Conference carousel to start spinning again?

[SM#24]

Yeah I see no way Bosie would have any real interest in joining an east coast league for football. They should just go the independent route like ND and BYU for football.

If the BE maintains its AQ BCS status, and Boise might help it do so, then why wouldn't Boise want easier access to the BCS bowl games ?

[GoMuskies]

If the BE maintains its AQ BCS status, and Boise might help it do so, then why wouldn't Boise want easier access to the BCS bowl games ?

Agreed. IF everything settles down, and the Big East gets actual commitments from WV, Louisville, Rutgers and UConn to stick around, it would make perfect sense for Boise to join (other than the geography which makes no sense). They can go out and play two killer non-conference games, and WV and sometimes Louisville, UC and/or USF would give them a little bit of a schedule pop, and they would have a realistic shot of making a national title game appearance. If they lose one of those marquee OOC games, then they would still have the Big East auto-bid to potentially fall back on.

But it makes no sense for them to enter into such an alliance without full on commitments backed by huge exit fees from Louisville, WV, Rutgers and UConn.

[Founding Father]

What is Villanova doing? Do they really want to make the finacial committment/tough financial move to move up to DI and find they have a non AQ confernence to play in 36 months from now?

[xavierj]

If the BE maintains its AQ BCS status, and Boise might help it do so, then why wouldn't Boise want easier access to the BCS bowl games ?

because boise has a niche. Joining a 2nd rate bcs football conference won't help their chances. They are making bcs bowls now and joining a conference without an identity with little respect could cause them to lose their identity. I would say they have a better shot right now at bcs success then any team currently in the big east.

[LA Muskie]

If the BE maintains its AQ BCS status, and Boise might help it do so, then why wouldn't Boise want easier access to the BCS bowl games ?

THIS. THIS. And more THIS. Frankly it's a pretty genius move -- for the Big East it would probably solidify the BCS AQ. For Boise, it would get it out of the at-large BS.

[GoMuskies]

because boise has a niche. Joining a 2nd rate bcs football conference won't help their chances. They are making bcs bowls now and joining a conference without an identity with little respect could cause them to lose their identity. I would say they have a better shot right now at bcs success then any team currently in the big east.

They have a better chance at BCS success right now than all but about 5 schools in the entire country, regardless of league. And they're in the MWC now. It's not like moving to the Big East would put them in a worse situation (again, with the huge assumption that the league includes Louisville, WV, UConn and Rutgers going forward).

[LA Muskie]

because boise has a niche. Joining a 2nd rate bcs football conference won't help their chances. They are making bcs bowls now and joining a conference without an identity with little respect could cause them to lose their identity. I would say they have a better shot right now at bcs success then any team currently in the big east.

XavierJ, I've got to respectfully disagree. The BCS bowls are skewed absurdly in favor of the member conference (and ND). They do have niche, but the system sucks. And the SEC is already making waves about turning the bowls it even more of a BCS-only club.

[xubrew]

What is Villanova doing? Do they really want to make the finacial committment/tough financial move to move up to DI and find they have a non AQ confernence to play in 36 months from now?

Nova wanted to move up, but the Big East opted to not let them. It is the only case in the history of college athletics that I know of where a full conference member was denied inclusion in a sport sponsored by the conference they are a member of. Maybe it has happened before, but I cannot think of another example.

because boise has a niche. Joining a 2nd rate bcs football conference won't help their chances. They are making bcs bowls now and joining a conference without an identity with little respect could cause them to lose their identity. I would say they have a better shot right now at bcs success then any team currently in the big east.

Boise State did not make a BCS bowl last year, even though they were eligible to do so. If they were in the Big East, they almost certainly would have automatically qualified. In 2008, Boise was undefeated, and didn't go to a BCS game either. They would have most likely won the Big East that year as well and automatically qualified. That's twice in four years they would have gone to a BCS bowl had they been in the Big East. At the very least, they finished higher in the rankings than the Big East champion did.

On top of that, Boise does not get a full BCS share, even when they go to a BCS bowl. Joining the Big East is an absolute no brainer if it keeps its BCS AQ status. Being in a second rate conference that is BCS AQ is far and away better than being in a second rate conference that isn't. As it stands now, they have to find a heavyweight that is willing to play them and go undefeated, and sometimes that isn't even enough. In the Big East, they could lose a game...maybe two...and still make a BCS game.

[Founding Father]

Nova wanted to move up, but the Big East opted to not let them. It is the only case in the history of college athletics that I know of where a full conference member was denied inclusion in a sport sponsored by the conference they are a member of. Maybe it has happened before, but I cannot think of another example.

So has Villanova given up on potentially moving up then?

[xubrew]

So has Villanova given up on potentially moving up then?

I believe their delimma is finding a suitable location for their home games. You would think Franklin Field would work, but it doesn't have lights, and I guess Penn doesn't want to share it. Lincoln Financial would work, but Temple said they would be unwilling to share it, which I guess they have a right to do.

I do not know if they're working to resolve this, or if they have given up.