Maybe we're looking at this all wrong...

[coachcap]

Bear with me. Before Mikey T. had any inkling that Miami would bolt to the ACC, he offered the Big East Football schools to the ACC for football only. This is what woke the sleeping tiger, & the rest is history. He and Marinatto have subsequntly shown, in both word & action, that any involvement with football was done solely to protect the basketball conference.
What I'm proposing is an amalgamation of various ideas already proposed on this forum:
1. All Big East football schools secede from the Basketball schools
2. The 7 football schools merge with the Big 12 teams , thereby forming the first true 16 team superconference.
3. Cede the Big East BCS autobid to the Mountain West Conference as the Big 12 has its own autobid.
4. Lock in all members with an outrageously high buyout clause. (e.g. $ 50 Million, 5 year wait)
What this does:
Insures stability with the buyout clause. Finds a home for all of the Big East football schools. Leaves the ACC vulnerable to a raid by the SEC, but no recourse from the Big East.
Placates the Mountain West by giving them a BCS Autobid.
Corners Notre Dame into either the ACC or Big 10. Either way, it wouldn't concern us.

 

[FDNY99]

I like that idea, both from a football and basketball standpoint. Flagship anchor schools like OU, WVU, TCU and Texas in football...UConn, Kansas and Texas in hoops...solid women's hoop league with UConn, Baylor, and WVU, and baseball, track & field as well. East and West conference. That would be a solid conference, and the basketball ownlies get the BE back to it's original roots as a hoops only based conference.

 

[Hoophound]

No need to cede the bid to the MWC. The BCS can decide what to do with it....or kill it off. I increasingly like the East/West B12(16) conference. It would be the best in bball and 2nd best in football and span the country. I also like that it keeps us out of the ACC, which doesn't excite me at all.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Big 12/Big East merger was killed by the Big 12. They don't want to do it.

 

[HuskyFan16]

I just cant see the members in that conference getting along with texas forever

 

[FDNY99]

I just cant see the members in that conference getting along with texas forever

This brings the million dollar question to the table...would the other schools in the B-12 as it is now be ok with equal revenuing sharing and tell Texas to take the LHN and go pound sand.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This brings the million dollar question to the table...would the other schools in the B-12 as it is now be ok with equal revenuing sharing and tell Texas to take the LHN and go pound sand.

Everyone but Texas A&M has agreed to the media rights lockup. The Big 12 is staying together, and adding one team. Let's pray that BYU accepts the invitation.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This is something that I recently posted on another (BE) board. I had to split it into two posts here as it is too large for one under this board’s (under 10k characters) requirements.

Part I

For all of the announced solidarity, there is not one football member that would consider staying if an offer from another (stable) conference arrived. We have some very valuable members remaining regardless of what anyone wants to believe. UConn, WVU and Louisville are legitimate major collegiate athletic programs. Cincinnati and TCU are not far from being able to claim the same and within a few years Rutgers and USF can also get there. Similar to 2003 (we can even make the UL-TCU analogy) there are some potentially valuable programs sitting outside of the BCS who, if added could contribute at a commensurate level.

The football members; regardless of where anyone really wants to be, need a solid home in case any do not land the invitation they are looking for. Regardless of what the distant future holds, for the immediate future, each school needs to continue to improve itself, its athletic programs, its marketability and its image. This will only benefit each individual school but also the schools they are aligned with. Additionally, maintaining allegiances, even if the ultimate goal of two aligned schools is different destinations (for example WVU and UConn maintaining a solid partnership/friendship knowing that the best scenario for each will land one in the SEC and the other in the ACC) is paramount to the ultimate success of all members.

Despite what anyone wants to publicly admit, ND still has by far the highest profile and most marketability of any BE school (football or catholic).That someone is willing to offer them a television contract that allows them to compete as an independent is evidence in itself that they have earned this accommodation. Whether it was earned via recent play vs. history (and perhaps some mythology) can be debated but as long as someone is willing to pay them, the statement that they have earned it cannot be debated.

Plan for continuation of the BE football conference members as a BCS conference:
The time that the current conference operated together from the last raid until this one was six years and during that time in football two members (Cincy, USF) went from obscurity to being nationally ranked and beating nationally ranked teams. Rutgers and UConn moved from complete obscurity to relevance (in a region where college football had not been considered relevant), WVU and Louisville briefly were on the cusp of playing for the national title and each has a young coach who could well bring them back to that level. As a base, things could be far worse than starting here, especially once you include TCU, whose football team has been as good as any in the country over the past couple of seasons.

