Conference Re-Alignment?

[Spin]

Official statement from Conference USA saying that they are still expanding.

A four team football championship. They could be forming up the FBS-lite subdivision we were talking about before.

[xu9697]

The key for Akron, as far as I am concerned, is getting at least one MAC team to come along. But, IDEALLY, I would love to see Akron, Toledo and Buffalo join into the CUSA. Those 3 joined with Marshall give us a nice "pod" of rivals.

Seems though, that only 2 schools will join. It would be an interesting argument of Toledo vs. Buffalo as to who UA fans might prefer.

[scottditzen]

The key for Akron, as far as I am concerned, is getting at least one MAC team to come along. But, IDEALLY, I would love to see Akron, Toledo and Buffalo join into the CUSA. Those 3 joined with Marshall give us a nice "pod" of rivals.

Seems though, that only 2 schools will join. It would be an interesting argument of Toledo vs. Buffalo as to who UA fans might prefer.

Toledo is the better program.

One way I measure conference rivalries is the allure of attending away games. To be honest I'm not the least bit excited about the idea of going to neither Buffalo, Toledo nor Marshall.

[xu9697]

Toledo is the better program.

One way I measure conference rivalries is the allure of attending away games. To be honest I'm not the least bit excited about the idea of going to neither Buffalo, Toledo nor Marshall.

Away games?!?!? We might want to focus on getting folks to HOME games first!

[scottditzen]

Away games?!?!? We might want to focus on getting folks to HOME games first!

Right. I'm strictly speaking on measuring who I would want as a rival. I suppose familiarity breeds....boredom.

Marshall has a great fanbase. I just don't care about a rivalry with them because of their back woods location, and I feel that overall we are a way better school. Maybe it's an anti-appalachian bias. But their athletics seem to be trending downward.

[akzipper]

Right. I'm strictly speaking on measuring who I would want as a rival. I suppose familiarity breeds....boredom.

Marshall has a great fanbase. I just don't care about a rivalry with them because of their back woods location, and I feel that overall we are a way better school. Maybe it's an anti-appalachian bias. But their athletics seem to be trending downward.

This is the main reason we need to get out of the MAC. Akron fans don't get excited about facing Toledo, Bowling Green, Eastern/Western/Central/Southern/Northern-whatever freaking direction Michigan schools. To be honest I really don't even get excited about facing Can't or Ohio anymore. Not to mention the amount of area that C-USA covers on the east coast is extremely better for nation exposure. As opposed to playing 90% of our games in Ohio or Michigan. Let's be honest, the whole "well fans can travel to away games" argument doesn't work with us. Maybe the 10 diehards care about going to watch a game in Athens, but we can't even fill our own stadium, so who cares about filling the dump Dix Stadium. Obviously C-USA's head-scratching invitations to UTSA and other schools with zero football success, is a drawback. It's still better than what we play now. But at the end of the day I don't see us leaving the MAC. Not for C-USA, not for anything else. I think UA would see it as a financially lateral move and we obviously don't deserve to move up anytime soon.

[johnnyzip84]

CNNSI story on how the FBS newcomers are doing so far this year. C-USA's decision to add UTSA (met with some derision on this board) doesn't look too bad at this point. Maybe they should jump on Texas State as well (they made Mack's job much tougher at UH last weekend).

[johnnyzip84]

Notre Dame to ACC (except football)

[lance99]

Notre Dame to ACC (except football)

If that is true, it is a bad move. I do not care who they are, you tell them "all or nothing." It does nothing for the ACC without Football. Who would want to go to the Big East now? It would be Akron and who else?

[johnnyzip84]

If that is true, it is a bad move. I do not care who they are, you tell them "all or nothing." It does nothing for the ACC without Football. Who would want to go to the Big East now? It would be Akron and who else?

I don't think there is any doubt that it's happening.

[lance99]

"In any short-term way there's no financial benefit," the official said. "If we wanted to do something for money we would have joined the Big Ten. What it's really about is postseason play."

