BC is moronic for not wanting UConn in the ACC. Fandom is fundamentally about love and hate. You love your school and hate someone else. Ideally someone nice and close to home that you can spend the entire year hating. UConn-BC is pretty good option for this.

Neither program is really strong. They're about at an equal level and could likely get a very competitive rivalry going. Build from there.

ha-ha-guy: Ideally someone nice and close to home that you can spend the entire year hating.

This is why I thought the ACC would be wise to get WVU as a rival for Maryland once UVA and Va Tech became instate ACC rivals. I think the ACC would be smart to try and get Penn State and ND football wise but UConn would add yet another star to an already awesome cast of basketball teams

UConn makes no sense for the ACC. I don't know why they're not more interested in adding Temple, which is in a major market, has an excellent on-campus basketball arena and a developing football program that plays in an NFL stadium. They could host the conference title game at the Linc, and ACC basketball tournaments at whatever they call the basketball arena in Philly.

UConn has cows.

Yanks_RSJ: UConn makes no sense for the ACC. I don't know why they're not more interested in adding Temple, which is in a major market, has an excellent on-campus basketball arena and a developing football program that plays in an NFL stadium. They could host the conference title game at the Linc, and ACC basketball tournaments at whatever they call the basketball arena in Philly.

UConn has cows.

The Big East kicked Temple out a few years back actually. Be interesting to see how Temple handles this. They get along pretty well with the rest of the MAC and do well there. Also it looks like the Big East is on pace to lose its BCS AQ slot. Hell at the rate we're going the MAC is going to have more football credibility anyway. The Big East has WVU, USF and a bunch of suck.

ha-ha-guy: Be interesting to see how Temple handles this. They get along pretty well with the rest of the MAC and do well there. Also it looks like the Big East is on pace to lose its BCS AQ slot. Hell at the rate we're going the MAC is going to have more football credibility anyway.

If the ACC comes calling, Temple would take all of 2 seconds to leave the MAC. They had 21,000 people at the Linc for the Toledo game earlier this year. They had 57,000 for Penn State. Now granted most of those were there for PSU, but they'd still do a hell of a lot better hosting big name ACC opponents with traveling fans.

Plus the BCS paycheck.

Yanks_RSJ: ha-ha-guy: Be interesting to see how Temple handles this. They get along pretty well with the rest of the MAC and do well there. Also it looks like the Big East is on pace to lose its BCS AQ slot. Hell at the rate we're going the MAC is going to have more football credibility anyway.

If the ACC comes calling, Temple would take all of 2 seconds to leave the MAC A-10.. They had 21,000 people at the Linc for the Toledo game earlier this year. They had 57,000 for Penn State. Now granted most of those were there for PSU, but they'd still do a hell of a lot better hosting big name ACC opponents with traveling fans.

Plus the BCS paycheck.


FTFY.

/seriously? The MAC?

FrancoFile: seriously? The MAC?

There is no A-10 football. Temple plays in the MAC.

Yanks_RSJ: FrancoFile: seriously? The MAC?

There is no A-10 football. Temple plays in the MAC.

Conceded. They're in the A=10 for everything else.

Yanks_RSJ: UConn makes no sense for the ACC. I don't know why they're not more interested in adding Temple, which is in a major market, has an excellent on-campus basketball arena and a developing football program that plays in an NFL stadium. They could host the conference title game at the Linc, and ACC basketball tournaments at whatever they call the basketball arena in Philly.

UConn has cows.

UConn plays all the important basketball games and ALL football games in Hartford, not Storrs. Also, Temple sucked enough to get booted from the Big East. Who would want that sloppy seconds? Market size doesn't matter if nobody cares about the team/school.

Yanks_RSJ: f the ACC comes calling, Temple would take all of 2 seconds to leave the MAC. They had 21,000 people at the Linc for the Toledo game earlier this year. They had 57,000 for Penn State. Now granted most of those were there for PSU, but they'd still do a hell of a lot better hosting big name ACC opponents with traveling fans.

For reference, here's the crowd the last time WVU played at Temple in 2002. Announced attendance was 15,042. Right.

ha-ha-guy: Neither program is really strong.

Your 2010-11 National Champions disagree. The ACC is a basketball conference. Sure, the money comes from football, but the national prominence and competition is on the court.

eskimohbro: I think the ACC would be smart to try and get Penn State and ND football wise but UConn would add yet another star to an already awesome cast of basketball teams

I still have lofty goals of the ACC wooing ND into joining. While geographically they aren't the best fit, there are a ton of ND fans - well, everywhere, but especially - on the east coast. ND already plays a good amount of ACC schools every year. Hell, their 2015 schedule, the second half looks to be all ACC schools - UCONN, Wake Forest, Pitt, Syracuse, Boston College.

Droog8912: UConn plays all the important basketball games and ALL football games in Hartford, not Storrs. Also, Temple sucked enough to get booted from the Big East. Who would want that sloppy seconds? Market size doesn't matter if nobody cares about the team/school.

Temple's football program is in a much different place now than it was in 2004 when it was booted from the Big East, which by the way, is now trying to get them back.

And this really isn't about basketball. What does UConn football bring to the ACC? Rentschler Field is inadequate for the purposes of a conference title game. Frankly, Hartford does nothing from a basketball perspective either. Can't host the ACC tourney at the Civic Center.

Fewer people care about UConn than you think. Same goes for West Virginia, which is why they're in limbo now too.

MogKupo: For reference, here's the crowd the last time WVU played at Temple in 2002. Announced attendance was 15,042. Right.

2002 is not 2011.

Yanks_RSJ: 2002 is not 2011.

Point being, nobody cares about Temple football. Sure their program has made strides competitively, but crowds of 20k fans for any home game that doesn't involve Penn State or Villanova is pretty awful. And as that picture shows, just because they announce a crowd of 20k, that doesn't mean they actually had that many in attendance, either.

I think this is petty squabbling and Defillippo is a douche. Thats being said BC brings way more to the table than UCONN for the ACC. UConn's football program has done well in the last few years but it does not have anything close to the history that BC has, not that they are anything special either.

I would think the ACC would be lookin at, in order: ND,Penn State (doubt it though), WVU(most likely after ND), then UCONN. Uconn has a strong fanbase in the state, but noone else really gives a crap about them.

Temple would be pretty surprising.

MogKupo: Point being, nobody cares about Temple football. Sure their program has made strides competitively, but crowds of 20k fans for any home game that doesn't involve Penn State or Villanova is pretty awful. And as that picture shows, just because they announce a crowd of 20k, that doesn't mean they actually had that many in attendance, either.

Well that may be true, it also seems like nobody outside of Morgantown cares about WVU football.


Row1Boston: I would think the ACC would be lookin at, in order: ND,Penn State (doubt it though), WVU(most likely after ND)

People need to stop putting WVU on that list. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table. There's a reason both the ACC and SEC have turned them down. They weaken either conference academically, and bring nothing financially. The relative strength of their program is largely irrelevant to the discussion, and like you said about UConn, nobody outside of the state cares about WVU either.

Yanks_RSJ: MogKupo: Point being, nobody cares about Temple football. Sure their program has made strides competitively, but crowds of 20k fans for any home game that doesn't involve Penn State or Villanova is pretty awful. And as that picture shows, just because they announce a crowd of 20k, that doesn't mean they actually had that many in attendance, either.

Well that may be true, it also seems like nobody outside of Morgantown cares about WVU football.


Row1Boston: I would think the ACC would be lookin at, in order: ND,Penn State (doubt it though), WVU(most likely after ND)

People need to stop putting WVU on that list. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table. There's a reason both the ACC and SEC have turned them down. They weaken either conference academically, and bring nothing financially. The relative strength of their program is largely irrelevant to the discussion, and like you said about UConn, nobody outside of the state cares about WVU either.

To say that WVU brings absolutely nothing to the table is just silly. As far as strength of the football program, attendance, ticket sale revenue / donor contribution, and the general amount of passion surrounding the program go, WVU would hands down be better than most of the schools in the ACC. If those things were totally irrelevant, then the ACC would have added Temple instead of Pitt/Syracuse/Virginia Tech/Miami, and the Big10 would have added Missouri instead of Nebraska. However, television markets are also one of the most important things under consideration, and that is something WVU lacks in through no fault of its own.

Yanks_RSJ: People need to stop putting WVU on that list. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table. There's a reason both the ACC and SEC have turned them down. They weaken either conference academically, and bring nothing financially. The relative strength of their program is largely irrelevant to the discussion, and like you said about UConn, nobody outside of the state cares about WVU either.

