So What Was the Point?

[Eric]

After the announcement of this new playoff arrangement, was Boise State and San Diego State moving to the Big East really worth it? With all of the travel headaches and the loss of rivalry games, it seems like the move to the Big East was a waste of time. Their new home conference will be the Big West, generally a step down in most sports from the Mountain West. And even though it looks like the Big East will field a better conference than the Mountain West in football, the difference is pretty marginal. And now since the Big East has been left out in the cold when it came to the new playoff/bowl arrangement, the Big East has been lumped in with the MWC, Sun Belt, MAC, and C-USA into what they are calling "The Group of Five." The highest ranked team from here gets an automatic bid into the "access bowls."

Seems to me that Boise State and San Diego State made the right move at the time when the BCS system was in place and when the Big East still had a BCS bid. Taking the auto berth out of the Big East, it seems like Boise State and San Diego State could have been just as competitive for that "Group of Five" bid in the MWC without the traveling issues. Maybe the revenue sharing is larger and better, so I wouldn't know. But from a geography and rivalry standpoint, the MWC would make a better host conference.

[donovan]

Amen.....

[Spence]

I agree. It is hard to have a rivalry game with a team if it's fans have to take 2 planes and a bus to get to the game. As much as cfb has become a national sport it is the regional rivalries that make it interesting. As much as I like the bowl match ups and good early OOC games, it is the games with the regional rivals in the conference that bring out the most passion in the players and in the fans. That is something the ESPN's of the world just don't understand.

[Eric]

The one underlying factor for the new teams are the TV markets. Boise isn't the most lucrative market (no offense Donovan ), but it is a decent sized city and the team brings a national audience. San Diego is San Diego. UCF is in Orlando. Houston brings the Houston market. SMU has the Dallas market. Memphis is obviously in Memphis. And Navy brings a nationwide audience. The location more than anything else is why teams like Southern Miss, Marshall, and ECU never got the call. Is that going to be enough to keep a conference together? I don't know. The teams are just so disparate and have no relation to each other and, with the BCS out of the window, have no reason to relate to each other other than money, and I don't know how good the payouts are going to be. A big market can bring in a big market, but only if there is actual interest in the teams themselves. San Diego isn't going to start magically caring about San Diego State if they are a middling team. Memphis isn't a very popular team because they've been terrible for the last five or six years.

[Eric]

And even in basketball, you're going to have these weird games counting in the standings like Houston vs. Providence. Like those two schools have anything in common? Yeah, let's fly from Houston, Texas to Rhode Island to play a 2 hour basketball game.

[donovan]

Boise is not a unique market but it does have some quirks. First money is plentiful in Idaho. Has all kinds of contributors that spend big bucks to improve the school in many ways. Boise State is the center of most cultural activities in Boise...I need to tell you Boise is actually a very nice town and a great place to raise a family. It is a beautiful state...and I have never lived there just been there more than twice by about 200 times. Have two sons that live there with their families. Anyway....so they get a lot of money and need very little. They want to play with the big boys, and they are not a big boy school. This has to do with ego. Absolutely the money helps, but that gets equalized throughout the league.... they would have been better off in everyway to stay put. They kinds of started the Thursday night gigs, got national attention, lot of exposure and revenue..but now everyone in on that bandwagon. You are right, Eric, money drives all of this...not sure that is always good.

[Spence]

Money may be driving this but long term I don't see it as paying off. If Boise State joined the Pac 12 or the B-12, it could work. If they stayed in a version of the MWC, it could work. I just don't see an opportunity to deverlop rivalries which breed big games. I don't see Virginia Tech making headlines by getting away from Pitt and West Virginia. Same with those schools. I think long term they have all hurt themselves. Nebraska has to remake themselves in the B-10 because they lost their rivalry with Oklahoma when they were in the B-12. Nebraska has lost national prominence every year since. Big games are what make cfb interesting. Big games to most fans are regional rivalries. As big a game as Ohio State and Alabama would be if Ohio State played and beat Alabama in week 2, it would not be as big a game to Buckeye fans as Michigan. The B-10 has separated Ohio State and Michigan. Only bad things can happen from doing that IMO.

[Cane from the Bend]

Nebraska had a longer standing rivalry with Colorado; and yet, that is now gone as well.

I think the Big Ten heads of state only proved their massive egos, lack of understanding, and inconsiderate nature towards their fan bases when the announcement of Nebraska joining the conference, brought up concerns from the people over their losing the traditional rivalry games with, Missouri - Colorado - Oklahoma.

When addressing these concerns; the conference big wigs said, "We understand the concerns of the loss of yearly rivals, but the fans should not worry. Nebraska will be assigned a new rival inconference , blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . . "

They decided to Assign a rivalry for Nebraska; rather than allowing one to develop.

These imbeciles just do what they will, and expect the people to accept it.

Sounds an awful lot like the Government.

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[Spence]

Nebraska had a longer standing rivalry with Colorado; and yet, that is now gone as well.

I think the Big Ten heads of state only proved their massive egos, lack of understanding, and inconsiderate nature towards their fan bases when the announcement of Nebraska joining the conference, brought up concerns from the people over their losing the traditional rivalry games with, Missouri - Colorado - Oklahoma.

When addressing these concerns; the conference big wigs said, "We understand the concerns of the loss of yearly rivals, but the fans should not worry. Nebraska will be assigned a new rival inconference , blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . . "

They decided to Assign a rivalry for Nebraska; rather than allowing one to develop.

These imbeciles just do what they will, and expect the people to accept it.

Sounds an awful lot like the Government.

.

.

.

It was the same with Penn State and Ohio State. Penn State fans have resented for years the fact that Buckeye fans don't look at that game the same way they do as Ohio State - Michigan. Ohio State fans don't look at any other game like they do Ohio State - Michigan. Not even the national champioinship or any other bowl game. Penn State is a rivalry, but not in the same vein.

[Derek]

I agree. It is hard to have a rivalry game with a team if it's fans have to take 2 planes and a bus to get to the game. As much as cfb has become a national sport it is the regional rivalries that make it interesting. As much as I like the bowl match ups and good early OOC games, it is the games with the regional rivals in the conference that bring out the most passion in the players and in the fans. That is something the ESPN's of the world just don't understand.

Ditto!

[armchairqb]

Nebraska made the right move, ultimately. The Big 12 relegated them to B-grade status moneywise. If I were Nebraska's AD, there would've been zero guesswork as far as moving to the Big Ten. It's a better geographical fit in the long run. Not that I'm a fan of the Big Ten hierarchy, they are as disconnected with reality and "Casper Milquetoast" as it gets.

The Big East means more $$ than the Mountain West. For this experiment to ultimately work from a travel standpoint, the Big East would have to add Air Force and one more school to their Western Division. Also the Big East needs a name change to the Big 14. If the Big Ten can have 12 teams and the Big 12 can have 10 teams, why not?

The MW's idea of "merging" with C-USA that was previously proposed likely won't come to fruition. If I were the MW, I would propose a champion vs. champion game with the Sun Belt. Neither league will make it to twelve teams/two divisions. Both leagues are provincially geographical. MW commish Craig Thompson and Sun Belt commish Karl Benson(former WAC commish) would have to bury the hatchet in order for that to happen.

[Spence]

I agree that Nebraska made the right move at the time. It was only after the B-12 basically shut them out, though. Nebraska is a fit in the B-10 and the conferences should be more balanced, but you never know what time will bring. I personally would like to shoot Jim Delany for putting Ohio State and Michigan in different divisions. He basically made it almost impossible for either team to make in to the NCG when both teams are good.