Crappy just got crappier: Big East Not Just East Anymore

Submitted by superstringer on

Big Least to add BSU, Navy, Air Force, UCF, Houston, SMU:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7177969/big-east-invite-six-football-according-report

Good lord, that conference is going to be worse than the MAC.  And it's still going to have an autobid?

So -- what's this mean for the MWC/C-USA merger, I assume that is more on than before.  Aren't they down to 28 schools now or something.

While on the subject, can't help but laugh at West Virginia suing the Big Least for not protecting the school.  The lawsuit claims other schools were looking elsewhere.  Hey, didn't WVU earlier this year apply to the SEC and ACC?  And get turned down?  I know I need to give up my dispassion for all thing Mountaineer, but what a joke that lawsuit is.  (I'm a lawyer and a litigator at that, I think I can smell BS when it's plopped in front of me.)

Bobby Digital

November 1st, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^

You just don't get the joke...

The conference's name is the Big East, right? Now, what this fellow has done, quite shrewdly, is changed the word "East" to - you won't believe this - "Least." See, it rhymes with East, but it also denigrates the conference for their subpar football abilities. It's biting social satire and it works on so many levels! But then I'd guess you're not a Jonathan Swift fan either.

JohnnyBlue

November 1st, 2011 at 4:16 PM ^

I really liked the idea of the MAC, Bigeast, MWC and C-USA creating a new Mid Major conference then spliting into 4 regional sub conferences, made a whole lot of sence, prolly to much sence

Eat Your Wheatlies

November 1st, 2011 at 6:10 PM ^

The only thing Boise offers is a football program. Yes, thats the money maker, but BSU has terrible academics and with little else to bring to the table, they haven't been snatched up by the major conferences for that reason.

BlueTimesTwo

November 1st, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^

1.  They are no longer in the WAC.  They are in the Mountain West now.

2.  Their academics are not highly ranked, their other sports are not on the same level as other BCS conference teams, and their stadium only seats 36K.

3.  They are not likely to get a big conference bid right now, but they might be able to use Big East money to build facilities, expand the stadium, etc.

Tater

November 1st, 2011 at 9:06 PM ^

...but the fact that you even mentioned ND proves their relevance.  

ND's relevance is why almost every MSM sports personality so desperately wants them to succeed again.  It is also why they could have made the BS Sham-pionship game by running the table this year, even with only four legitimate opponents.  

How many other schools could suck for over twenty years and still get the amount of national press that ND gets?  I am thinking there aren't any.  That, my friend, is relevance.

Bill in Birmingham

November 1st, 2011 at 4:31 PM ^

Hey, it gets all of the basketball schools in the league thirty wins and since they don't have football, they lose nothing. Great scam if you can pull it off. I'm sure we can count on Mark Emmert to show leadership as this BCS money prostitution ring is making a mockery of intercollegiate athletics....oh, never mind.

stopthewnba

November 1st, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^

Following "Big East" relaignment & C-USA/MWC merger:



MAC:

Temple, Ohio, Miami OH, Bowling Green, Kent St, Buffalo, Akron, Eastern Mich, Western Mich, Central Mich, Toledo, Ball State, Nortern Illinois 

C-USA/MWC

TCU, Wyoming, UNLV, SDSU, Colorado St, New Mexico, East Carolina, Marshall, Memphis, UAB, Tulsa, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Rice, Tulane



SUN BELT

Arkansas St, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Florida Intl, North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Troy, Louisiana Monroe, Florida Atlantic



WAC

Nevada, Hawaii, LaTech, Fresno St, SJSt, New Mexico St, Utah St, Idaho 



HOW IS THE BIG EAST AQ?

Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati, USF, Louisville, Boise St, Navy, Air Force, UCF, Houston, SMU

Jorel

November 1st, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^

How nice would it be to have five "BCS" conferences with 62-64 teams fighting for five AQ spots and four or five "non-BCS" conferences with anywhere from 40-60 teams in a playoff for one AQ spot and the rest of the Sun Belt and WAC just busted down to FCS?