I call B.S. on that statement. The alumni there would NEVER let them join the Big 10, especially if football is involved.

They did it because they saw the Big East as a sinking ship and they were probably the only conference to give in to their demands.

[Wally B]

Not surprising given the BE's loss of Syracuse, Pitt, and WvU. All of their so called big boys are now gone, and they've effectively reformed the old CUSA w/ the likes of Cincy, Loisville, Memphis.... Like they say, "the more things change, the more they stay the same"

Acc was wise enough to secure 5 annual football games. For practical purposes, this makes ND an independent INO (In Name Only)....

[UAZipster0305]

I now expect UConn to join the ACC thus creating the first super conference.

Interesting how similar Cincy, Louisville and Memphis are to UA, UT, and Buffalo...all are large midwest urban state schools. UCF and USF also make an additional solid pair. NIU and SIU could round it out for a respectable 10-team conference. Not likely to happen, but hey, I can dream. Ohio, Marshall, and East Carolina would also be good additions.

[GP1]

Keeping their independence is their last gasp effort at being important in the alumns minds. In addition, they can make more money off of NBC. If a playoff happens, being an indy gives them a back door into the playoffs. ND wants nothing to do with the Big Ten. I have no respect for the Big Ten, but it is a better conference than the ACC.

[Big Zip]

I think the NBC TV contract has is for $15 million per year. The Big Ten Network pays their team a lot more money than that between $20 and $25 million. At one point the Notre Dame contract was a big deal, but anymore there is more money elsewhere. Not to mention why would NBC sign Notre Dame for more $ going forward? The team has been abysmal and ratings are down. I'm not sure what they are trying to prove anymore by staying independent. They would be better off in a conference.

[Roo]

I think the NBC TV contract has is for $15 million per year. The Big Ten Network pays their team a lot more money than that between $20 and $25 million. At one point the Notre Dame contract was a big deal, but anymore there is more money elsewhere. Not to mention why would NBC sign Notre Dame for more $ going forward? The team has been abysmal and ratings are down. I'm not sure what they are trying to prove anymore by staying independent. They would be better off in a conference.

Not at all. ND is one of the few schools that has the ability to recruit across the entire nation and they do that by playing all over the US (and outside the country). Kids all over the nation get to see Notre Dame in their region every year. Kids from outside of Ohio don't even realize Akron is a school for example. They are always in the news and they are still relevant in a major way. They would lose everything if they joined a conference. The fan base for that school is huge.

And whoever said the BigTen is better than the ACC is out of their minds. All other main sports the ACC is superior, academically it is superior and football should be proven to be at least equal if not better. I dont like the 5 games vs ACC portion but the ability to see ND play FSU, Miami, VaTech, Clemson, Pitt and Boston College every year is not bad and they all have a history (except Clemson, which you could sub in Georgia Tech and they are already playing Wake this year).

The team has been abysmal? Nobody from Akron can every say anything about any school about being abysmal.. They certainly havent been the Notre Dame of old, but they are capable of being there and as a fan of both schools, Id love to see Akron just be able to have a winning season twice in a decade.

[GP1]

Not at all. ND is one of the few schools that has the ability to recruit across the entire nation and they do that by playing all over the US (and outside the country).

And whoever said the BigTen is better than the ACC is out of their minds. All other main sports the ACC is superior, academically it is superior and football should be proven to be at least equal if not better. I dont like the 5 games vs ACC portion but the ability to see ND play FSU, Miami, VaTech, Clemson, Pitt and Boston College every year is not bad and they all have a history (except Clemson, which you could sub in Georgia Tech and they are already playing Wake this year).

they aren't doing a very good job of recruiting because good players want to compete against the best, not the ACC

The big ten is better than the ACC in football. I don't know about, nor do I care about the other sports. Changes in college athletics have everything to do with football. Nobody really is making moves for academics. Playing Pitt va tech, eats may not be bad, but it isn't far away from bad.

