The decision may be a ways off on actual expansion, but it is likely that Villanova will make a decision before the year is finished. Stay as a 1-AA power or make the commitment to 1-A and join the Big East in football.
There are plenty of good reasons against ‘Nova. The costs. Where they will play. Fan support. Alumni base. The future of the Big East if BCS-mega-conferences do come to pass.
If ‘Nova goes 1-A, the only BCS conference team with a smaller student population would be Wake Forest. (For the record, TCU has a smaller student population than ‘Nova.) In fact, if I were a Villanova trustee or alumni, I think I would be leaning against taking the risk.
With that kind of set-up, then why am I leaning towards the side that wants ‘Nova to make the jump?
It starts with the conference itself.
The Big East is not getting an anchor football program. Not ND. Not Penn State. Hell, not even complimentary programs like BC or Maryland. Navy and Army aren’t interested. Anyone who even starts a conversation on the Big East’s future with that sort of wishful thinking should just stop reading now, because you are too delusional to be rational. The money of the Big East just doesn’t match-up (read this Frank the Tank piece to get an idea. Also note what he has to say about a Big East TV channel. Even if you don’t agree about some of his conclusions or dislike the tone, he makes some very good points.).
The Big East is not going to have long-term stability even if they go to 12 teams in football. We all know that Pitt, Syracuse, Rutgers and UConn would and should bolt to the ACC or Big 10 if/when there is another wave of conference expansion that reaches the Big East. But that doesn’t happen until those conferences decide to make a move. Pitt and the others can do nothing to make it happen. They can only work to build themselves and the conference they are in now. This is about short- to medium-term stability, with an eye towards the long-term survival of the conference for remaining members (and as a fall-back if another wave of expansion doesn’t happen).
Part of the key to that stability, and to benefit Pitt best, is making sure the Big East leans towards backing the football side. To that end, the even split of football and basketball has to be tilted. Moving ‘Nova to football immediately shifts the balance to football with a 9-7 edge. If TCU does get in (preferably as a full member) that makes it 10-7 — really closer to 10-6 for most matters relating to football as ND is not involved there.
The odds of kicking members out is unlikely even with a lean towards the football side. DePaul, Providence and Seton Hall likely aren’t going anywhere. But it definitely won’t happen as long as there is an even split in teams. If you are a fan of contracting or getting rid of some of the basketball-only programs then you need to have Villanova come over to the football side to help shape things.
Then there are the options for football members. The only choices for Big East (in no particular order) are Villanova, UCF, Temple, TCU and Houston. Below that are Memphis and East Carolina. Yes that’s a lot of C-USA, a MAC team, 1-AA and the cream of the MWC. That’s why TCU is something approaching a no-brainer. [As an aside, if TCU doesn’t use any and all leverage to make sure they get a full invite from the Big East, then I don’t buy them as a football force for the long-term. Clearly, then, it would show that their administration got lucky not well-planned with hiring and keeping Patterson.]
UCF is still trying to get itself to the big-boy table. Houston is trying to get back to its SWC days after 20 years or so. Temple is a never was and few believe in it for the long-term. Memphis only offers FedEx money. And East Carolina — well, they have passionate fans and that’s about it.
Then there is Villanova. I see a school that has been very smart about its basketball program. They have built up the football program at the 1-AA level. They are expanding their athletic programs when most schools are looking at cuts. In short, I see a very smart administration and athletic department. One that, I actually believe, that if they make the commitment to 1-A football could match the UConn model.
The prize from the BCS to the winner? The Lambert Cup.
Villanova has not shown the success, dedication, or investment to merit inclusion in our football conference
Lets go through these one at a time
SUCCESS
1AA… joke status. Come on, there is no way we should have to dip down into 1aa and nurse a program up like UConn AGAIN. That made sense when we had top heavy talent like Miami, VT, BC etc… not now. Not when we are the weakest BCS… we have to invite teams with success now… TCU is obviously the no brainer… UCF, Houston, etc etc at least are going to D1 bowl games and showing up in the polls.
INVESTMENT
This one really bothers me… despite having success in basketball they refuse to invest in their bball program. The school plays in a joke of an arena, THE PAVILLION. A puny little 6500 seat likeness of the Fitzgerald Field House.
