Big East and Kansas meet

[Little Danny]

My assumption is that the football and basketball split and that Temple is bringing you the Philly market. They don't bring anything over Missouri and Kansas, but Kansas St and Iowa St are the two teams I have huge problems with. If we don't split form basketball than Nova would never let Temple happen.

So you have:
Temple - Philladalphia, PA 36,915 enrollment, 5,838,000,
9-4 football in 2009 and bowl game, but poor history

Memphis - Memphis, TN 20,000 enrollment 1,280,000 population
2-10, but bowl in 5 of last 7 years

Kansas - Lawarence Kansas City, KS 2053,000, 29,242 enrollment
5-7, but bowl in 5 of 9 years

Missouri - 30,831 enrollment 100,713 population but markets of St Louis 2,816,000 and partly Kansas City 2,053,000,
8-5 bowl in last 5 yrs

Kansas St - Manhattan, KS 113,629 Population 21,570 enrollment
No bowl since 2006, strong 90s, 6-6 in 2009

Iowa St - Ames, IA (Des Moines) 556,000 population 27,942 enrollment
7-6 2009, 6 bowls in 10 yrs (6 bowls also in 32 years)

Central Florida - Orlando, FL 2,082,000 population. 54,644 enrollment
8-5, 3 bowls in 5 years



So, by far the populations say say that KSU and ISU are crappy pick ups for a conference. Kansas and Missouri work well and I would have no problem with those 2 teams, but will Kansas legislator let KU leave without KSU?

Memphis, Temple and UCF bring very strong markets with them. USF and UCF are close, but each bring a huge market individualy.

I would much rather join up with remaining ACC teams and add a couple of USF, Memphis, Temple than Kansas St or Iowa St. You don't take a crappy team because they bring a decent team in Kansas. Missouri is as good of a choice as it gets.

And when looking at the football records don't tell me that they are in the Big 12 so you can't compare. This argument holds very little water to me since the Big 12 North has been as weak as the MAC while the South has been very strong.

I will also say that I prefer TCU and Houston to these two teams as well since the Houston and Dallas market are strong. TCU is a smaller school with good football and strong market and Hoston has had good success as well and is in a strong market with improving facilities.

I understand where you are coming from. But, and this is a big but, perception is reality. The Big East as it stands gets ridiculed as it is. Iowa State and Kansas State are BCS schools already and K-State at least has been to a BCS bowl. Adding Temple, UCF, ECU et al. would only continue the public mockery. Now, I have no problem taking ISU and KState and filing in the gap with one or two of those schools (most likely Memphis and UCF). That way we don't seem as diluted.

 

[swg]

Well, this is odd but interesting. East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland has an open letter to Pirates fans on his school's website in which he tries to sort out the expansion circus.

Holland says that Conference USA plans on pursuing teams left behind in the Big 12 (and don't you know Kansas and Missouri fans are excited about the prospect of joining C-USA). He also wrote some interesting things about the Big East, such as:

"The Big East has been in a bunker mentality, hoping to keep enough of its eight current members to remain a viable FBS (formerly Division I-A) Conference with automatic qualification for BCS bowl games.

"Now that there is a possibility the Big East will not lose any current members, the Big East dilemma remains how to add football members when there is "no room at the Inn" for other sports. The eight Big East FBS institutions are locked into a successful consortium with eight other institutions who do not play FBS football in the Big East.

The Big East is wisely going to exhaust every possibility to solve their dilemma internally before addressing the complications created by adding "football only" members or leaving their 16 team consortium to create a new conference. The "internal" solution of choice is for Notre Dame to agree to move their football program into the Big East. As long as there is the slightest possibility this could happen, the Big East will not close the door on that possibility by adding someone else as the ninth member.

Another internal solution for the Big East is for Villanova to upgrade its national champion FCS (formerly Division I-AA) program to FBS status, just as UConn did several years ago.

It is my belief that most FBS institutions in the Big East would genuinely like to have a ninth FBS member, but at this time, a ninth member is not an absolute necessity. The desire for a ninth member is not enough of a necessity to disrupt their relationship with the seven non-FBS schools and Notre Dame in all other sports."


Now, I don't know where Holland is getting his information, but I find it hard to believe the Big East sees Notre Dame as a realistic football partner. In fact, the Big East officials I've talked to over the years all readily admit that Notre Dame is not going to join the conference for football, so I can't see them waiting on the Irish for anything.

You also have to wonder why Holland is saying this publicly about the Big East, which is a league that ECU has been interested in joining for some time. I've got to think these comments won't go over too well in Providence.

We are living in weird times, indeed.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast