(04-02-2009 12:28 AM)onlinepole Wrote: Sportswriters at the Newsday have been inhaling way too much printers ink. Temple will never be in the Big 10. I doubt the BE will ever invite Temple back in. Temple is fortunate to be in the conferences it's in. Despite being in a large market Temple is near the bottom of the MAC in attendance. However with time and winning that should change.
Never say never. If the FB and BB schools stay together and Temple continues to put a half decent product on the field there is potential for them to be readmitted as a FB only again. They have made all the improvements on the BE list except for the attendance requirement. And they can meet that requirement in years that Penn State and Navy both play at the Linc. Two years ago when both of these teams played at the Linc in the same season, Temple's average attendance soar to 35,000+.
Temple has upgraded its practice facilities, its offices, now has administrative support, and has a contract with the Linc for home games until 2018 - playing in a Pro stadium like Pitt and USF. They no longer have the problem of playing around the dual problem of the Eagles and the Phillies in September and October like that had at the Vet.
As for the attendance problem - yes they need to put their own fans and students in the seats, but the close BE teams like Rutgers, UConn, Cuse, Pitt, and WV need to travel there too with fans, to support BE games in general. If Navy can help to put 35,000+ fans in the Linc and Penn State can pack the place, then the close BE teams should be able to do the same as Navy or help shove the attendance number to 40,000 when they play there.
Finally the re-admittance of Temple would be seamless as a FB only in 2010. They could be looking for a home again depending on their stand with the MAC and they already have their other sports in the A-10. The league would not have to share BB money but could flip a number of BB games and other sports games at Temple as OCC games or meets. They are in a major market and in the heart of the BE footprint and could also reduce travel costs for a majority of the Northeast teams for FB and other sports OCC.
I wouldn't count Temple out for FB only if the league stays together. They would provide a seamless entry, do well on a compromise vote with the BB schools, and provide a ninth FB game from the heart of the FB footprint which seems to be the only major piece missing under the current set up, which most schools if not all the schools seem to be happy with at this point in time, given the success of BB this season through the post season run.