Even the SEC thought that WVU wasn't academically rigorous enough for them? Damn, that's cold.

Yanks_RSJ: People need to stop putting WVU on that list. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table. There's a reason both the ACC and SEC have turned them down. They weaken either conference academically, and bring nothing financially. The relative strength of their program is largely irrelevant to the discussion, and like you said about UConn, nobody outside of the state cares about WVU either.

These people care about WVU:





Who wouldn't want them in their conference -

oh and: This came up for West Virginia Tractor Pull: NSFW Link (new window)

Yanks_RSJ
People need to stop putting WVU on that list. They bring absolutely NOTHING to the table. There's a reason both the ACC and SEC have turned them down. They weaken either conference academically, and bring nothing financially. The relative strength of their program is largely irrelevant to the discussion, and like you said about UConn, nobody outside of the state cares about WVU either.


I cannot really disagree that they have no fanbase outside of West Virginia, and that they would be in the lower part of ACC schools academically but their revenue for football is ranked in the top 25 of ALL sports programs in ALL schools, so they in fact bring a large amount of potential revenue to the table.Link (new window). Their basketball ranks in at #57

Besides that their location and potential rivalries are as good, and most likely WAY better than UCONN would bring.

UConn has won or shared two Big East titles in the past five years, the same number as West Virginia. (I'll concede that WVU is better than UConn in terms of tradition and in terms of $$$.)

Academics -- they rank as high in US News as Pitt.

Men's and women's basketball, they are far and away the best.

stpickrell: UConn has won or shared two Big East titles in the past five years, the same number as West Virginia. (I'll concede that WVU is better than UConn in terms of tradition and in terms of $$$.)

That's a stretch, don't you think? One of those years was a shared title with WVU where WVU defeated Connecticut 66-21. Since UConn joined the Big East, WVU holds a 7-1 record heads up, has finished ranked in the AP poll 5 times (twice in the top 10), and has two BCS bowl victories. UConn has never finished ranked in a poll since moving up to DI-A.

I'm not trying to knock UConn- obviously the school has plenty going for it and has to look out for itself in the conference expansion-palooza. As far as competitiveness on the football field is concerned, though, WVU has been much better.

MogKupo: To say that WVU brings absolutely nothing to the table is just silly. As far as strength of the football program, attendance, ticket sale revenue / donor contribution, and the general amount of passion surrounding the program go, WVU would hands down be better than most of the schools in the ACC. If those things were totally irrelevant, then the ACC would have added Temple instead of Pitt/Syracuse/Virginia Tech/Miami

Virginia Tech and Miami were added to move closer to 12 teams. If you remember, the ACC was a 9-team league primarily focused on basketball, so it made sense to add two strong football programs to generate a greater focus on football. THAT'S why those two teams were added, in addition to BC the next year to get to 12 teams. They were excellent programs with logical geographic rivalries at time when the league was basketball-centric. The ACC absolutely NEEDED legitimate football PLAYING schools at that point, so adding Temple would have made no sense, and why your comparison makes none as well.

The "passion" of the WVU program IS irrelevant, as is their ticket revenue as the Big-10 is the only conference that shares gate receipts. I can't say for certain, but I highly doubt donor contributions to individual athletic departments are shared either. Times have certainly changed, and the ACC certainly doesn't NEED WVU from a football perspective like they needed VT and MIA seven years ago to legitimize the conference. Once they went to 12 teams, their TV revenue increased by $35 million per season. Their most recent deal more than doubled, at $155 million per year.

There are certainly reasons to add teams to the league now, most specifically to reach the 16-team plateau that seems to be the target for the rest of the country. Outside of that, the goal from a financial perspective is to capture bigger TV market possibilities OR programs with room to grow. WVU isn't one of them. Neither is UConn, really.

The ACC didn't even want Virginia Tech in 2003. They wanted Syracuse but were forced to add VT due to politics. UNC and Duke were against expansion, and UVA was forced by the governor/legislature to vote down any expansion that did not include VT. That's the only reason they were included. Boston College? They were in because of their TV market- certainly not because of rivalries or any grand achievements on the football field.