I posted earlier but I will reiterate that the affiliation with the non-football membership has at best done no favors for either faction (ND possibly excepted) and will not allow the football conference to be anything more than a breeding ground for schools that other BCS conference can use as expansion candidates. If there were an unlimited number of expansion spots, this would not be that bad of a proposition but, as the end game (assumed to be four conferences with sixteen members) has a fixed number of spots (fewer than the number of current BCS schools), there is no true advantage to remaining as we were. We need to either build a new, all sports conference or view the football conference as a distinct entity, find a way to keep membership to a level where we are still a conference (although BCS stature may go by the wayside) and add schools for football only. This would in many ways be throwing in the towel (in terms of remaining together) but leave a safe harbor for our sports programs until the better offer arrives. Unfortunately this appears to be Marinatto’s plan and in my opinion it will be every bit as effective as his prior plans.

My proposal would be that the football schools split immediately (including Pitt and Cuse) from the Big East, start a new all sports conference and look into expansion. Every current member (save Pitt and Cuse) and additional members signs a partnership agreement for a six year commitment with a departure fee (if anyone were to move on early) with both a base and a variable component.

Build the conference on relationships between athletic departments:
Based on this, Cincinnati and Louisville would be the first set of schools paired. As the Backyard Brawl is now in limbo, WVU and UConn, two legitimate leaders (in terms of athletic departments and national profile) would be the second pairing.

As we will need to expand, expansion will include a component based on athletic department success and potential (priority 1), geographic fit, not only within the conference but also with the school any candidate will be paired with (priority 2) and market that the candidate could add to the conference (priority 3). Temple brings a very solid basketball program (we will need this as nearly half of the seven school membership and most candidates are not up to par with what the better schools would need in terms of competition) and a football program that now is as strong as it ever has been and appears to be (finally) building to a level where they can be competitive in a BCS conference. Adding Philly is at worst a near requirement for an eastern athletic conference and their location and history with Rutgers would make Rutgers and Temple a very solid pairing (as our third pair).

UCF is well on its way towards building a legitimate football program (and did attempt to build a legitimate hoops program, although it may get them in some trouble). I can fully understand USF’s objections if there is no real plan for the future (if they have to fall back to CUSA level, it does them no good to help UCF bring their program to a higher level first) but with the plan, this can turn into a quality rivalry and become the fourth pairing of schools within the conference.

TCU is legitimate in football, brings a very large market (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) and sits in one of the great recruiting states for football talent. Houston is almost a no-brainer as the paired school as they have been pretty solid in football recently, have had quality success in the not too distant past (1980’s) in both football and basketball (which will be part of this conference) and they sit in another major market as well as a fertile recruiting region (in terms of Texas football recruiting Houston and D-FW are distinct regions).

I am proposing ten members as the target number for the new conference as with one exception (which I will address), expanding beyond this would leave sufficient ammunition for anyone who wants to attack our BCS status. A ten member conference in 2013 would be very similar to what an eight member conference was in 2005. It may be a bit smaller than what most view as the ideal size but it will offer nearly as many benefits as it will drawbacks.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Part II

Commitment:
I am proposing a six year commitment where there will be a) an exit fee of $15 million for any school moving on and b) a penalty of $4 million annually with a multiplier of remaining years on the six year commitment (ie if UConn were to leave after two years, a penalty of $16 million would be added to the departure fee of $15 million, leading to a $31 million cost to leave. Each additional year within the conference saves $4 million from the total departure cost.

I also want to place a premium on the above stated pairings. In all sports these will be treated as key rivalry games, final game of the regular season in both football and basketball and the earlier, second basketball meeting will be given some marquee treatment. In addition to this, if a school loses a partner, that school can nominate the candidate to be the replacement. We will have a predetermined list of candidates for replacement (updated semi-regularly based on change in the landscape and/or quality of candidates) where if UConn were to leave, the candidates would be A, B or C (I’m guessing East Carolina and I don’t know who else but it would be up to WVU to make the recommendation) while if TCU were to leave, Houston would nominate one of SMU or whoever would be on that list. There must be a succession plan covering every possible departure (as departure possibilities will be part of this dynamic) and the plan must be flexible enough that if the best answer in 2015 is different from the best answer in 2012, we won’t be stuck with 2012’s answer).

