Coach Bill Lewis

AND they're staying with ESPN it appears although it's not voted on yet by the members. As I said previously, they should have signed a deal no longer than three years. The rights fees are going to increase significantly in coming years as Fox and NBC come to the realization that they're going to need more content. They're really going to be scratching their head when C-USA gets a deal equivalent or better than the Big East in three years. I just can't understand why they don't understand this. They're going to give up at least four years of much better money by signing such a long term deal. View the full article

Here is what I am hearing and if so it will take quiet awhile for the newbies to see any significant monetary distribution. Simply speaking, there will be four sets of books. The first book will include exit fees and other penalties or assessments payable by the departing schools that is on hand now and collected in the future. The ONLY members collecting from that fund will be those who remain from the following group AFTER 6-01-2913. This includes UAB, USM, Tulsa, UTEP, Marshall and Rice if there are no other defections before then. Any one of those defecting later will forfeit any undistributed amounts. The second set will include current years ncaa bb unit payout, tv revenue, current years bowl and BCS payout, and any other current years tourney revenue. All current members will receive their normal payouts from those funds. Departing schools will leave their earned ncaa bb units with the league. These, along with any earned and unused in the upcoming tourney, will go into a separate pool from which ONLY the remaining schools from the above group will participate until exhausted in 5yr. June 2013 will basically start a new league with new set of books. Funds from THAT years tv contract, bcs bowl payouts, other bowl payouts earned during the year, and any ncaa basketball units earned in the 2014 tourney will be distributed among MEMBERS at the time. New members will share ONLY in funds accruing to the league after the jump start date. Edit note: funds EARNED after jump start date, not funds accruing. View the full article

Q: Are the UTEP Miners going to stay in Conference USA? Certainly for the next year. I've learned in athletics that one doesn't really make predictions. Again, it's a distraction. But the instability of conferences really does trouble me, because it's really destabilized intercollegiate athletics in a serious way. We thought for a time there was going to be a merger between Conference USA and Mountain West, and that looked like a very promising strategy. That would have been a very good arrangement for us. Every time you leave a conference, you pay a penalty and when you join a new conference, you have to pay an entry fee, so careless conference changes are very expensive. If you make a mistake I'm not sure I would have been all that excited about joining the Big East conference. We didn't really make a big press for that, and if you look at what the Big East was and what it is today and how they are reconstituting themselves, you have to say, "Gee, was it worth it?" Unfortunately, there's just so much money in intercollegiate athletics. We're very, very happy to be in Conference USA. We have some great new schools in Conference USA, and it has managed the instability about as well as any conference has. ------------------------------- She couldn't be more right and I respect her statements. Good to see someone using judgment like this at a time when knee jerk reaction and grab before researching. http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/q_and_a/ar...f6878.html View the full article

It appears the Big East is about to get smaller. Again. A source confirmed to CBSSports.com's Jeremy Fowler that the Big East and San Diego State are preparing to announce that San Diego State will be leaving the conference before it ever officially joined. The source told Fowler the deal is "close" but there's no timetable because lawyers are involved. And as was the case when Boise State left the Big East in late December, San Diego State will be leaving the Big East in order to remain with the Mountain West. However, unlike Boise State, San Diego State will not have to pay the Big East an exit fee. The school negotiated a clause in its deal with the conference that if Boise State backed out it would be able to do so as well at no cost. read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...separation

University of Tulsa officials report that the university still has not received an invitation to switch membership from Conference USA to the Big East or the Mountain West Conference. However, sources indicate that TU's conference options - if there are options - soon may be clarified. If San Diego State decides to stay in the Mountain West instead of becoming a football-only member of the Big East, there seems to exist the possibility that TU would be invited to join the Big East as an all-sports member. Boise State already executed an about-face, deciding to stay in the Mountain West instead of proceeding with a plan to join the Big East. San Diego State also accepted a Big East invitation, but reportedly now is wavering. Jan. 31 is the decision deadline. If San Diego State stays in the Mountain West, the Big East could extend to TU a membership opportunity. And if SDSU remains committed to a Big East move, the Mountain West might stand pat at 11 schools - or could be in the market for an additional member. During a period of at least the past two months - and again last week, it is believed - TU President Steadman Upham and interim athletic director Kevan Buck had discussions with officials from the Mountain West, Big East and Conference USA (the Golden Hurricane's conference since 2005). Read more: TULSA WORLD: Tulsa's conference future may clear up soon

This Old Dominion student has been doing a series of pranks, but this one takes the prize. Worth a watch, the reactions are great. http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/...goes-viral View the full article

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2013/01..._exit_fees View the full article

