Big East interested in adding TCU ... wait, what?

• gorocks99

  

  http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/football/big_east_has_interest_in_tcu_6GTZTxC9I2fssdAib7x6KK
  
  LOL geography.
• believer

  

  Minnesota would be a better fit.
• ohiotiger33

  

  LOL the big ten has 11 and will have 12 teams... How is that any different? hahahaha.
• Fly4Fun

  

  ohiotiger33;500461 wrote:LOL the big ten has 11 and will have 12 teams... How is that any different? hahahaha.

  
  It's different. The Big 10 is at least geographically close (some what). Adding TCU to the Big East would be interesting to say the least.
• gorocks99

  

  The Big Ten having 12 teams is funny and quirky, but it's not insane.
  
  TCU is 900 miles from the next closest Big East team (Louisville). Talk about incurring travel costs.
• dave

  If it's only for football, traveling costs are not an issue at all. You are only talking about 4 games there a year.
• Little Danny

  

  TCU is located in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Unlike the B10 whose members are primarily located in small college towns, the BE has teams in metropolitan areas with big airports hubs. Travel will not be as difficult as you would think.
  
  Also, TCU currently plays in the MWC. The distance is not actually the much different for them already:
  
  New Mexico- 693
  Colorado State- 800 miles
  Air Force Academy- @800 miles
  Wyoming- 975 miles
  UNLV- 1,218 miles
  Utah 1,265
  San Diego State- 1,360 miles
  Utah- 1,265 miles
  
  Louisville-727 miles
  Cincinnati-819 miles
  USF- 918 miles
  WVU- 1,051 miles
  Pitt- 1,070
  Syracuse- 1,327 miles
  Rutgers- 1,373 miles
  UCONN- 1438 miles.
  
  Finally, and most importantly, the BE has an AQ BCS tie in- the MWC does not. The fact Utah and BYU will be leaving the conference after this season does not help.
• gorocks99

  

  Well shucks, I suppose you're right. That MWC is really spread out.
• Fly4Fun

  

  Eh, didn't realize their current conference was that spread out... stupid geography.
• ohiotiger33

  

  Wasn't it UCF that used to be in the MAC?
• enigmaax

  Didn't read the article, but this wouldn't surprise me and I assume it would eventually lead to the Big East adding enough teams to go to two divisions, as is the current trend. That conference HAS to get creative and make some kind of moves to keep up or eventually the possibility exists that they'll get cherry picked and left out in the cold completely.
  
  Memphis has previously announced its intentions to join a BCS conference and the Big East is the only one that'd give them a second look. I figure UCF has to be looking at options and might be an attractive choice for the Big East, as well.
• Little Danny

  

  ^^^ Agreed. However, in addition to TCU I see another Texas school joining up (Houston), Villanova, and likely UCF. The Big East is working to develop a Big East Network and with those schools they would like down the largest TV markets in the country. I would not be surprised to see this all falling into place prior to the end of 2010 so that plans can be put into works. The BE renegotiates its TV contract with ESPN in 2012.
• Fly4Fun

  

  Little Danny;500721 wrote:^^^ Agreed. However, in addition to TCU I see another Texas school joining up (Houston), Villanova, and likely UCF. The Big East is working to develop a Big East Network and with those schools they would like down the largest TV markets in the country. I would not be surprised to see this all falling into place prior to the end of 2010 so that plans can be put into works. The BE renegotiates its TV contract with ESPN in 2012.

  
  Did you mean lock down the largest TV markets?
  
  Or what did you mean to write, I guess I'm confused by what is meant by "they would like down the largest TV markets." Yes, they would have Texas and most of New England... but here's a secret. Residents of New York and New England in general don't really watch college football (it's all about the MLB and NFL for them in the fall), and the ones who do watch college football typically watch Big 10. Surprisingly a lot of my native New Yorker friends at Dartmouth were actually either OSU or Michigan fans... some PSU fans.
  
  And everyone knows that people from Texas will generally be more loyal to Texas than TCU.
  
  While the schools might be located in large TV markets, a lot of the fans are already spoken for in regards to other conferences.
• enigmaax

  Little Danny;500721 wrote:^^^ Agreed. However, in addition to TCU I see another Texas school joining up (Houston), Villanova, and likely UCF. The Big East is working to develop a Big East Network and with those schools they would like down the largest TV markets in the country. I would not be surprised to see this all falling into place prior to the end of 2010 so that plans can be put into works. The BE renegotiates its TV contract with ESPN in 2012.