For those counting at home… that is the SMALLEST ARENA IN THE BIG EAST
link to en.wikipedia.org
have any of you ever been to Nova?
the stadium and football experience can be described in a word – JOKE
12,500 seating capacity… seriously
link to villanova.com
football stadium from earlier post
“so small it is not even on wikipedia…
link to en.wikipedia.org
yes… that’s 1/3 as most WPIAL championship games draw in the burgh
link to pittsburghlive.com
Anybody have WPIAL high school attendance? I think Cupples Stadium for the City League has to be close to that little pipsqueek field”
DEDICATION
So like Pitt, will the make the necessary investment?? DOUBT IT.. they havent done a thing with that craphole (ive been there) while Pitt spent $120 million on the Pete (again, Nova has no state help, and Pitt’s endowment is 7x as big). So they did not invest in hoops like Pitt did, and have nothing in football. So we have a school with no money, no facilities, and no evidence that they would change either of these things.
I dont care if they play some games at Wells Fargo or the Spectrum… the point is the school has not made the effort to have a suitable home arena for this basketball conference… they dont deserve to even be in the new Big East for basketball until they start to build a new bball arena.
POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS
Nova’s endowment is quite small… on par with Uconn’s in the bottom of the big east around 250mil. They dont have the resources, alumni support, or STATE BACKING to build a 100mil plus stadium like UCONN did (inflation adjusted for Rentschler). They are stuck playing in that high school stadium or begging Penn (Franklin Field) or Philly (Lincoln) for a home. I cannot imagine a more embarassing sight then Nova trying to fill a 70k person stadium with their alumni/fan base.
Uconn is a land grant public school with a large student body. This is necessary for football programs starting out (USF, UCF, etc). This allows for easy mobilization of a new fan base.
CHAS- to compare the Nova and TCU student bodies doesnt make sense… i guess since Navy has 4000 students Nova should have no trouble replicating that success and fan base? WRONG!
A big part of it is TRADITION and the STUDENTS! Navy/TCU have had football tradition in spades and this invokes a massive loyal alumni base. Nova’s students dont attend football games now, and their alumni didnt before then… why would they start? Smaller schools that have loyal alumni had high student participation… every one of the service academy mids/cadets attends the games. You wouldnt see fans traveling around the country to immediately support Villanova football just because they start playing Rutgers. You cant CREATE tradition. You need to have it or win… and Nova doesnt have the money to invest in their program to attract recruits like UCONN/USF did. Nor do they have 30k students and 100k’s of alumni… they are a small, regional, catholic school that isnt Notre Dame. This is the death of the big east if we allow this joke to happen. Get Pitt out now!
Its not hopeless though, build the brand, recruit QUALITY members. I’m not sure if Nova is it, but the presence in Philly would be nice (and I don’t really buy into the small enrollment thing too much, peeps in Philly like Nova if even they aren’t alum). TCU is an absolute must-get in my eyes, not because of the program’s recent success, but the area. If the league can get a foothold in Texas our schools can now start recruiting some of those Texas athletes (in theory).
As far as basketball- I was surprised at the money split from TV, but hell…promote it. Big East hoops is the strongest brand out of any in the country (who competes? seriously- ACC?). From late December until early April college hoops and the Big East are king. The heads in RI need to be mindful not to ruin their more successful half. That said, call up Seton Hall and DePaul and tell them they have 3 years to hit certain benchmarks or they’re out. They sell pathetic basketball and you cannot tell me the Chicago market it worth sitting through the embarrassment of winless conference seasons.
TCU is beating up on a VERY weak conference – as soon as they join a conference like the Big East, they will be quickly down to the 9-3, 8-4 level. In other words, they will be like the above average teams in C-USA – just with a smaller enrollment, alumni base, and most importantly, fan base. TCU doesn’t get you the Dallas market – they barely get you the Ft. Worth market. No one cares about TCU in Texas, and no one will tune in to watch their games against Rutgers and UConn. They are a novelty now because for the past 2-3 years, they have come close to running the table against crappy competition. Throw a 9-3 season in there, no one will know they even exist.
A better option is a big state school with large number of alumni and a fan base that might be lethargic now, but may become energized if they start playing big-time football. (See UCF).
And if we MUST go with a private school, TCU just doesn’t cut it. What about BYU? They’re threatening to go independent. Remember when it was BYU that was going 12-0, but still getting no respect in the polls? That wasn’t all that long ago. BYU is still the #1 followed team in Utah, with the added plus that there are Mormans EVERYWHERE (you can see them, just go to the local mall…with their short-sleve white dress shirts, trying to convert everybody…but I digress). And BYU already has their own cable network. Better tradition, more fans, and much easier to hate. I say we go with BYU.