Additionally, each member school will be require to submit a thorough action plan on how they will improve their marquee sports (football, men’s hoops) covering on field performance, national image and attendance/marketability. This will include proposed increases in recruiting and coaching budgets, aggressive scheduling and promotions to improve fan interest. Unless each member is committed to becoming a legitimate program and is taking quantifiable steps in this direction, this would likely be an exercise in futility.

Notre Dame:
It is without question that ND would add a level of credibility and marketability to this conference at a level beyond anything that any other school (save perhaps Ohio St, Michigan or Texas, none of which are even worth typing about). The only chance that ND joins any conference is if the landscape changes to the point where they have to join a conference. If this occurs, we may be attractive enough (with the correct concessions) that ND would consider joining.
A) ND would have full authority to select their partner (whether if be Navy, Nova, whoever, ND for all sports would warrant any other all sports addition with ND being paired with that school).
B) As there is no questioning the history, tradition, profile and market value of ND when compared to other members, a venue concession is made by each member to ND. Two of the first three home games against ND by every member will be played at a split gate, neutral site venue (example, TCU at Jerry World, ND can choose Gillette or Meadowlands for UConn, Meadowlands or the Linc for Rutgers, the Linc or Fedex for Temple, etc.).
C) As it cannot be debated that ND adds value well beyond what any other member can, it would be unfair to split the television pot evenly. It also would be unfair to allow ND a larger revenue share merely to watch them leave early, as any member would be allowed. Five percent of conference television revenues will be held aside and at the end of six year agreement, if ND has remained for the entirety, this will be distributed to them. An addition 2.5% will be held aside and distributed to ND annually as they do warrant a premium in television revenues over other conference members. ND will however face similar departure penalties as all other members.

As the end of the above proposed six year period is approached, a new, more conventional agreement on an athletic conference could be negotiated as there will be far less risk and indecision hovering over the members of this conference.

 

[Vowelguy]

This is something that I recently posted on another (BE) board. I had to

The Big Leftover Conference ... 6th best (or 7th) in football, and 7th best in MCBB, thanks to sucky teams like UCF, USF, Rutgers, TCU, and Houston.

Hello Mediocrity! Hello Irrelevance!

 

[HuskyFan16]

dogmania-esque

 

[gars44]

Really creative. This is the kind of radical thinking and planning that is called for. Still don't think there's any chance for ND, even with concessions. I think we would have to go this alone without ND for any sports at all. They have to be made to declare. Only then will the musical chairs stop. But I'd vote for you for conference commissioner.

 

[coachcap]

Well thought out Fairfield.
Allows for a 9 game conference schedule, making OOC Scheduling easier.
Thoughts: How long before implementation of your plan, as the television contract is up for renewal next year? What contingency plan would you put in place if the television networks want a 12 team conference for a championship game as an inducement to a higher payout & Notre Dame stays independent? Or, is the Big 12 model of staying at 10 (assuming they add one team) your true end result.

 

[RS9999X]

We can't get around Pitt, Syracuse and WVU leaving.

It's going to happen.

I'm resigned to Rutgers and UConn selling themselves as a pair and a gateway to the New York market.

The best case is the ACC for Rutgers and UConn or second case Big-12 with Rutgers and WVU.

Looks to me like the B12 has the money to grab BYU, WVU, and Louisville and call it a face saving win after near implosion.

The Red Dwarf might have company: the Blue Dwarf

 

[nelsonmuntz]

We can't get around Pitt, Syracuse and WVU leaving.

It's going to happen.

I'm resigned to Rutgers and UConn selling themselves as a pair and a gateway to the New York market.

The best case is the ACC for Rutgers and UConn or second case Big-12 with Rutgers and WVU.

Looks to me like the B12 has the money to grab BYU, WVU, and Louisville and call it a face saving win after near implosion.

The Red Dwarf might have company: the Blue Dwarf

I am not going to argue with every post like this, it is too draining. UConn does not have the slightest prayer of begging it's way into the ACC without the Big East being a viable league. I don't know how many times I need to say the same thing. The ACC will not take UConn unless they have to, which means UConn needs to make the Big East viable. No Big East, no UConn in the ACC.

That is how realignment works, and that is how the business world works. I have been involved in a lot of M&A situations, and I can tell this is EXACTLY how it works.

 

[RS9999X]

There's no need to argue Nelson. I don't see the BE becoming a BCS quality conference if WVU (and Louisville) leave.

Yes, the league has to go after the best available options.

TCU, Cincy, Rutgers, UConn and USF have some serious rebuilding to do and there's no magic bullet out there. ECU, UCF, the service academies, Houston, and a Nova upgrade is the end result IMHO. Choose your 10 with a 9-game schedule.

