(05-06-2013 09:35 AM)TIGERCITY Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:09 AM)Underdog Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:52 AM)Tigers2B1 Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:34 AM)apex_pirate Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:06 AM)True Bearcat Wrote:  How would UCONN be the the travel partner when Cincinnati is closer?

Agreed. Cincy is a much better candidate. While UCONN is a much better name brand, even ECU is a better candidate for an eastern add to appease WVU. UCONN is just too far away and would always be an island.

My opinion is that their choices are either stand pat or got to 14 like the SEC. I wager they stand pat.

If the Big 12 adds two to go to 12 (and a championship game) than UConn and Cincinnati would BOTH be viable programs. The Big 12 is already in the east with West Virginia are BOTH programs are Big 12 quality ... or at least the two best options ... by far.

UCONN isn't the best eastern option for a football first conference like the B12. The best two schools in this conference to pair with WV are Cincy and ECU in my opinion. Both schools are B12 football ready, and ECU is a very marketable school to pair up with WV—the Mountaineers and Pirates are coming to town on back to back weekends.

Oh good god ---- ECU barely got an invite to the depleted AAC. Be reasonable at least.

Tulane would get an invite before ECU. And Memphis would get an invite before either ... not that that's saying much.

(05-06-2013 09:56 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:47 AM)kobe Wrote:  Cincinnati has little to nothing in common with the universities in the Big 12, I think I'll pass on that conference...

Actually, ECU would be a much better fit.

"Pass"? Pass for what, exactly?

For whatever reason, the B12 seems to have taken a distinct dislike to Cincinnati. I think it's as foolish as the ACC's dislike for WVU was. (WVU was NEVER...and I do mean NEVER... going to be taken into the ACC.) I think UC *COULD* compete well in the B12 and it could be a VERY GOOD conference for UC.

But, again, for whatever reason, the B12 seems to have written off UC.

But back to the real point, you don't "pass" on the B12 unless you have decided that you are going to drop FBS football. Because you are on the wrong side of the "line of death" right now.

Don't mind Kobe/Bearcat Bounce... he's trolling.

I do agree with you that the B12 seems to dislike UC. Frankly, I think it is because the leadership of that conference perceives us negatively because we are named after a city and not after our state. Furthermore I think the conference leadership is stuck in the mindset that we are the same program we were in the 80s and 90s. It was this sort of mindset that cost them Louisville. Anyone with half a brain knew that UC and UL would have been great additions to the B12 when they invited WVU. They would have firmly planted a flag in a region of the country that extended along the Ohio River. They don't get that with one program--- with three however it would have made a significant dent.

(05-06-2013 10:13 AM)Tigers2B1 Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:35 AM)TIGERCITY Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:09 AM)Underdog Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:52 AM)Tigers2B1 Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:34 AM)apex_pirate Wrote:  Agreed. Cincy is a much better candidate. While UCONN is a much better name brand, even ECU is a better candidate for an eastern add to appease WVU. UCONN is just too far away and would always be an island.

My opinion is that their choices are either stand pat or got to 14 like the SEC. I wager they stand pat.

If the Big 12 adds two to go to 12 (and a championship game) than UConn and Cincinnati would BOTH be viable programs. The Big 12 is already in the east with West Virginia are BOTH programs are Big 12 quality ... or at least the two best options ... by far.

UCONN isn't the best eastern option for a football first conference like the B12. The best two schools in this conference to pair with WV are Cincy and ECU in my opinion. Both schools are B12 football ready, and ECU is a very marketable school to pair up with WV—the Mountaineers and Pirates are coming to town on back to back weekends.

Oh good god ---- ECU barely got an invite to the depleted AAC. Be reasonable at least.

Tulane would get an invite before ECU. And Memphis would get an invite before either ... not that that's saying much.

Seriously.... Tulane does offer a much larger market than ECU (I'll give you that). However, it can't deliver enough of that market to the AAC. This was an important factor that our tv expert commissioner overlooked. I know sports fans from New Orleans, and Tulane is never mentioned when discussing college sports. It's either LSU or the Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. The Ragin' Cajuns name makes it popular to people from Louisiana, and it would have been a better choice than Tulane if the AAC wanted a Louisiana following in my opinion.

