The Official Conference Realignment Rumors Thread

[Birds of B'more]

Probably makes the most sense for them to do that. Those leagues couldn't survive. The Big East would just keep poaching off of them until nothing was left.

And the combined league can probably expect more poaching from the Big East down the road if the ACC decides to eventually go to 16 teams.

[PrivateO]

The combined Mount USA Conference will only be for football, correct?

[Birds of B'more]

The combined Mount USA Conference will only be for football, correct?

According to the CBS article it will be for all sports, except for Hawai'i, which will be football-only and will still play other sports in the Big West Conference as planned.

[PrivateO]

According to the CBS article it will be for all sports, except for Hawai'i, which will be football-only and will still play other sports in the Big West Conference as planned.

Wow, surprises me that it is all-sports. That is going to be a lot of traveling costs for those Olympic sports when teams have to travel from Fresno, CA to Huntington, WV.

[Birds of B'more]

Wow, surprises me that it is all-sports. That is going to be a lot of traveling costs for those Olympic sports when teams have to travel from Fresno, CA to Huntington, WV.

My guess is that they will divide into East/West divisions for all sports, not just football. Or, since they will have 16 teams (assuming they add 1 more non-football member) maybe they will go to something like the "pods" format that was discussed when the Pac was possibly expanding to 16 teams.

[PrivateO]

Temple to Big East for all-sports starting in 2012

Really upset at this, because it weakens the A10 even more. Temple has always been a staple in the conference and losing them might make the Atlantic 10 a one-bid conference.

[Birds of B'more]

Temple to Big East for all-sports starting in 2012

Really upset at this, because it weakens the A10 even more. Temple has always been a staple in the conference and losing them might make the Atlantic 10 a one-bid conference.

Temple playing football in the Big East.....so what's new is old again. Not a terrible choice though, especially since they'll immediately fill that gaping scheduling hole for the upcoming season. We'll see if their resurgence continues though in a conference that should be tougher than the MAC.

[ledzepp8]

Temple to Big East for all-sports starting in 2012

Really upset at this, because it weakens the A10 even more. Temple has always been a staple in the conference and losing them might make the Atlantic 10 a one-bid conference.

God the Big East is a cluster**** of a conference...run by a bunch of idiots. Why do you invite a team that you already kicked out of the (football) conference once? I'm glad WVU was able to get out when they did.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I predict one of two paths for the Big East.

They will either scoop up any and every "available" school across the country that has at least a decent football and/or basketball program and become too bloated that it collapses.

Or

Nobody will have any interest in this new-founded nation wide conference (will anyone care about Rutgers vs. SMU?) and it will collapse.

I can't see this being sustained.

[Birds of B'more]

I predict one of two paths for the Big East.

They will either scoop up any and every "available" school across the country that has at least a decent football and/or basketball program and become too bloated that it collapses.

Or

Nobody will have any interest in this new-founded nation wide conference (will anyone care about Rutgers vs. SMU?) and it will collapse.

I can't see this being sustained.

Another alternative might be for the Big "East" and the newly formed Mount USA Conference to say "screw you" to the BCS schools (not that they were ever really a part of it to begin with, even though technically all the non-AQ conferences got a tiny sliver of the BCS pie). Maybe they could take the other conferences too (MAC, Sun Belt, WAC) and just form one big football conference. Then break them all down into geographic and/or rivalry based divisions, play a season, and then (hold on to your hats, folks) have a playoff (insert Jim Mora rant here) to determine a champion. I bet ESPN would have more interest in paying/broadcasting those teams in a playoff game over worthless matchups like the New Mexico Bowl or Pinstripe Bowl. And if they get the NCAA to sanction the playoff, then the winner could officially call themselves the Division 1-A (or whatever they decide to call it now) Football Champion.....I bet that part would piss the BCS schools off good.

[PrivateO]

Another alternative might be for the Big "East" and the newly formed Mount USA Conference to say "screw you" to the BCS schools (not that they were ever really a part of it to begin with, even though technically all the non-AQ conferences got a tiny sliver of the BCS pie). Maybe they could take the other conferences too (MAC, Sun Belt, WAC) and just form one big football conference. Then break them all down into geographic and/or rivalry based divisions, play a season, and then (hold on to your hats, folks) have a playoff (insert Jim Mora rant here) to determine a champion. I bet ESPN would have more interest in paying/broadcasting those teams in a playoff game over worthless matchups like the New Mexico Bowl or Pinstripe Bowl. And if they get the NCAA to sanction the playoff, then the winner could officially call themselves the Division 1-A (or whatever they decide to call it now) Football Champion.....I bet that part would piss the BCS schools off good.

But the Big East schools are part of the BCS schools.

If they essentially break off and ally with Mount USA, that's a no-bones-about-it downgrade if you ask me.

[Birds of B'more]

But the Big East schools are part of the BCS schools.

If they essentially break off and ally with Mount USA, that's a no-bones-about-it downgrade if you ask me.

Through 2013 they are. We don't know after that. If automatic qualifications are eliminated, how often is the re-vamped Big East likely to get a bid in a BCS bowl? I'm not saying it will be more lucrative to try and go in a different direction, but it's at least worth examining I think.

[PrivateO]

Bump.


Jeff Goodman ‏ @GoodmanCBS
RT @McMurphyCBS: C-USA adding UNT, FIU, LaTech, UTSA, Charlotte & ODU in 2013, sources tell @CBSSports http://cbsprt.co/JQoDJo

The additions of UNT, FIU, La Tech, and UTSA are not surprising, but ODU and Charlotte are. Both schools are just starting their football programs, but the CUSA is looking long-term by adding them.

What does this move do to other conferences?
- The WAC is probably done. It may continue to be a non-football conference, but with only 2 football teams left, that section of the league probably folds.
- After this season, the A10 is down to 12 teams. Temple to Big East, Charlotte (back) to CUSA. Obviously the rumors are swirling that the A10 is trying to add Butler, George Mason, and VCU. Will the A10 try and only to two of those teams to keep the league at an even number or will they go all the way to 16 and add another team? Or, does the A10 stay at 12? Unlikely (though I'd personally rather have 12, just not with our current 12) but possible.
- The CAA should be on DEFCON 5. Georgia St. and ODU are now gone. VCU and GMU are exploring their A10 options. They should be in survival mode and should start looking at other universities to add.

[PrivateO]

Andy Katz reporting that Butler will join the A10 in 2013, replacing Temple.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...ts-source-says

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...he-a10-in-2013

[Majin Buu]

FSU and possibly Clemson leaving the ACC. Can anyone shed any new light on this ?

http://floridastate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1364755