More Expansion Talk

[Ryno aka Menace]

We have 13 and only need 3, the only possible candidates I see are Army, Navy, Western Kentucky, Marshall, Middle Tenn.

The Way I see it

Pac-16

1. USC

2.UCLA

3.Okla.

4.Okla. St

5.Colorado

6.Wash.

7.Wash. St

8.Oregon

9.Oregon St

10.Arizona

11.Arizona st

12.Cal

13.Texas

14.Texas Tech

15.Texas A&M

16.Stanford

Big-16

1. OSU

2.Michigan

3.Penn

4.Wisconsin

5.Nebraska

6.Notre Dame

7.Mizzo

8.Ill

9.Indiana

10.Iowa

11.Minn

12.Northwestern

13.Syracuse

14.Rutgers

15.Michigan St

16.Purdue

SEC-16

1. Alabama

2.Arkansas

3.Auburn

4.Florida

5.Florida St

6.Miami

7.Georgia

8.Georgia Tech

9.Clemson

10.Kentucky

11.LSU

12.Miss

13.Miss St

14.South Carolina

15.Tenn

16.Vanderbilt

Western Mountain-16

1.Air Force

2.Boise St

3.Idaho

4.BYU

5.New Mex

6.New Mex. St

7.Utah

8.Utah St

9.Wyoming

10.Fresno

11.Hawaii

12.UNLV

13.Nevada

14.Colorado St

15.San Deigo st

16.San Jose St

Conference USA -16

1.Kansas

2.Kansas St

3.Baylor

4.UTEP

5.TCU

6.Houston

7.Rice

8.North Tex

9.SMU

10.Tulane

11.Tulsa

12.UAB

13.Troy

14. Iowa St

15. Marshall

16.Middle Tenn

ACC-16

1. Boston C

2.Duke

3.Maryland

4.North Carolina

5.North Carolina St

6.East Carolina

7.Virgina

8.Virgina tech

9.Wake Forest

10.West Virgina

11.Louisville

12.Central Florida

13.South Florida

14.Memphis

15.Pitt

16.Uconn

MAC-16

1. Akron

2. Ball State

3.BGSU

4.Buffalo

5.Central

6.Eastern

7.Western

8.Can't

9.Miami

10.Northern Ill

11.Ohio

12.Temple

13.Toledo

14.Western Kentucky - closer to teams geographically so less expensive to travel

15.Army - will they go back to Conference USA?

16.Navy - need a home

*YSU don't be scared be a big boy

Sun Belt-16

1. Ark St

2.FIU

3.Florida Atlantic

4.Louis-Laf

5.Louis-Mon

6.North Texas

7.Troy

8.University of Southern Georgia (moving to D1 in next 2 years)

9.Middle Tenn

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Not sure where they will go?

These 3 left Conference USA would they go back?)

Cinci

Army

Louisiana Tech - Maybe Sunbelt?

Middle Tenn - closer to teams geographically so less expensive to travel if join MAC

Does anyone really want to join the MAC? I think this is the beginning of a playoff. 8 sixteen team conferences, conference champs in a playoff, the rest in a bowl game.

[ZachTheZip]

"Let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of conference expansion speculation on the internet. According to this morning's sample, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds."

[UA Fan]

I can see your logic here. If the conferences all went super-sized and the 'B10' took several from the BE, the BE wouldn't be able to get enough others within a reasonable distance to form a super-BE for football. Somehow, I see Cinci & Louisville remaining together in the same league, whatever it might be. Since the Sunbelt is left shorthanded, the MAC could join with them for a 24-team super-super-conference with North Div. v. South Div. "Civil War" championships. And it would help us with early-season baseball and late-season soccer scheduling, weather-wise.

[Ryno aka Menace]

I hope that doesn't happen a merger with the Sunbelt, people might think we were 1AA for sure.

[ksu sucks]

I hope that doesn't happen a merger with the Sunbelt, people might think we were 1AA for sure.

I could see a Sun Belt merger if it meant dropping some of the dead weight from each conference.

