Tulane & East Carolina to the Big East in '14, what's next?

[armchairqb]

Tulane will join the BE in all sports, ECU will be a football only member.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21160906/big-east-adding-tulane-but-working-toward-bigger-fish----byu

The gulf between the "haves" and "have nots" actually widened with this move. At this point, it's merely survival for the BE in football. The BE will remain viable in college basketball, but the previously announced defections have left a mark.

ECU's loyal fandom deserves this modest move up because their 50,000 seat stadium is sold out on most occasions for home games. Their TV market: Greenville NC, therefore why they haven't been invited to the BE until now.

Tulane: They were going to turf their football program in 2003 and it would've been the right move as far as I'm concerned. Then at the 23rd hour, alumni stepped in. They don't draw particularly well at all; LSU 70 miles away is still king. However, as far as specifically New Orleans is concerned, they are the only college football program. They are proposing to build an on-campus stadium for 2014 that seats 30,000. The stadium proposal issue would be worthy of a separate forum thread!

[armchairqb]

I have to believe that the poaching potential has just been accelerated. If you're the Big XII, poach the top half of the ACC, or the Pac-12 will poach the top half of your conference.

The BE will likely be struck again, therefore they will have to strike, possibly in advance.

If you're C-USA, invite Appalachian State because now you can't do without them. One more school has to be invited for an even twelve in football. Suggestions: Georgia Southern, La-Lafayette, Jacksonville State, Arkansas State.
http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/Sports/story/UPDATE-ASU-still-pursuing-FBS-bid-id-008231

[Eric]

A lot of interesting/weird possibilities still exist. We're not even close to done with the ripple effects in my opinion. Everybody assumes everybody else is going to make a move even if it's not their intention, only to defend themselves against what people might do. Because it's such a pervasive belief, everybody is going to make a move. It's a cyclical, self-fulfilling prophecy. It reminds me of World War I

My best guess for C-USA would be Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky. I would like to see Appalachian State or Georgia Southern move up. I have a weird feeling that Central Arkansas might have some plans as well, or Coastal Carolina. Delaware would be an interesting school to look at. I think App State would find entry into the Sun Belt easier but I think it's C-USA or bust; I feel like they're not interested in the Sun Belt. Arkansas State would be a C-USA candidate as well. C-USA is going to have stability problems of their own stretching from Norfolk, VA to Miami, FL to El Paso, TX. Charlotte is starting an FBS program and will begin play in C-USA here shortly and Old Dominion begins next year. They're adding North Texas, UTSA, Florida International, and Louisiana Tech so...It's an interesting conference to say the least.

I think for the Big East, what is going to happen is the private Northeast schools are going to split off and the "Big East" will be C-USA+. Providence, Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Marquette, DePaul, and Seton Hall aren't going to want to fly down to New Orleans or Dallas to play basketball games. It's just a weird mix and I think they're going to go their separate way. This will probably happen when Louisville, Cincinnati, and UConn leave which will be the final straw for those schools. The conference won't be much of a basketball powerhouse when those three, Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse are all gone, and I suspect that the Big 12 might be eyeing Memphis. The C-USA+ teams aren't going to offer them anything.

[Eric]

I guess it turns out that C-USA is going to be our first 16-team conference (besides the old WAC). They've just added Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic to increase their membership to 14 teams. Now they're saying the rumor is that New Mexico State and Western Kentucky are next. I assume this won't last long (Big East probably getting prepared to talk to Marshall, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech, or Tulsa), but, that's where they stand currently if the rumors about NMSU and WKU are true:

C-USA
--------

East
------
1. Western Kentucky
2. Old Dominion
3. Marshall
4. Florida Atlantic
5. Florida International
6. Charlotte
7. UAB
8. Middle Tennessee

West
-------
1. UTSA
2. Southern Miss
3. New Mexico State
4. Rice
5. UTEP
6. North Texas
7. Tulsa
8. Louisiana Tech


Which leaves the Sun Belt like this:


Sun Belt
----------
1. South Alabama
2. Troy
3. Arkansas State
4. UL Monroe
5. UL Lafayette
6. Georgia State
7. Texas State

The Sun Belt will start looking for FCS callups as replacement members. I would assume the previously mentioned Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Coastal Carolina, and Central Arkansas would be in the running. I don't know if Sam Houston State is interested in moving up. Idaho might move back to the Sun Belt out of desperation for football-only.

I guess the weird part about Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and Florida Atlantic leaving is that the Sun Belt is probably a better situation at this point in time. C-USA isn't necessarily a more reputable conference anymore. Most of the members that brought the conference its prestige (Houston, UCF, SMU, and ECU) are gone now. The leftovers besides Southern Miss (ignoring 2012 for now) and Tulsa fit right in competitively with the rest of the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt just had a great year for football fielding a handful of competitive teams. C-USA is adding an FCS team moving up, a brand new FBS team, a brand new team finishing up the process of transitioning, and pitiful New Mexico State. Louisiana Tech is the one short-term good addition. The only teams that stick out to an average Joe Schmo college football fan would be Marshall, Southern Miss, and Tulsa. Maybe the revenue stream is better, but from a competition standpoint, the Sun Belt is a closer-knit unit and competitively it's a wash.

[donovan]

Boise's President says they are going to the Big East. This this article pretty spot on as to motivation, etc and has some universal applicability.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/eye-on-college-football/21177830/boise-state-committed-to-the-big-east-says-president