Big East Expansion: We're In Kitchen Sink Mode

[Texas Otto]

With Big East spring meetings winding down, the glut of information, quotes, rumors and gossip about expansion should start to die down. The only problem is, because Marinatto continues to speak in the kind of vagueness that inspire eye-rolls every time he opens his mouth, we're left with only those rumors and gossip to rummage through.

Let's start with the most notable piece of information thrown out there. Brett McMurphy (who has been killing it since jumping over to CBSSports.com) says "college industry sources told CBSSports.com the league is also considering the possibility of pursuing Army and Navy as football members to get to 12 teams." If this was Joe Schmo in Memphis saying this, I'd write it off as the usual rumor nonsense. But I think Brett's earned enough credit with Big East fans to make this worth noting.

We've talked about Army & Navy as Big East candidates extensively in the past. But let's run through it one more time.

http://www.nunesmagician.com/2011/5/26/2191520/big-east-expansion-were-in-kitchen-sink-mode#storyjump

 

[Despite the odds Frog]

Bright side, Navy is a good team (consistantly 9 wins every year - almost beat Ohio State in 2009, they beat Notre Dame 2 years in a row...). Army brings a crowd always. When Army was in CUSA with us, even though they were not a good football team the house in Fort Worth was always packed when Army came. Also this might help the Fort Worth Bowl - Armed Forces Bowl game to be a perminant bowl for the Big East??? Army/Navy rivalry game is always named the best rivalry game in the country and gets many viewers watching every year. Navy plays a number great games against good teams every year that gets put on primetime just because they are Navy, however I see this look to join the Big East being heavily pushed by Notre Dame. Navy has lots of tradition though. Army's stadium holds 40K and is in New York. I hear the stadium and surrounding area for Army's football stadium is beautiful. Army did go 7-6 last year...Also if they joined it would be hard to take any BCS standing away from the Big East, who wants to take money away from the U.S. Armed Forces?

Downside...really Navy and Army?!

 

[froginaustin]

. . .
Downside...really Navy and Army?!

Upside...they are not Houston, UCF, SMU, Memphis, etc.

and they're not unethical, backstabbing, way-out-west BYU h34r: .

 

[West Coast Johnny]

Army & Navy are better than Villanova & East Carolina.

 

[Big Frog II]

I think Army and Navy add value to the TV deals, probably as much as anyone out there in the non-AQ world other than possibly BYU or Air Force.

 

[Texas Otto]

I think Army and Navy add value to the TV deals, probably as much as anyone out there in the non-AQ world other than possibly BYU or Air Force.

One good thing about adding Navy is you turn one of ND's OOC games into a conference game which would take care of some of their concerns regarding not being able to schedule all their traditional games if they joined a conference. Not that I think in a million years ND is bringing their football team to the BE, just making a point.

 

[angelo's frog]

I doubt that Army and Navy bring much of anything to a TV deal. Google it and see if you can find out how much they get from their current deal with CBS college sports. Their games are on almost every week and I have never had any desire to watch them. Go try to figure out what their ratings are. I assure you they are awful unless they are playing Notre Dame or some big name school. I doubt they pocket more than $2-3 million total per year from that deal. I doubt they bring us much more than that. Army/Navy is a terrible expansion idea. The only reason people are floating it are because both are located in the northeast.

 

[mtmedlin]

I am not a fan of them but if it comes down to adding Three CUSA schools to get to 12 or adding BYU, Army and Navy then I can see why. Those three have more of a "national appeal" and would be better for a network deal. Also, all three are already on ND schedule. This may be a way to get the BE on to CBS primetime 4 or 5 times a year. If Comcast/NBC, who has ND contract wins the BE deal, then I can see thier angle and why this is being discussed....but still, color me unimpressed. I think we can de better...if not, then I am ok with it.

 

[froginaustin]

I'm OK with staying at 9. :mellow:

 

[angelo's frog]

I'm OK with staying at 9. :mellow:

No kidding, if the best we can hope for is Army/Navy.

 

[AggieAngst]

ARMY = NEW MEXICO !!

