Pitt, Syracuse applications to ACC.

[Eric]

I'm just wondering if the Big East is salvageable at this point. UConn is "aggressively pursuing" membership into the ACC right now, which means the ACC would likely want either Rutgers or USF (most likely Rutgers) to join in as a package deal. If the SEC poaches West Virginia, the real losers are Cincinnati, USF, TCU, and Louisville, the guys who joined for the sake of playing bigger and better competition. I'm still thinking they would re-join with the best teams from C-USA and the Big 12 leftovers. All of those institutions have solid football products, but they don't have a lot of sway as far as eyeball-catching goes.

New conference (which resembles 2003ish C-USA on steroids):

Cincinnati
USF
TCU
Louisville
UCF
Houston
Tulsa
SMU
Iowa State
Baylor
Kansas State
Memphis

[WoVeU]

The Big East and the ACC have been like two guys eyeing ech other in the street outside tha bar. Swofford, old bar fighter that he is, hit first in the hope of knocking out the BE or at least weakening the competition.

And, who is surprised? The BE has been the walking dead for a number of years. The ACC had their targets plotted and when A&M and the SEC kicked the dominos over, the ACC left passive mode and began pinging actively. Their torpedoes were already in the water.

Right, we have been saying for too long that BE was playing with fire. They worried far too much for far too long about some of their basketball only schools. They should have grabbed Navy and ECU at least a year ago. Then use that encroachment into ACC country, a severing action really, then worked on Maryland and BC.

[WoVeU]

And let me say in all of this that I never bought the "we are happy with 12 members" from anyone. Because this year, to me, has been demonstrating the furtherance of an old topic...many non-BCS programs closing ground on the elite. This is a whole new Lock-Out of sorts, schedules will shrink and many dangerous teams will now not fit into a schedule! Few will get that bite at the apple. The classes shall be restored!

[Eric]

I've kept on saying that the BCS is a barrier to entry of sorts; it's not a level playing field. Case in point, look what happened to USF and Cincy. I know Louisville has downgraded, but they lost a big-time coach and big-time recruiter (had Petrino stayed, UofL would be as good as Arkansas is right now). USF all of a sudden can attract athletes like never before? They used to be as bad as UAB before they joined the Big East. Cincy was a 6-6 mid-major and not much better than a typical MAC team. Yet all of a sudden they join a BCS conference where they face top-tier competition and can compete for a BCS bowl and they get bigger, stronger, faster and start recruiting legit talent. Nobody can tell me these two schools would have gotten as good as they have if they stayed in C-USA with a straight face.

Heck, Uconn was in the same boat. People forget this football team was 1-AA at the start of the millennium and were independent for a couple of years before they became a football member of the Big East.

[Cane from the Bend]

It's also a subvert for the Big Ten.

If the Big East collapses, it will force ND to seek a new conference for their sports; as, a school has to be part of a conference in order to compete in NCAA tournaments. (hence the reason notre dame joined the Big East, to compete in the Basketball tourney)

Notre Dame will likely seek refuge in the Big 10; but, they will stipulate to the domer "that includes football too".

If the Big East were to merge with whatever hand me downs the Big XII has leftover, nd may yet be able to remain independent. So, when the Big Ten makes its move, expect them to go eastward, hoping to dissolve the Big East all together.

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[GoBoilers]

I am DIZZY! I dunno who ns on first much less what's on second and which teams are in which conference. I still say there needs to be a convention and make 4-16 team superconference or 5-14 team conferences. The geography as it is shaking out just makes no sense.

[wvjohn]

I think that Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are going to join the Pac-12(PAC-16) and the Big 12 and Big East will merge the two leagues.

Or, could the Big 12 somehow convince those four to stay and take on the remaining six Big East football programs after Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced their exit over the weekend?

I also think that UConn will be ACC bound and Rutgers will be B10 or ACC bound, dropping the total to 5 BE teams left including TCU.

B12/BE

Baylor
Cincy
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas St.
Louisville
Missouri
TCU
USF
WVU

Maybe Houston & Boise St.

But I don't know just my 2 cents.