ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post - Funny Stuff New Conference re-alignment thread

Mr. Plow · 10-25-2011, 10:33 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/sp...r=4&ref=sports

West Virginia Close to Leaving Big East for Big 12

By PETE THAMEL

Published: October 25, 2011

West Virginia is headed to the Big 12, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, a move that leaves the Big East with five football programs and an uncertain future. The person said Tuesday that the Mountaineers had “applied and are accepted,” leaving only legal entanglements from making the move official. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been formally announced.

West Virginia is the Big East’s flagship football program, and losing its consistently strong performance will hurt the conference as it seeks to hold on to its automatic Bowl Championship Series spot. With the departure of the Mountaineers, who must pay a $5 million exit fee, the conference’s football members are Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Connecticut and Cincinnati. That gives it the same number of football teams it had when Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech departed in 2003.

The only good news for the Big East is that the Big 12 planned to stay at 10 teams for now, the person said. That will spare the Big East any more critical losses and give it a chance to build into the 12-team model that it would prefer.

While Missouri, a current Big 12 member, has yet to announce that it is applying for membership in the Southeastern Conference, that move is still viewed as inevitable. The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday morning that Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton said it could be “days or possibly a week or two” before Missouri’s application happened.

Legal problems are holding up Missouri’s move, as it has to negotiate an exit fee, and there is a concern among Big 12 teams about how to fill the void in their schedules that Missouri would leave. That creates two problems, as universities will have to scramble to find another opponent, perhaps from the Football Championship Subdivision. A victory over a team from that level would not count toward a Big 12 member’s bowl eligibility. It will also cause the Big 12 to fall short of fulfilling its television contract. Both could be costly for the league.

The SEC made it very clear during its courtship with Texas A&M that it would only accept the Aggies without legal issues, so Missouri must take care of those before joining.

The Big East now moves toward putting together its proposed 12-team model; it hopes to add Air Force, Navy and Boise State in football and Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida in all sports. With West Virginia gone, the new team most likely to emerge as a possible member would be Temple, which has received resistance from its Philadelphia rival Villanova. But with the league’s future in peril, it is hard to imagine that Villanova would have enough influence to thwart Temple, which boasts a rising football program, a strong basketball program and the Philadelphia television market. East Carolina and Memphis would be other candidates. Both have openly lobbied to join the Big East in the past.

10-25-2011, 10:33 AM	#6808
Mr. Plow In Search of a Life Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $-1332609	http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/sp...r=4&ref=sports West Virginia Close to Leaving Big East for Big 12 By PETE THAMEL Published: October 25, 2011 West Virginia is headed to the Big 12, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, a move that leaves the Big East with five football programs and an uncertain future. The person said Tuesday that the Mountaineers had “applied and are accepted,” leaving only legal entanglements from making the move official. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been formally announced. West Virginia is the Big East’s flagship football program, and losing its consistently strong performance will hurt the conference as it seeks to hold on to its automatic Bowl Championship Series spot. With the departure of the Mountaineers, who must pay a $5 million exit fee, the conference’s football members are Rutgers, Louisville, South Florida, Connecticut and Cincinnati. That gives it the same number of football teams it had when Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech departed in 2003. The only good news for the Big East is that the Big 12 planned to stay at 10 teams for now, the person said. That will spare the Big East any more critical losses and give it a chance to build into the 12-team model that it would prefer. While Missouri, a current Big 12 member, has yet to announce that it is applying for membership in the Southeastern Conference, that move is still viewed as inevitable. The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday morning that Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton said it could be “days or possibly a week or two” before Missouri’s application happened. Legal problems are holding up Missouri’s move, as it has to negotiate an exit fee, and there is a concern among Big 12 teams about how to fill the void in their schedules that Missouri would leave. That creates two problems, as universities will have to scramble to find another opponent, perhaps from the Football Championship Subdivision. A victory over a team from that level would not count toward a Big 12 member’s bowl eligibility. It will also cause the Big 12 to fall short of fulfilling its television contract. Both could be costly for the league. The SEC made it very clear during its courtship with Texas A&M that it would only accept the Aggies without legal issues, so Missouri must take care of those before joining. The Big East now moves toward putting together its proposed 12-team model; it hopes to add Air Force, Navy and Boise State in football and Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida in all sports. With West Virginia gone, the new team most likely to emerge as a possible member would be Temple, which has received resistance from its Philadelphia rival Villanova. But with the league’s future in peril, it is hard to imagine that Villanova would have enough influence to thwart Temple, which boasts a rising football program, a strong basketball program and the Philadelphia television market. East Carolina and Memphis would be other candidates. Both have openly lobbied to join the Big East in the past.
Posts: 31,679