Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

[dickey1331]

I don't have the article but Air Force AD declined an invite from the Big 12 and hopes to join the Big East with the other service academies. He also doesn't want to ruin the relationship with Colorado St and Wyoming.


Do you really care where I sent this from?

[wildthing2022000]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

I don't have the article but Air Force AD declined an invite from the Big 12 and hopes to join the Big East with the other service academies. He also doesn't want to ruin the relationship with Colorado St and Wyoming.


Do you really care where I sent this from?

He decline the Big 12 because he thought AF was too weak to compete. But he has enough balls to suggest that he can eat his cake too by thinking that he can keep the rivalry games when he throws those two to he curb by joining the Big Least.

[Bondgirl0072]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Big East will consider adding six football schools

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7084162/big-east-consider-adding-6-football-schools

Missouri study outlines SEC revenue advantage

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7084900/missouri-tigers-study-outlines-sec-revenue-advantage

[superjames1992]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Memphis "deserves" to be in the SEC. That's where they "belong".

http://www.wmctv.com/story/15657761/rc-johnson-on-u-of-m-we-deserve-to-be-in-sec

[superjames1992]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

http://dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/201110093389

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Get ready to kiss Air Force goodbye. The Mountain West Conference is on the verge of losing a charter member.

The Falcons are looking to fly far away to save the Big East from disintegration, with the hope that fellow military academies Navy and Army will join them in the league.

"Our interest is high in the Big East. That's fair to say," Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh told me Saturday.

"This stuff is moving fast."

He expects that the future of Air Force athletics will be decided by the end of October. The plan would have the Falcons joining the Big East only in football, while moving teams in other sports to the Missouri Valley Conference.

"In my perfect world, with the Big East on the radar, I would love Air Force, Navy and Army to be in that conference together," said Mueh, stressing that no final decision has been made.

But after talking with Mueh extensively outside a somber locker room in the wake of the Falcons' 59-33 loss to Notre Dame, it clearly sounded as if Air Force is gazing squarely at the exit door from the Mountain West, a conference it played a key role establishing in 1999.

"I could just sit back and wait, but that's not in the best interest of my cadets. I need money to allow them to compete," Mueh said. "For us, competition is a mission. It builds the leadership, self-confidence, discipline, teamwork, courage and stamina that we want in the officers we're producing for America."

Know what the biggest shocker in Air Force's decision might be?

Given an opportunity to join Oklahoma and Texas in a revamped Big 12, the Falcons have said thanks, but no thanks.

"We were approached by the Big 12, and I told them we're not a good fit for that conference. In the Big 12, geography makes sense, the economics make sense, but recruiting makes no sense for us. I can't recruit against Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State," Mueh said.

"That's why I turned down the Big 12. I can't do that to my kids, because they'll get beat up. I'd love the extra $12 million or whatever it would be per year from the TV money. And I know how I'd spend the money. I'd build a new soccer stadium, and I'd build a new baseball facility, all in one year. But I can't do that."

Loyalty is dead in college football, and television contracts for football have gone insane. Greed rules.

"There are terrible, terrible hard feelings in college athletics," Mueh said. "I'm so disappointed with my fellow athletic directors. I think we have put the student-athlete in second place while chasing the dollar."

Here's the real bottom line for Air Force: It is better to break the hearts of old friends on the field before they dump you.

Leaving the Mountain West would put traditional rivalries with Colorado State and Wyoming in jeopardy for the Falcons.

"The first thing I'll do is go to them and ask forgiveness for leaving the Mountain West, if that's what happens," Mueh said. "Then I'll ask them if they'd like to continue playing a traditional rival in football. I can't imagine they would say no. It's a big game for both Colorado State and Wyoming."

Air Force and Navy have negotiated extensively to ensure they move together to the Big East, and gone so far as to lobby Army to join them as football partners in the league.

Mueh insisted: "The Big East wants Army. Absolutely." The Black Knights, however, have concerns their program might not be ready for the rigors of playing West Virginia and other top teams in the Big East on a regular basis.

Despite the recent defections of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference, it appears the reports of the Big East's imminent death might have been exaggerated. Mueh believes the league will soon have 10 football-playing members. He also termed any uncertainty in the league's automatic qualifying status for the BCS as not a deal-breaker for the Falcons.

"The conference holding together and assuring us stability, that's what is huge," said Mueh, who anticipates Big East leadership will make a recommitment to solidarity this week.

Amid all the money-grubbing and broken relationships on the scarred college athletic landscape, we must ask: Can the Mountain West survive?

"It will survive," Mueh predicted.