I never even suggested that gate receipts, donor contributions, or fan had anything to do with conference distributions. Having good football teams- the ones that have the resources to be competitive, are often ranked in the top 25, have fans who will travel to bowl games, and attract interest from programs like College Gameday, also adds value to a conference. If these attributes were irrelevant, then the Big10 unquestionably would have chosen Missouri as its 12th member instead of Nebraska. Also, if you don't like the Temple comparison in regard to ACC, then replace them with Rutgers in what I said above.

Are those attributes the only thing that are important? Obviously not, but they do count for something. That is my point.

Yanks_RSJ: UConn makes no sense for the ACC. I don't know why they're not more interested in adding Temple, which is in a major market, has an excellent on-campus basketball arena and a developing football program that plays in an NFL stadium. They could host the conference title game at the Linc, and ACC basketball tournaments at whatever they call the basketball arena in Philly.

UConn has cows.

Temple - the entire university, not just the football team - should just be purged from the Earth. The campus is an ungodly hell-hole and about as safe Darfur. Academically it's a middle of the road school - not terrible but not great either. Its basketball program historically has relied on thuggery and flames out in the tourney in the first or second round. And its football team got kicked out of the Big East - to my knowledge this is the first and only time a major conference booted out a member for sucking so bad. They've been to a whopping five bowl games in their history; three if you don't count bowl games played in Japan and only one if you only count January bowl games. Their entire sports success revolves around a trip to the Sugar Bowl in the 1930's and two trips to the Final Four in the 1950's where they finished third both times. Quite frankly, if Bill Cosby wasn't constantly pimping Temple most people probably wouldn't know it existed.

1. The ACC is a basketball conference first.
Their main competitor right now is the Big East. Bringing in UCONN and 1 other Big East team cripples their main competition to the pint of near extinction. When Louisville and probably West Virginia leave for the Big XII you can kiss Big East football goodbye and relegate it's basketball to mid-major status.

2. The ACC cares about academics.
This kicks WV right off the list of expansion candidates. When the SEC rejects you based even partially on academics that says something. The lack of market expansion just makes it worse for WV.

3. UCONN brings an up and coming football program along with one of if not the best basketball programs (men's and women's) in the country.

Now let's get to everyone who brings up Notre Dame and Penn State joining the ACC:

Notre Dame's independence is more about identity than money. Everyone team in the B1G makes more TV money than Notre Dame so money is actually not a factor. Even so, ND loves what it calls it's "national schedule". Effectively they schedule Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Navy, Stanford and USC every season. They will not give this up for anything. The only conference that could add ND and still let them play this slate is the B1G. IF ND ever joins a conference it will be the B1G. Even so that will only happen when ND no longer has a good enough home for their non-revenue sports. Could happen but probably not.

Penn State... ARE YOU INSANE?!?! No school, NO SCHOOL is leaving the B1G. The stability, academics, grant/endowment generation abilities and TV deal for sports that the B1G has makes this an absurd thought even for random speculation. What exactly can the ACC offer that PSU already has and more?

Lou Brown: The ACC didn't even want Virginia Tech in 2003. They wanted Syracuse but were forced to add VT due to politics. UNC and Duke were against expansion, and UVA was forced by the governor/legislature to vote down any expansion that did not include VT. That's the only reason they were included. Boston College? They were in because of their TV market- certainly not because of rivalries or any grand achievements on the football field.

I never even suggested that gate receipts, donor contributions, or fan had anything to do with conference distributions. Having good football teams- the ones that have the resources to be competitive, are often ranked in the top 25, have fans who will travel to bowl games, and attract interest from programs like College Gameday, also adds value to a conference. If these attributes were irrelevant, then the Big10 unquestionably would have chosen Missouri as its 12th member instead of Nebraska. Also, if you don't like the Temple comparison in regard to ACC, then replace them with Rutgers in what I said above.

Are those attributes the only thing that are important? Obviously not, but they do count for something. That is my point.

And mine is that if West Virginia was at all as desirable as you claim they'd have conferences lined up trying to grab them. They don't because outside the moonshine drinking couch burners in Morgantown nobody gives a shiat about them.

The ACC has enough schools that flout the rules, UNC, Miami, FSU. We don't need to add UConn to that list. We need to fix our problems, not exacerbate them.