[ZachTheZip]

Maybe we should be positioning ourselves for an invite to the leftover Big XII, along with the top C-USA and MAC teams.

[GP1]

John Steigerwald is a long time Pittsburgh sports reporter and has an interesting blog where the discusses this issue. He brings up an interesting issue in I think what is the second to last paragraph. That is, if these super conferences come about, it eliminates the seventh game a year teams play against lower level conferences such as the MAC because the TV money will be huge and the money from the seventh game will be unnecessary.

This is exactly the opportunity schools like UofA need to wedge themselves from being a sacrificial lamb a couple of times a year. If these super conferences are created, it opens the door for the NCAA to reform the highest level of college football. Instead of pretending the MAC is at the same level as BCS conferences, they can be honest about the disparity between BCS and non-BCS conferences and separate those teams from one another to maintain the integrity of competition and college football.

These moves are purely about money. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the fraud the BCS schools pull on their fans when they sell them tickets to, for example, UofA vs PSU. When you go to these games, you are having your money stolen from you by the home school.

[cornbread]

John Steigerwald is a long time Pittsburgh sports reporter and has an interesting blog where the discusses this issue. He brings up an interesting issue in I think what is the second to last paragraph. That is, if these super conferences come about, it eliminates the seventh game a year teams play against lower level conferences such as the MAC because the TV money will be huge and the money from the seventh game will be unnecessary.

This is exactly the opportunity schools like UofA need to wedge themselves from being a sacrificial lamb a couple of times a year. If these super conferences are created, it opens the door for the NCAA to reform the highest level of college football. Instead of pretending the MAC is at the same level as BCS conferences, they can be honest about the disparity between BCS and non-BCS conferences and separate those teams from one another to maintain the integrity of competition and college football.

These moves are purely about money. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the fraud the BCS schools pull on their fans when they sell them tickets to, for example, UofA vs PSU. When you go to these games, you are having your money stolen from you by the home school.

Yawn...

Haven't you posted this like 5-7 other times?

[g-mann17]

Yawn...

Haven't you posted this like 5-7 other times?

Try 20-30 times.

[MDZip]

Maybe we should be positioning ourselves for an invite to the leftover Big XII, along with the top C-USA and MAC teams.

It's time we started acting like a big conference. Lets just go grab the remaing four Big 12 schools and drag them into the MAC (Temple gets the boot unless they join in all sports). Then we could call it the "Big Mac" and get an obvious commercial tie-in.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

MAC schools are going to come out of the entire "Super Conference" mash up weaker and more irrelevant than they already were. The whole process at this point appears to be a race to consolidate mega-conference power. It sure seems logical that the entire concept of "mid major", in football certainly, is about to be washed away. You'll be one of the majors in the consolidated mega conferences or you will be nobody. If the consolidations go the way the sports chatterers are predicting on radio then the MACs of the world are screwed. FCS here we come!

[RowdyZip]

MAC schools are going to come out of the entire "Super Conference" mash up weaker and more irrelevant than they already were. The whole process at this point appears to be a race to consolidate mega-conference power. It sure seems logical that the entire concept of "mid major", in football certainly, is about to be washed away. You'll be one of the majors in the consolidated mega conferences you will be nobody. If the consolidations go the way the sports chatters are predicting on radio then the MACs of the world are screwed. FCS here we come!

We all knew this was bound to happen eventually. The big boys couldn't wait around any longer to see more "BCS" busters come from other conferences. Remember how close Ball State was two years ago? Lets hope the investment UA has made in football gives us just a slight glimmer of a hope to get a foot in the door. I find it highly unlikely, but if there were schools to have a remote chance in the MAC it would be UA, Toledo, and Buffalo.

[K92]

MAC schools are going to come out of the entire "Super Conference" mash up weaker and more irrelevant than they already were. The whole process at this point appears to be a race to consolidate mega-conference power. It sure seems logical that the entire concept of "mid major", in football certainly, is about to be washed away. You'll be one of the majors in the consolidated mega conferences you will be nobody. If the consolidations go the way the sports chatters are predicting on radio then the MACs of the world are screwed. FCS here we come!

