletic directors figures to be intense as the BCS-football playing members of the league intend on pressing their agenda to add teams to the eight-team football conference.

"The goal is to get the presidents' blessing to seriously pursue teams," said one Big East athletic director. "I don't think we're going to get pushback on that."

Several sources confirmed a Post report last month that TCU is a strong candidate. Houston, Central Florida, Temple and/or Villanova, which is in the midst of evaluating a move up from FCS, are other lead candidates.

Two sources said if the presidents give their blessing to explore expansion, invitations could be issued before the end of the college football season. TCU is said to be very interested, as is Central Florida.

By adding TCU and Houston, the Big East would gain TV viewership in two significant markets (Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston) and give football programs a recruiting toehold in talent-rich Texas.

The expansion issue is ultra sensitive. The non-football playing members, who include most of the league's charter members, do not wish to expand the conference from its already bloated 16-team makeup.

Big East spokesman John Paquette reiterated the league's long-standing policy of not commenting on expansion. But sources at the league office confirmed there is concern the football members might be considering breaking away.

[Corp]

Big East looks to expand
New York Post - November 1, 2010

Big East presidents and athletic directors will meet tomorrow in Philadelphia to discuss probable expansion plans, The Post has learned.

Two sources said if the presidents give their blessing to explore expansion, invitations could be issued before the end of the college football season. TCU is said to be very interested

By adding TCU and Houston, the Big East would gain TV viewership in two significant markets (Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston) and give football programs a recruiting toehold in talent-rich Texas.

Where there's smoke....

[PonyKai]

TCU, Houston to Big East...SMU/UTEP to the MWC? At least we accomplish an immediate goal of ditching attendance/competetive deadwieght like Rice and Tulane. Can always schedule Rice as a OOC.

[NickSMU17]

Have Fun...the big east sucks....

[Samurai Stang]

This is not an ideal scenario, but not an unexpected one. It is yet one shift that will lead into another.

The Big East is aware that the Big 10 will soon expand by 2-4 schools. When that happens, the Big East will then need to replace those schools that are taken. It is in this second round of expansion that SMU has the possibility to change conferences. SMU must prove itself strong enough among other contenders, such as Southern Miss., Memphis, East Carolina, and Navy.

It is unfortunate that we must further wait to see the fate of our program and whether it can one day join the ranks of the AQ, but there is consolation in that realistic hope can remain.

[PoconoPony]

The Big East really does need to expand the football side of the house. Problem is that the basketball side is already too unwieldy and difficult to schedule. In addition, four teams do not even make the conference tournament. What happens to all the other sports with UCF, Houston and TCU so far away? I guess the answer is that every sport forms their own conference and forget the old traditional concept of a conference encompassing a platform for all sports. We already have a version of that in soccer, for example, with South Carolina and Kentucky in the C-USA.

[Mestengo]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[shadowman]

Let em go,

That is fine, more power to them, but we should stay where we are at. The MWC will die without BYU, Utah and TCU, at least in C-USA, even without Houston, we are still with Rice, Tulsa and Tulane..the teams we should be with, natural rivalries, and we still have the big hitters like UTEP, ECU, USM, and yes even Marshall, who once had a proud tradition and can get it going again.

Let the MWC and WAC combine and be an irrelevant conference in a time zone no one cares about, lets stay with our natural rivals in a still pretty good conference.

Not saying UCF and Houston would be a loss, it would, but they are replaceable, grab Troy for the east and Lousiana Tech for the west and we can keep on rolling.

[Hoop Fan]

keep rolling? with La tech and troy? would be a horrible development for SMU.

[shadowman]

What can we do? We are not in a position to get in an AQ conference, so we play the hand we are dealt, keep away from the Goat teams (MWC and WAC), and make the best of it. Dominate C-USA for a few years and maybe it is our turn. Playing Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, La. Tech, and UTEP each year in conference and rolling is better than playing Idaho, Wyoming, and New Mexico State.

Our conference is fine for us. We need to dominate it for a few years and show we are ready for the big boys.

