(01-27-2015 07:54 AM)firmbizzle Wrote:  

(01-19-2015 01:38 AM)texcane1982 Wrote:  

(11-19-2014 04:38 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(08-09-2014 05:18 PM)Jayesseagle Wrote:  This should have been the 1st Superconference . The Metro almost had this: (it was very close to happening)

North Division
Boston College
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
Virginia Tech
West Virginia


South Division
East Carolina
Florida State
Louisville
Memphis State
Miami
South Carolina
Southern Miss
Tulane



SMTTT

instead metro north became the big east's first football conference in 1991 with Cincinnati being replaced with Miami. At the time I thought ECU would go to big east and Miami would join the ACC with Florida st as the 9th and 10th members respectively. Another note: Incredibly, the BE denied Penn St's efforts to join!! Worst decision in history of college football realignment, other than USF getting BE invite a decade later. BE never understood football...(sigh)

I would like to clear the air on the above bolded comments.

The inclusion of Penn State to the Big East was about keeping the basketball conference together and serving the football agenda of Syracuse and Boston College, not football realignment. The Penn State vote occured in 1981, the motion was denied by a count of 5-3, only needing 6 votes for approval. The agenda behind inviting Penn State to the Big East was because Joe Paterno was actively pursuing the creation of a Norteast based football conference, and such a creation could have serious implications for the future of Big East basketball. Both Syracuse and Boston College would have been part of Joe Pa's conference plans. (it was uncertain if Joe's conference would have been for all-sports) In an effort to save the fledgling Big East, Dave Gavitt and Mike Trangehese went on the offensive and and proposed to the President's and AD's the idea of Penn State, not with the plan of creating a football conference, but rather squashing Joe Pa's plans. Penn State, Boston College, and Syracuse would have remained football Independents, but would have locked into a scheduling alliance. The President's and AD's believed Penn State offered nothing in basketball, nor did they like the the fact Penn State was not located in a major media market. The whole Penn State to the Big East issue happened 10 years before the start of football realignment

Upon denying Penn State, Gavitt went back to the members and sold them on Pittsburgh, a football playing school who happened to add value in basketball and is located in large Tv market.

This issue is well document in the ESPN 30 for 30: Requiem for The Big East

http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=req...thebigeast



TX

I still feel like Penn St should be in an eastern conference, ACC.

I kind of feel like Penn State would have never fit into the southern culture of the ACC.

I think Penn State fits in well with the Big Ten, but in reality they probably would have been a fit in a more northeastern / mid-atlantic affiliation, with continued rgional rivalries.

I guess this goes back to watching these schools play as Independents, but IMO the below core of schools fit well together and would have been successful as a football only affiliation:

Boston College
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
Virginia Tech
West Virgnia


TX