[lance99]

I dont like the 5 games vs ACC portion but the ability to see ND play FSU, Miami, VaTech, Clemson, Pitt and Boston College every year is not bad and they all have a history (except Clemson, which you could sub in Georgia Tech and they are already playing Wake this year).

Keep in mind they also have to play Duke, Virginia, NC State and Maryland. Those are traditions I would not be looking forward to. Just wait when they have a chance to play in the BCS title game and they have to play one of these teams and see how their fans react.

[Roo]

they aren't doing a very good job of recruiting because good players want to compete against the best, not the ACC

False. Good players want to win and be noticed winning.

If they cared about playing against the best kids would never go to USC, Ohio State or Florida State (who just had a couple years in a row of top recruiting classes in a conference that you said wouldn't play against the best)

And Notre Dame's schedule is typically rated very tough in the nation year over year. So that notion, and the fact they have been near the top in recruiting over the last 5-10 years, dispels any notion of truth.

[GP1]

False. Good players want to win and be noticed winning.

If they cared about playing against the best kids would never go to USC, Ohio State or Florida State (who just had a couple years in a row of top recruiting classes in a conference that you said wouldn't play against the best)

And Notre Dame's schedule is typically rated very tough in the nation year over year. So that notion, and the fact they have been near the top in recruiting over the last 5-10 years, dispels any notion of truth.

Kids that want to win and be noticed for winning don't interest me. Kids that want to win against the best talent in the country interest me.

If ND has had top rated recruiting classes for the last 5-10 years, there is a huge problem with the people rating recruiting classes.

ND plays a big ten schedule with USC thrown in. There are "names" on their schedule, but little substance.

[Zips Win!]

Kids that want to win and be noticed for winning don't interest me. Kids that want to win against the best talent in the country interest me.

If ND has had top rated recruiting classes for the last 5-10 years, there is a huge problem with the people rating recruiting classes.

ND plays a big ten schedule with USC thrown in. There are "names" on their schedule, but little substance.

“Scheduling” could be considered the single most important issue in college football.

You could go back and look at college football and who was crowned the champion over the last 50 years and scheduling is at the heart of the issue.

Today, there is only a need to look at the last 6 years- when the SEC began dominating college football.

If you assigned a weighted-average value to the BCS conferences the SEC would earn about 50% of the value and the other BCS conferences would get the other 50%. That’s how dominating the SEC is.

When I see that the medium ten is the second best conference I get a good laugh…But then who else could you take…None of them measure up to the SEC. Now, if the medium ten renamed the divisions to Legends and MAC North, I might have a little more respect.

While we are at it, The Vest was a master at playing easy schedules. No one did it better and it got him into 3 NC games. Pure genius! What would he have done if he had to play USC every year, not just two.

As for ND, there are several conclusions… I see 3 medium ten and 3 ACC foes…Not sure what the big deal is if they play 5 ACC teams in the future. Yes, there are many easy games on the schedule, but there is also USC and Oklahoma on it as well. I would say there is much more than a little substance.

On the other hand, there are no SEC teams so you can make the argument that the best teams are being avoided…

Scheduling has won more NC than any other factor. I can’t wait for the four-team playoff in two years. That will force teams to play harder schedules if they want to get in. The days of using The Vest model for scheduling will be over

[GP1]

As for ND, there are several conclusions… I see 3 medium ten and 3 ACC foes…Not sure what the big deal is if they play 5 ACC teams in the future. Yes, there are many easy games on the schedule, but there is also USC and Oklahoma on it as well. I would say there is much more than a little substance.

