Army & Navy Say N O To Big East

[MeanGreen61]

Early trouble, sunken idea, House update

By Mitch Vingle

Sports Editor

While on the subject of dismissals, you can forget the proposal to forge an Army/Navy football membership with the Big East. (Many WVU fans, I understand, will be happy to read the news.)

A source with intimate knowledge, one that asked for anonymity, said Big East officials had extensive conversations with the two service academies concerning the possibility. The idea was to have both play four Big East games a year. WVU officials, among others, thought it a grand idea. The setup would help league schools toward their annual goal of seven home games. It would likewise help the service academies in regard to scheduling Eastern schools and allow them to globetrot the other eight openings.

Navy nibbled at the idea, but Army did not. The source said he expects Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese to fill in league athletic directors in the upcoming week.

Oh yes, and Navy alone will not be the ninth football member.

So Big East fans, get used to an eight-football, 16-basketball setup. At least for the foreseeable future, that’s what you’re looking at.

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Sports/Mi...007071039?pt=10

[NT80]

That's good news for UNT's CUSA hopes also. Unless Notre Dame comes in for football (not going to happen) then the Big East will now look more towards a full ninth member, like a Memphis, UCF, or East Carolina; eventually freeing a CUSA spot.

[the real grad88]

That's good news for UNT's CUSA hopes also. Unless Notre Dame comes in for football (not going to happen) then the Big East will now look more towards a full ninth member, like a Memphis, UCF, or East Carolina; eventually freeing a CUSA spot.

Exactly. I think we still have a lot of conference shakeups on the horizon. UNT will have other chances to move up the food chain. If our new stadium could get built, we will have a much better shot when another apportunity comes along.

[Arkstfan]

That's good news for UNT's CUSA hopes also. Unless Notre Dame comes in for football (not going to happen) then the Big East will now look more towards a full ninth member, like a Memphis, UCF, or East Carolina; eventually freeing a CUSA spot.

A ton depends on what the Big East football schools want to do next.

Right now it appears they wanted someone that would join football only. Army/Navy make sense. Looking around the universe. UCF and ECU would do it because hoops are an after thought. Memphis would not.

But what if the Big East football schools choose to leave the non-football schools?

Temple all of a sudden becomes viable. The Big East TV contract is huge in large part because the basketball component is huge. A football Big East loses presence in the #1, #3, #4, #8, and #33 television markets for basketball. Temple despite their problems become viable because of their strong basketball support in Philadelphia. If playing the weaker MAC schedule under the new coach revives their football program, they become even more viable.

The only reason Temple got kicked out in the first place is because the president who had previously killed football at another school didn't do the usual dance with the Big East of sitting down with the commissioner and explaining the latest version of the great plan to meet the Big East standards and get a waiver. He sat down said Temple didn't meet the standards and never would and left the commissioner no choice. The president thought that would allow him to kill football. Instead the board got fired up and begged the Big East to let them stay, but the commissioner had already made the thing public and only extended how long before they were expelled. Temple did not leave on bad terms and outside of the president, still has a great relationship with the other members.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---I think the Big East is the most unstable conference out there... Too many teams (16) and split 50/50 between those who play football and those who don't. That will eventually cause problems.... also with 16 teams really difficult to be a conference champion... way too difficult.... there will several top-10 teams that will not even win their conference title.

[Arkstfan]

---I think the Big East is the most unstable conference out there... Too many teams (16) and split 50/50 between those who play football and those who don't. That will eventually cause problems.... also with 16 teams really difficult to be a conference champion... way too difficult.... there will several top-10 teams that will not even win their conference title.

16 can only work when you have a cluster of 8 that doesn't care if they play the other 8 and vice versa. In basketball that just isn't the case with the Big East.

What they need is for the football 8 to leave if they can convince Notre Dame to come. Notre Dame doesn't have to join in football but just agree to play a limited set of non-conference games against them. If they then added one football member they'd be in great shape, 9 for football giving a balanced schedule and 10 for basketball giving a balanced schedule without open dates.