Why don't P5 conferences just kick out their non-performing members?

[amory]

Considering the illusion that conferences are about anything other than TV money has been completely destroyed, why not just kick out the grandfathered members who aren't bringing anything to the table?

I realize there's politics involved, but if it would mean a bigger slice of the pie for the others, or bringing in schools that actually have something to offer, I have to imagine conference commissioners could get the votes somehow.

 

[Fishy]

It's not going to happen, so let's just let this one die here.

 

[bingethinker]

Only because I'm curious, what constitutes a non-performer?

 

[UConnTrumbull]

They should adopt a promotion/relegation model on a regional basis. Though I say this only b/c we're not at the big boys table and we need some hope...

 

[mets1090]

Considering the illusion that conferences are about anything other than TV money has been completely destroyed, why not just kick out the grandfathered members who aren't bringing anything to the table?

I realize there's politics involved, but if it would mean a bigger slice of the pie for the others, or bringing in schools that actually have something to offer, I have to imagine conference commissioners could get the votes somehow.

The Alabama's of the world need a free win or two every year in their conference. They still get to say "We play in the SEC" but don't have to play nothing but top 25 teams.

Plus politics and all that nonsense.

Edit: The SEC would be the SEC no matter what though. If you cut Vandy and whoever else, a 9-3 SEC team probably makes the playoffs anyways. The B1G would probably be a better example with cutting a school like Indiana.

 

[IMind]

Not to mention... some of these programs swing back and forth pretty rapidly between the haves and have nots.. no one wants to kick someone out... when 5 years later they could be the ones getting kicked out.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The Alabama's of the world need a free win or two every year in their conference. They still get to say "We play in the SEC" but don't have to play nothing but top 25 teams.

Plus politics and all that nonsense.

Edit: The SEC would be the SEC no matter what though. If you cut Vandy and whoever else, a 9-3 SEC team probably makes the playoffs anyways. The B1G would probably be a better example with cutting a school like Indiana.

There's a 0% chance that the B1G would dump a national brand like Indiana, even if such a thing were feasible.

As I understand it, it's written into the B1G's bylaws that founding members can't be removed anyway. I believe that the University of Chicago would be automatically re-admitted to the B1G if they decided to start playing actual sports again.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Only because I'm curious, what constitutes a non-performer?

Ron J today vs Ron J from 30 years ago

 

[CL82]

Once the pie stop growing their may be some incentive to carve the pie differently to keep productive members.

 

[Western PA]

In every conference, seni-dependable losers are necessary to pump up the records of the premiere schools. That is a little talked about reason for why long-time under-performing schools stay in their conferences. Patsies have their role.

 

[billybud]

If strictly being a good football team the last two years was the criteria...Georgia Southern might be in and Wake Forest out.

Or Illinois..with their 11 losing seasons since 2000 could be replaced with Cincinnati.

But tradition does play in, as does conference networking by the Prez's.

 

[Revrat]

You do realize that conferences need bad teams too right? The worste thing you could have is parity. if everyone had to be good you would never get a team into the playoff

 

[Madbiker]

Because it's also about markets not just on field performance. And performance fluctuates while markets tend not to.

 

[Redding Husky]

You do realize that conferences need bad teams too right? The worste thing you could have is parity. if everyone had to be good you would never get a team into the playoff

The curse of Big East football ... everyone was good, no one was great.

 

[Adios]

Athletic departments are a marketing tool for schools, as our own president has stated. Why the heck would FBS private schools want to lower their ADs to the level of St Bonaventure?

 

[Sea Goat]

Athletic departments are a marketing tool for schools, as our own president has stated. Why the heck would FBS private schools want to lower their ADs to the level of St Bonaventure?

Actually, conferences are marketing tools for schools and their AD's. That is why we have precious little time to escape the gulag. They know it and they are working on it.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

One thing for sure, if weaker programs were threatened with eviction, they'd take steps to up their game

 

[Jarhead_1775]

I couldn't imagine being a fan of these also-ran schools. Vandy, Illinois, Indiana? Id go crazy if UConn wasn't at least trying to improve not only on field performance and the current conference situation. I'll even say at least we are trying, rather than the eeyore schools. I wouldn't even argue that I'd rather have their money! If I didn't have a product that I could actually cheer for, it!

 

[Sky ball]

There's a 0% chance that the B1G would dump a national brand like Indiana, even if such a thing were feasible.