[CalallenStang]

If TCU and UH are smart they will stay where they are for now. Big East is going to get raided (for Rutgers and either Pitt or WVU) by Big Ten soon and then that conference will completely implode. Texas (and others) will leave to either Big Ten or Pac 10 who will take the Horns even with UT having the Bevo Network (brilliance on Texas' part to stay put for now when they had the option to leave a few months ago...getting the Bevo network going will make it a non-negotiable part of their move in a couple of years). This will leave holes in what we will begin calling the Great Plains Conference (remnants of Big XII). I expect that 7 teams (current Big XII minus Texas, OU, and ATM) will be left in that conference and will want to fill five spots. Those spots will go to, in order of likelihood: TCU (unless wrapped up by Big East), Houston, SMU, Cincinnati/Louisville/Memphis (tied in order of likelihood), Rice, UTEP, New Mexico, Colorado State.

In other words, SMU is in an enviable position as are TCU and UH. I don't know why TCU and UH would want to get involved in a conference that is going to fail within the next five years, especially considering that a better option, and a more regional one at that, will most likely open up soon.

FYI, the most important date in all of this is 2014. I expect that there will be numerous shifts to the conference landscape by that date. That's because the current setup of the BCS runs through 2014.

[ponyscott]

If TCU and UH are smart they will stay where they are for now. Big East is going to get raided (for Rutgers and either Pitt or WVU) by Big Ten soon and then that conference will completely implode. Texas (and others) will leave to either Big Ten or Pac 10 who will take the Horns even with UT having the Bevo Network (brilliance on Texas' part to stay put for now when they had the option to leave a few months ago...getting the Bevo network going will make it a non-negotiable part of their move in a couple of years). This will leave holes in what we will begin calling the Great Plains Conference (remnants of Big XII). I expect that 7 teams (current Big XII minus Texas, OU, and ATM) will be left in that conference and will want to fill five spots. Those spots will go to, in order of likelihood: TCU (unless wrapped up by Big East), Houston, SMU, Cincinnati/Louisville/Memphis (tied in order of likelihood), Rice, UTEP, New Mexico, Colorado State.

In other words, SMU is in an enviable position as are TCU and UH. I don't know why TCU and UH would want to get involved in a conference that is going to fail within the next five years, especially considering that a better option, and a more regional one at that, will most likely open up soon.

FYI, the most important date in all of this is 2014. I expect that there will be numerous shifts to the conference landscape by that date. That's because the current setup of the BCS runs through 2014.

I agree and good points Callenstang as a move just to move won't be the best long term for both...a fools errand for now.

[03Mustang]

Let em go,

That is fine, more power to them, but we should stay where we are at. The MWC will die without BYU, Utah and TCU, at least in C-USA, even without Houston, we are still with Rice, Tulsa and Tulane..the teams we should be with, natural rivalries, and we still have the big hitters like UTEP, ECU, USM, and yes even Marshall, who once had a proud tradition and can get it going again.

Let the MWC and WAC combine and be an irrelevant conference in a time zone no one cares about, lets stay with our natural rivals in a still pretty good conference.

Not saying UCF and Houston would be a loss, it would, but they are replaceable, grab Troy for the east and Lousiana Tech for the west and we can keep on rolling.

This post deserves a permanent black horseshoe. It's nothing but the same loser talk that has kept us in the cellar of Div 1-A for the last 20 years.

You don't get better by settling for a conference with teams like Rice, Tulane, and UTEP - you strive to play with the bigger boys (like TCU has done), beat them for recruits, and win when it counts.

C-USA is already a laughably weak conference, and with the additions you suggest we would be no better than the Sunbelt. I want better for this program and you should too.

[shadowman]

OK Smart Guy,

What is your answer? Demand entrance into the big 12? go out West and play new mexico state and Idaho? Get pummled every year by Boise State?

We are in Conference USA, like it or not, we are the same caliber as RIce, Tulane and Tulsa, like it or not. Maybe we win a conference championshiop or three and get more than 20K fans to a game, then we can talk.

Until then, it is all just talk, we are no better than ayone else. Yes, we are taking steps, but going to the MWC/WAC is not the answer. We dominate where we are at, make it the best conference that it can be and hope when the cards shuffle again we are in a better spot.

Don't act like we are better than all our conference brethren, we are not. Be happy where we are at and dominate.

[ReturnToGlory]

I sometimes wish there were no conferences at all. This shifting and reshifting gets so old.