Picktown GoBlue

November 1st, 2011 at 11:53 PM ^

Missing the WAC to MWC moves, some FCS to FBS moves, and adding the errors noted above.

2012 Non-AQ's assuming everyone accept invites and is allowed to move next year (except one 2013 move where noted):

MAC:

Temple, Ohio, Miami OH, Bowling Green, Kent St, Buffalo, Akron, Eastern Mich, Western Mich, Central Mich, Toledo, Ball State, Nortern Illinois, UMass

C-USA/MWC

Wyoming, UNLV, SDSU, Colorado St, New Mexico, East Carolina, Marshall, Memphis, UAB, Tulsa, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Rice, Tulane, Nevada, Hawaii, Fresno St

SUN BELT

Arkansas St, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Florida Intl, North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Troy, Louisiana Monroe, Florida Atlantic, (plus South Alabama in 2013)

WAC

LaTech, SJSt, New Mexico St, Utah St, Idaho, UT-San Antonio, Texas State

INDEPENDENTS

BYU, Army

 

And the BIG EAST would have these members (* for current, 2011 non-AQ's):

Rutgers, UConn, Cincinnati, USF, Louisville, Boise St*, Navy*, Air Force*, UCF*, Houston*, SMU*

justingoblue

November 1st, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^

It's not like Boise and Navy are bad teams, though. Navy is basically a perennial bowl team, and Boise is...well, Boise. Air Force is pretty decent every few years, IIRC. The rest are obviously an attempt to keep some kind of conference going, but I don't think Navy, Boise and AFA are all that bad of additions.

justingoblue

November 1st, 2011 at 4:52 PM ^

From everything I've read, the BE has to take Boise to have any hope of remaining a BCS conference. I don't think they care whether Boise will be relevant in fifteen years as much as getting their BCS numbers up, right freaking now. You're right about Navy and AFA not being ideal teams, but every conference has not so good teams, it's just the number of them in the BE that's a problem. In that context it's obviously not good.

Completely agree about the BE champ and Boise, especially since this takes effect after Pitt is safely in the ACC (thank god).

wolverine1987

November 1st, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^

 

There is zero, as in zero, rationale any longer for a Big East auto bid. I don't think anyone will get sucked into the Big East exapansion argument again like last time, where they added Louisville et. al and said that made them still worthy of an auto bid after Miami etc left. None of those teams, with the exception of Boise, is even in the top 30, ever, of colege football at the end of any given regular season. They are all mid majors and do absolutely nothing to help raise the already sub par quality of the Big East., which, with WVA leaving, is clearly barely better, if at all, than the MWC. If there is any justice, the BE loses the auto-bid, which should default to the highest ranked team outside the now five conferences with auto bids.

Rabbit21

November 1st, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^

As an Air Force Academy grad all I can say is no,no,no,no,no,no,no, oh god please don't do this to me!, no, no, no, Fuck!

I really hope they tell the Big East to shove it and stay in the Mountain West.  This move makes no sense for them whatsoever and I know feedback on it has been overwhlemingly negative from the fans.

Kilgore Trout

November 1st, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^

If I'm Air Force, I think they're better off trying to secure a solid MWC. Convince Boise to stay, make a move for SMU and Houston and you get a nice eight team league that makes a lot more sense for all of your sports and is at least the equal of what's left in the Big East.  If you want to see if Army and Navy are interested, go for it.  The nice part of an eight team league is that it gives you 5 non-conference games to make your SOS exactly what you want it to be.

Air Force

Boise State

SDSU

Wyoming

Colorado State

SMU

Houston

New Mexico

 

EDIT:  Forgot about UNLV.  Maybe invite UTEP or keep an eye on UTSA to go to 9 or 10.

smwilliams

November 1st, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^

They also want to add the storied football programs of Temple, Memphis, or BYU.

BYU would be solid, but they just went independent, why go to a crap conference like the Big East.

This new Big East is a mid-major conference, no different than Conference USA or the Mountain West. I can't see how they keep their BCS bid.