Conference Realignments - Take 2

[PierreYote]

I thought the MVFC was "full"? There was a last minute push by Douple to get the MVFC just to add USD so he could keep them in the Summit, how is he going to convince the MVFC to expand another time so he can get another member into the Summit?

I think the MVFC is full for western based teams. SIU, YSU and I believe ISU(b) agreed to allow USD in if they could limit their travel west to one game a year. If an eastern based team came into play then I assume, not a guarantee, that those schools would vote for an invite.

[zonadub]

I think the MVFC is full for western based teams. SIU, YSU and I believe ISU(b) agreed to allow USD in if they could limit their travel west to one game a year. If an eastern based team came into play then I assume, not a guarantee, that those schools would vote for an invite.

but Northern Kentucky does not have football

[PierreYote]

but Northern Kentucky does not have football

I realize that. I was referring to EIU. EIU would help appease the eastern based football schools and create a tight group in that area. I also like EIU over NKU because they are already D1 and the 5 year window for transition is complete for conference autobid qualification for the Summit. I understand the conference can't just pick and chose but this discussion is based on what I would prefer, right or wrong.

[MplsBison]

http://en.wikipedia....lley_Conference

I'm looking at the map on the link above and am trying to figure out why EIU would leave the OVC for the Summit/Missouri Valley FC.

Indiana St is very close and a very similar school and program to EIU. They have a rivalry now with Illinois St and the games with Southern Ill and Western Ill would be no brainers. SIUE does not play football and the Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama schools are the wrong culture for EIU.

I for one will be rooting for EIU in the Summit and MVFC.

[star2city]

An Orlando radio station is reporting that Big East expansion will be official this week. The Penn State scandal last week delayed the announcement, as the Big East would have received minimal media coverage.

Big East East

UConn

Rutgers

Navy (fb only)

Louisville

Cincinnati

USF

Big East West

Houston

SMU

Boise St (fb only)

Air Force (fb only)

BYU (fb only)

UCF

Basketball schools remaining:

Notre Dame

Villanova

Marquette

DePaul

St Johns

Seton Hall

UCF vs USF, and Navy vs Air Force would be permanent cross-division rivals in football.

[MplsBison]

Providence and Georgetown?

[star2city]

Providence and Georgetown?

Oops!

The Big East becomes an 8 / 8 / 4 hybrid conference.

[The Sicatoka]

So what are the trickle-down impacts of this going to be?

[PierreYote]

So what are the trickle-down impacts of this going to be?

No idea. I was under the impression that BYU and possibly SDSUaztecs were still in play for football. Maybe this keeps the basketball schools and football schools together for a couple years. I can't remember but isn't the Big East basketball or football contract up again in a year or two? If so I imagine the basketball only schools, and Notre Dame, give the Big East a middle finger and split off. It's not like the schools the Big East are adding does anything positive to the current Big East members that don't play football. The conference has plenty of quality like minded non football schools. They could pick up and form a solid conference. The 8 non FBS schools, including Notre Dame, would still be a NCAA tourney multi bid conference. If they wanted those schools could get the Indy market (Butler), Omaha market (Creighton), St Louis market (St. Louis), Philly market (Temple) and part of Cincy market (Xavier) and form a real solid basketball conference of like minded schools.

[NDSU grad]

So what are the trickle-down impacts of this going to be?

So I guess C-USA and the MWC make the next moves?

[UNDColorado]

Expect the MTN to invite Utah State and San Jose State. C-USA will raid the WAC and Sun Belt; but I am not certain enough to even speculate on which teams they will want. I do know that Idaho may be left out to dry and the Big Sky for football may be their only option. Star previously predicted that the WAC will turn into a non-football conference and I think that is exactly the scenario what will play out.

[IrishSiouxFan]

Expect the MTN to invite Utah State and San Jose State. C-USA will raid the WAC and Sun Belt; but I am not certain enough to even speculate on which teams they will want. I do know that Idaho may be left out to dry and the Big Sky for football may be their only option. Star previously predicted that the WAC will turn into a non-football conference and I think that is exactly the scenario what will play out.