I do not think Patterson will leave, he loves it in the DFW metroplex and I think he realizes that TCU is his best chance of winning a national championship and building his dynasty.
TCU fights the same issues as Pitt regarding home attendance but they do travel very well.
TCU is completing a $105 million dollar renovation on their campus football stadium financed by fundraising.
Patterson is a very good coach who recruits mostly 3 star players but churns out very competive and well coached teams.
I disagree with you regarding them going down to 8-4 or 9-3 quickly, TCU has a very solid football program with very good leadership.
I actually live in Dallas and TCU right now is the most talked about team in Texas and right now they are the best football team in Texas and they would win the Big East easily this year if they were a member.
One more thing Jamie Dixon is an 87 TCU grad and he is legend here!
A couple points. I’m well aware that ‘Nova doesn’t have the tradition of TCU or even Wake. The point of noting their sizes, was simply to try and put them in context in the BCS conferences. That said, TCU’s size should be of at least some concern.
Navy or Army’s size is irrelevant. Their following is much different from their enrollment. As is their mission and so much else. Not sure why Navy keeps getting referenced here as some sort of benchmark, but they really have nothing to do with this.
In case you forget. The choices are all rather weak. TCU is probably the best option, but after that it really is just trying to make chicken salad with chicken s**t.
TCU has been good in the past (TCU has been in 6 Cotton Bowls, 2 Sugar Bowls, 1 Orange Bowl, 1 Fiesta Bowl, 2 Sun and lots of 2nd tier bowls), like Pitt, had a lot of great NFL players like Pitt. And most importantly, they get the BigEast into a new area of the country, very important for next the TV contract and possible BigEast network.
For those that say TCU has only been good for a few years, wrong…since 2000 they are 104 wins and 29 losses. There aren’t many schools in ALL OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL with that kind of sustained success over the last 10 years. This is a no brainer.
And if you go into Texas to get TCU, you should also grab some other schools. Houston is one of the 5 largest cities in America, the University of Houston has had some great football teams in the past and has a great basketball tradition as well. Phi Slamma Jamma comes to mind. As well as the Big E, Elvin Hayes. This should be a no brainer as well. I’d also take SMU which is in Dallas and has lots of rich successful alumni (have over a $1.3 Billion Endowment, ranked #51), a great football tradition (Pitt played them in the 1983 Cotton Bowl) and has had good basketball teams as well. Also they have good academics. I’d take them in a heartbeat over Memphis. And then solidify Florida with UCF. So in conclusion, take TCU & Houston now to get to 10, then in a year or two add UCF & SMU (as June Jones who built Hawaii into a power is reviving SMU football again) to get to 12. Nova & Temple are not worthy of an invite and will add absolutely nothing to the conference’s national image or future TV contract values. Case closed.
IMHO, the demise of our BIG EAST football brand can be blamed solely on three teams: Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse.
Pitt has gloriously underperformed the past ten years in critical brand building opportunities for the BE. Think every big game that changes pereptions or offers us the ability to show we have “turned the corner”… We have players, we have facilities, and we have flashes of brilliance…but when it is time to build our brand on TV…against big time opponents…we come up so small (insert every non con BCS game sans 2 or 3 over the past 10 years). We are trending up in wins per year, but with more DIAAs on our schedule and the weaker conference play, that doesn’t say much.
WVU, IMHO, has done MORE THAN ENOUGH on their end to cement their team as a BE Football brand builder. How soon we forget that WVU won (I believe) 4 BCS games as a rep for our conference! THey were one WTF game away from playing (and likely winning) the NC. WVU, alone, solidified our BCS bid for the upcoming years. Say what you want, they delivered on the grand stage more times than not against other BCS schools.
We, on the other hand, come up small (insert Miami 2X, NC State, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Nebraska 2X, MSU 2X, Utah 2X)
I also blame Louisville. They came into the BE with all of the hot buzz, hot team, hot record, hot style of play, multiple 10 win seasons.. hot coach….and proceeded to perform ingloriously over their time in the BE…to the point they are now an also ran. Continuously ranked in the top 10, the outsider that could “hang with the big boys”… Sound familiar? TCU? TCU joins, and they will be a 6 or 7 win team by 2014…
I also blame Syracuse for the utterly dismal play over the past 8 years; turning a once storied football tradition into an also ran.
