Marshall is not going anywhere.  I believe Conference USA will remain largely intact.  The big conferences are almost done rearranging.  The Big East is dead.  Nobody is going to leave their conference to join football forces with the remaining five schools. 

I know it is completely unscientific, but my friends that went to Marshall are quite successful in their chosen fields.  They may not rank highly on any national report like Ohio does, but they have degrees in a variety of professions that have prepared them to make a lot of money and have leadership roles in their firms.  I am growing weary of several on this board (particularly the Scripps grads) having a superiority complex about our academics.  Who cares if you have the most prestigious diploma of all the guys working for pennies in the newsroom?

But, as you said earlier, the Big Least is now at the point where they are looking for warm bodies;  Marshall,  Ohio, Toledo, etc.,. might qualify with that criteria.  Temple, not so much!

Isn't that an accurate assessment? Its an open admission school in one of the least desirable locations in the country. All the decent students in West Virginia head to WVU which is an average state school itself.  The Big East is willing to take a look at state schools without a reputation if they have 40,000 students like UCF. There is just no demand for a Marshall education. The average endowment value in the MAC is about 150 million. Marshall has a 71 million dollar endowment. The average MAC school has 15,000 undergraduates. Marshall has 10,000. East Carolina has 21,000 undergrads and a 130 million dollar endowment with a much bigger state in North Carolina. They can't even get the votes for the Big East. There is no way the Big East is happening for Marshall. The Big East would look at Akron and its 25,000 undergrads, new stadium first. Better off having 2 decent schools in Ohio than 1 weak one from West Virginia.

Obviously,with Rutgers being in N.J,the collapse of the Big East is getting a lot of attention out here.

After hearing about the WVU departure,there was quite a bit of chatter on sports radio yestarday about the Big East giving up trying to stay a BCS conference in football and instead concentrating on becoming a super conference in basketball.

Tthe sports pundents feel that, with the basketball schools they already have, the Big East could easily expand to the West (Butler,Dayton) and North (U Mass)  which would also tempt other big basketball schools to join.

What was interesting was that Temple wasn't mentioned.The feeling is that Vilinova would do everything they could to stop them from joining and that, given the fact that Temple is trying to build up their football program, they wouldn't want to go to go to a conference where  football isn't a major sport.

Also,is it just me or everytime the Big East comissioner talks about another  defection he sounds like Kevin Bacon just before he got stampeded in Animal House "Stay clalm,all is well"

http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205323383&DB_OEM_ID=10410

Its official. Ohio is now located halfway between Big Ten (OSU) and Big XII (WVU) country. Athens is with a 2.5 hour drive of the SEC (Kentucky), Big Ten (Ohio State), ACC (Pittsburgh), Big XII (WVU), CUSA (Marshall), Big East (Cincinnati). What does this mean for the sports bars in Athens uptown? Ohio almost has to stay in the MAC to offer a different product.

ESPN's Joe Schad says the Big Least will announce next week that UCF, Houston and SMU will join in '13.  These moves are all about TV markets for the BL -- Orlando, Houston & Dallas -- and the promise of AQ status for the schools.  They also will be going to Boise next week to make a pitch to the Blue Turfs.