The Rest of College Football

[Dr. Strangelove]

Lots of mid-major realignment news this week

Florida International, Texas-San Antonio, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, are all joining CUSA in 2013. Old Dominion is moving up from 1-AA and will join over a couple transition years as well. Even Charlotte, who doesn't even have a program yet, has committed to join.

Texas State who only just moved up to 1-A this year is leaving the WAC for the SUn Belt starting in 2013.

With Utah State and and San Jose State already moving to the Mountain West, this leaves the WAC with exactly two teams: Idaho and New Mexico State. They say they are not shutting down but...who exactly can they convince to move up to 1-A? I think Montana already turned them down and that's the best 1-AA program out west.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Going along with the bowl talk and programs losing money, here's an interesting article from SMU.

http://www.smudailycampus.com/athletics-deficit-still-on-the-rise-1.2865199?pagereq=1#.T6CGelIU8dV

Out of 119 athletic departments that run FBS programs, 98 (82%) lost money. The median deficit from 2007-2010 was about $10M a year.

[WM Wolverine]

Yup, football (and much less-so basketball) pays the bills for anywhere from 16-30 other sports for the universities. These other sports are massive money losers.

[Mike]

I'm having a hard time understanding why us as college football fans give a rats ass about whether Jacksonville or whatever godforsaken bowl town is able to rake in tourism dollars. I'd much rather see those dollars that WE are spending go back to our team's bottom line than some idiot in a yellow jacket making 6 figures for providing a place to have a game that most don't care to watch in a half empty stadium that is a money loser for most teams involved. Keep the matchups that are interesting and scrap the rest.

Drok comes through in the clutch with the post of the thread.

[Wild Hoss]

Lots of mid-major realignment news this week

Florida International, Texas-San Antonio, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, are all joining CUSA in 2013. Old Dominion is moving up from 1-AA and will join over a couple transition years as well. Even Charlotte, who doesn't even have a program yet, has committed to join.

Texas State who only just moved up to 1-A this year is leaving the WAC for the SUn Belt starting in 2013.

With Utah State and and San Jose State already moving to the Mountain West, this leaves the WAC with exactly two teams: Idaho and New Mexico State. They say they are not shutting down but...who exactly can they convince to move up to 1-A? I think Montana already turned them down and that's the best 1-AA program out west.

This type of foolishness is another issue that needs to be resolved. Its a shell game with the intent of maintaining the facade that these shit programs belong in D1, when they clearly do not. These programs have a budget that is a fraction of Ohio State and Texas', and only on paper are they anywhere near of equal status. Its long past time to cull the D1 herd IMO.

[Hannibal]

This type of foolishness is another issue that needs to be resolved. Its a shell game with the intent of maintaining the facade that these shit programs belong in D1, when they clearly do not. These programs have a budget that is a fraction of Ohio State and Texas', and only on paper are they anywhere near of equal status. Its long past time to cull the D1 herd IMO.

This will become critical when we go to 16 teams with auto-bids (pretty much a certainty).

[whodean]

Now when/if we do get to the 16 team playoff level it would make sense to have the first round on campus and then the 2nd round on at preset locations, be they bowls or highest bidder. Then keep about 12 Bowls for non-playoff teams.

The B1G will likely fight the expansion vehemently though.

[Hannibal]

When we go to 16, I think that you will see at least two rounds on campus. Absolute minimum.

[hack]

mgoblog is doing well supporting the on-campus argument.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The realignment stuff is affecting basketball now too. Butler's leaving the Horizon League for the A-10 to replace Temple who left for the Big East. There'd been rumors that the Big East might target a couple other A-10 teams too

[Jeff Buchanan]

This type of foolishness is another issue that needs to be resolved. (Hoss)

Whole-heartedly agree.

Will it happen?

No.

Why?

Because the college presidents view themselves as this group of horseshit happy egalitarians, waging the unpopular battle for the little guys ....... spread the wealth, spread the wealth!

[Dr. Strangelove]

I somehow doubt the presidents at Michigan, OSU, USC, LSU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, and the other big boys are egging on programs like Old Dominion and can't wait to "share the wealth" with them

[Jeff Buchanan]

I somehow doubt the presidents at Michigan, OSU, USC, LSU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, and the other big boys are egging on programs like Old Dominion and can't wait to "share the wealth" with them

That may be ..... when they are behind closed doors with their accountants. But in the light of day, that's exactly what they'll be saying.

Former M president James Dudderstadt, acting independently from the U, nearly stopped Bill Martin's plans to upgrade Michigan Stadium saying that Michigan football was meant to be played before students and the every man not a bunch of fat cats' smoking cigars and drinking premium scotch in luxury suites.

It had a nice ring to it. Thank God he lost that one. The point is that there is a strong undercurrent of liberalism among college presidents and a penchant to appear to be avoiding the stink of big money. Sharing the shit ton of money being made in CFB with the have nots is part of their gig and a peace offering to the US congress who has a tendency to get upset by the non-profit status of public and private universities when college coffers are getting filled up by pay-outs from TV contracts and such.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Higher Education.

heh

[Wild Hoss]

I don?t mind the share the wealth angle. Revenue sharing is one of the NFL?s strengths, and is a core value of the conference concept; being united to some degree financially provides security for all in downcycles.

There has to be some caveat for potential to contribute however. UT-San Antonio and the like will never be able to contribute anything to BCS conferences. They don?t have the resources or dedicated fanbase/alumni that schools like Nebraska, Michigan, Florida and USC have developed over a century of competition. This isn?t to say I think the door to D1 status should be closed and padlocked, just that the entrance requirements need to be higher. Substantially so IMO.

The NCAA is watering down its prime product.