Sadly, I put most of the blame on our team. We never built the brand nationally when we had the opportunity. WHen people think of Pitt football, they think of Tony D, the early 80s, and an average team that plays in a crappy conference.
Until we start beating teams out of conference, regularly, and convincingly, while on National TV, and staying in the top 10 regularly…we will struggle to change this image.
For what it’s worth….Jamie Dixon’s alma mater is mighty TCU!! Coach could possibly be used to recruit The Horned Frogs to think Eastward.
If Villanova wants in why not go for Holy Cross?
My take is that the cost to upgrade the program at Villanova would be prohibitive unless extremely wealthy alumni decided to fund the transition to Big East Football. We need to add 4 football programs in order to cover more TV territory for a bigger slice of the sports revenue pie. Our leadership in Providence is obviously biased in favor of the basketball only programs. I have to believe that our Chancellor and AD are fully cognizant of the situation that has placed football almost on a parity with Depaul, Seton Hall and Providence.
Notre Dame is a nice name, however, if they want to play on their own field for football the Big East can say see ya later for basketball.
My suggestion is that we add Temple (yes, I know, blah, blah, blah, etc)for the Philadelphia market, UCF a natural addition for USF and a big TV market…..plus TCU and Houston for Texas TV dollars. The addition of a Villanova is such an insult to Big East football fans that Nordy and Pederson should go out of their way to find an invite to greener pastures.
Big East North:
Pitt
WVU
Syracuse
Rutgers
UConn
Villanova
Big East South:
Cincinnati
Louisville
South Florida
Central Florida
TCU
Houston
I say make it happen with the Big East Championships at Heinz Field and the Garden of course!
1) they bear Temple last year and lost in OT to them this year, and Temple has been one of the best teams in the MAC the last 2 years
2) remember, when the BE began its football conference in the early 90s, USF and UConn didn’t even have FB programs
Merge the Big East & ACC into a mega-football conference that would have the media throwing $$$ for games. A little reshuffling to make north and south 10 team divisions……….
In basketball keep the ACC and Big East intact as divisions with a tough slate of cross-division opponents……….
New conference could be called “the East Coast Conference “……… and would have more than enough muscle to keep other conferences from poaching………..
They HAD to take Baylor because the Governor was a Baylor alumna, but why Tech over TCU? Tech is in Lubbock, and there isn’t much else in Lubbock. They passed on TCU because it’s too small and not popular enough in DFW.
TCU may be the hot topic now, but that’s because UT and A&M are down (UT just lost to Iowa State).
If TCU loses to Utah, bye-bye to the bandwaggon.
They may have over 100 wins in the last 10 years, but against who? 100 wins in ten years still lands them 3-star recruits. This current TCU team might very well have won the Big East this year, but only because the Big East sucks in 2010. Look at how Louisville has collapsed after making the jump from CUSA – it can happen. And if TCU goes 10-2, or 9-3 in some future year, they won’t be able to bounce back if they are in a big-time conference in the same way as they would being in the MTN. They just aren’t deep enough. They’ll be hovering around #23 or #24 in the nation, just like a 9-3 Big East team. They will no longer be the darlings of the media once they make the jump.
[Personally, I think this is TCU’s way of trying to convince the Big12 to let them in – I doubt it will work, but they’re putting up a fight. ]
Think about it – if Temple and Nova DON’T get us Philly, why would tiny little TCU get us DFW when they are behind the following in popularity:
Dallas Cowboys, Texas Longhorns, Texas Rangers, A&M Aggies, Dallas Mavs, NASCAR, Rodeo, the Texas Bikini team, WWE, UFC, the Dallas Stars….
and only slightly ahead of SMU, Texas Tech and Dallas FC.
“Either Notre Dame joins in football or (football schools) are splitting from the Catholic schools in basketball.
Yes, it’s come to that.”
Can we please stop the comparisons of Nova to USF and UCONN??!!
USF & UCONN = LARGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH MONEY
NOVA = TINY PRIVATE SCHOOL WIT NO MONEY
ugh… i believe thats the 4th time ive said that
Right now there are 8 football schools and 8 basketball schools meaning equal voting power on both sides. Remember, these are school presidents not football coaches voting. They are academics, businessmen and politicians first. Each wants to protect his own interests and balance of power ensures that.