In terms of a Sun Belt raid, I'm thinking they go after Florida International, North Texas, and possibly Middle Tennessee.

[MplsBison]

How would you like to be the Mountain West? You go from one day being on the verge of a BCS auto-bid with powerful programs like BYU, Utah, TCU and soon adding Boise to the next day being left with San Diego, Wyoming, Colo St, New Mexico and UNLV (of which the latter two are a couple of the worst programs in FBS) and having to add a bunch of WAC schools just to stay afloat.

I suppose it could be worse, they could actually be the WAC.

The WAC will take Boise's non-football sports to go along with Idaho, Seattle, Denver and New Mexico St, La Tech with the new Texas schools. I don't see La Tech, NMSU or Idaho having any other options but to stay in the WAC and make the best of it. Obviously they'll try again to add Montana schools, maybe Portland State?

Port St - Seattle, Idaho - Boise, NM St - Denver, UTA - LA Tech, UTSA - TX St, Mont - MSU

12 bball, 8 football -- they could do worse.

[star2city]

There's just too many variables and uncertainties to accurately predict any movement with CUSA right now.

- There's talk that the Big East might also add San Diego St and Hawaii as football-only members, making the Big East West a true western division and sliding UCF over to the east. Sounds crazy, but with a Pacific and Hawaii time zone schools, the Big East could offer football games at almost any time, potentially making their TV contract more valuable.

- CUSA and MWC are still in merger talks for football, even with AFA, Boise, UCF, Houston, and SMU leaving. That group could end up as 18, 20, or 24 teams. At 24 teams, they would go to 6 team pods, and try to evenutally swing a playoff system for the 24 teams.

-If the MWC wants 12 schools, that could actually open up a spot for Idaho, as well as San Jose St, Utah St, depending on if UTEP switches from CUSA to MWC.

-CUSA will almost certainly reload with a Dallas school (North Texas) and a Florida school (FIU or FAU or both) as well as possibly UTSA (drawing good crowds even with Minot State level competition) and number other Sun Belt candidates, La Tech, and non-FBS football schools (Ga State, Charlotte, Old Dominion). If CUSA no longer officially sponsors football (the MWC might take that role), Marshall and ECU are pushing for more schools along the Atlantic Coast.

- The WAC may be in serious trouble, as its sole hope might be as a basketball only conference.

[UNDColorado]

How would you like to be the Mountain West? You go from one day being on the verge of a BCS auto-bid with powerful programs like BYU, Utah, TCU and soon adding Boise to the next day being left with San Diego, Wyoming, Colo St, New Mexico and UNLV (of which the latter two are a couple of the worst programs in FBS) and having to add a bunch of WAC schools just to stay afloat.

I suppose it could be worse, they could actually be the WAC.

The WAC will take Boise's non-football sports to go along with Idaho, Seattle, Denver and New Mexico St, La Tech with the new Texas schools. I don't see La Tech, NMSU or Idaho having any other options but to stay in the WAC and make the best of it. Obviously they'll try again to add Montana schools, maybe Portland State?

Port St - Seattle, Idaho - Boise, NM St - Denver, UTA - LA Tech, UTSA - TX St, Mont - MSU

12 bball, 8 football -- they could do worse.

Do you really think Montana and M State are going to move to the WAC now? (this question is being asked with a sarcastic tone)

[darell1976]

Do you really think Montana and M State are going to move to the WAC now? (this question is being asked with a sarcastic tone)

According to one fan (you know who) NDSU would jump at the chance.

[zonadub]

all kidding and sarcasm aside, the WAC was a proud conference with a great history. It is a shame to see this happening to the conference that started with Arizona, Arizona State, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and BYU, to end up whimpering as a basketball/olympic only conference. Unfortunately, the WAC no longer has stability or respectability. That said, the loss of the WAC will mean the loss of the stepping-stone FBS conference in the west. If all the rest of the schools leave and Idaho is the only one left, could they invite new schools to reform the conference? it sounds like everyone else is leaving and Idaho is left holding the conference name.

