ESPN: BYU won't join Big East

According to ESPN's sources, BYU to the Big East is dead and BYU has broken off negotiations.



Deal-breaker was BYU wanting to retain rights to home football games. Look for the Big East to make expansion announcements quickly adding the CUSA schools and possible a couple of western schools.



http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7271078/byu-ends-negotiations-not-join-big-east-according-report" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

well, i was excited for the opportunity for us to take a great situation and make it better. Clearly the big east is not as desperate as we hoped and we didn't get our wish list.



I think this says more of BCS conferences than it does of us. They clearly value their own BCS status much more than we do and expected us to throw ourselves at a BCS conference. No wonder they're baffled. A football team that's NOT interested in money? Except..they were offering less. lol.



who knows.



If this report is true, i suppose we can look forward to some scheduling announcements.

CougarClaw wrote:
well, i was excited for the opportunity for us to take a great situation and make it better. Clearly the big east is not as desperate as we hoped and we didn't get our wish list.



I think this says more of BCS conferences than it does of us. They clearly value their own BCS status much more than we do and expected us to throw ourselves at a BCS conference. No wonder they're baffled. A football team that's NOT interested in money? Except..they were offering less. lol.



who knows.



If this report is true, i suppose we can look forward to some scheduling announcements.

Since our November schedule sucks, I hope we start scheduling 2 games a week in September so we can actually play good teams.



I'm kidding of course, but the real danger in not being in a conference will be if conferences start doing what the Pac 12 and Big 12 are doing and not playing OOC after the first 3 weeks of the year.

stuckinbig10country wrote:
Since our November schedule sucks, I hope we start scheduling 2 games a week in September so we can actually play good teams.



I'm kidding of course, but the real danger in not being in a conference will be if conferences start doing what the Pac 12 and Big 12 are doing and not playing OOC after the first 3 weeks of the year.

If that happens, we'll find a conference. Until then, we want step-ups in exposure, not necessarily the Big Bucks. $$$

Brilliant moves by BYU in my book. Will pay some big dividends in the end.

I agree. It sounds like BYU wanted to maintain the status quo, i.e., if Big East were to negotiate TV broadcast rights away to Fox BYU wanted to maintain its ESPN deal.



The statement that gets thrown about that no team in a major conference enjoys such treatment is misleading. Notre Dame and BYU both have 100% control over their home games. This is a huge reason why BYU went independent. Texas could have this treatmentas well by leaving its conference. This is what independence gets you.

Also, this won't be BYU's last chance to get into a BCS conference. More oppurtunities will arrive. We're not doomed forever. Contrary to belief of some BYU criticizers.

cougarnerd wrote:
Also, this won't be BYU's last chance to get into a BCS conference. More oppurtunities will arrive. We're not doomed forever. Contrary to belief of some BYU criticizers.

Maybe but it depends. Several teams are getting promoted and demotions are very rare indeed.



Bib's bold prediction. SDSU is going to rise up. They have long been a sleeper. They will get a lot more money. Improve facilities in all sports - perhaps. Recruiting can't help but improve for SDSU.

Once again I can understand BYU's position if it is what we are hearing. I'd just like more official feedback from Provo and for them to quit acting like they don't have to say anything. Where is the down side to publically say that it was of our better interest to continue to pursue independence at this point than to join the BE? While that doesn't say much, at least it comes from more of a position of power. Notre Dame announced publically when they were approached before about conference alignment that it was not in their interest at present. That way it sounds like you're making a conscious business decision. It was simple what they said. This "no response" position demonstrates more arrogance than not.

Money and greed have destroyed and are destroying college football. Not surprised but disappointed nonetheless.

Sounds like BYU is doing the right thing. Why would they join the Big East for less than what they have now? So what if we get into a bcs game every few years, but can't watch half of the regular season games. I agree BYU should make a statement, maybe even outlining again what it is they are actually trying to accomplish and how independence is the best course for now. As far as the lawyers go, it's about time. Where were these guys when they were signing the MWC TV deal?



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Through four months of conference expansion, the "believe nothing" has still been the most accurate prediction.