First, as both Chas and Frank The Tank say, the other conferences aren’t calling Pitt or any other BE FB school anytime soon, so get over that for now. All the ones that make sense for a BE school are at the optimum number of 12, and expanding further brings no real economic advantage. It may actually be a disadvantage in the current TV landscape as Frank The Tank aptly pointed out, so until that changes it ain’t happening.
But, the BE needs to keep their FB schools happy just in case things do change, which brings us to their present reality. How do they keep the FB schools happy but retain balance of power? The conclusion is pretty obvious: upgrade Villanova and add one FB+BB school.
The BB school presidents can agree to that because, as DeVanzo points out, ‘Nova will not become a real player in FB. So, their revenue will still be driven by BB and therefore their voting will likely favor what’s best for basketball. Plus, the addition of the 17th school evens out the BB scheduling as someone pointed out on the previous thread.
The FB school presidents can agree to that because they get two more schools playing football with hopefully the one-other-than-‘Nova bringing more respectability to the league. Plus, they can hope that ‘Nova actually does see the light as far as football money thus shifting the balance of power toward the FB schools. That eventually allows them to vote to expand to 12, the optimum number for football, and add some even better FB programs.
That is why the vote to expand to 10 was unanimous, IMHO. Each side thinks they’ve won. That’s the end game in POLITICS.
That’s the sad REALITY, and as Pauly P. hinted at, it’s now up to Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, and one or two other schools – including the new one – to rebuild the BE brand by putting winning football teams on the field.
If the Big East continues to bumble and stumble along with its football members it is OBVIOUS that we will lose the automatic bid when it comes up for review. Villanova will NOT help us.
This is a very serious situation that can not be rectified by a basketball oriented conference that
bows to Providence!!
Chuck, my friend and fellow bourbon afficiando. Chill.
The Big East’s BCS bid is not in any trouble. Period.
Bad year in 2010. Yes. Horrid. Probably a better description.
So what.
2009, Final BCS standings and Cinci came out at #3, WVU #16, Pitt #17
2008 Final BCS standings: Cinci #12, PItt #20
2007 Final BCS standings: WVU #9, USF #21, Cinci #22, UConn #25
Is the margin of error slimmer for the Big East than even the ACC? Yes. Still, keep some perspective. Even losing BCS bowl games doesn’t effect BCS Status
Smallest D1 Student body is Tulsa followed by the Military Academies and then Wake Forest.
correction to your correction. I specified in BCS conferences only. That leaves out Tulsa and the Military Academies.
A lot can happen between now and 2014 including the abolishment of the BCS altogether. You’re worrying about the wrong thing. You should focus on how the Big East gets respectable again. That starts with the FB schools taking power from the BB schools as Chas pointed out and as I built upon. Allowing ‘Nova to step up is a means to that end. The BB schools would have probably nixed expansion period if that weren’t one of the chips thrown on the negotiating table.
It also requires our own Pitt Panthers stepping up to the big time. It’s our responsibility, along with the other big legacy schools like WVU and Syracuse, to make the conference better.
My humble opinion is that Villanova will be given every opportunity to step up, including the financial commitment that goes with that. If they blink, all the better for the football schools, because they may be able to use the vote to add two decent programs. If ‘Nova takes the plunge, we have to hope that the new FB school brings more to the table than adding ‘Nova takes away.
TCU is attractive but risky for many reasons already given. UCF is not as attractive now, but they are a growing program on the cusp of the Top 25 with a coach who but for a resume blunder would probably be coaching Notre Dame right now. Those are the only two programs that are both interested and acceptable in my opinion.
Either way I think the FB schools gain ground on the BB schools.
Are you willing to allow them to cherry pick the division they play within the BE and how many games they get to play within the conference…yep that is how you get a Notre Dame.
They get to keep their TV revenue and have a single source contract with NBC, while they also get a huge share of the Big East TV contract Revenue?
They get to have their own Notre Dame football network and keep those profits, while taking a share of the the Big East Network if it is created.
How about this one…in case of a tie for BCS championship…they implement the Notre Dame rule…if they are Notre Dame they win by default (first tie-breaker).
Sounds ludicrous doesn’t it? But that is what they will ask (not necessarily this, but it will be ludicrous–regardless).
Look they aren’t going to move unless it’s such a sweet deal that they can’t resist the move. Some of this would be impossible to do anyway and that is the point.