The ACC takes UCONN and Rutgers and goes to a 4 pod alignment:

NORTH
Boston College
Syracuse
Connecticut
Rutgers

CENTRAL
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh

ATLANTIC
Wake Forest
Duke
North Carolina
North Carolina State

SOUTH
Florida State
Miami
Georgia Tech
Clemson

Louisville and West Virginia head to the Big XII along with TCU and BYU (after Missouri leaves for the SEC).

NORTH
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Brigham Young
Louisville
West Virginia

SOUTH
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas Tech
Baylor
Texas Christian

The Big East ceases to be a viable BCS conference unless it can partner with a bunch of western schools to form a 2 division National Athletic Conference. It's that or death as a football conference.

BIG EAST
Cincinnati
South Florida
Central Florida
Temple
East Carolina
Navy

BIG WEST
Air Force
Boise State
Houston
Southern Methodist
Fresno State
San Diego State

Yanks_RSJ: And mine is that if West Virginia was at all as desirable as you claim they'd have conferences lined up trying to grab them. They don't because outside the moonshine drinking couch burners in Morgantown nobody gives a shiat about them.

You simply fail at reading comprehension. You originally posted that WVU brings "absolutely NOTHING" to the table. The response was that WVU does, in fact, bring something to the table- just not a major media market which is obviously a major piece of the puzzle. Nobody said that every conference in the world was calling the university and begging the school to join up. Naturally, you then continued to derail the discussion into a bunch of nonsense about moonshine and burning couches. Oh, I just noticed you're a Maryland grad. That's especially precious.

the1hatman: BIG EAST
Cincinnati
South Florida
Central Florida
Temple
East Carolina
Navy

BIG WEST
Air Force
Boise State
Houston
Southern Methodist
Fresno State
San Diego State

That's actually not a bad football conference. It's no SEC or anything but it's also not any worse than what the Big East is right now. Assuming that the BCS will still want to have 6 AQ conferences, I could definitely see it being let into the exclusive club.

the_vegetarian_cannibal:
That's actually not a bad football conference. It's no SEC or anything but it's also not any worse than what the Big East is right now. Assuming that the BCS will still want to have 6 AQ conferences, I could definitely see it being let into the exclusive club.

I agree it isn't great but it would definitely keep it's AQ status. Most of the Big East's desire to add Navy, AF and Army is that no entity, such as the BCS, is going to limit or deny access of anything to the service academies. Also, this promotes 10 new schools to AQ status so much of the debate about the unfairness of the BCS to smaller schools goes away. This is especially handy in a time when even Congress has asked questions about the business practices of the BCS. Sure it is little more then buying off some of the main detractors of the system but I do think it is a win-win-win for the BCS, the new AQ schools mentioned and even the fans.

I don't think Army will join up as they still have bad memories of playing in Conference USA. The only way Navy joins this is if the scope of the new alignment gives it a national reach which this plan does. Air Force likes the idea already. You could even make this a 14 team league by adding Memphis to the east and Hawaii or Nevada to the west. Yea Memphis sucks in football but adding another basketball power to help replace Syracuse, UCONN and Pitt isn't such a bad idea for the Big East. Nevada has been a decent program for a few years now and Hawaii gives the conference something to offer recruits with a trip there every now and then.

There is definitely some exciting football teams involved in that layout though. Hell I'd watch!

the1hatman: I agree it isn't great but it would definitely keep it's AQ status. Most of the Big East's desire to add Navy, AF and Army is that no entity, such as the BCS, is going to limit or deny access of anything to the service academies

Actually, it seems that the Big East is boned even if it adds all those schools. According to this (new window), there are three requirements a conference has to meet to become an automatic BCS qualifying conference. Granted, there aren't requirements for losing AQ status, but it looks really bad if a conference can't maintain the status. No matter which schools the Big East add, it won't meet the three requirements in time. As for the service academies, they already don't qualify for automatic BCS status, so why would they somehow save the Big East from losing its AQ status (unless congress got involved)?

And let's not forget other factors. The Big East has been notoriously bad with ticket sales for its BCS games and has never had two school in the BCS within a year, so some might see getting rid of the conference as a good thing. There's also the rumor that ESPN is encouraging the demise of the Big East because the conference didn't go for ESPN's broadcasting contract earlier this year.

In any case, if the Big East survives and maintains its AQ status, I'll be very impressed.

