http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/oct/14/mountain-west-conference-usa-merger-creates-22-tea/

Bad move, correction, astoundingly horrible move. What a logistical nightmare. It won't last long before it splinters in all directions.

I dont think its a bad move at all. At least they are doing something instead of watching the train wreck from afar. This seals our fate for FBS. Our only hope is that some of the CUSA teams move to the Big East and we can somehow fast talk our way into this new conference. Otherwise Sacred Heart and Albany here we come.

wow, what a giant turd. Its like the Super Walmart of non AQs.

BL, you misjudge Dr. Rod McDavis.  He will take decisive action when the time is ripe.  Ohio will not drop a division.  Stay tuned .  .  . this story is just starting to play out as far as Ohio is concerned.  This merger may actually play right into our hand.  It's going to result in either the defection of the eastern C-USA schools, or the addition of some MAC teams (like Ohio, Toledo, NIU) to an expanded eastern C-USA division, or a brand new league made up of these schools.  We may be on the sidelines watching the action now, but I predict that this will not be the case too much longer.   

Carl,

     Marshall and our AD has been talking about this and pushing this idea for quite a while now. Matter of fact, our AD's connections with UNLV and the MWC helped make this a reality. We have been hoping like crazy it would eventually come to reality and  it finally has. We look at this is a great day for Marshall and CUSA. The ultimate goal for CUSA and the MWC is to stay in the upper level of college football with all this shifting and to hopefully gain BCS inclusion. That being the ultimate goal, the two of us are going to work together to make it a reality. This also allows for more exposure, stability, a better TV contract, expanded recruiting for all the teams involved, the expansion of the MWC TV network and of course the financial incentives and the hope that a BCS tag will follow. This is a "football only merger" but soon you will hear some more details regarding basketball. It hasn't  been "officially" announced yet but there is going to be a yearly "CUSA-MWC" challenge in basketball to help each other boost RPI and get more teams in the NCAA basketball tournament.

  Now as soon as the news dropped on this, the Big East said it was interested in Boise State, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Central Florida and Navy. Essentially the Big East is in fear of losing its AQ status to the new CUSA/MWC merger and thinks by adding these teams it would be their best shot to keep their BCS status. Problem for them is that per ESPN sources Boise and Air force are staying with the CUSA/MWC merger now that a deal has been reached. Boise is the one that holds all the cards for the Big East's ability to keep its BCS status. The Big East had invited TCU with all its BCS points but as we all know TCU has jumped ship to the Big 12 so no Boise likely means no more AQ for the Big East after 2013.

Another wrinkle in this is that the SEC still sits at 13 teams. More than likely they will add Missouri, which in turn means the Big 12 will add Louisville and two more (probably WVU and Cincy) to get to 12 teams. The other possible scenario is the SEC instead invites  WVU as the 14th member or the SEC inviting a school from the ACC which in turn takes a school or two from the Big East as a replacement (likely UConn or Rutgers. Maybe both). As you can see, it looks very likely that the Big East may not soon exist as a football conference if all its members leave. Everybody is wanting out of the Big East.

 Now it wouldn't surprise me to see UCF and maybe SMU or Houston still go to the Big East to chase the money for a few years but the long-term prospects for Big East survival and AQ tag continuing is slim. Its a huge gamble for those schools but they might be willing to take a chance on it. We're not. We think this CUSA/MWC merger is the better long-term solution so we are really excited about it.  According to the info we've been hearing, the ideal size for this super conference is 18, 20, 22 or 24. In other words, there might end up being room for two more schools when its all said and done. We'll just have to see how it all plays out. .

If its's 18 or 20 teams we simply have an east and west division with 9 or 10 teams per division and round robin format. The two winners then play each other.

If it's 22 teams...we like have 11 teams in each division and play 10 conference games to determine a winner on each side. Then of course the championship game. The problem with this is that we would then only have 2 openings a year for out of conference games. Hopefully the Ohio Marshall series would continue. I think it would.

It its 24 teams (less likely) then there will be 4 pods of 6 teams. An example is that we would play all 5 teams in our pod and then play one team from each additional pod for an 8 game conference schedule. The winner of each pod  in a given division would meet the winner of the other division pod. The winner of that game would then meet the other side for a championship game. For this format to happen, would require NCAA approval for the additonal game and the addition of two more schools.This format is not likely to happen.