On the other hand, there are no SEC teams so you can make the argument that the best teams are being avoided…

When I look at ND's schedule, I see Michigan's schedule. Sort of good, but mostly average. Five ACC schools or five Big Ten schools...What's the difference after the PSU collapse is complete? One can put the ACC and Big Ten in a bag, shake them up and they will all come out together at this point. Which gets to your point. Scheduling is the art of illusion in college football. I believe athletic directors are snake oil salesmen....their schedules come in the bottles with the gold lettering. A good AD can make it look like you play good teams by playing teams that were good ten years ago (and may not be now), but not really playing anyone good ooc.

[Roo]

“Scheduling” could be considered the single most important issue in college football.

You could go back and look at college football and who was crowned the champion over the last 50 years and scheduling is at the heart of the issue.

Today, there is only a need to look at the last 6 years- when the SEC began dominating college football.

If you assigned a weighted-average value to the BCS conferences the SEC would earn about 50% of the value and the other BCS conferences would get the other 50%. That’s how dominating the SEC is.

When I see that the medium ten is the second best conference I get a good laugh…But then who else could you take…None of them measure up to the SEC. Now, if the medium ten renamed the divisions to Legends and MAC North, I might have a little more respect.

While we are at it, The Vest was a master at playing easy schedules. No one did it better and it got him into 3 NC games. Pure genius! What would he have done if he had to play USC every year, not just two.

As for ND, there are several conclusions… I see 3 medium ten and 3 ACC foes…Not sure what the big deal is if they play 5 ACC teams in the future. Yes, there are many easy games on the schedule, but there is also USC and Oklahoma on it as well. I would say there is much more than a little substance.

On the other hand, there are no SEC teams so you can make the argument that the best teams are being avoided…

Scheduling has won more NC than any other factor. I can’t wait for the four-team playoff in two years. That will force teams to play harder schedules if they want to get in. The days of using The Vest model for scheduling will be over

And one thing I took from the move to the ACC in the press conference was that they will now have the ability to make more natural movement to the south. That is one area to where they traditionally have not played, ever. Even before the SEC got good, Notre Dame had really only played a few schools on a regular basis. Georgia Tech, Miami, and Florida State. So by tradition and natural rivalries, there hasn't been much there for them to play. Notre Dame typically only has a handful of games to go outside of when you consider they are usually playing USC, Michigan, Stanford, Navy, Boston College, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Michigan State and Army/Air Force on a regular basis.

The comment of their schedule having little substance is laughable...as the guy above me pointed out, they have Oklahoma and Miami (sadly who are down) this year, but always play top notch teams year in and year out. They have other future exciting games and the ACC will bring Florida State, VaTech, Clemson, and Maryland on a rotating basis. That's a solid group of teams to play when you throw in USC, Michigan, etc..etc..

[GP1]

the ACC will bring Florida State, VaTech, Clemson, and Maryland on a rotating basis. That's a solid group of teams to play when you throw in USC, Michigan, etc..etc..

Florida State = Penn State (pre-Sandusky disaster)

Clemson = Wisconsin

Maryland = Purdue

I have tickets to an ACC school. It is a bad league, but I enjoy watching college football so I go to games.

It's funny watching ND fans get all chesty after wins against Navy and Purdue. Makes me realize why they are all so detestable. Let's see how they do against MSU this weekend.

[Aidan]

It's funny watching ND fans get all chesty after wins against Navy and Purdue. Makes me realize why they are all so detestable. Let's see how they do against MSU this weekend.

Yeah, Heaven forbid a fan base get excited about starting a season 2-0.

And if they somehow go into East Lansing and win, who will you compare the Spartans to in order to discredit the win?

Roo's points above are pretty much right on the money. ND, like it or not, still considers itself somewhat of a "national parish" and so being free to schedule games from coast to coast is very important to the most influential alumni base in college sports.

And one thing I'd like to add - say what you will about ND's schedule, one thing you'll never find on it is a I-AA team. There are no "warm-up" games like Towson or SEMO St on it. More times than not - and often at their record's expense - they are diving right into the frying pan.

It's a shame despite what certain teams do, they'll never get credit in the eyes of some haters. Part of the business, I guess.