Lou Brown: Yanks_RSJ: And mine is that if West Virginia was at all as desirable as you claim they'd have conferences lined up trying to grab them. They don't because outside the moonshine drinking couch burners in Morgantown nobody gives a shiat about them.

You simply fail at reading comprehension. You originally posted that WVU brings "absolutely NOTHING" to the table. The response was that WVU does, in fact, bring something to the table- just not a major media market which is obviously a major piece of the puzzle. Nobody said that every conference in the world was calling the university and begging the school to join up. Naturally, you then continued to derail the discussion into a bunch of nonsense about moonshine and burning couches. Oh, I just noticed you're a Maryland grad. That's especially precious.

Do you think I'm unaware of Maryland's riot history?

I stick by my assessment that the West Virginia program offers nothing of value to any conference. The devotion of their fans is not relevant, regardless of how badly you'd like it to be.

Kentucky sucks even more than Duke, and even I don't like Duke.

Yanks_RSJ: I stick by my assessment that the West Virginia program offers nothing of value to any conference. The devotion of their fans is not relevant, regardless of how badly you'd like it to be.

Please explain why the Big10 chose Nebraska over Missouri then.

Arxane:
Actually, it seems that the Big East is boned even if it adds all those schools. According to this (new window), there are three requirements a conference has to meet to become an automatic BCS qualifying conference. Granted, there aren't requirements for losing AQ status...

That last part is the important bit. The criteria stated there is what is needed to GAIN AQ status not to keep what the Big East already has. Should the BE survive as a football conference do you really think the rest of the BCS would like to risk the court battle that would insue if they tried to yank the BE's AQ? Considering that the BE is in such trouble due to the other BCS conferences raiding their roster I think congress, who is already considering hearings on the BCS, would have a bit more reason to dig deeper. If there are service academies involved this is multiplied by a factor of 10. I don't believe they would chance it.

As for the service academies, they already don't qualify for automatic BCS status, so why would they somehow save the Big East from losing its AQ status (unless congress got involved)?

You answered your own question at the end there just like I stated above. While it is no guarantee for keeping the government at bay it sure doesn't hurt. Plus Navy and Air Force tend to be pretty decent football schools most seasons.

And let's not forget other factors. The Big East has been notoriously bad with ticket sales for its BCS games and has never had two school in the BCS within a year, so some might see getting rid of the conference as a good thing.

The ACC is no better and no one is trying to pull their AQ. Besides Boise State has helped sell out 2 BCS bowls so adding them helps with this in itself. While you say "some" might like the idea of killing the conference I have to ask who? It just leaves one more BCS bowl spot open for a non AQ to have a claim at not to mention the midling bowls who would much rather have access to more BCS schools than less of them. Promotion of schools is a better option then retraction for most of the parties involved.

There's also the rumor that ESPN is encouraging the demise of the Big East because the conference didn't go for ESPN's broadcasting contract earlier this year.

Which is just that, a rumor. Ask yourself why ESPN, who broadcasts most of the mid to lower tier bowls, would want a bunch more non AQ vs. non AQ matchups in them? Again another example where promotion of schools is a better option then retraction for most of the parties involved. I also do not think ESPN has that much power in all of this anyway. The broadcast networks and other cable channels are just as much a player as they are in this.

In any case, if the Big East survives and maintains its AQ status, I'll be very impressed.

I completely agree. As I said it would take a drastic step like the National Conference alignment I listed above for them to survive. I also agree that even if they go this route, despite all of the reasons I have stated here as to why it could work, it still may not be enough. It could very well be that the BCS is not afraid of congressional inqueries, does not think the BE can put up much of a court battle and that ESPN has some odd reason or scheme that benifits from less BCS level matchups to be available. It will be interesting to see how this plays out by 2013.

Lou Brown: Yanks_RSJ: I stick by my assessment that the West Virginia program offers nothing of value to any conference. The devotion of their fans is not relevant, regardless of how badly you'd like it to be.

Please explain why the Big10 chose Nebraska over Missouri then.

Because they travel well. Host Nebraska and this flood of oddly polite people in red appear.

Lou Brown: Yanks_RSJ: I stick by my assessment that the West Virginia program offers nothing of value to any conference. The devotion of their fans is not relevant, regardless of how badly you'd like it to be.

Please explain why the Big10 chose Nebraska over Missouri then.