^^^ Don't discount Tulane. Last year some of the Texas mouthpieces' threw their names out there as a strong candidate. The reason they would be so attractive to the B12 is because of their academics and because it extends the conference east of Texas into SEC territory. Texas is very concerned the lack of academic research by current B12 members and wants to add another member they can collaborate with. ECU has a lot of virtues but I think their weakness in this capacity could cause Texas to thumb their nose at them.

(05-06-2013 07:22 AM)Underdog Wrote:  "If the Big 12 does decide that they want to expand, it will have to focus efforts on members of the American Athletic Conference, the former Big East that will end up housing many former members of Conference USA. With the departure of Louisville to the ACC, the number of appealing options for the Big 12 has never been lower.

Cincinnati is still on the table as a possibility, but otherwise the Big 12 would have to look into expanding into Florida or bringing back former members of the SWC like SMU or Houston.

Florida schools like Central Florida or South Florida would be appealing because they could help open up the fertile state of Florida to Big 12 recruiting efforts...."

http://www.burntorangenation.com/2013/4/...ealignment

I thought the gist of the article was that the B12 had no interest in expansion and the mention of only AAC teams being available supported that notion. Wishful thinking can really take over sometimes.

My dream scenario would be USF, UCF, UC, and UConn or ECU to the B12. But really as long as it's USF and 3 warm bodies, I don't really care who they are. I do want USF, UC, UCF, and possibly UConn to stick togother though. UConn's problem is they are too far out on an island. They are really better suited for either the ACC or B10, which I hope they get.

This is just another way that UT can further inhibit the growth of the programs at SMU and Houston.

If they take anyone from this conference, the MWC becomes instantly more appealing and I suppose that is where SMU and UH would end up if Texas decides to screw up our programs by destroying our conference

ECU to the B12 makes as much sense as anyone in the G5

(05-06-2013 10:36 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  ^^^ Don't discount Tulane. Last year some of the Texas mouthpieces' threw their names out there as a strong candidate. The reason they would be so attractive to the B12 is because of their academics and because it extends the conference east of Texas into SEC territory. Texas is very concerned the lack of academic research by current B12 members and wants to add another member they can collaborate with. ECU has a lot of virtues but I think their weakness in this capacity could cause Texas to thumb their nose at them.

You might want to learn a bit more about ECU...............

Even if--out of heaven--ECU gets invited to the BIG XII, it may not be our best choice besides the cash. Does it help our recruiting? Will we ever be competitive against all of those schools with heavy Texas pipelines? UConn would have to ask themselves the same question.

Cincy would have the most to gain outside of money, IMO.

(05-06-2013 09:07 AM)Borncoog74 Wrote:  UT and OU

to the

B1G

Sooner or later....

If Texas drops that bad idea of the Longhorn Network it will be a lot sooner

(05-06-2013 11:01 AM)gotigers1 Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 09:07 AM)Borncoog74 Wrote:  UT and OU

to the

B1G

Sooner or later....

If Texas drops that bad idea of the Longhorn Network it will be a lot sooner

Does Texas and Oklahoma have some special opt out under the Big 12s grant of rights?

(05-06-2013 10:54 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  Even if--out of heaven--ECU gets invited to the BIG XII, it may not be our best choice besides the cash. Does it help our recruiting? Will we ever be competitive against all of those schools with heavy Texas pipelines? UConn would have to ask themselves the same question.

Cincy would have the most to gain outside of money, IMO.

The $$ alone is enough to go. Being in the B12 would elevate ECU to almost the pinnacle of college football (the SEC is at the top). Recruiting would improve immensely by being in the B12. ECU would have a realistic shot every year at not only playing in the college playoff, but for a national championship. Do you need more reasons why ECU should join if invited?

(05-06-2013 08:24 AM)Bull Wrote:  Count me among those who would not be thrilled... yes I understand the $$$ and access improvements, and how great an 'upgrade' it would be... but I really think the AAC is going to be a fun conference.

That said, USF and UCF are as attractive and viabale candidates for the Big 12 as anyone else in this conference. Period. I won't bother getting into markets, school size, stadiums, recruiting, etc... as I don't want to get into an argument with my fellow conference mates. Any AAC school would be a good candidate for any of the Big 5 conferences.

Yes! Good post

(05-06-2013 11:15 AM)pablowow Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 08:24 AM)Bull Wrote:  Count me among those who would not be thrilled... yes I understand the $$$ and access improvements, and how great an 'upgrade' it would be... but I really think the AAC is going to be a fun conference.