  
  Yeah, thought of Houston. I still wonder if Houston won't end up back in the Big XII at some point but in the meantime that makes sense if the Big East is going to Texas anyway. I guess I mentioned Memphis because they are specifically trying to move into a BCS conference and I forgot that Villanova was on the horizon. I figure a lot of those CUSA schools (La Tech, Marshall, ECU) would also be seeing stars in their eyes if the Big East talks about growing, though that doesn't mean the conference would be interested in everyone, obviously.
• Little Danny

  

  Fly4Fun;500736 wrote:Did you mean lock down the largest TV markets?
  
  Or what did you mean to write, I guess I'm confused by what is meant by "they would like down the largest TV markets." Yes, they would have Texas and most of New England... but here's a secret. Residents of New York and New England in general don't really watch college football (it's all about the MLB and NFL for them in the fall), and the ones who do watch college football typically watch Big 10. Surprisingly a lot of my native New Yorker friends at Dartmouth were actually either OSU or Michigan fans... some PSU fans.
  
  And everyone knows that people from Texas will generally be more loyal to Texas than TCU.
  
  While the schools might be located in large TV markets, a lot of the fans are already spoken for in regards to other conferences.

  
  Yes, sorry I meant lock. Earlier this year the Big East named former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue as a special consultant solely for the purpose of developing the Big East Network and enhancing the brand. If the Big East Network is launched and it becomes a part of Tier 1 basic cable (like BTN is for me here in Columbus), it does not matter if people are watching. If you use a round number cost per home of $1.00 and multiply that by the millions of residents in NYC, Philly, Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Orlando (possibly), DC/Baltimore (Georgetown), Chicago (Depaul), etc. you are talking serious dollars.
  
  Enigmaxx, if the B12 exapands I would not anticipate they would add other Texas schools. If they expand, they would be looking for new markets to tap into to. They already have four Texas schools and besides, the non-Texas schools already believe the state of Texas already has too much influence on the conference. That was one of the main reason Nebraska and Missouri were so eager to get the heck out of dodge. It worked for the Huskers, the Tigers are still in the conference and for now have to live with it.
• j_crazy

  

  sort of like how dallas cowboys play in the NFC east?
• goosebumps

  

  Looks like a lot of TCU fans are in favor of the move, I'd really like to add TCU. I don't think they would win the conference right off the bat, because they arent used to playing decent teams back to back, but They certainly bring more to the table than Nova, UCF, or Memphis.
  
  http://www.killerfrogs.com/msgboard/index.php?showtopic=122262
• enigmaax

  Little Danny;500889 wrote:
  Enigmaxx, if the B12 exapands I would not anticipate they would add other Texas schools. If they expand, they would be looking for new markets to tap into to. They already have four Texas schools and besides, the non-Texas schools already believe the state of Texas already has too much influence on the conference. That was one of the main reason Nebraska and Missouri were so eager to get the heck out of dodge. It worked for the Huskers, the Tigers are still in the conference and for now have to live with it.

  Yeah, good points.
• darbypitcher22

  

  that would make for some interesting dominoes to move into place if this were to happen
• justincredible

  

  j_crazy;501097 wrote:sort of like how dallas cowboys play in the NFC east?

  
  And the Colts in the AFC South.
• karen lotz

  

  j_crazy;501097 wrote:sort of like how dallas cowboys play in the NFC east?

  justincredible;501839 wrote:And the Colts in the AFC South.

  And the Rams in the NFC West.
• redfalcon

  

  Kind of like how Louisiana Tech, Hawaii, and Boise are all in the same conference.
• Zombaypirate

  gorocks99;500467 wrote:The Big Ten having 12 teams is funny and quirky, but it's not insane.
  
  TCU is 900 miles from the next closest Big East team (Louisville). Talk about incurring travel costs.

  
  It's still the Big 10 the other 2 are little.
• cats gone wild

  Why doesnt TCU join the B12 with the B12 losing teams?
• mucalum49

  

  cats gone wild;504831 wrote:Why doesnt TCU join the B12 with the B12 losing teams?

  
  After the realignment this summer we saw how much control Texas has within the B12 and its widely believed they won't let another Texas team join.