Seriously? That is who some of you want? Wow !
You want the East Coast version of the Mtn West by adding pathetic bottom feeders?

Sorry but adding two service academies to the weakest BCS league will bring nothing but chuckles and giggles from college football analysts and fans.

It also makes the Big East look desperate and out of options.

Army is pathetic in football and even worse in basketball than Tcu. Army in Big East basketball would be the
biggest joke in all of college sports.

Navy is as decent as Air Force is however I thought Tcu was trying to rise above Mtn West type, Non-AQ calibre
teams like Air Force and Army

And to be completely honest, Army has no business trying
to compete in a BCS Conf in football. They came within a
whisker a few yrs ago of dropping down a few levels and
joining the Div2 Patriot League due to their horrid football
Performance as they lost consistently to horrible teams like
Kent St, Middle Tenn, Furman, and Austin Peay.

PR wise and national perception wise - adding Army to the
Big East would be a disaster and produce laughter from
everyone who follows college football.

The only thing Army brings with them of any value is the
Army-Navy game but anyone who is honest knows that
game is merely a game whereby the country' s fans allow
two non AQ teams that nobody gives a Pharrt about during
the season, to "pretend" they are bigtime for just one game
because they are in the military and serving the country. But every college football fan knows that game is merely
two non BCS teams dressing up like the big kids for one
weekend a year.

I really don't see the value of adding a couple pretenders to what is already the weakest BCS league in the country.

And make no mistake about it - Navy will not win 7 games like thry do now vs lousy trams if tthey were in the Big East. Navy would get their tails whipped in the Big East vs
West Va, Tcu, Pitt and SFla and even Louisville who is on the rise now.

Adding Navy and Army to the Big East when they would be
nothing more than the Big East bottom feeders, would be
the same as adding WAC bottom feeders IDAHO and NEW
MEXICO ST to the Mtn West Conf.
The one and only reason Navy "almost" beats some good
trams is because many teams like Ohio ST refuse to
devote huge chunks of practice time to learn to defense an
offense they will see once every decade when they play a
service academy. Navy in the Bog East would come back
down to earth and become a lower Div Big East team vs a
constant Big East diet of Tcu, West Va, Lous, and Pitt.

The only reason Air Force has been decent is because
they play very very weak teams in the Mtn West Conf- other than Tcu. Navy would not have that luxury as the
BigEast bottom teams are enormously better than the Mtn
West bottom teams.

The Big East needs to look elsewhere for expansion and
they need to be very cautious that they don't inadvertentlycreate the east coast version of the Mtn West Conf !!

The Big East desperately needs an upgrade not more
bottom feeders which is a lesson Tcu learned the hard way in the Mtn West Conf as they struggled for yrs to find a
way to escape from UNLV, WYOMING and NEW MEXICO.

Football wise - Army = New Mexico.

What a cruel joke for Tcu it would be, to struggle so many
yrs in so many leagues and then FINALLY make it into a
BCS League only to find itself in a league with a
horrid and laughable ARMY !!

 

[mtmedlin]

BTW... the Army/Navy game is a moot point. Their rights are tied up for about 5 to 6 years after they would join. Unless they can get out of it, then their game doesnt add anything to us.

 

[hindry]

throw in the armed forces bowl and a chance to play in jerry's world,and i think we got us deal.

 

[AggieAngst]

The Army Navy game is a joke and everyone in the nation knows it is.

College football fans allow the joke to go on year after year out of respect for current and past military members but in the overall serious college football picture the game is a farce. Army is a team people laugh at. An opposing teams worst nightmare and the worst possible thing that can happen to your team in all of college sports is to lose to Army!

Losing to Army is the Gold Standard of SUKKAGE in college football and basketball.

Taking Navy and Army into the BigEast due to what some of you perceive as a great college spectacle of the Army-Navy game would be like marrying a prostitute because she won best prostitute of the year, and you are sooo proud.

If you are Adding Navy and Army to the Big East you may as well add two more identical teams also and add New Mexico and Colo St too.