Anyway, that's the extent of it.

"We need to wait and see where the big boys settle before we can do anything."

- President McDavis when I asked him about conference realignment and if we are making any proactive moves.

I just hope that everyone here understands that:

1) Ohio won't drop a division: but they won't ascend to the new one that will be created. Your personal glass and water outlook will be tested.

2) Ohio will have no say in division restructuring. Ohio is the Frank Pentangeli of college football - small potatoes. The Roths and Corleones will do the deciding.

3) Maybe at best (with LOTS of luck and skillful maneuvering) we can achieve Fredo status and be part of some sort of grandfather/loophole clause that allows us to hang on to the fringe of the higher level. I'll acknowledge that this is possible - with lawyers and such. But I know that it would be short-lived and that we'd merely be on the boat on a lake waiting to be put in our "appropriate" place.


When this does happen, it's going to be very interesting to see how the fan base reacts.

I contend that there are two sides of our fan base that can be seen like the fans of the WCW and WWF of the late 90s-early 2000s. The WCW side is going to enjoy being D1-AA, as much as being D1 - if not more so. The WWF side won't.

You are exactly right on all three points L.C. One thing that will really benefit all of us is the expansion of the "Mountain West" network which will now span across the country and more than likely it will get a new name. The big rumor is that Jerry Jones (Owner of the Cowboys) is one that helped encourage this idea and is wanting to add one more BCS sponsored bowl to be held at his new stadium (likely the Cotton Bowl sponsor) which could guarantee the winner of the MWC/CUSA merged conference winner an auto-bid. The other bid would be an at-large. We should be getting more detail as the week unfolds. Here is an article stating Jerry's interest of bringing a BCS game to his stadium. This article is a little old but gives you an idea of how some of this could evolve:


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls07/news/story?id=3172508

Steve, with UCF, SMU and Houston, and Boise (and maybe ECU) going to the BE and with TCU already departing this far flung alliance is really not going to work without major realignment and new admissions.  Dr. Kopp is not going to be happy with even more away games that are far away from Huntington.  When the dust settles Marshall could easily find itself along with UAB as the only teams in the alliance that are still in the Eastern Time Zone.  The Marshall fans that I know best will not be happy with this arrangement.  They would like to see a conference that has more away games that are in drivable distances.  I think this thing is still very much in flux.

Well, WAM, we see this a little differently.  First, I think you are painting the most optimistic scenario possible about how this will all pan out.  Second, my friends in Huntington think this merger is crazy.  Good luck today against Rice.  My wife and I are coming down to Huntington on the 29th for the UAB game.  

Go Herd!
Go OHIO! 

I assume you are kidding. I don't know why in the world this conference champion should play for the national title. Neither conference now is that good, except for Boise, and they could play for the national title now if they were ranked high enough. Just making it bigger doesn't make it better.  But, you are probably saying this is a good thing just so you can bash the MAC for not doing anything.

OK, as I said, you are taking the most optimistic possible interpretation of all of this.  Let me edit your "pods" the way I think they will eventually turn out, if this thing survives at all.

C-USA

Pod 1:

1. Marshall
2. ECU
3. UAB
4. CIncy -- We'll never join, BE will survive.
5. USF -- Same, stay in BE
6. UCF -- Bolt to BE

Pod 2:

1. Houston -- bolt to BE
2. Memphis
3. Tulsa
4. Tulane
5. Southern Miss
6. SMU -- bolt to BE

MWC Side:

Pod 3:

1. Utep
2. Rice
3. New Mexico
4. San Diego State
5. UNLV
6. Hawaii

Pod 4:

1. Boise State -- rumors yesterday had them going to BE, rumors now they're going to B12
2. Air Force -- will bolt to BE
3. Nevada
4. Wyoming
5. Colorado State
6. Fresno State

Now, WAM, if I'm right, who does C-USA fill the empty slots with?  I will admit that this whole thing is very much in flux, and, perhaps, the BE will completely fold, but at this point I think they are going to pick up the schools they are after, with the possible exception of Boise, which really doesn't belong in the BE at all.  The BE may pick up Navy to fill the Boise slot, or they might relieve us of Temple, notwithstanding the Villanova objections.  Now, if that school in Morganhole bolts the BE, who knows, Marshall might get an invite.  Lots of possibilities here.