Conf USA and MWC Have Merged Interests - Official

For Football only. The name Big Country has been tossed around but nothing has offically stuck - yet. Conf USA would still have a playoff and then the winner of their playoff would playoff vs MWC Champ. That will require an NCAA exception to allow the 14th game. I have an idea if they cannot get that exception approved. Schedule a beat-down week at the end of each season and have al lof the teams keep it open for their 12th game. Then the Champs can be paired off and everyone else assigned based on league standings to create some very interesting match-ups top to bottom for competitive games. That would require no exception - just flexibility on scheduling those games at the last minute on the reserved weekend.



There is not guaranteed BCS birth at this time. Big East will likely offer 4 of these teams next week.



What we see happening is bottoms up anarchy and revolution afer all of the have nots were faced with extinction. They are all at least trying to make something out of relatively nothing.



An industry expert said AFA, BSU, SMU, and Houston have the TV market value and two of those are likely off to Big East. I am shocked he did not mention SDSU - that seems to be an untapped market for someone to snare.



It is perhaps time, as I indicated in a earlier post today for the Big 12 to make some pre-emptive moves. But there are probably very small exit fees should Big decide to go after some of these later.



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Interesting that the article points out that only 4 of the 22 schools have any media market, and two of those (BSU and AF) are probably not going to be part of it. Let's see now. How many ways do we splite that meager pie? (Answer = 22).



Another interesting point is that if the Big East is able to stay intact as a BCS conference, this new merged conference won't be looking at a BCS automatic bid until 2018. The BCS, in its current form, will probably collapse under its own weight by then. The new conference is also banking on the NCAA allowing 14 games. If they allow that, just rename it the N(CAA)FL. So we can't have a playoff system, but we can allow 14 regular games plus a bowl game? Get real.

profgeek wrote:
Interesting that the article points out that only 4 of the 22 schools have any media market, and two of those (BSU and AF) are probably not going to be part of it. Let's see now. How many ways do we splite that meager pie? (Answer = 22).



Another interesting point is that if the Big East is able to stay intact as a BCS conference, this new merged conference won't be looking at a BCS automatic bid until 2018. The BCS, in its current form, will probably collapse under its own weight by then. The new conference is also banking on the NCAA allowing 14 games. If they allow that, just rename it the N(CAA)FL. So we can't have a playoff system, but we can allow 14 regular games plus a bowl game? Get real.

PG



They are not doing this with any belief that they are creating something as good as or better than a BCS conference. They are creating it to create something better than having Conf USA with its bones picked clean and MWC with its bones picked clean and WAC with even more bones picked clean and MAC with no bones trying to survive while the Big East gets its bones picked clean by ACC and Big 12.



And if the bigger slices of the pie leave - imagine that a group of 20 or so schools with a very common situation wtihout any one of them giving much more than they take working together - divide that by 22 - it still comes out better than going it alone - and yes - an order of magnitude less than getting a seat in a BCS Conference. It becomes what you do if you can't get into ta BCS cnference and do not have the guts and ability to go Independent.



Additionally, BCS may move to take them in. This simplifies the BCS dilemna. Instead of figuring out how to take in MWC, Conf USA, and defend not taking in MAC and Sunbelt - now they just have to add 1 conference. And if ACC and Big 12 Plunder Big Easy much further - smoosh leftovers of that into this and the BCS didn't really have to add any conferences.



Maybe USU gets an opportunity out of this when Big East takes BSU, AFA, and if they get UCF.



I would love to see BIg 12 make a move - take BYU, BSU, plus two more Big Easy schools, ACC make a move and take three Big Easy Schools after SEC makes a move and takes 1 ACC school, see ND panic and go to Big 10, who then takes another Big Easy school, and then collapse Big Easy, USA, and MWC into one really big - Super Duper - BCS Conference. Then WAC, MAC and Sunbelt kick down a division after a few of their best teams kick up to this.



It might be unwieldy. it might have four quadrants of 6-8 teams each in the end. It might resemble a playoff of the non AQs feeding into a BCS Birth.



It might breathe another decade of life into the BCS. They might let it happen in order to survive.

Would the other BCS conferences be better off if the Big East got destroyed? A bigger slice of the dollars? They could do it if they wanted to.

scott715 wrote:
Would the other BCS conferences be better off if the Big East got destroyed? A bigger slice of the dollars? They could do it if they wanted to.

They should do it - but merge the remnants in to this for access. It would head off all kinds of public relations and legal issues for them and anti-trust pressure if they allowed this much inclusion into the BCS. And it would not cost them anything more than they currently share out to do it.



They just need to be careful about how they do it. If they all get to gether and say lets go kill the Big East - they will have a huge anti-trust problem and other legal problems like were discussed for SEC before Big 12 schools agreed to waive A&M related liability - if that biullying or interfering can be proved.



If these schools are all approaching them and applying for admission and they just acept some of them - then they probably come out all right and if the Big Easy schools largely end up in BCS conferences other than a small few that end up in Big Country with BCS access - did anyone really get damaged. No damages - No lawsuit.



If I were King of the BCS - I would allow this conference access.

The way this seems to be set up, it won't work without the 14th game unless all of the teams agree to cut their schedules back by one game. If the NCAA were to approve 14 games, one of the main objections to a playoff system (too many games) becomes closer to moot, which would negatively impact the long-term viability of the BCS. Thus, I don't see the 14th game approval happening at this point, as it's not politically expedient to do so. In any case, this new super conference will defintely be blazing some new trails.

My suggestion for a new name for the merged conference: The Mountain and National Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MANIAC).

Who initiates the prima nocta?

Cougarbib2 wrote:
An industry expert said AFA, BSU, SMU, and Houston have the TV market value and two of those are likely off to Big East. I am shocked he did not mention SDSU - that seems to be an untapped market for someone to snare.

NOTE> BSU was not, whatsoever, picked for their TV market. I would debate Colorado Springs other than it's in Colorado. BSU is being courted because the Big Least lost the ace up their sleeves of TCU in any attempt to get BCS certification.

profgeek wrote:
The way this seems to be set up, it won't work without the 14th game unless all of the teams agree to cut their schedules back by one game. If the NCAA were to approve 14 games, one of the main objections to a playoff system (too many games) becomes closer to moot, which would negatively impact the long-term viability of the BCS. Thus, I don't see the 14th game approval happening at this point, as it's not politically expedient to do so. In any case, this new super conference will defintely be blazing some new trails.

Cutting 1 game and having the conference beat down the last week is what I meant.



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EM_Puma wrote:

An industry expert said AFA, BSU, SMU, and Houston have the TV market value and two of those are likely off to Big East. I am shocked he did not mention SDSU - that seems to be an untapped market for someone to snare.

NOTE> BSU was not, whatsoever, picked for their TV market. I would debate Colorado Springs other than it's in Colorado. BSU is being courted because the Big Least lost the ace up their sleeves of TCU in any attempt to get BCS certification.

BCS power ranking is why they want BSU, but the loss of BYU and these teams hurts Big Country in losing that and losing money.



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