The Big East added five schools to its conference – two football-only schools in Boise State and San Diego St, and Central Florida, Houston, and SMU for all sports. The schools will compete in the Big East starting in the 2013 season.
So much for the Big East being, well, “east” right?
Look, I understand why the conference is doing this. Everyone and their mamas are looking to bail on the conference and the Big East was desperate to keep its BCS-automatic qualifier status.
Hell, the teams joining the Big East – especially Boise State – are desperate. Desperate to be part of the BCS party, and even more desperate for the BCS $$$. Speaking of Boise State, I should have known that something was coming down the pipe when its football coach Chris Peterson said that people were “tired of the BCS”.
Having said all of that, I think it was a stupid move on both parts.
For starters, so much for a conference having the same agenda. A good, sound conference has to have teams on the same page – i.e. for all sports. I thought the Big East learned that lesson from having teams leaving the conference because of that.
I loved the fact that the Big East stayed true to its northeastern roots by expanding into the southwest and pacific northwest. Way to go fellas!
What TV network will be willing to shell out untold billions of dollars to a crappy conference consisting of schools in smaller television markets (Boise, Idaho and Orlando)?
Speaking of the schools joining the conference, what in the hell were they thinking?
“You know what, we are so (plucking) tired of being left out in the BCS-cold, so let’s join a sinking ship of a conference so that we can qualify for the BCS $$$.”
I would love to see where Boise State and Co. are willing to go when the Big East loses its AQ status and dies as a football conference.
Man I swear. The older I get, the more stupid (spit) I see.
Categories: college basketball, college football, sports story
Agreed. It’s quite awkward and clearly a risk, but the Big East has no other viable alternatives. Houston and Dallas are top TV markets so the Big East is hoping that SMU and Houston will continue to improve. Boise joined for the obvious reason that you mentioned, the automatic bid.
What I don’t understand is why the Pac 12 picked Utah or Colorado over Boise and why the Big 12 was not interested in SMU or Houston? Seems like a natural fit.
I thought that Boise was a better fit for the Big 12, though Boise going to the Pac-12 is going to be the inevitable.
The Big 12 already had four Texas teams. It would be counterproductive. Colorado is a big market and I guess Utah has a big following as well. More than Boise. Big markets, big money.