Notre Dame wouldn’t even consider going in the Big Ten as an equal to PSU, Mich, OSU…what makes you think they would do it for the Big East. The would demand coronation.
DaveD
Of course, that still means the FB schools need to wrest power from the BB schools and get their acts together on the field. Then, when they expand again, they can invite ND into the league as a full member (#12) on their terms, or kick them out altogether. That is a dream of mine.
If I am reading this right, If every thing stays the same, we would qualify for a BCS presidential waiver since we are just barely missing criteria #3. We do meet criteria nos. 1 and 2.
Of course, an ugly 2011 after this season of excrement would change these numbers for the worse.
You also add TCU because as stated several times by several other posters, it’s gets the conf. into a market (that being Texas) it’s not in now(see geographic footprint). (See Big 10 & Pac 10 trying to lure UT earlier this year to increase geographic footprint) Hey I know, TCU isn’t UT, but we’re talking about what’s available for the BigEast, not the Big 10 or Pac 10.
If you’re serious of making this a stronger conf, both financially and nationally, this is a no brain’r. Also you can add Houston at the same time, so now you have one of the largest cities, and with that naturally lots of TV sets, in all of America. Houston is the 4rth largest city in America. The University of Houston is the 3rd largest university in TExas with over 38,000 students and 30,000 undergrads. Sheesh it’s larger than Pitt for god sakes.
If they have any plans of starting a BigEast TV network, you would certainly want Houston, Dallas & Texas over Temple & Nova. Nova already plays hoops in the BigEast, the games are already on in the Philadelphia market. I went to school in Philly, nobody cares to watch Temple unless they play Penn State and that’s PSU alumni. So they certainly aren’t going to care about Nova. If Nova is serious about going FBS, let them upgrade their facilities big time and play as an independent much like Uconn did for 4 years BEFORE JOINING the BigEast.
Now back to some points that aren’t so obvious.
The Mountain West is losing Utah to the Pac 10.
BYU is going independent after this year. Now, follow me, if the BigEast nabs the other Top Team in the MWC, that of course being TCU, it thereby not only strengthens the BigEast it WEAKENS the MWC to the point, they won’t be considered for a BCS bid, even when Boise joins. Boise alone doesn’t get you to AQ BCS status. The BCS AQ conferences are like Augusta National Country Club. They don’t accept many or any new members.
And the BCS club won’t be accepting the MWC minus
Utah, BYU AND TCU. Get it.
My Favorite Bourbon list includes:
1) Bookers (no doubt the primo)
2) Bakers
3) WT Rare Breed
4) Russell’s Reserve
5)(tie) Knob Creek & Woodford Reserve
Honorable Mention (for being around before all these others) Wild Turkey 101 & Old Gran-dad 100
UT, A&M and the like would never want TCU in their conference unless their hand is forced. Right now, TCU only gets the recruits the BCS-AQ teams pass on. They simply aren’t going after the same talent. Put them in an AQ conference, then who knows? A TCU team that is in the BE, in theory, might get a local recruit to turn down UT – at least that’s what they’re banking on.
Then, once UT and A&M realize that TCU is now off the reservation that is the MWC, they will conclude that it is better to include the newly elevated in-state team in their own conference, as opposed to let some other AQ conference get a foothold – and to keep any increased TV interest in-house as well.
UT and A&M wouldn’t want to elevate TCU on their own, though – any DFW area recruit who might want to stay closer to home might actually go to TCU, whereas today, UT and A&M are the hometown favorites for the DFW blue-chippers.
That’s also an argument against the BE elevating Temple or Nova – now, an Eastern PA kid with BCS-AQ skills wouldn’t think of going to Temple, but put them back in the BE, who knows?
Possibly the same for UCF – right now, UF, FSU and Miami get 1st pick of the Fla talent, with the rest of the SEC, USF and the occaisional school like Pitt or WVU getting the 2nd tier talent. UCF moving up to the big time, with 20+ scholarships per year to give out, might suck up all of the available oxygen for out-of-state schools like Pitt. Just something to consider…
Do you think the Big East would be as maligned (as it is this year) if Pitt was 7 and 1 with the sole loss at Utah? We’d be in the top 15, and likely weork our way up to 6 or 8 by the end of the season. Heck, if we were 8 and 0, you could make the case that we would be in the top 5 and possibly 1 or 2 in the BCS.
My point is…Pitt needs to turn the freaking corner if this FB conference is ever going to gain respect nationally.