So, I have to explain the selection process of a conference I don't follow particularly closely to justify my opinion of West Virginia's relative worth? If so, I'll point out that the Big 10 is the only conference that shares gate receipts, and Nebraska's stadium holds about 15,000 more people than Missouri's and has been 100% full for every game since 1962. Plus, their fans travel.

And as it happens, neither Columbia, MO or Lincoln, NE are in the top 100 US markets, though I'd venture an educated guess that Nebraska's national TV ratings blow Missouri's out of the water.

So, economically, Nebraska made much more sense for the Big 10 than Missouri. Good enough explanation for you?

The ACC says they're not interested in expanding past 16 teams right now, so UConn is on the outside looking in.

Yanks_RSJ: Lou Brown: Yanks_RSJ: I stick by my assessment that the West Virginia program offers nothing of value to any conference. The devotion of their fans is not relevant, regardless of how badly you'd like it to be.

Please explain why the Big10 chose Nebraska over Missouri then.

So, I have to explain the selection process of a conference I don't follow particularly closely to justify my opinion of West Virginia's relative worth? If so, I'll point out that the Big 10 is the only conference that shares gate receipts, and Nebraska's stadium holds about 15,000 more people than Missouri's and has been 100% full for every game since 1962. Plus, their fans travel.

And as it happens, neither Columbia, MO or Lincoln, NE are in the top 100 US markets, though I'd venture an educated guess that Nebraska's national TV ratings blow Missouri's out of the water.

So, economically, Nebraska made much more sense for the Big 10 than Missouri. Good enough explanation for you?

You seriously believe the Big10 invited Nebraska over Missouri in part because of increased revenue caused by shared gate receipts of an additional 15k fans per game? If you take the information in this article, you'd have to think the difference between the two would amount to at absolute most $1,500,000 per year split up among 11 other teams. That's a drop in the bucket.

As far as media markets go, simply comparing Columbia to Lincoln is just silly. Missouri's media presence would cover the entire state (hello St Louis and Kansas City), so they would be able to charge increased cable rights fees for the Big10 Network in those areas. Also, there would be additional TV sets/advertiser revenue for standard broadcast games.

Additionally, you said that Nebraska's national TV ratings blow Missouri's out of the water. Why is that- could it be because they have a great tradition of fielding competitive, ranked teams? I thought that didn't matter?

Btw, in regard to a traveling fan base, WVU's travels very well. Caused enough noise to force your Terps to take a timeout on offense in their own stadium earlier this year.

Lou Brown: You seriously believe the Big10 invited Nebraska over Missouri in part because of increased revenue caused by shared gate receipts of an additional 15k fans per game? If you take the information in this article, you'd have to think the difference between the two would amount to at absolute most $1,500,000 per year split up among 11 other teams. That's a drop in the bucket.

Again, I'm not required to explain the Big 10s logic, because their rationale has absolutely NOTHING to do with West Virginia's relative worth to any other conference. I was only providing possible explanations, of which there are many. A "drop in the bucket" is still a net financial gain.

For the record, the Big 10 (reportedly at least) extended an invite to Missouri (in addition to Nebraska, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and Pitt) and it was the Cornhuskers that were willing to commit.

Maybe the Big 10 didn't choose Nebraska over Missouri. Maybe Missouri sat on the fence while Nebraska jumped at the opportunity. Either way, you seem to be confusing that entire process with something that is relevant to the WVU issue. Which, frankly it isn't. Even if the Big 10 actually did CHOOSE Nebraska over Missouri, and even if it was a "mistake" from your perspective, that does nothing to help your case for WVU. Nothing.

Lou Brown: Additionally, you said that Nebraska's national TV ratings blow Missouri's out of the water. Why is that- could it be because they have a great tradition of fielding competitive, ranked teams? I thought that didn't matter?

West Virginia is NOT Nebraska. They have nothing resembling their history on a national level. Just saying that WVU has a tradition of fielding competitive ranked teams doesn't mean that they're a ratings draw on TV.

Getting the Nebraska NAME was a major coup for the Big 10. Surely you'd admit that WVU isn't even close in terms of national recognition. If they were, they'd have conferences lined up around the block.

Lou Brown: Btw, in regard to a traveling fan base, WVU's travels very well. Caused enough noise to force your Terps to take a timeout on offense in their own stadium earlier this year.

Yeah, I know, we suck. It's not hurting my feelings.