We all knew this was bound to happen eventually. The big boys couldn't wait around any longer to see more "BCS" busters come from other conferences. Remember how close Ball State was two years ago? Lets hope the investment UA has made in football gives us just a slight glimmer of a hope to get a foot in the door. I find it highly unlikely, but if there were schools to have a remote chance in the MAC it would be UA, Toledo, and Buffalo.

I pray that the SEC stands pat at 12 teams. I hope the ACC would only have to poach a couple of Big East teams if they decide to expand. I would be absolutely ecstatic if we could join a diluted Big East with UT, Temple and Buffalo. This scenario is a long shot at best, but the MAC is not going to add anyone that will make the conference one iota better. I am afraid I am not gonna like how this all pans out.

[eguins]

MAC-16

1. Akron

2. Ball State

3.BGSU

4.Buffalo

5.Central

6.Eastern

7.Western

8.Can't

9.Miami

10.Northern Ill

11.Ohio

12.Temple

13.Toledo

14.Western Kentucky - closer to teams geographically so less expensive to travel

15.Army - will they go back to Conference USA?

16.Navy - need a home

*YSU don't be scared be a big boy

We were a big boy in the 90s when we were denied into the MAC by two programs, which will remain nameless.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

Don't feel bad eguins. We'll be right there with you in some sort of FCS alternate universe before you know it. If you aren't one of the college football powerhouses, your days of dreaming of better football are over.

MAC-16

1. Akron

2. Ball State

3.BGSU

4.Buffalo

5.Central

6.Eastern

7.Western

8.Can't

9.Miami

10.Northern Ill

11.Ohio

12.Temple

13.Toledo

14.Western Kentucky - closer to teams geographically so less expensive to travel

15.Army - will they go back to Conference USA?

16.Navy - need a home

*YSU don't be scared be a big boy

We were a big boy in the 90s when we were denied into the MAC by two programs, which will remain nameless.

[johnnyzip84]

Is the sky falling? I don’t really think so. Will the divide between the “haves” and the “have nots” grow wider? It’s possible. Will it be enough to change college football from what it’s traditionally been, that is, a wide-ranging continuum of programs running the gamut from national powers to regional powers to solid programs to lucky squirrels to wannabees? This is the real question. And the answer, I believe, lies in how future “mega-conference” OOC schedules are developed. If these “mega-conferences” begin to EXCLUSIVELY schedule only teams from other “mega-conferences”, then I think the landscape will truly be changed to a point where schools like UA will be forced into a different classification. If they don’t, I’m not sure that I see a huge effect on a school like Akron.

We see this “rich getting richer” phenomenon in all sports. And it certainly makes it more difficult for the “small market” teams to compete. But in the end, there is always room for a set of players with the right coaching staff to buck the odds and compete “against the big boys”. When I watched Utah demolish Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl I believed at the time that they were the best team in the country. In hindsight, I believe it even more. The fact that the Utes were not in a BCS conference did not prevent them from embarrassing a BCS power smack in the middle of BCS country (although it DID prevent them from playing for the national championship). My point is if you play well on the field, you will get your chance to be noticed.

Do we really think that programs like Kansas, K-State, etc will fall off the face of the earth if they’re forced out of the Big XII? Perhaps they’ll join up with the MWC and wind up flourishing 10 years from now. Who knows? Changes have occurred in conferences from the beginning of the sport until now. While the impending changes are no doubt significant, I don’t think it will be the last of them. It’s the nature of the beast.

[ZachTheZip]

I think Dr. P should be on the phone with OSU, Cincinnati, and the State Legislature trying to explain how it would improve the economy to have a 3rd BCS team in the state even if it cut into OSU's profits a little bit. They won't listen, but it's worth trying to force Cinci to vote for us if the Big East has to expand. And if OSU actually gets behind the idea (providing them with another BCS opponent from Ohio since they are legally mandated to play a school from in-state every year) it's virtually a done deal.