The thing about the Big East I was most happy about was scheduling. If you line the Big East schools up and compare them to the MWC and WAC, it is clear that the scheduling of opponents would have improved. There are no bottom feeders in the group. No teams like CSU and Wyoming, that can win, but only win big 2-3 years every 20. No UNM or UNLV programs that typically never get off the mat.



Playing BSU, AFA, Houston and SMU each year along with UCF would have suited me. Add in games against UL, UCONN, Cinci and Rutgers, and things are looking good, because we still have 4 OOC games to include ND, Texas, GT or whoever else. Is it a PAC schedule, or SEC schedule? No. But is it a historical improvement for BYU, or at least equal to the best years of MWC play? Yes.



As long as I live in Utah County and have season tickets, home scheduling with matter to me greatly.

Well I'll be surprised if UL and Cincinnati are still have no plans to bail from the conference one year from now, but same as Lawboy, I would have enjoyed a conference that is clearly a stage above the WAC and MWC.



When you being the season, typically there was always three rings to try to grasp--conference championship, BCS inclusion and a bowl game (which one would hope would be the same as #2). Well now we lost the first one and so far, just after one season, it just has not felt right. Having better competition in November would probably help soften that blow, but we don't have that yet and at this juncture, where are the future November games going to come from?



I honestly don't understand how a school like SDSU, which is a public California university, is going to afford their travel in such a conference. It would be hard to believe that at the current BE payout that they would not be in the red, and I can't imagine they can go back to the university for more.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Through four months of conference expansion, the "believe nothing" has still been the most accurate prediction.

What an interesting idea!

cougarnerd wrote:
Also, this won't be BYU's last chance to get into a BCS conference. More oppurtunities will arrive. We're not doomed forever. Contrary to belief of some BYU criticizers.

And to expand on your point, there is no guarantee that the BCS will even be around in a few years.



There is no guarantee that the Big East is even around in a few years.



And if the Super Conferences materialize, not all current BCS teams will be included, and not all non-BCS teams will be excluded.

There's no guarantee the sun will rise tomorrow, or the world will still be intact or have life on it. The probability is pretty high though. The probability is also pretty high that the Big East will stay intact long enough for it to be worth joining, especially if it can build up stability by having good teams. The probability is low that BYU is hurt if the Big East sinks. They can just go back to independence.

BYULV wrote:
So what if we get into a BCS game every few years, but can't watch half of the regular season games.

So, if that happens, we try to make a deal where we can broadcast any games on BYUtv that Aren't on the ESPN network.

Lawboy wrote:
Add in games against UL, UCONN, Cinci and Rutgers, and things are looking good, because we still have 4 OOC games to include ND, Texas, GT or whoever else.

It's possible that we get 5 games. Doubtful, but possible.





However, I don't think that conference earthquakes are done shifting. Right now, we don't hear about all of them, but more will come in a few years. If you don't believe, you won't be optimistic anymore, and you'll be criticizing nearly everything on cougarcorner, the radio, BYUtv, ESPN, etc.



Probably.

EM_Puma wrote:
Well I'll be surprised if UL and Cincinnati are still have no plans to bail from the conference one year from now, but same as Lawboy, I would have enjoyed a conference that is clearly a stage above the WAC and MWC.



When you being the season, typically there was always three rings to try to grasp--conference championship, BCS inclusion and a bowl game (which one would hope would be the same as #2). Well now we lost the first one and so far, just after one season, it just has not felt right. Having better competition in November would probably help soften that blow, but we don't have that yet and at this juncture, where are the future November games going to come from?



I honestly don't understand how a school like SDSU, which is a public California university, is going to afford their travel in such a conference. It would be hard to believe that at the current BE payout that they would not be in the red, and I can't imagine they can go back to the university for more.

Maybe they start to fill their 65,000 seat stadium - if they can compete!



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Cougarbib2 wrote:
Maybe they start to fill their 65,000 seat stadium - if they can compete!



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And then if we can get a new stadium with ticket sales upwards of 100,000 tickets/game, we get big bucks...where we are right now. Also, that might attract more teams to Provo...