<a href='http://www.bigeast.org/fanforums/message.asp?ID=2074906' target='_blank'>http://www.bigeast.org/fanforums/message.a....asp?ID=2074906</a>

Well, some Big East folks like ECU.

Interesting read.

I don't agree that somebody should be added with a 'slap in the face to the ACC' factor playing into it though (not that ECU or UMass don't have more to offer).

Who cares if it hurts the ACC? I just want what's best for the Big East and I don't feel moving even further out of our footprint is in our best interests.

nflsucks Wrote:Interesting read.

I don't agree that somebody should be added with a 'slap in the face to the ACC' factor playing into it though (not that ECU or UMass don't have more to offer).

Who cares if it hurts the ACC? I just want what's best for the Big East and I don't feel moving even further out of our footprint is in our best interests.

I completely agree. If ecu was a panacea they would already be included. Most of their reasoning is hogwash and takes into little account the current landscape of college athletics.

L-Yes, the people discussing Big East expansion are Big East people. I don't know if they have any inside knowledge, but it seems to me that it does mean something when Big East people, without ECU ties, have such detailed information about the positives of ECU. Like it or not, the ECU selling points are being heard & repeated by Big East people. That link is to a Big East Conference board. I noticed that most of the responses were positive in relation to ECU, except from GoCards. What's funny is that on killerfrogs CUSA board, GoCards was being disowned by all the other Card posters.

Brick City Pirate Wrote:L-Yes, the people discussing Big East expansion are Big East people. I don't know if they have any inside knowledge, but it seems to me that it does mean something when Big East people, without ECU ties, have such detailed information about the positives of ECU. Like it or not, the ECU selling points are being heard & repeated by Big East people. That link is to a Big East Conference board. I noticed that most of the responses were positive in relation to ECU, except from GoCards. What's funny is that on killerfrogs CUSA board, GoCards was being disowned by all the other Card posters.

No, what you have is the retired basketball coach from a basketball only program discussing the addition of a football playing member. He has no idea, I know more about whats going on than John Thompson.

You miss the point. Why does John Thompson or the others involved in the interview know so much about ECU? They aren't on the ECU staff. They aren't ECU graduates. Someone is selling ECU to the Big East. My guess is that Terry Holland has a lot of pull with many Big East people & they are starting to take notice.

I would gladly go along with adding ECU as long a much more competive and deserning Memphis was added first. I don't see how anyone could put ECU ahead of Memphis. I want quality not a tight footprint. Memphis doesn't stray out of bounds anyway.

YOu know how to get ECU added? Get ECU to be a top 25 team in FB year in and year out. When it comes to bowl games, make sure you travel. Then BE will be hard to pass u guys up.

I know this may seem weird with the run-ins I have had with some ECU fans but, personally, I wouldn't be upset at all to have ECU added, assuming that Memphis is coming along and not in place of Memphis. If you look at the other Big Six conferences, especially Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and SEC message boards and radio shows they have a ton of rabid fans. There is constant, no stop talk about sports, there are an inordinate amount of people talking about it, and when someone talks about the conference a rabid fan base steps up and defends it. If you look at the Big East, mainly that fan base is West Virginia and Louisville. The other boards have a good number of fans but those boards and programs have rabid, intense fan bases. East Carolina is in ACC territory but has a mix of that ACC and SEC culture. You drop them in the Big East and ECU fans are probably going to be the most vocal of all the fans. Not necessarily the biggest, but the most vocal. Memphis fans would also do the same. That's something that has to be considered, how does adding these programs enhance the perception of the fan base. We need more vocal fans of Big East programs to fight against the negative media perception. The Big East also needs to improve and add to their non-revenue sports, sports like baseball (probably the #1 non-revenue sport), track, swimming, etc. Again, a program like ECU adds to that. It adds depth to the conference. That's an argument in favor of ECU. There are obviously arguments against them.

On a side note, I think they're crazy to say that Memphis would be another Temple. Memphis football would rise to a level where they could not only compete with, but beat SEC teams. And their fan base is proven. South Florida won't be another Temple. People forget, when they talk about Temple, the reason they're constantly losing and have no fan base is because the lack of dedication to the football program has eroded the fan base. South Florida has drawn well in the past and, unlike Temple, are pumping huge dollars into their overall athletic program.

