Conference realignment "Rumors" "tweets" "etc"

[Brad]

Memphis is still in the discussion.

 

Reading the Waco,TX paper today, UCF is getting a lot of pub re:inclusion because of their win over Baylor.

 

There's just a lot less USF elsewhere.

[Brad]

Glynn Beaty: Let’s talk Big 12 expansion

 

In the former’s case, a non-Power Five school, these are the teams that are most bandied about as a possible addition, in no particular order: BYU, Colorado State, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati.

 

Central Florida has the advantage of opening the Florida TV market to the Big 12 as well as the rich recruiting fields of Florida high school football. As Baylor is all too aware, UCF is competitive in football. It would also add an East Coast neighbor to West Virginia. The disadvantage is that UCF really doesn’t fit the conference in geography and while that isn’t a top priority, it should be considered nonetheless.

 

Link

 

 

[Brad]

Which combination of schools is the best Big 12 option?

...

 

But Big 12 expansion would come in pairs. The Big 12 should have added Louisville three years ago and reached 11 members, but that didn’t happen. If expansion ever comes, it will be to get the Big 12 to a dozen members. So let’s look at the best pairs of potential additions. What two schools together make the most sense?

1. Cincinnati & Brigham Young: The Big 12 would like to expand East more than West, since West Virginia already is on an island. But the two best available candidates are Cincy and BYU. Their football is major-conference caliber; BYU has a great fan base, and Cincinnati has upgraded its facilities and is in a prime recruiting area. Stretching the league from Provo, Utah, to Morgantown, W.Va., is not ideal, but it’s the best option.
2. Boise State & Brigham Young: If BYU and Boise State joined the Big 12, the Big 12’s football brand would be enhanced. No doubt about it. But there are other problems. The Big 12 would have a football program that rarely sells out its 36,000-seat football stadium (Boise State), a member run by the Mormon Church with a reputation that it’s hard to deal with (BYU), a member that was a junior college as recently as 1965 (Boise State) and the league would stretch from Idaho to West Virginia. But the Big 12 could counter some of those problems by adding Boise State and BYU for football only. BYU already is a football independent and plays in the West Coast Conference for other sports. Still, that’s a Mickey Mouse way to run a league. Whatever gains were made by the better football would be harmed by impression of satellite members.
3. Cincinnati & Connecticut: If only UConn football had kept the momentum going from Randy Edsall’s days as coach. But Edsall left for Maryland after taking the 2010 Huskies to the Fiesta Bowl, and UConn is 15-33 against an increasingly-declining Big East/American Conference. Still, UConn basketball is among the nation’s best and it’s the only flagship university on the market for conference expansion. Cincy and UConn would form a three-school suburb back East for the Big 12. But football would not be improved.
4. Cincinnati & East Carolina: I screwed up. I should have had East Carolina on my list of candidates. The No. 1 fan base on the expansion market is BYU. The No. 2 fan base is East Carolina. The Pirates have a 50,000-seat stadium in Greenville, N.C., and averaged 44,786 fans last season. East Carolina has a good program. However, its profile is not strong. Most college football fans don’t know in which Carolina that East Carolina resides. Texas-Cincinnati or Oklahoma-East Carolina does not move the needle.
5. Central Florida & South Florida: The idea of reaching the Floridian market appeals to most people in college football. Both for television purposes and recruiting. But truth is, UCF and USF aren’t big TV draws even in Florida. Maybe not even in their home markets of Orlando and Tampa. It would be a gamble, hoping they grew into bigger names. UCF at least has been playing representative football. The Knights under George O’Leary are an excellent mid-major, having won the Fiesta Bowl two seasons ago against Baylor. South Florida football has slumped mightily in recent years.

None of those combinations really works, which is why the Big 12 has stayed at 10 members. Any other combination has even more problems. Cincinnati-Memphis. Colorado State-BYU.

 

 

...

 

Link

 

[Bear]

This thread is hilarious.

For years, this board has been saying a UCF&USF package deal.

Now, everyone has accepted truth. USF will be left behind, because they made the right moves too late.

TCU did it right, and UCF has built a strong resume.

Expansion is not ONLY about football... so what else does UCF have?

It's about revenue and TV markets... and football is the biggest driver.

Typical of USF fans to down play success in a sport - in which they struggle.

[Brad]

Video: John Klein and Mark Cooper talk Big 12 expansion

 

...

 

Klein feels Central Florida — like TCU did — could grow into a Big 12-caliber team.

 

...

 

Link

[Brad]

And when it comes to TV markets:

 

13 Tampa-St. Petersburg 14 Seattle-Tacoma 15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 16 Miami-Ft.Lauderdale 17 Cleveland-Akron 18 Denver 19

Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne

 

That is likely to weigh less when you consider neither USF or UCF is dominant in their "own" market.

[Bear]

Video: John Klein and Mark Cooper talk Big 12 expansion

...

Klein feels Central Florida — like TCU did — could grow into a Big 12-caliber team.

...

Link

I rest my case. The perception is already there.

[Brad]

 

Video: John Klein and Mark Cooper talk Big 12 expansion

...

Klein feels Central Florida — like TCU did — could grow into a Big 12-caliber team.

...

Link

I rest my case. The perception is already there.

 

 

At least with that OK State writer

[Triple B]

 

 

Video: John Klein and Mark Cooper talk Big 12 expansion

...

Klein feels Central Florida — like TCU did — could grow into a Big 12-caliber team.

...

Link

I rest my case. The perception is already there.

 

 

At least with that OK State writer

 

 

Um , the OK State writer didn't mention UCF. In fact, they've made such a strong impression on him that he said that none of the names being thrown out there have been to a BCS bowl recently like WVU and TCU had. Those 2 Bubbas are the perfect example of why anyone wringing their hands about all the talk going on right now needs to get a grip ...

[Triple B]

 

 

This thread is hilarious.

For years, this board has been saying a UCF&USF package deal.

Now, everyone has accepted truth. USF will be left behind, because they made the right moves too late.

TCU did it right, and UCF has built a strong resume.

Expansion is not ONLY about football... so what else does UCF have?

It's about revenue and TV markets... and football is the biggest driver.

Typical of USF fans to down play success in a sport - in which they struggle.

 

 

 

And what's also typical of some USF fans is running around like Chicken Little based on Internet rumors from wackadoodle sources ...