Heading out real soon. Taking the family to the ‘Burgh for the Three Rivers Arts Fest, so I’m counting on the conference expansion madness to pause for a day.
Just a few things to mention
The letter from ECU AD Terry Holland to his fanbase is astounding. It is all but an admission that ECU is not going to get a Big East invite anytime soon.
It is my belief that most FBS institutions in the Big East would genuinely like to have a ninth FBS member, but at this time, a ninth member is not an absolute necessity. The desire for a ninth member is not enough of a necessity to disrupt their relationship with the seven non-FBS schools and Notre Dame in all other sports.
If the Big East does still end up losing a FBS member (or members) to expansion in another conference, it will replace that all-sports member or members based on a pre-determined pecking order that addresses the conference’s needs at that particular time. Those needs may range from (1) the best football program available to bolster the Big East’s chances to keep their BCS automatic qualification, (2) the best overall sports program, (3) the best location for travel for all sports, and (4) other perceived needs of the conference membership as a whole.
Replacements for all-sports members in the Big East would have to be approved by all of the remaining members, not just the FBS members. So, if two Big East FBS members are lost to expansion, there would be 14 members remaining in the Big East. Eight of the 14 votes would be institutions which are not playing football in the Big East.
Instead trying to rally the fans to the idea of making C-USA better by getting the remains from the soon to be dead Big 12.
None of this is actually wrong in my view. But the candor is shocking. The best reason I can figure is Holland knows he will be blamed by the fans if they don’t get the invite.
The fact is, every fanbase seems to have an expectation that the AD and the school president can somehow make the case to conferences for them to be picked. If it doesn’t happen, then those leaders failed because of their incompetence — because clearly “School X” is the best fit and choice for “Conference Y” regardless of reality.
Texas and the other four Big 12 South schools will probably announce their move to the Pac-10 sometime Tuesday after the Texas regents meet. My bet is, that the weekend will see a final push by the SEC and Big 10 to Texas to join with them. Unless there is something incredible, I don’t see it happening.
The Big Ten, by all reports will pause at 12, and resume its old timetable plan. Also known as — trying to wear down Notre Dame.
Missouri is still trying to figure out what happened and what is next.
At this point, the Big Ten’s interest in Missouri is the biggest missing piece of the puzzle. A Big Ten source said Missouri has not been eliminated from the conference’s expansion plans but is not considered a high priority at this time. The source said Texas, from the Big 12, and Notre Dame, an independent in football, are clearly alongside each other on the Big Ten’s top tier of targets, followed by Nebraska, soon to become the Big Ten’s 12th member, and then Rutgers, a member of the Big East Conference. Missouri and Maryland, of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and perhaps other less publicized targets, could figure into the mix if the top choices decide against applying for admission or the league expands beyond 14 members.
And, of course, the Big 10/11/12 might do nothing for an even longer time now that it is at 12. They might wait and see if the SEC makes a move that involves poaching from the ACC. If that happens, then the Big East will go the way of the Big 12. Getting teams snagged by the ACC and the Big 10.
But Missouri has never wavered from its roots.
With MU’s future uncertain, Deaton and Forsee shared a tone of conference loyalty, pitching an even stronger case in favor of the Big 12 than Deaton and Athletic Director Mike Alden expressed during last week’s Big 12 athletic directors meetings in Kansas City. While some media outlets in Oklahoma and Texas have portrayed MU as sparking the league’s combustion by flirting with the Big Ten, Forsee pointed to MU’s long history with the conference through all its stages.
“We can’t say it any more strongly than we continue to say it: We have been loyal members of this conference alignment, going back to the Missouri Valley, the configuration of the Big Six, the Big Eight, the Big 12,” he said. “So, there shouldn’t be any question about where we have built our record, where we’ve built our legacy, where we’ve built our fans, where we’ve built everything, including the great rivalries.
“I don’t think we have to justify our loyalty. That’s been in place for 104 years.”
Yeah, but everyone else in the Big 12 thinks that Mizzou has been whining for about 103 years.
In the mean time, head over to Pitt Script and Cardiac Hill (formerly Eye of a Panther) for other expansion stuff and both are on top of the big recruiting gets for Pitt yesterday.