All over Twitter View the full article

This is not the Big East that Bob Kustra bought into a year ago. Forget that, it's not the same Big East it was yesterday. It's strange, then, that the Boise State University that Kustra oversees wields more power than ever in its 80-year history. If it bolts the Big East -- and it could, easily, today if it wanted to -- the reconfigured league falls apart. Unless Cincinnati or the catholic basketball schools beat Boise State to it. But as long as the Big East's continued existence is based on football, that existence is based on Boise staying firm. Kustra is the 69-year-old Boise president who was once a staunch anti-BCS crusader. Now he is one of the more powerful CEOs in college athletics. Here's why ... • He oversees the best football program currently below the BCS level. When Boise announced it was going to the Big East (last Dec. 7) that gave the fractured, rebuilding league credibility. The Big East had to go cross-country to do it, but it got the best football fruit left on the tree. Kustra's reasons for leaving his school's natural region: 1) Fair access to the new playoff system. That was decided last month; 2) East Coast exposure for his program; 3) TV revenue. Actually, 3) is still to be determined. That's what is holding up the continued existence of the Big East. Boise State holds a lot of the cards to realignment below college athletics' Mendoza Line. Beginning in 2014, the Big East will go from BCS conference to a Group of Five (with Conference USA, the Sun Belt, MAC and Mountain West) participant competing for a guaranteed spot among the playoff bowls. Long before we get there, though, the Big East has to transition from BCS league to that cross-country conference just trying to hang on. That's where Boise State comes in. A school that has played FBS football for all of 17 years is the key to the whole deal. A quaint state school on the banks of the Boise River is the Big East's football flagship. "There isn't another, other anchor team [in the Big East]," one college administrator said. • Big East credibility has been damaged but no matter what happens, Boise is going to be OK. At the BCS level, conference brands sell. At the mid-tier level, individual schools give value to a conference. CBSSports.com has learned that there was interest from a rights-holder in televising Boise State's home games only, similar to Notre Dame. That's not to say Boise would go independent, but it is a sign that the football program alone has television value no matter where it ends up. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...aky-future

What’s the next move for the Big East Catholic schools who are weighing the options of breaking completely away from the conference? Several sources say it is a complicated process with numerous details that must be worked out. But if they do decide to leave as a group, they will not have to pay an exit fee. A rule that was put in place almost a decade ago when the Big East lost Virginia Tech, Miami and then Boston College to the ACC, stipulates that should the football or basketball segments of the league want to break away as a group no exit fees will be imposed. Schools leaving the Big East on an individual basis have had to pay between $5 and $17 million. With the seven Catholic schools talking about leaving the Big East as a group, the no exit fee clause would apply. In addition, the Catholic schools would most likely be able to retain the Big East name as a conference, they would also be likely to retain the automatic NCAA tournament bid given to the Big East since they would be a group of schools who have established a long history of competition against each other. And this “”new”" group would most likely still be able to collect the financially valuable units the NCAA gives to conference schools who perform well in the NCAA tournament. Everyone involved concedes it is a complicated process, involving not only configuration, but revenue distribution. http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=4202

Not a great time for this, with all the talk of changing conferences going on ... View the full article

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-...25z;_ylv=3 5. North Texas (3-5) Losses: at Creighton 71-51, Alabama-Huntsville 78-75, at Virginia 80-64, Texas-Arlington 72-59, Louisiana-Lafayette 80-76 Why they've disappointed: Before the season began, Tony Mitchell told me he wanted to leave a legacy at North Texas. Right now, however, the only thing this year's Mean Green will be remembered for is underachieving. Despite having a potential lottery pick in Mitchell and a talented supporting cast, North Texas is off to a disastrous 3-5 start. Some of those losses have been one-sided yet forgivable like a season-opening 71-51 loss at Creighton. Others have been downright head-scratching like a loss to Division II Alabama-Huntsville or home setbacks against Texas-Arlington and Louisiana-Lafayette. In the Louisiana-Lafayette game, Mitchell scored only three points, took only one shot and fouled out in 25 minutes. Can they recover? Any hope of North Texas living up to its hype as a dangerous mid-major and the preseason Sun Belt favorite probably depends on whether its anemic offense improves. The Mean Green are shooting 40.2 percent from the floor and an anemic 26 percent from behind the arc. Compounding the problem, they're also turning the ball over too much. Mitchell's 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game are pedestrian for a super-athletic forward with first-round potential. He needs to take at least 15 shots per game, something he has only done three times this season. And with 12 turnovers and no assists in North Texas' last three games, he needs to do a better job dealing with double teams and his teammates must more consistently sink open shots. View the full article

Quote:Idaho, New Mexico State and Georgia Southern are among the Sun Belt list of schools to replace Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic, CBSSports.com has learned... CBSSports.com View the full article

@DrewChamplin- (UAB Beat Writer) Banowsky doesn't know where CUSA getting WKU,NMSU reports got started and won't speculate on it. @DrewChamplin Banowsky said some divisional alignments should be figured out w/in 60 days. It'll be different in 2013, 2014, 2015, obviously @DrewChamplin Banowsky: We may grow again, but we need to be thoughtful on the way to do it. TV deals expire in 3 years @dkurtenbach- (FAU Beat writer) Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky denies that his league is looking at WKU and NMSt. View the full article