As I understand it, it's written into the B1G's bylaws that founding members can't be removed anyway. I believe that the University of Chicago would be automatically re-admitted to the B1G if they decided to start playing actual sports again.

I believe that the University of Chicago would be automatically re-admitted to the B1G if they decided to start playing actual sports again.

UConn should merge with U of Chicago. Storrs would be UofC UConn 's East Campus. Get the BiG invite. B-Ball plays in NYC and Chicago. Football too!

 

[John Greene]

It's not going to happen, so let's just let this one die here.

Limiting this board to thing that might actually happen would eliminate over 90% of the board. Where is the fun in that?

 

[Dooley]

There are an awful lot of schools/athletic departments that should be thanking their lucky stars that they have been grandfathered into the Power conference money. I'd love to hold a P5 re-draft and see how many of them would be drafted behind UConn.

 

[frankthetank]

I couldn't imagine being a fan of these also-ran schools. Vandy, Illinois, Indiana? Id go crazy if UConn wasn't at least trying to improve not only on field performance and the current conference situation. I'll even say at least we are trying, rather than the eeyore schools. I wouldn't even argue that I'd rather have their money! If I didn't have a product that I could actually cheer for, it!

Vandy - They had two 9 win seasons in a row in football before bombing out last year. Defending national champions in baseball in a league where they actually care about that sport. Regardless, they're the SEC's equivalent of Northwestern - they get the benefit of an elite degree while still getting to watch big-time sports. Most students are just really happy to have been admitted there in the first place to be too worried about the state of the football team.

Illinois - I can obviously speak to this directly. As embarrassing as our football program has been both on and off-the-field, I still got to go see my team play in a Rose Bowl in a 3-loss season not too long ago. Somehow, we also still made a bowl last season. The recent basketball record is more infuriating because we *should* be performing better on that front. At the end of the day, in the 15(!) years since I've graduated, I've seen a Rose Bowl team, Sugar Bowl team and Final Four among the big two of football and basketball. There are fan bases that have had it MUCH worse.

Indiana - Probably the one place the in the Big Ten where they can legitimately not care whatsoever about football and get away with it because of their blue blood stature in basketball. Now, believe me, those Hoosiers are out for blood on the basketball front - there's nothing passive at all about that fan base in that sport.

 

[djct1999]

Vandy - They had two 9 win seasons in a row in football before bombing out last year. Defending national champions in baseball in a league where they actually care about that sport. Regardless, they're the SEC's equivalent of Northwestern - they get the benefit of an elite degree while still getting to watch big-time sports. Most students are just really happy to have been admitted there in the first place to be too worried about the state of the football team.

Illinois - I can obviously speak to this directly. As embarrassing as our football program has been both on and off-the-field, I still got to go see my team play in a Rose Bowl in a 3-loss season not too long ago. Somehow, we also still made a bowl last season. The recent basketball record is more infuriating because we *should* be performing better on that front. At the end of the day, in the 15(!) years since I've graduated, I've seen a Rose Bowl team, Sugar Bowl team and Final Four among the big two of football and basketball. There are fan bases that have had it MUCH worse.

Indiana - Probably the one place the in the Big Ten where they can legitimately not care whatsoever about football and get away with it because of their blue blood stature in basketball. Now, believe me, those Hoosiers are out for blood on the basketball front - there's nothing passive at all about that fan base in that sport.

Newsflash: UConn brings more to the table than all three of these schools, in both football and basketball.

Furthermore, if you put UConn in the B1G, basketball will be an immediate, perennial national power. Football, through a proper recruiting cycle, will catapult to at worst a middle of the pack B1G team and most likely ranked between 15-25 most years.

 

[CTBasketball]

Newsflash: UConn brings more to the table than all three of these schools, in both football and basketball.

Furthermore, if you put UConn in the B1G, basketball will be an immediate, perennial national power. Football, through a proper recruiting cycle, will catapult to at worst a middle of the pack B1G team and most likely ranked between 15-25 most years.

No we don't. We will get throttled from the start and become the doormat or at best middle of the pack team. Our recruiting will get better because of the conference, but we will still be battling better schools for the same recruits.

 

[djct1999]

No we don't. We will get throttled from the start and become the doormat or at best middle of the pack team. Our recruiting will get better because of the conference, but we will still be battling better schools for the same recruits.

Umm, no. We will battling programs like Rutgers and crushing programs like Syracuse, Pitt and BC.