I'll stay in this thread while I'm here- tons of rumors going around today that Pitt will be added to the Big TEN with an announcement this week.

Interesting….

I have said all along that IF the Big11 expands, they would add Pitt and then the BigEast SHOULD also expand to twelve, with UCF (probable)and FAU (possible) among the five new schools! We shall see. They would then have a huge footprint in the FL market for both TV and recruiting.

Gainer committed today as well. This Miami Central connection came from nowhere, but I like it.

UCFKnight85 said

I'll stay in this thread while I'm here- tons of rumors going around today that Pitt will be added to the Big TEN with an announcement this week.

Interesting….

Its a good move for the Big 10.  It adds a rival for Penn State and Pitt is pretty good at both football and basketball although I have no idea what the facilities are like.

GeorgiaOwl said

I have said all along that IF the Big11 expands, they would add Pitt and then the BigEast SHOULD also expand to twelve, with UCF (probable)and FAU (possible) among the five new schools! We shall see. They would then have a huge footprint in the FL market for both TV and recruiting.

I'm saying this without flaming (I've said it before) but FAU has no shot of moving up without a serious investment in a new basketball facility and an improved fanbase, which simply may require more time.

The Big East came to UCF after the realignment and actually told us that we were the more attractive football option, but our crap basketball facilities took us out of contention.  Literally 2 months after that, we financed and planned the great new arena that we have now.

Just saying.

UCFKnight85 said

I'm saying this without flaming (I've said it before) but FAU has no shot of moving up without a serious investment in a new basketball facility and an improved fanbase, which simply may require more time.

Agreed. Everything we need - 30k seat football stadium, 10k seat basketball arena/convocation center, more dorms, Greek housing, etc - is planned for construction in the next five years.

UCFKnight85 said

GeorgiaOwl said

I have said all along that IF the Big11 expands, they would add Pitt and then the BigEast SHOULD also expand to twelve, with UCF (probable)and FAU (possible) among the five new schools! We shall see. They would then have a huge footprint in the FL market for both TV and recruiting.

I'm saying this without flaming (I've said it before) but FAU has no shot of moving up without a serious investment in a new basketball facility and an improved fanbase, which simply may require more time.

The Big East came to UCF after the realignment and actually told us that we were the more attractive football option, but our crap basketball facilities took us out of contention.  Literally 2 months after that, we financed and planned the great new arena that we have now.

Just saying.

I'm sure some of the FAU fans on here will get after you for that comment but I really can't disagree with it. Right now we have no facilities. In fact we don't even have a football stadium. I know USF doesn't either but they've got Ray-J right there and they fill it. I'm not thinking big east at this point in time. If UCF does end up getting moved to the Big East along with 1 or 2 other teams, then maybe C-USA can take FAU, FIU and Troy.

walty12 said

UCFKnight85 said

I'll stay in this thread while I'm here- tons of rumors going around today that Pitt will be added to the Big TEN with an announcement this week.

Interesting….

Its a good move for the Big 10.  It adds a rival for Penn State and Pitt is pretty good at both football and basketball although I have no idea what the facilities are like.

Great facilities all around. Pitt has everything the BIG10 wants.

1. Competetive progams
2. Good academics
3. Georgaphic proximity
4. Big television market
5. Top notch facilities

Really a no-brainer if it happens.


GO OWLS!!!

The problem with the Big East going to 12 is they already have 16 in basketball.  4 more makes a massive 20 team super conference ranging in size from UCF (speculative) with 53,000 students to Providence with 3,600.  How do you convince the 4 smaller schools that they would be better off on their own or in a different conference…..NOT in the famed Big East, without a massive buyout?

If they go to 12 the CUSA East would be decimated losing ECU, UCF, Memphis, maybe even Marshall.  If that happens, the Sun Belt would be in a great position of strength.  Instead of losing its best members to an all new CUSA East, the Sun Belt should grab up UAB and Southern Miss, and Tulane and allow North Texas to drift to the new Texas based CUSA.  With that realignment we would pick up a bunch of bowl games from the former CUSA, consolidate regionally as SEC-lite, while allowing CUSA to become more compact and Texas based.  Meanwhile Mountain West gets a guaranteed BCS spot at the Fiesta bowl with its 14 team super-conference with all the Best of the West.  Waters needs to be smart, and get the schools to sign something that says they have to pay big if they leave the conference.

I know we are full of ourselves and believe that CUSA would pick us…but what if they didn't and we were stuck in the Sun Belt with no Troy, FIU (ouch), MT, or WKU.  There would be 6 schools left, not enough for a conference, so that means we have to find 2 FCS teams….no good.  The whole scenario is horrible for whoever is left in the Sun Belt.  We need some camaraderie, we need to stick together, we need to tell UAB and Southern Miss they can come join us, not the other way around, and Waters needs to make any team that tries to leave to CUSA think twice.

Sun Belt Conference East
FAU
FIU
Troy
USA
MT
UAB

Sun Belt Conference West
WKU
ASU
Southern Miss
Louisiana
ULM
Tulane

CUSA (10 team Texas based)
Louisiana Tech
New Mexico State
TCU
New Mexico
Houston
Rice
SMU
UTEP
Tulsa
North Texas

Mountain West (14 member super conference)
San Diego State
UNLV
Utah
BYU
Wyoming
Colorado State
Utah State
Idaho
Boise State
Nevada
San Jose State
Fresno State
Hawaii
Air Force

Memphis is going no where. They may have facilities but so does everyone in the belt but us. Memphis now has a bad basketball team and an even worse football team. They're not going anywhere.

The other problem is TCU is trying to get the MWC to become a BCS conference. No way they'd leave to join an all Texas conference. They're doing just fine where they are. If it aint broke don't fix it