Post by elp525 on Oct 11, 2011 5:20:56 GMT -5
Monday October 10, 2011
Schools that may join six-member conference as football-only institutions include Boise State, Air Force, Navy
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Big East Conference will approach expansion with designs on 12 football members, the league announced Monday following a conference call of university presidents and chancellors.
Among the possible targets: perpetual BCS-buster Boise State, which would bring very new meaning to the east part of "Big East."
A statement from the league said the presidents and chancellors authorized Commissioner John Marinatto "to engage in formal discussions with additional institutions and (the presidents) are considering moving to a model that includes 12 football playing schools.
As with everything to do with conference realignment, Monday's announcement lit up message boards.
"Nothing says EAST like Boise, Idaho," a commenter, Brett Hosner, wrote on Sporting News online.
Another commenter, Dan Miller, responded, "I can't wait 'til Hawaii joins the ACC."
On Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation college football blog, a commenter asked about Boise, "Just how is a team in the Pacific Time Zone with a stadium of 35000 seats a good fit in the Big East?"
And on a story posted on the Idaho-Statesman newspaper website, a commenter wrote, "I think having fresh new Big East teams would be great! Who doesn't want to see West Virginia play on the blue?" The person was referring to Boise's unique blue turf.
With the announced exits of Pitt and Syracuse for ACC membership and a move by TCU to the Big 12 Conference, the Big East is left with six football schools - WVU, Louisville, Connecticut, Rutgers, Cincinnati and South Florida.
Contacted after the presidents' call Monday, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck said he would not comment on the proposed expansion issue.
There has been discussion of adding several schools as football-only members, and reports surfaced over the weekend that the Big East is considering Boise State as a football-only member.
Air Force has publicly announced its interest in a similar arrangement, and the Big East and Navy have discussed the same.
There also have been reports that Air Force and Navy are trying to convince Army to join the other two service academies as Big East football schools.
Monday's Big East expansion announcement drew more than 40 comments on Mike Casazza's WVU Sports Blog on the Daily Mail's website.
"I've wished we'd take the military schools for some time," one commenter, Karl, wrote on Casazza's blog. "They are national programs, and in the case of Navy and Air Force, they're actually pretty good - better even than the two we're losing."
Another commenter, Jeff in Akron, chimed in: "Three potential teams could help maintain the BCS automatic qualifier for the Big East; Navy, Air Force, and East Carolina. With WVU, Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville, Rutgers and USF securing the automatic qualifier status for the future."
Big East basketball is the other part of the equation. The moves by Pitt, Syracuse and TCU leave Big East basketball with 14 members for the future.
The conference would add to its football membership by bringing in two or three all-sports members, and hoops member Villanova - which had been under consideration for Big East football if the Wildcats elevated their program to FBS status - may also move up now.
If Villanova did that, the Big East would then need to add only two all-sports members from among East Carolina, Central Florida and Temple to get to 16 basketball members and 12 football teams.
Without Villanova moving to all-sports membership, the conference would need three other all-sports additions to reach a dozen on the football side - leaving 17 teams in basketball, the same number the league would have had if TCU hadn't reversed its decision to join the Rhode Island-based Big East.
WVU and Louisville remain prominent names in potential Big 12 expansion, if that conference decides to go back to 12 members, or if Missouri decides to leave the Big 12 for a spot in the Southeastern Conference.
SEC presidents met Monday for their regularly scheduled fall meeting.
The SEC said in a statement that the presidents and chancellors "discussed a wide range of issues dealing with the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics'' but didn't make any moves on expansion.
The SEC is adding a 13th member when Texas A&M joins the league in July.
University of Missouri curators have given Chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to explore a move to another conference rather than immediately commit to staying in the Big 12.
If Mizzou stays, the Big 12 would have 10 members, and the league is divided on whether to stay at its current number (10) or expand back to the 12-member model, which would allow a football championship game.
Schools that may join six-member conference as football-only institutions include Boise State, Air Force, Navy
by Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Big East Conference will approach expansion with designs on 12 football members, the league announced Monday following a conference call of university presidents and chancellors.
Among the possible targets: perpetual BCS-buster Boise State, which would bring very new meaning to the east part of "Big East."
A statement from the league said the presidents and chancellors authorized Commissioner John Marinatto "to engage in formal discussions with additional institutions and (the presidents) are considering moving to a model that includes 12 football playing schools.
As with everything to do with conference realignment, Monday's announcement lit up message boards.
"Nothing says EAST like Boise, Idaho," a commenter, Brett Hosner, wrote on Sporting News online.
Another commenter, Dan Miller, responded, "I can't wait 'til Hawaii joins the ACC."
On Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation college football blog, a commenter asked about Boise, "Just how is a team in the Pacific Time Zone with a stadium of 35000 seats a good fit in the Big East?"
And on a story posted on the Idaho-Statesman newspaper website, a commenter wrote, "I think having fresh new Big East teams would be great! Who doesn't want to see West Virginia play on the blue?" The person was referring to Boise's unique blue turf.
With the announced exits of Pitt and Syracuse for ACC membership and a move by TCU to the Big 12 Conference, the Big East is left with six football schools - WVU, Louisville, Connecticut, Rutgers, Cincinnati and South Florida.
Contacted after the presidents' call Monday, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck said he would not comment on the proposed expansion issue.
There has been discussion of adding several schools as football-only members, and reports surfaced over the weekend that the Big East is considering Boise State as a football-only member.
Air Force has publicly announced its interest in a similar arrangement, and the Big East and Navy have discussed the same.
There also have been reports that Air Force and Navy are trying to convince Army to join the other two service academies as Big East football schools.
Monday's Big East expansion announcement drew more than 40 comments on Mike Casazza's WVU Sports Blog on the Daily Mail's website.
"I've wished we'd take the military schools for some time," one commenter, Karl, wrote on Casazza's blog. "They are national programs, and in the case of Navy and Air Force, they're actually pretty good - better even than the two we're losing."
Another commenter, Jeff in Akron, chimed in: "Three potential teams could help maintain the BCS automatic qualifier for the Big East; Navy, Air Force, and East Carolina. With WVU, Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville, Rutgers and USF securing the automatic qualifier status for the future."
Big East basketball is the other part of the equation. The moves by Pitt, Syracuse and TCU leave Big East basketball with 14 members for the future.
The conference would add to its football membership by bringing in two or three all-sports members, and hoops member Villanova - which had been under consideration for Big East football if the Wildcats elevated their program to FBS status - may also move up now.
If Villanova did that, the Big East would then need to add only two all-sports members from among East Carolina, Central Florida and Temple to get to 16 basketball members and 12 football teams.
Without Villanova moving to all-sports membership, the conference would need three other all-sports additions to reach a dozen on the football side - leaving 17 teams in basketball, the same number the league would have had if TCU hadn't reversed its decision to join the Rhode Island-based Big East.
WVU and Louisville remain prominent names in potential Big 12 expansion, if that conference decides to go back to 12 members, or if Missouri decides to leave the Big 12 for a spot in the Southeastern Conference.
SEC presidents met Monday for their regularly scheduled fall meeting.
The SEC said in a statement that the presidents and chancellors "discussed a wide range of issues dealing with the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics'' but didn't make any moves on expansion.
The SEC is adding a 13th member when Texas A&M joins the league in July.
University of Missouri curators have given Chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to explore a move to another conference rather than immediately commit to staying in the Big 12.
If Mizzou stays, the Big 12 would have 10 members, and the league is divided on whether to stay at its current number (10) or expand back to the 12-member model, which would allow a football championship game.
