Since Texas is staying put, it looks like the conference shake up business is settling down. A few mid majors might move to fill out slots in the Pac 10 or Big XII, but BC is not going anywhere. This is really the best news we could have hoped for. We are part of an ACC with a better TV deal and can continue to grow our ACC roots. If anything, the what if game just reaffirmed we are where we belong. The thought of playing West Virginia again or UConn annually seemed to upset most BC fans (it did this one). The ACC is not perfect and I don't think we will ever be appreciated there, but it is our home...for now.
So how long will this peace last? I only see two things that could force BC's hand.
1. Notre Dame decides to join a conference. This would have a ripple effect across the whole landscape. If the Irish ever decide to join a conference, you can be sure that BC would be rumored to follow. If they went to the Big Ten we would be listed as an appeasement (Catholic, private, rival). If they went to the Big East you would hear talk of us "coming home."
2. The BCS conferences break away from the NCAA. I think the issue is too complicated because of the non-revenue sports. But if the NCAA starts a DIA playoff, you know the BCS conferences would talk of doing their own thing.
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6 comments:
I gotta figure the dust isn't completely settled. The Big XII will want to add 2 teams so that it can hold a title game.
Arkansas would lead to SEC adding 1
TCU seems like a logical pick and they've changed conferences 14 times int he last 15 years so they're not tied in to tradition.
Tulane, Rice, Houston, UTEP, SMU all have the geography but probably not the allure.
Maybe a MWC.
But they'll want to maintain the conference championship game so despite a little more certainty in everyone's future, there's still a chance for some dominoes to fall.
ND already has multiple rivals in the Big 10 (Michigan, Purdue, Mich. St.) and there's already Northwestern, a similarly-sized private school. The only angle we would have is the Catholic one.
Word is that the Big XII doesn't want a championship game right now. Seven times one of the participants has gone into the championship with a chance to go to the national title game and five times that team has lost. (Not to mention last year when Texas probably should have lost.) I think they might be a little gun shy about a championship game.
Thats not even mentioning the money aspect which drove all this expansion to begin with. Adding TCU, Houston, Arkansas (who would never return to a conference with the Texas schools after bolting the SWC), etc. would not bring enough additional money to justify splitting the pot an additional two ways. No one is going to want to take less money. So, its likely that the Big XII is done and the only move left is Utah to the Pac-10(12).
ATL, the notion that BC and ND are traditional rivals is overblown. At best, we have a two decade sporadic tradition. ND has much deeper football ties to USC, Stanford, Navy and the Big Ten schools.
Why does ND play BC?? I am sure the ND athletic dept would rather not play BC in football -- for much the same reasons we do not want to play UConn. I wonder what goes on in Catholic-land (bishops etc) to make the BC v ND game happen? You know someone in a robe and pointy hat is twisting ND's arm to get ND to keep playing us.
What is with the AAU stuff?? Last, I find it highly grating to keep hearing about the supposed superiority of the Big Ten with its AAU memberships. To even suggest that Nebraska, Ohio St, Iowa, MSU, Indiana, Penn St. (or for that matter Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn and Maryland, 4 other AAU schools mentioned as Big 10 hopefuls) are academically superior to BC (or ND) -- or even on the same academic level as BC (or ND) is ridiculous.
@mod34b:
We're not talking about undergrad, no one's debating that. The AAU thing comes into play for the graduate schools. Most of those graduate schools (most, not all) dwarf BC in terms of research output and quality. Our PhD programs are incredibly weak compared to most of the Big 10's.
Boston is right. Texas and Oklahoma hate the conference championship game and would rather just go with an old-fashioned 10 team conference. Now that they have knocked out Nebraska, both teams have a better shot at going to the national title game.
This scenario might help the ACC. If the Big 12 drops its Championship game, the ACC can move into the coveted prime time slot. Since the ACC rarely has a national title contender, there is little risk of the ACCCG knocking an ACC team out of national title contention.
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