BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

Read an interesting piece on how we're getting closer and closer to a true split of the P4 from the rest of the FBS. There's talk of a G5 playoff, a G5 top 25, etc.

A Split is Coming: Head Coaches Sound Off on Future of G5 Football

One of the more intriguing takeaways is if this does come to fruition, it offers these G5 leagues a chance to reset to get rid of some of the absurd travel that's come about since these moves happened.

I think the MAC would mostly remain intact. It's pretty regional as it is. Mountain West too. But CUSA, the Sun Belt and the American have a real chance to move some pieces around.

League 1: Tulane, UTSA, Rice, North Texas, Tulsa, New Mexico State, UTEP, Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, Texas State, Louisiana, UL Monroe
League 2: Memphis, Southern Miss, Troy, South Alabama, Jacksonville State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, FIU, FAU, UAB, USF, Kennesaw State, Missouri State (just announced today that its moving to CUSA)
League 3: Navy, Charlotte, ECU, Liberty, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, JMU, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, ODU, Marshall, Delaware

That's two 12-team leagues and one 14 teamer, providing actual geographic rivalries and the chance for some shorter travel for non-rev sports.

 

Add UConn, Army and Temple to the MAC. Probably BC too, can't see them making the investment to remain at the very top.

Some of my fellow Beaver fans disagree, but the MWC/Pac-2 combo is perfect for us. Regional travel, reasonable budgets, like-minded academic schools. It makes no sense for OSU (or WSU) to spend the millions and millions it takes to chase the Alabamas and Georgias when it's a futile chase already. Oregon's budget is already $50 million more. Let them go, OSU will still remain older, bigger, will continue to dwarf their research budget and continue to serve the entire state.

As long as championship access is guaranteed in every other sport, let the dream of big, big-time semipro football go. For schools like OSU/WSU/BC/Vandy/Wake/Northwestern and others, chasing the big-time football dream is fool's gold.

 

I think that the top of the B1G and the SEC is going to split off to form an elite league, possibly as soon as those two leagues leave the NCAA. The deadwood at the bottom, the teams in those leagues who wind up at .400 or less in conference, are going to be swept away. They'll be looking for homes as well. It might be a little soon to be forming the mid level leagues just yet.

I would imagine that the AAC teams will drag their feet on this as long as ESPN will allow them to.

 

LOL, I completely forgot about Temple. Easy to do. Forgot Army as well.

Grand Canyon -- a for-profit diploma factory -- to the WCC? My how times have changed.

 

G5. LOL

 

Seattle U is rejoining the league as well. Makes sense geographically and Seattle U is Jesuit like some of the WCC. Maybe the WCC is positioning itself for the loss to Gonzaga, which has been rumored for the past couple years.

 

I think that leaves the WAC with five Texas schools, three from Utah and then Cal Baptist. Super sustainable.

 

The rationale for larger leagues were the revenues from adding conference championships games and then to make leagues more attractive television packages. I do not think that the additions added much to the experience of the average fan because of the diminution of traditional rivalries.

The G5 leagues are not going to make very much money from television. I think smaller leagues make sense. If, for example in the proposed league two you took the Florida, Georgia and Alabama teams and created a 10 team league it would not make more sense.

In lieu of a conference championship game you could have an FBS playoff that would recover revenues. In addition, smaller leagues would receive more NCAA tournament bids (more one bid leagues) and that would provide additional revenue.

 

You’d have to have some real morons to move a school up to FBS right as the model is collapsing and the fees are astronomical.

Can’t spell moron without MO!

 

Which conference is New Mexico State in this week?

 

After BYU left, Pepperdine is the only Protestant school in the WCC.