[Z.I.P.]

I think Dr. P should be on the phone with OSU, Cincinnati, and the State Legislature trying to explain how it would improve the economy to have a 3rd BCS team in the state even if it cut into OSU's profits a little bit. They won't listen, but it's worth trying to force Cinci to vote for us if the Big East has to expand. And if OSU actually gets behind the idea (providing them with another BCS opponent from Ohio since they are legally mandated to play a school from in-state every year) it's virtually a done deal.

I'll bet the same post (with a different President's name) is on the Toledo Rockets' BB this morning!

[ZachTheZip]

I think Dr. P should be on the phone with OSU, Cincinnati, and the State Legislature trying to explain how it would improve the economy to have a 3rd BCS team in the state even if it cut into OSU's profits a little bit. They won't listen, but it's worth trying to force Cinci to vote for us if the Big East has to expand. And if OSU actually gets behind the idea (providing them with another BCS opponent from Ohio since they are legally mandated to play a school from in-state every year) it's virtually a done deal.

I'll bet the same post (with a different President's name) is on the Toledo Rockets' BB this morning!

Then I guess some Toledo fan must be lurking on our board.

[ZachTheZip]

ESPN just reported that Nebraska to the Big Ten is official.

[johnnyzip84]

ESPN just reported that Nebraska to the Big Ten is official.

Where is the story? I can only find things like "all signs point towards Nebraska in Big 10" on the ESPN site, and I don't see anything on their ticker (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN News).

Edit: I see the story where Nebraska's Board of Regents has OK'd the move.

Link

[Darkwaters1122]

Big Ten

West Division:

Nebraska

Missouri

Kansas

Kansas State

Iowa

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois

Northwestern

East Division:

Ohio State

Michigan

Michigan State

Purdue

Indiana

Notre Dame

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Syracuse

Scheduling:

Football

8 games in division

2 games other division

2 game out of conference

Basketball

16 division games (H/A)

9 other division

6-7 out of conference games

Doubt it will happen....but I think 18 is the right # of schools for Mega Conference. Easy scheduling. Will make it even harder for mid-majors like Akron. Unless something drastic happens, eventually Akron will be hurt by this. It will make jumping to a new league even harder and creating a new league impossible. The next year will be interesting to say the least.

go Zips!!!

[xu9697]

MAC (16)

EAST

Akron

Miami

Can't State

Ohio University

Buffalo

Marshall

Army

Navy

WEST

Bowling Green

Toledo

Ball State

Northern Illinois

Eastern Michigan

Central Michigan

Western Michigan

Western Kentucky

[Darkwaters1122]

MAC (16)

EAST

Akron

Miami

Can't State

Ohio University

Buffalo

Marshall

Army

Navy

WEST

Bowling Green

Toledo

Ball State

Northern Illinois

Eastern Michigan

Central Michigan

Western Michigan

Western Kentucky

I think it would it would work. But what about Temple. I don't like that they are Football only.

It used to be that the MAC gave out 10 less scholarships that the big boys. The idea was that they were a "academic" conference first and did not want any ideas of challenging for a national championship. That changed in the 70s (I think) when they added 5 more scholarships. Does anyone know where the MAC stands today in regards to the # of scholarships it can gave out for football?? Is it still 5 less than the maximum for D1??

Rather than talk about moving to a bigger conference, I think we should work to regain the reputation on the MAC. If that means putting some on probation or dropping some, so be it. In the long run, it may be easier to fix the MAC that for Akron to wedge it's way into one of the emerging Mega conferences.

[ZachTheZip]

Army and Navy play their other sports in the Patriot League and I don't think they ever intend to leave it. I also doubt they would join any conference for football until they are at threat of being completely left out after realignment.

Also, I hope doubt the MAC ever takes Marshall back. They'll let them rot in independent-football hell. They burned us twice and I would hope the MAC has learned their lesson.