1. Colorado State lobbying Nbe hard. 2. Took 3 votes to get Tulane into Nbe. 3. ESPN wants ACC to take both Louisville and UConn. 4. Virginia wants in B1G and is talking with them, following path of MD. 5. SEC sitting back and will follow path used for TAMU and Mizzouri. 6. Florida State and Miami want in B12 badly. FSU is angry because Virginia denying they are talking with B1G but FSU knows they are. 7. BYU was about to accept Nbe invitation but pulled out after Rutgers bolted. ESPN was going to let Nbe buy out BYU's contract. 8. St. Johns and Georgetown introduced vote to dissolve Big East. Fell short by 2 votes. 9. Nbe tv contract falling apart; very lucky to get $5 million. 10. B12 expansion committee evaluating; might recommend as many as four additions. (Pitt, Clemson, FSU, Miami). View the full article

The university released a statement this afternoon. "TU Athletic Director Ross Parmley has been placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation into allegations of gambling. In the interim, Executive Vice President Kevan Buck will be acting athletic director." http://www.newson6.com/story/20199562/tu...d-gambling View the full article

Arkansas - John L. Smith (Fired) - n/aAuburn - Gene Chizik (Fired) - n/aCalifornia - Jeff Tedford (Fired) - n/aIdaho - Robb Akey (Fired) - Jason Gesser (interim)Kentucky - Joker Phillips (Fired) - n/aNC State - Tom O'Brien (Fired) - Dana Bible (interim)Tennessee - Derek Dooley (Fired) - Jim Chaney (interim)UTEP - Mike Price (Retired) - n/aWestern Michigan - Bill Cubit () - n/a Boston College: Frank Spaziani? Read more: http://www.footballscoop.com/the-scoop

You either go play in a BCS bowl or the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day..... not bad View the full article

I was gonna post this on the ECU board, but more posters are on this board regularly and it really applies to more than just ECU fans For my ECU and Military brethren, If you're Active Duty or a Veteran, first let me say Happy Belated Veterans Day to you. Second, if in fact ECU ends up in the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force in Fort Worth and you are or have served in the military, the Armed Forces bowl is giving away up to 4 free tickets per military person to the game on 29 December. Just hit the following website ARMED FORCES BOWL website They are supposed to mail out the tickets sometime in early to mid December. Figure 4 tickets range anywhere from $200-$500 dollars depending on where you're sitting and the money saved could pay for a large chunk to catch a flight out to Fort Worth or at least most of the gas to drive. I plan on making the trip if we end up there. View the full article

With UNT Joining CUSA Would it be a good time to re brand ? I like this helmet look.. What due you CUSA Fans think ? View the full article

Every week before a home game, on Tuesday nights, June Jones has a dinner with any Mustang Club member that wants to show up. He has a session where he goes over the film of several key plays and then there is Q&A, both from a local media person (who is a June-friend) and from the audience. This week's dinner has been cancelled. They are saying that it is due to "feedback" and because of Election Day, but given that most people will have already voted by the time the dinner occurs, and given that if Election Day were really a concern they could have scheduled it for Monday or Wednesday night for this week instead, the Election Day excuse doesn't really hold water. SMU fans think that the "feedback" being alluded to is all of the backlash against June. Discuss. View the full article

Hot Seat: 9. Southern Miss - Ellis Johnson Edge of Hot Seat: 23. Florida International - Mario Cristobal 26. UTEP - Mike Price 35. UTSA - Larry Coker 37. Rice - David Bailiff 39. Tulane - Curtis Johnson 45. North Texas - Dan McCarney Safe: 60. Marshall - Doc Holliday 66. UAB - Garrick McGee 75. East Carolina - Ruffin McNeill 99. Tulsa - Bill Blankenship 113. Louisiana Tech - Sonny Dykes Coaches' Hotseat View the full article

Not that this is a big shock but if it's true then Miner fans can finally have some new hope for improvement. Our team has not been horrible but no where near enough winning. I don't know how reliable this site is but they claim that this is something they are hearing. All we've heard prior to this was that nothing would be decided until the end of the season. http://247sports.com/Board/59457/Coachin...13578549/1 View the full article

Ugly losses now taking their toll. I think UTSA doesn't has its full compliment of 85 scholarship players and is 15 short as reported in San Antonio nespaper. This is the result of doing a fast forward by CUSA...but, I like UTSA very much & very happy they are in CUSA but obviously there are going to be growing pains. View the full article

Why doesn't Conf. USA look at the following 16 team format? East Div. Carolina & Marshall FIU & FAU Ga. State & UAB Charlotte & Old Dominion West Div. Rice & N. Texas UTSA & UTEP Tulane & S. Miss. La. Tech. & Tulsa 12 good TV markets out of 16 and some excellent rivalries. Tks, Mr.P. View the full article