[star2city]

<p>

<br />

all kidding and sarcasm aside, the WAC was a proud conference with a great history. It is a shame to see this happening to the conference that started with Arizona, Arizona State, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and BYU, to end up whimpering as a basketball/olympic only conference. Unfortunately, the WAC no longer has stability or respectability. That said, the loss of the WAC will mean the loss of the stepping-stone FBS conference in the west. If all the rest of the schools leave and Idaho is the only one left, could they invite new schools to reform the conference? it sounds like everyone else is leaving and Idaho is left holding the conference name.<br />

What may be left

Denver

Seattle

Idaho

Air Force (needs a spot to park Olympic sports)

Boise St (ditto)

UT-Arlington

Texas St (?)

(La Tech, UTSA, Utah St, SJSU are all probably gone)

The WAC actually has a higher payout than the Big Sky, due to BB credits, so it might actually make financial, acdemic, and basketball recruiting sense for some Big Sky schools to jump over even if they keep playing football in the Big Sky. If the Montana schools could swing a deal like that - an umbrella FCS conference like the CAA does for Atlantic10 and America East schools - the WAC could be the main survivor, not the Big Sky. The Big Sky would then have to back fill with Utah Valley, Bakersfield, and Grand Canyon U.</p>

[NorCalJack]

So what is going to happen to Fresno State. They are in the WAC and have football.

[star2city]

So what is going to happen to Fresno State. They are in the WAC and have football.

Fresno, Nevada, and Hawaii (fb only) will all be in the Mountain West starting next year after TCU leaves (Boise replaced Utah / BYU). Hawaii will be in the Big West for all other sports next year.

Due to exit fee issues, Boise St and Air Force can't begin Big East play until 2013.

[RD17]

The OVC has decided NOT to expand at this time:

http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/OVC-decides-not-to-expland,184497

This probably keeps North Alabama in Division II for awhile as no other league really makes sense for them.

Will NKU now turn its attention towards the Summit League?

[FargoBison]

The OVC has decided NOT to expand at this time:

http://www.timesdail...-expland,184497

This probably keeps North Alabama in Division II for awhile as no other league really makes sense for them.

Will NKU now turn its attention towards the Summit League?

Probably, it would be a decent geographic fit and the league needs an eastern member.

[RD17]

Probably, it would be a decent geographic fit and the league needs an eastern member.

The more I think about it, NKU would be a very good pick up for the Summit. Like you noted, they are another eastern member to help balance out the league. They have a brand new arena, a solid overall athletic program and they are just across the river from Cincinnati. The Summit could do far worse.

[star2city]

The OVC has decided NOT to expand at this time:

http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/OVC-decides-not-to-expland,184497

This probably keeps North Alabama in Division II for awhile as no other league really makes sense for them.

Will NKU now turn its attention towards the Summit League?

When N Alabama announced its move to DI, they stated it wouldn't be for three years until they even attempt a transition due to fundraising issue.

The other league that is likely pursuing NKU is the Atlantic Sun. The ASun needs a travel partner for David Lipscomb (Nashville). The other school rumored for the ASun is Lincoln Memorial, a Tn school right near the Cumberland Gap. LMU would be the travel partner for E Tenn St. The Summit is a better league in most sports and certainly academically, but NKUs alumni probably lean in the ASun direction.

[Cratter]

The more I think about it, NKU would be a very good pick up for the Summit. Like you noted, they are another eastern member to help balance out the league. They have a brand new arena, a solid overall athletic program and they are just across the river from Cincinnati. The Summit could do far worse.

When they announced their transition, checking out NKU on wiki, it seemed like a perfect DI fit. Nice on campus arena, no football, Kentucky loves basketball, good student population.

The Summit will have a good pickup. The Savior.