That said, USF and UCF are as attractive and viabale candidates for the Big 12 as anyone else in this conference. Period. I won't bother getting into markets, school size, stadiums, recruiting, etc... as I don't want to get into an argument with my fellow conference mates. Any AAC school would be a good candidate for any of the Big 5 conferences.

Yes! Good post

I have stated the the entire American Athletic Conference, most of the Mountain West, and the few old school C-USA squads that have been left back all belong in power conferences. Give Cincinnati, Houston, SMU, ECU, USF, UConn, Southern Miss, Memphis, SDSU, Colorado State, and company the resources to compete with their regional and in state rivals and watch out.

(05-06-2013 11:07 AM)Underdog Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 10:54 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  Even if--out of heaven--ECU gets invited to the BIG XII, it may not be our best choice besides the cash. Does it help our recruiting? Will we ever be competitive against all of those schools with heavy Texas pipelines? UConn would have to ask themselves the same question.

Cincy would have the most to gain outside of money, IMO.

The $$ alone is enough to go. Being in the B12 would elevate ECU to almost the pinnacle of college football (the SEC is at the top). Recruiting would improve immensely by being in the B12. ECU would have a realistic shot every year at not only playing in the college playoff, but for a national championship. Do you need more reasons why ECU should join if invited?

I never said that we shouldn't go if invited. We'd probably be able to win more in-state recruiting battles--and still have some influence in VA, GA, FL, and SC--but I don't know if we'd be able to compete with the guys that these schools get from Texas. But winning some of the recruits we lose to UNC, State, Duke, Wake, and VPI might put us on better footing.

IMO, we'd be better than Iowa State and Kansas in FB, but is the money worth being in a conference where we'd be fighting to be the 9th best team?

As for right now, I have knowledge that the staff is getting themselves heavily involved in Ohio and New England and I am very happy about that.

If the Big 12 wants to expand anytime soon, I think the best bet would be to grab UConn, Cincy, USF, and Temple. UConn and Cincy are by far the best overall brands left on the table. USF and Temple have both been BCS schools before for sustained periods of time.

The big name Big 12 schools would definitely sell out the NFL stadiums that Temple and USF play in and all 4 are in fairly large TV markets. Cincy, Temple, and UConn would completely get WVU off of an island and build a fairly cohesive eastern wing for the Big 12.

The biggest question would be, what Big 12 schools draw the short straw and get sent out to the eastern division? They could avoid that by having non-geographic divisions though where everyone has some far division mates and some fairly close by.

(05-06-2013 11:48 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 11:07 AM)Underdog Wrote:  

(05-06-2013 10:54 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  Even if--out of heaven--ECU gets invited to the BIG XII, it may not be our best choice besides the cash. Does it help our recruiting? Will we ever be competitive against all of those schools with heavy Texas pipelines? UConn would have to ask themselves the same question.

Cincy would have the most to gain outside of money, IMO.

The $$ alone is enough to go. Being in the B12 would elevate ECU to almost the pinnacle of college football (the SEC is at the top). Recruiting would improve immensely by being in the B12. ECU would have a realistic shot every year at not only playing in the college playoff, but for a national championship. Do you need more reasons why ECU should join if invited?

I never said that we shouldn't go if invited. We'd probably be able to win more in-state recruiting battles--and probably still have some influence in VA, GA, FL, and SC--but I don't know if we'd be able to compete with the guys that these schools get from Texas.

IMO, we'd be better than Iowa State and Kansas in FB, but is the money worth being in a conference where we'd be fighting to be the 9th best team?

YE$.... Would you rather see ECU "fighting to be the 9th best team" in the B12 or in a conference that's fighting for survival with the other mid-majors?

(05-06-2013 07:51 AM)Tigers2B1 Wrote:  I've read that along with Cincinnati that UConn is also a possible B12 candidate. UConn would provide that travel partner that West Virginia has been asking for.

hmmmm..... that's a pretty long drive for a "travel partner."

(05-06-2013 10:54 AM)nomad2u2001 Wrote:  Even if--out of heaven--ECU gets invited to the BIG XII, it may not be our best choice besides the cash. Does it help our recruiting? Will we ever be competitive against all of those schools with heavy Texas pipelines? UConn would have to ask themselves the same question.

Cincy would have the most to gain outside of money, IMO.

Not sure if serious. Bottom line, nobody in the Go5 can afford to not move if given an opportunity.