Miz, Neb, Cuse, Pitt, Rutgers to Big 10 (Article inside)

[Dwan]

oh and

"I still think the Big Ten is taking only one and all this talk is out there to make ND wet themselves and join. If that happens, then the only other play that will occur is the PAC 10 adding two and those would clearly be CO and UT. That leaves one BCS opening and that would go to BYU and have the added benefit of filleting the MWC."

Can u explain your math for me on this one? Two teams leave the Big 12 and that leaves one opening for BYU? Or did SMU win the play in game against Tech?

[go4it]

The actions taken in the next 12-18 months will establish the college football landscape for the next 15-20 years. It will also serve as the foundation for all future decisions including the role of the BCS, National Championship playoff system, and maybe even the NCAA itself. Being on the wrong side of the changes that are going to occur will relegate SMU to a position of being irrelevant in college football just when positive changes started.

The athletic department at SMU needs to get aggressive in marketing itself and rally its support base to gain access to a BCS conference. The current state of the athletics program requires SMU to sell itself; it will not gain access on its current standing. The next 6 months will be particularly important and may require some imaginative proposals/solutions. Could SMU sell out a LSU, Alabama, or Florida game in Jerry Jones Stadium while Ford stadium is expanded? A school like SMU has a lot to offer a BCS conference (TV market, population base, recruiting environment….). How big of a boost would it be for any of the SEC teams to play in Dallas and have the ability to increase recruiting efforts in Texas? The negatives can be overcome. The renewed emphasis in football started 5-10 years too late but I believe the SMU name still carries weight. New facilities, stadium expansion, and additional sports will have to be added. SMU averages about 20,000 fans for home football games while attendance at Vanderbilt which is the lowest in the SEC is about double that number. I don’t even want to mention basketball. SMU would eventually bring more to the table than Northwestern does in the Big 10 or Vanderbilt does in the SEC. Is there really that big of a difference in adding SMU to the SEC than there was when South Carolina joined?

Instead of spending time reading and commenting on what other schools are going to do SMU fans and alumni need to ask the Athletic Department what are they doing to be proactive and what can we do as fans do to improve SMU’s position. What will it say if the football team improves to 10-3 and we still can’t fill the stadium? What does it say when we wine about the new football ticket program when the cost of attending a SMU game is half the price of SEC, Big 10 or PAC 10 games.

The teams will have to take care of their job – winning games. What else needs to be done?

[ALEX LIFESON]

Instead of spending time reading and commenting on what other schools are going to do SMU fans and alumni need to ask the Athletic Department what are they doing to be proactive and what can we do as fans do to improve SMU’s position. What will it say if the football team improves to 10-3 and we still can’t fill the stadium? What does it say when we wine about the new football ticket program when the cost of attending a SMU game is half the price of SEC, Big 10 or PAC 10 games.

The teams will have to take care of their job – winning games. What else needs to be done?[/quote]

Great points, people need to stop complaining on message boards, and be part of the solution. Pony Up!

[EastStang]

Dwan, my math was right, but my reference was vague. UT is the postal designation for Utah. I should have written UU. Sorry for the confusion. Thus, the only Big XII opening would be CO leaving for the Pac-10.

[Water Pony]

Starting with Vanderbilt and Northwestern are certainly not going to be forcibly removed from their conferences (you can add Baylor, who perhaps shouldn't have been added to Big XII in the first place), the geographic spread and unneccessarily large conference membership would be a non-starter economically.

Given the Big Ten and SEC will expand more carefully than speculation suggests, public gamesmanship on their likely moves may be the poker game being played by the respective commissioners. Threaten chaos, but make smaller moves, i.e. one new team to Big Ten/11, ND or Nebraska/MO; Big East doesn't patronize ND anymore; SEC stays pat, as does PAC 10; and the MWC adds Boise State, plus two more to get to 12 and increase its BCS AQ credentials.

Incrementalism is more likely than massive changes.

[ponyinNC]

I tend to agree that small changes are more likely, leaving C-USA pretty much intact, barring a potential loss of ECU, Memphis, and/or UCF to BE. I just don't see how, politically speaking, UT or A&M could bolt for the SEC.

[Samurai Stang]

May the joy of expansion discussion soon come to an end.

[Alaric]

May the joy of expansion discussion soon come to an end.

Well said from a man who knows his history.

[ponyinNC]

here here...and hopefully with a positive outcome for old SMU

[Samurai Stang]

here here...and hopefully with a positive outcome for old SMU

It is doubtful that this will occur in the first wave of movement, but may perhaps during a second a few years later. I too am hopeful.

[Water Pony]

here here...and hopefully with a positive outcome for old SMU

It is doubtful that this will occur in the first wave of movement, but may perhaps during a second a few years later. I too am hopeful.

Second mover advantage?

[Water Pony]

Will the Big East Save Itself?

http://www.maizenbrew.com/2010/5/5/1459 ... ave-itself

[EastStang]

The BE is rare also in that its basketball brand is probably as profitable as its football brand. So, even if they lose Syracuse, Rutgers and Pitt, etc., the non-football BE with Georgetown, DePaul, Villanova, Seton Hall, St. Johns, ND, Providence would be a hugely profitable conference. And you might find that schools like Louisville, WVU, UConn, and especially Cincy and USF which I suspect will not get much interest from any BCS conferences might very well want to stay in the BE for Basketball and try to make something work with a football only affiliation with perhaps Army, Navy and a few random schools like ECU, Marshall and UCF. So, any threat to ND to leave the BE would probably not go very far because whatever conference ND signs onto for all sports will suddenly find their basketball contract enhanced by the ND marquee and the non-football BE schools don't want to lose ND.

[Topper]

I tend to agree that small changes are more likely, leaving C-USA pretty much intact, barring a potential loss of ECU, Memphis, and/or UCF to BE. I just don't see how, politically speaking, UT or A&M could bolt for the SEC.

UT and A&M have huge athletic budgets to feed. In this day and time, the race for revenue will dictate their future. I'm not sure what you mean by "politically speaking" unless you think Tech and Baylor hold some sway in Austin that would prevent the break-up of the Big 12 South. I would have agreed with that observation 10 years ago, but UT and A & M have politically outgrown anything Tech or Baylor could put together to stop the break up of the Big 12 South. Besides, if Missouri, Nebraska and/or Colorado leave the conference, there really are no comparably placed teams available to attract attract a TV contract that will suffice for either of these schools. Money will decide all of this just like it did the break up of the SWC.

[HB Pony Dad]

If anybody leaves BE to join Big Televen the most logical add would be Pitt.

Pitt then could renew their rivalry with Penn State and the BE is not totally decimated.

I hate all this raiding stuff and seriously doubt the Pac 10 will do anything unless their hand is forced.

BE can live without Pitt and the Big Televen at least has an even number of teams.

ND will never give in to Big Televen and the BE will not boot them either.

The worse part is the Pitt basketball rivalries in the BE will be sorely missed, but perhaps playing in BB in the Big Televen will create some new BB interests.

BTW where is the "General" in all this?

Is he MIA like I was for the past many moons?

My Trojans third game is against his "Golden Gophers" next year in Minneapolis.

USC opens against Hawaiʻi and their Run and Shoot in Honolulu.

I hope my Trojans play the R & S better there than Nevada did last Christmas!

Fight On
Pony Up