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I'd like to see an eastern all sports conference comprised of the following schools:
(1) BOSTON COLLEGE
(2) UMASS
(3) RHODE ISLAND
(4) UCONN
(5) SYRACUSE
(6) RUTGERS
(7) TEMPLE
(8) PENN STATE
(9) PITT
(10) DELAWARE
(11) MARYLAND
(12) WVU
I like it. But wouldn't it be great if New York state had one traditional flagship university, somewhere in the SUNY system, and have it join, too.
So if you don't mind my input here, I'll take one of the schools you have out (let's give Delaware since it it too small to compete) and establish a new flagship school for the state of New York to replace it. Let's bring in the NYC market. We'll take SUNY's Stony Brook and give it the name Empire-York University (the University of the Empire State of New York) and have it join this northeast conference.
Boston College
Connecticut
Maryland
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
either Notre Dame or Massachusetts
The league eastern college football should have had was killed before it was born once the private school basketball guys in the actual Big East decided they didn't want Penn State in the conference. This forced Penn State to the Big Ten and eventually doomed the Big East as we knew it, as well as making the "Core 7" schools above (i.e. the schools that essentially played a round-robin, de facto conference in the 1980s - BC, PSU, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, and WVU) interlopers in other regions' conferences today. Penn State should have never played in the Boring Ten (which I thought was a boring league when I was growing up in the 1980s and still think is boring today; the only school Penn State should be playing semi-regularly is Ohio State) and I personally never reconciled Penn State playing in that league (and therefore don't care much about Penn State football anymore).
Though I think Notre Dame would still have wanted to remain an independent in football even if the league I outlined above had come to pass, IMO Notre Dame, which fanbase-wise has always Northeast-centric despite its Midwestern location, would have been more likely to join the above league than the Big Ten. If they don't join the league then Massachusetts, which recently moved up to Division I-A in football, would have been a viable alternative (and had ready-made rivalries with BC and UConn).
P.S. One of the primary reasons why the Big Ten added Maryland and Rutgers was to prevent Penn State from bolting to the ACC. That became a viable possibility once Pitt and Syracuse joined that league (joining BC) and Notre Dame became semi-affiliated with that league.
I like it. But wouldn't it be great if New York state had one traditional flagship university, somewhere in the SUNY system, and have it join, too.
So if you don't mind my input here, I'll take one of the schools you have out (let's give Delaware since it it too small to compete) and establish a new flagship school for the state of New York to replace it. Let's bring in the NYC market. We'll take SUNY's Stony Brook and give it the name Empire-York University (the University of the Empire State of New York) and have it join this northeast conference.
Good catch!
I considered both Buffalo and Stony Brook, but when I think of collegiate football in the State of New York only three schools come to mind: Syracuse, Colgate and Hofstra - all private schools. And Hofstra recently terminated its football program.
Boston College
Connecticut
Maryland
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple
Virginia
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
either Notre Dame or Massachusetts
The league eastern college football should have had was killed before it was born once the private school basketball guys in the actual Big East decided they didn't want Penn State in the conference. This forced Penn State to the Big Ten and eventually doomed the Big East as we knew it, as well as making the "Core 7" schools above (i.e. the schools that essentially played a round-robin, de facto conference in the 1980s - BC, PSU, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, and WVU) interlopers in other regions' conferences today.
What doomed the BIg East is..football just ended up mattering so much more, and the league was built for basketball. Eventually they tried doing football, but the HOOPS schools still ran the show. Every move was for basketball. Schools no one really cares about , Providence, Nova, SJU, Seton Hall were running the show, and being that they got no money from football anyway why sacrifice anything for it?
The Eastern league didn't work because JOE didn't want it equal. His plan was for basketball money to be divided equally, while having no program then or now at PSU, but football money to be kept to himself. While it would have been good to have PSU in the conference, why would SJU, Providence, UCONN(at the time no real football), Syracuse (who sells more basketball tickets than most teams do football tickets)..why would they want to share basketball money with PSU and their 3000/game, just so BC had someone to play in football? (contrary to PSU opinion, Pitt wasn't even in the big east yet when PSU was voted NO)
Eastern league would have been nice but it would have been demolised the past few years anyway, PSU is huge but all the other schools are relatively small or new to the show.
Minnesota
Iowa
Iowa State
Nebraska
Illinois
Indiana
Purdue
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Ohio State
Essentially, the old Big 10 plus Iowa State and Nebraska. They're a perfect fit for proximety, campus style, and function. Note that geographically, they're all in the upper midwest and have natural rivalries. No Marylands, Rutgers, or even Penn States included. Tradition rich Notre Dame omitted as they have rivalries (Army & USC in particular) that should stay and thus would get in the way of being in the Big 10. They would be the university that would fit the best with this list though.
Why Iowa State? Ewww... I think Kentucky would be a great fit. Would make the conference insanely awesome for basketball, would be a good football rival for Indiana, and well, would bring as much as Iowa State would for football anyways.
If we wanted two more teams in the mix, Louisville and Pittsburgh would be awesome to add as well (for both basketball and football).
Why Iowa State? Ewww... I think Kentucky would be a great fit. Would make the conference insanely awesome for basketball, would be a good football rival for Indiana, and well, would bring as much as Iowa State would for football anyways.
If we wanted two more teams in the mix, Louisville and Pittsburgh would be awesome to add as well (for both basketball and football).
The B1G has academic standards, and Kentucky is no where close to meeting them. Neither is Louisville.
Why Iowa State? Ewww... I think Kentucky would be a great fit. Would make the conference insanely awesome for basketball, would be a good football rival for Indiana, and well, would bring as much as Iowa State would for football anyways.
If we wanted two more teams in the mix, Louisville and Pittsburgh would be awesome to add as well (for both basketball and football).
Iowa State is a perfect match with instant geographic rivalries in Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Also, don't discount the HUGE rivalry that would be expanded in wrestling. This is the Big 10 and basically it's the big conference for the midwest. Wrestling in this area, unlike most of the rest of the country, is still huge. Just a couple of years ago Iowa State and Iowa set an all time attendence record for a dual meet and they're not even conference foes.
I have no clue in the world why they decided to expand to Rutgers and Maryland. Absolutely no connection with these schools at all. For that matters, what's going on all over the country with these conference realignments makes one wonder if there's anybody at all using there brains.
I have no clue in the world why they decided to expand to Rutgers and Maryland. Absolutely no connection with these schools at all. For that matters, what's going on all over the country with these conference realignments makes one wonder if there's anybody at all using there brains.
Yea, I know, but in the short term. The long run realignments with schools joining conferences from totally different geographic areas and polar opposite academic standards/goals will prove to not be such a good idea. Fans want a connection not a disconnection.
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