This was once a proposed conference. This would’ve been a really good conference.

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

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

Anyone remember?

It would’ve been fun.

The Best Conference That Never Was

The Metro Super Conference @ 1990. There should be books written on how it almost came to be and why the idea folded just before liftoff. Metro, Big East and I think there were A10 teams in there

It’s funny how seemingly small, almost inconsequential decisions by ADs forty and fifty years ago and earlier have become the difference in prominence vs complete irrelevancy today.

Back when almost conferences were considered more or less equals, and independence was viable, no one could’ve foreseen anything like what we have become now.

How fortunate schools like Vandy and the like have been, that they happened to be drawn into what’s turned into the NFC of the south- almost a century ago.

That conference didn’t happen because it was unstable from the start and many of those schools already thought they where too good to be aligned with the others. It would had been raided just as the others have been.

Was a great group… and certainly all of stayed together would be rich and had many championships in football and basketball and all other sports

(07-31-2022 09:50 AM)MickMack Wrote:  

More TV sets there than any other conference.

(07-31-2022 11:01 AM)Cubanbull1 Wrote:  That conference didn’t happen because it was unstable from the start and many of those schools already thought they where too good to be aligned with the others. It would had been raided just as the others have been.

Maybe that was part of the issue. The greater issue was the size and how it would work that made some of the schools uneasy. Most of the conferences in 1990 had 8-10 schools. It was going to be a true super conference for that era. It was way ahead of its time. Today conference alignment or realignment is based primarily on the almighty dollar. Will that school help increase our revenue? That’s the primary consideration. In 1990, revenue was a major consideration, but other factors were just as important such as geography, rivalries, academics, etc.

(07-31-2022 12:54 PM)NoQuarterBrigade Wrote:  

(07-31-2022 11:01 AM)Cubanbull1 Wrote:  That conference didn’t happen because it was unstable from the start and many of those schools already thought they where too good to be aligned with the others. It would had been raided just as the others have been.

Maybe that was part of the issue. The greater issue was the size and how it would work that made some of the schools uneasy. Most of the conferences in 1990 had 8-10 schools. It was going to be a true super conference for that era. It was way ahead of its time. Today conference alignment or realignment is based primarily on the almighty dollar. Will that school help increase our revenue? That’s the primary consideration. In 1990, revenue was a major consideration, but other factors were just as important such as geography, rivalries, academics, etc.

I remember Miami wasn’t interested in it at the time. There were many on that list they weren’t interested in playing. Louisville was another that due to basketball thought it was too good to join those others.
Then in 91 Miami and many formed Big East football and SC went SEC and FSU to ACC.

This one would have been pretty darn good. This is what we thought we might end up with during the summer of 2012.

Boise (football only)
BYU (football only)
Air Force (football only)
SDSU (football only)
Navy (football only)
Louisville
Cinci
Rutgers
UConn
UCF
USF
SMU
Houston
Memphis

Plus the C7 and Notre Dame for basketball. That would have been a very solid football league and a basketball league that could rip the arms off of most college leagues.

This is a conference that should have happened but didnt.

It's easy to criticize for lack of foresight an all... but nobody had a crystal ball to know how things were going to shake out.

If I remember correctly, CUSA formed without even sponsoring football. I mean, how crazy does that sound now???

You are thinking Great Midwest that formed the year after this got scuttled. It formed from the ashes of this plan and didn't last due to the need for a football home for Memphis, Cincinnati and UAB..

Reading this thread feels like your ex waving at you from a yacht while you pass on a fishing boat.

(07-31-2022 02:22 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  This one would have been pretty darn good. This is what we thought we might end up with during the summer of 2012.

Boise (football only)
BYU (football only)
Air Force (football only)
SDSU (football only)
Navy (football only)
Louisville
Cinci
Rutgers
UConn
UCF
USF
SMU
Houston
Memphis

Plus the C7 and Notre Dame for basketball. That would have been a very solid football league and a basketball league that could rip the arms off of most college leagues.

Temple was invited in the spring of 2012 and played football in the BE in 2012 unlike the CUSA schools.

Would have been a good conference but it had no chance of happening. Villanova successfully kept Temple out in the fall of 2011. Once they were forced to admit Temple when WVU left VU got serious about leaving. Temple didn’t play basketball in the BE in 2012-2013 because VU was buying time to get the C7 out before having to sully themselves by sharing a conference with Temple for even one season. The writing was on the wall with Louisville and Rutgers too.