-- I find it very intersting that they were actually talking about Hoya football/possibilty of them moving up to D1a....I'm sure that is not going to happen but it just shows you how much pull football as in this league

-- If you contineu to read the thread from the bigeast.org site....basically I guess the theme of the show was that if Penn St, Notre Dame, Navy, Army and Umass say no for whatever reason then ECU should be looked at strongly and I don't think anyone on this board will disagree with that

Quote:There is constant, no stop talk about sports, there are an inordinate amount of people talking about it, and when someone talks about the conference a rabid fan base steps up and defends it. If you look at the Big East, mainly that fan base is West Virginia and Louisville. The other boards have a good number of fans but those boards and programs have rabid, intense fan bases. East Carolina is in ACC territory but has a mix of that ACC and SEC culture. You drop them in the Big East and ECU fans are probably going to be the most vocal of all the fans. Not necessarily the biggest, but the most vocal. Memphis fans would also do the same. That's something that has to be considered, how does adding these programs enhance the perception of the fan base. We need more vocal fans of Big East programs to fight against the negative media perception. The Big East also needs to improve and add to their non-revenue sports, sports like baseball (probably the #1 non-revenue sport), track, swimming, etc. Again, a program like ECU adds to that. It adds depth to the conference. That's an argument in favor of ECU. There are obviously arguments against them.

-- Something else I think this entire board can agree on is that fan bases are the #1 problem facing BE football today...it is our most pressing issue...although I think Uconn football is really going to take off in the years to come and they will be an asset in this matter...but I really have a hard time imagining Pitt, Su, UC, USF and Rutgers ever becoming even average at traveling to bowl games etc

-- The suggestion to add Memphis and East Carolina has some merit...it would obvioulsy mean less money in the short run for the league but it may have the potential to make the league stronger down the road....it would also help immensly with bowls....with the additions of ECU/memphis and the loss of ND...we would basically be trading the Gator bowl/Insight.com bowl for the Liberty/old Tangerine bowl....its not a great swap but I think it would be something we could live with

-- I have been following the expansion info....and with all the crazy stuff that have come out of ECU and the Boonsville paper....the news of Temple more then likely going to the MAC does open a hole for all of this to happen...I'm not saying that BE football will expand but we will have the opportunity to do so if we choose to with the expected hole in the Atlantic 10 come 2006


Jackson

We also have a number one womens swimming team and our track team is ranked in the top 25 probably because we signed the best sprinter in the nation last year. I appreciate everyone keeping an open mind about this expansion talk dealing with ECU. I know im bias because ECU is my alma mater but we have alot of potential and I hope everyone can see that. We have had some great years and we have had some not so great years. I know we are a little down right now but Skip is working hard to get us back to where we were. We already got a couple commitments since he has got the staff together. One of which is a QB that got offers from both Cincy and Pitt. We have the facilities, desire, tradition, fans, and coaches to be successful. We also have about 2,200 alumni in the NY area. ECU Alumni are all over the east coast. This is not intended to be a flame but if you know anything about Louisville they had about 10 losing seasons in a row. So really 3 isnt that much compared to that. We will be back. You can count on that.

UC's fan base is an enigma. I have no doubt in my mind that UC will average over 30,000 fans in the Big East. UC fans traveled pretty well to the Fort Worth bowl. I saw a figure saying UC only sold 500 tickets or something, but UC brought several thousands fans. There were 13,000 fans there and the majority of them were UC fans (Marshall only brought about 3,000 or 4,000 and only a 2,000 or 3,000 were local people). UC actually traveled well, if reports are true. But I wonder how UC would travel consistently. We sent several thousand to to the game at West Virginia a year ago, and I think there were 55,000 plus at that game and UC had about 3,000 or 4,000 people there. We'll see, but I think the move to the Big East will do wonders for UC. We need other programs with strong fan bases to help promote the product and the conference.

I think we should split and go to a 12 team all sports conference. And add:

Central Florida
East Carolina
Marshall
Memphis

That would make too much sense Wilkie. I think to say that Memphis would be another Temple is laughable. They averaged 42,000 without playing any SEC teams at home (50,000 for Louisville and Southern Miss), had over 15,000 make the trip to the Mobile Bowl and owns the Memphis media market. Tiger football is on its way to possibly being the next Louisville. Put them in a BCS conference and they would really take off.

Quote:I think to say that Memphis would be another Temple is laughable.

Kinda makes it tough to take any of their opinions seriously when they say stuff like this.

It just shows what basketball schools know about football!

I went to high school in the Tidewater Virginia area. They are correct that ECU is well repected there and many Tidewater Virgians have attended ECU as well. ECU would be an excellent addition to Big East football. There is a reason Holland was hired as AD. Wait and see. Notre Dame will soon be getting the boot, if they do not start playing football. And the split will happen by or before 2010!

Wilkie, why don't you hold your breath till that split comes around. you might not even have a league by 2010.

When the split happens, they might deside not to expand to 12 teams. They just might add Temple for all sports.

Quote: When the split happens, they might deside not to expand to 12 teams. They just might add Temple for all sports.

I would bet money that when we do split/expand, it will just be to 9 All Sports. Any talk of 12 will happen waaay down the road if it happens at all.

I really really wish Temple wasn't so horrible in football. I would gladly take them back even if they just had a winning season 1 every 4 or 5 years.