(The Big Sprawl V2)

Navy and Air Force - football only? OK

Basketball and all other sports:
PC
Marquette
St John's
Notre Dame
Georgetown
Depaul
Seton Hall
Nova (Invite Duquesne for Pittsburg market if Nova upgrades its leased soccer field)

All Sports
UConn
Rutgers
Cincy
TCU
USF
UCF
ECU
Nova or Houston
UMess and Temple instead of UCF and Houston? Nyaaah. Buffalo for the upstate NY market? No. No.

 

[FDNY99]

I'd rather see your all sports conference lineup including WVU, Houston, Temple, and UMass..then add Nova to get to 12 than stay in a hybird conference like we are in now.

 

[husky91]

The BE fate was sealed with the stupid design they concocted with the non football, ND affiliation, etc. Even before VT, U left they should have gone to all sports and certainly after. They could have grown smartly to 10 and ultimately 12.

Now the BE will go away completely or stay in some forms likely w/o BCS longer term and adding schools that will further erode their academic standing.





quote="coachcap, post: 31529"]Bear with me. Before Mikey T. had any inkling that Miami would bolt to the ACC, he offered the Big East Football schools to the ACC for football only. This is what woke the sleeping tiger, & the rest is history. He and Marinatto have subsequntly shown, in both word & action, that any involvement with football was done solely to protect the basketball conference.
What I'm proposing is an amalgamation of various ideas already proposed on this forum:
1. All Big East football schools secede from the Basketball schools
2. The 7 football schools merge with the Big 12 teams , thereby forming the first true 16 team superconference.
3. Cede the Big East BCS autobid to the Mountain West Conference as the Big 12 has its own autobid.
4. Lock in all members with an outrageously high buyout clause. (e.g. $ 50 Million, 5 year wait)
What this does:
Insures stability with the buyout clause. Finds a home for all of the Big East football schools. Leaves the ACC vulnerable to a raid by the SEC, but no recourse from the Big East.
Placates the Mountain West by giving them a BCS Autobid.
Corners Notre Dame into either the ACC or Big 10. Either way, it wouldn't concern us.[/quote]

 

[FfldCntyFan]

91, this is not a bad idea but it cannot happen until after the B-12 does end up with some formal, signed agreement. Also, there is no way in hell UT would allow a member from the Dallas-Ft Worth market (or anywhere in Texas) to be added to their conference.

 

[toppencil]

Bear with me. Before Mikey T. had any inkling that Miami would bolt to the ACC, he offered the Big East Football schools to the ACC for football only. This is what woke the sleeping tiger, & the rest is history. He and Marinatto have subsequntly shown, in both word & action, that any involvement with football was done solely to protect the basketball conference.
What I'm proposing is an amalgamation of various ideas already proposed on this forum:
1. All Big East football schools secede from the Basketball schools
2. The 7 football schools merge with the Big 12 teams , thereby forming the first true 16 team superconference.
3. Cede the Big East BCS autobid to the Mountain West Conference as the Big 12 has its own autobid.
4. Lock in all members with an outrageously high buyout clause. (e.g. $ 50 Million, 5 year wait)
What this does:
Insures stability with the buyout clause. Finds a home for all of the Big East football schools. Leaves the ACC vulnerable to a raid by the SEC, but no recourse from the Big East.
Placates the Mountain West by giving them a BCS Autobid.
Corners Notre Dame into either the ACC or Big 10. Either way, it wouldn't concern us.

The bigest problem with this idea is the University of Texas. The reason the Big 12 nearly fell apart is Texas and their greedy Longhorn Network deal. If you think Notre Dame is bad, Texas redefines greed and arogance. The Big 12 would have fallen apart if the Pac 12 was willing. They wanted nothing to do with Texas.

It also would be a travel nightmare for all the other sports programs.

 

[CL82]

Everyone but Texas A&M has agreed to the media rights lockup. The Big 12 is staying together, and adding one team. Let's pray that BYU accepts the invitation.

Because no one paniced and screwed their conference mates. I didn't dislike Pitt and Cuse as a knee jerk reation to their leaving, but I might be able to work my way to it.

 

[Murph]

Because no one paniced and screwed their conference mates. I didn't dislike Pitt and Cuse as a knee jerk reation to their leaving, but I might be able to work my way to it.

What happens if we eventually end up joining them?

 

[CL82]

What happens if we eventually end up joining them?

I'll still dislike them for panicing and jumping.