 

[hindry]

aa...i like your passion...not to mention your prose style....


i am resident crumdugon on this issue, but like UT, we need to act like we own this conference and set terms and conditions. otherwise we will end up with a conference which is a cross between c-usa and big sky.

the only football additions should be grade A prime div 1....that is any team willing to finance top level sports.

i don't care who...hell i would nominate boise, but someone willing to spend top money on a top program.

i haven't looked at financing of current BE teams, but it appears on the surface that WVU is the only flagship team with heart and guts and cash to finance a perennial top 20'er.


army/navy...love em, schedule em OOC..but they ain't in the gridiron biz.

some one early said something to the effect that there is a market for our product. i guess there may be a lots of tv's in that part of the world. but no one is going to watch cincy v louisville. they have other teams and sports in that region. you would be amazed at the saturation of pro sports up there. in a bar in louisville you can watch 9 of your local favorites, all at once

the BE will need to upgrade to a few perennial football performers, teams that will show up in top 5-15 regularily or i think the conference will bust.

 

[LonghornLassitude]

If I had to take a service academy it would be either Air Force or Navy. They aren't going to challenge for conference titles but they aren't bottom feeders either. Their major plus as I see it is adding military viewers which increases the chances of a better tv deal. Basically they bring the military all around the globe to the table and add a respectable program.

There just aren't many schools that aren't already in an auto qualifying conference that add much excitement quotient to the Big East except for Boise, BYU or Notre Dame. To add quality you would need to poach from other AQ conferences and right now I don't see that as a viable option although things could change in the future.

 

[Limey Frog]

So here we have a thread in which Teabag is having a three-way conversation with himself as Hindry, AggieAngst, and some new personality called LonghornLassitude.

Any parents on the board, please take note and have more than one child. Only children can turn out really messed up. It's best to be safe and make them socialize.

 

[AggieAngst]

As much as I Hate BYU with a passion they are a GREAT. And FANTASTIC addition to the BIg East (football only).

They put 65000 plus - fans in their stadium, and they sell it out every game, and they would add a BIGTIME potential national power to the Big East. No other team out there who are Big East candidates can do even half of what BYU does.

They are the only Bigtime team out there who has SEC-like football attendance.

Yeaaaa yeah I know everyone hates their guts because of the dirty sneaky trick they pulled, but for the good of the Big East you just have to hold your nose and buy a lot of barf bags and then invite them because if you don't the Big12 will and that would hurt worse.

Look at it this way - do you want a laughingstock Army or BYU?

Do you want a crappy Memphis or BYU?

BYU brings instant huge credibility as an addition to the Big East that laughable teams like Army and Memphis cannot do.

Put a $10 million dollar exit penalty on BYU and let em join. That would be a HELLACIOUS 10 team Big East and a Byu addition would be such a strong add that it would
also allow the Big East to take two lesser teams at that point, to make 12 and create the 12 team league they want.

If BYU came aboard personally I would favor Houston and UCF as the next 2. UCF has an enormous student population and is going to be a college football monster someday. Houston gives the Big East more exposure in Texas and as much as some of you Hate UH they do have great potential if they get their act together.

Army and Navy are not decent candidates for a Big East Conf that wants to eventually challenge the SEC!!

And trust me on this........UCF has the potential to play and recruit as well as ant SEC team.

 

[LonghornLassitude]

UCF has the potential to be just like any SEC team. I'm sure they can pay players just like the rest of the SEC.

Memphis would be lucky to find Graceland and it's located in Memphis.

Boise would have to be football only and would need to divest themselves of the blue turf. This would be a long shot but better than convincing DePaul to field a football team.

Give VT, BC and Miami a chance to jump ship again. The grass wasn't greener in the ACC.

 

[Army Frog Fan]

Angst,

Didn't read most of your posts. Rarely do. But one of Army and Navy's appeal to the Big East as a whole is thy the do not play D-1A in any sports but football. Do a little research. To add a team, the Big East needs 4-5 non-football members to vote for the move.

Those schools could care less about football only members I would imagine.