But Air Force will do what's right for Air Force, even if it means turning its back on old friends.

[fsquid]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Memphis "deserves" to be in the SEC. That's where they "belong".

http://www.wmctv.com/story/15657761/...e-to-be-in-sec

That's our great AD

[TDenverFan]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

With Memphis and Tulane being considered, the SEC is solidifying itself as the top conference

[Freakydeaky9]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The thought of Boise going to the BE is insane. They need to stick around and wait for the MWC to grab USU SMU Houston and Tulsa

[superjames1992]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The thought of Boise going to the BE is insane. They need to stick around and wait for the MWC to grab USU SMU Houston and Tulsa

I think it will probably happen if the Big East Presidents can come around on it. The Big East needs some football legitimacy right now and Boise State is as good as they're going to get.

Keep in mind that such an invitation would be football-only in nature, so it's not like the Boise State volleyball team will be forced to play at Seton Hall on weeknight nights or something. I agree that THAT would be crazy, but if Boise State comes in as a football-only member, then it's not that out-there, really.

For Boise State, it would mean more money and it would also mean that they wouldn't have to go undefeated to get a BCS bid. And, to be honest, the only team in the Big East right now that has much of a chance at beating the Broncos is WVU, so Boise State probably would go to the BCS quite a bit.

And if WVU goes to the Big 12 or SEC, then Boise State should cruise to the Title...

[Redacted01]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

With Memphis and Tulane being considered, the SEC is solidifying itself as the top conference

They aren't. It's just internet rumors to get notice, though Tulane joining isn't that farfetched. They were a charter member after all. Sure, they'd suck, but every conference has their bottom of the barrel and who is to say they stay there... though Vandy doesn't help that case.

[sportzbro]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

That article with the Air Force AD sounds like a bunch of BS circle talk... "Yea, disappointed with other AD's... Afraid of Big 12 & mad about all this disloyalty because of TV contracts, but moving to Big East and somehow want to keep rivalries...hope no one will hate us, please?"

Essentially doing the exact same thing every other school is doing - looking out for themselves, but being dumber by turning down around $12 million extra in order to join a dying league - not to mention sacrificing other sports like soccer that were mentioned.. Nut up and join the Big 12, improve your other facilities and compete in legit conference or stay practically irrelevant in the MWC who is already better than the Big East.

Makes no sense to me. What is the benefit of moving to the Big East? AQ status that will probably be revoked? And they do realize they can schedule their buddies Army and Navy as OCC still, right?

The Memphis AD, RC Johnson, is a bigger idiot. They are lucky not to be demoted to the Sun Belt.

[Redacted01]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

That article with the Air Force AD sounds like a bunch of BS circle talk... "Yea, disappointed with other AD's... Afraid of Big 12 & mad about all this disloyalty because of TV contracts, but moving to Big East and want to keep rivalries..."

Essentially doing the exact same thing every other school is doing - looking out for themselves, but being dumber by turning down around $12 million extra to join a dying league. Nut up and join the Big 12, improve your other facilities and compete in legit conference or stay practically irrelevant in the MWC who is already better than the Big East.

Makes no sense to me. They do realize they can schedule their buddies Army and Navy as OCC still, right?

And the Memphis AD, RC Johnson, is a bigger idiot. They are lucky not to be demoted to the Sun Belt.

Well for one, he retracted the statement from what I heard. And 2, basketball far and away makes up for their football program. The basketball team is in the top 10% of programs if not better, though Calipari wrecked some of that. And saying someone should be in the Sun Belt is not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe 10 years ago when UNT was winning the conference at 5-6, but not anymore.

[wildthing2022000]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

Teams might not be leaving C-USA anytime soon

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/knights/os-ucf-big-east-news-1012-20111011,0,5855483.story

$7 million to leave. That's $2 million more than the Big East and they can't join until 2013 at the earliest.

http://www.denverpost.com/afa/ci_19085225

Air Force would have to pay $5 million to leave MWC

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...hdL_story.html

Army wants to stay Independent

[He1nousOne1]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The thought of Boise going to the BE is insane. They need to stick around and wait for the MWC to grab USU SMU Houston and Tulsa

If SMU and Houston are to pay the exit fee of 7 million dollars it wont be to move to a conference that in reality is no better then the C-USA. They would do it for the Big East though.

[fsquid]

Re: Conference Re-Alignment Thread Part Who Knows

The Memphis AD, RC Johnson, is a bigger idiot. They are lucky not to be demoted to the Sun Belt.<!-- / message -->

football is certainly way down, but our athletic budget is much too big for the Sun Belt.