11/05/24
November 29, 2010
TCU moving to the Big East Conference: TCU is moving to the Big East Conference after next year. This gives them a shot at one of the BCS automatic bids.
The Big East at one time had Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College. Also, West Virginia was good at one time. Maybe they will be again.
posted by NoMich at 03:33 PM on November 29, 2010
Darn. The Mountain West could have a been quite a force with newly added Boise State had TCU, Utah and BYU stayed put.
posted by split atom at 06:52 PM on November 29, 2010
I agree. I think if the latter three had stuck around the Mountain West would've become a BCS conference.
The Big East is terrible this year, but Pittsburgh and West Virginia have fielded good teams in the past. I think they'll bounce back. It'll be exciting to see what TCU can do in their new surroundings although if they do go undefeated I expect they'll still be dogged by the inferior competition argument.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:56 PM on November 29, 2010
I guess the schools have to migrate to the conferences that give them the best chance at the mathematically insane BCS bids.
posted by irunfromclones at 09:24 PM on November 29, 2010
1. I think TCU might be afraid of future Mountain West competition, and thinks it has a better chance of whipping up on the Big East teams.
2. Timing of this announcement is strange. I see two possibilities. One, afraid it would leak out before they could announce (but then I wonder why it was even necessary to give offer and accept now since this had been rumored already). Two, attempt to discourage voters from bypassing TCU for other teams in case Oregon or Auburn stumble, by getting voters to think well, they might not be in a BCS conference but they will be.
posted by graymatters at 11:36 PM on November 29, 2010
I think TCU might be afraid of future Mountain West competition
and earlier this morning flaming monkees flew out of my whazoo ...
schools have to migrate to the conferences that give them the best chance at the mathematically insane BCS bids
It's ridiculous, but no matter how good TCU is they'll never get BCS respect unless they join a BCS conference.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:00 AM on November 30, 2010
I also doubt TCU is afraid of future Mountain West competition, that just doesn't make sense.
One side of this that I hadn't thought of was highlighted in this quote in the Dallas paper "The TCU Men's Basketball team won't know what hit them". One program gets a possible shot at a better bowl, the other programs suffer.
posted by dviking at 11:04 AM on November 30, 2010
One program gets a possible shot at a better bowl, the other programs suffer.
That's true in a sense, although it's obvious that TCU has decided to put all of its eggs in the football basket at this point. I assume that they have considered the fact that their basketball program will take it on the chin for a few years, but the added prestige and money of being in a high-profile conference will allow them to narrow the talent gap pretty quickly. BCS money goes a long way in a small school's budget, I would imagine. That's probably worth being a hoops cellar dweller for the immediate future.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:38 PM on November 30, 2010
What happened to the Big East looking for a football-only addition?
posted by bender at 01:37 PM on November 30, 2010
I imagine TCU wasn't willing to move unless all of their sports became Big East sports.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:02 PM on November 30, 2010
I also doubt TCU is afraid of future Mountain West competition, that just doesn't make sense.
Boise State and Nevada. Also, BCS would never pick two teams from the same conference without automatic bid. So, not only would they be competing against these teams for the conference championship, but for the only spot potentially available in the BCS. No Boise and TCU like last year.
posted by graymatters at 09:40 PM on November 30, 2010
I imagine TCU wasn't willing to move unless all of their sports became Big East sports.
That was their AD's position when the Big East was first shopping. I wonder what changed the conference's mind.
posted by bender at 09:25 AM on December 01, 2010
Boise State and Nevada
It's not about a fear of playing good competition. Agreed that the MW could be the best conference next year, but the BCS system would still be blind to that reality. This is a move to ensure that TCU gets a better shot at the big dogs (and money).
If the MW got any BCS respect there's no way TCU moves regardless of which teams were joining.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:02 AM on December 01, 2010
When does the BCS contract expire? Because I don't know that the Big East is going to hold on to its automatic bid. I think it primarily got it in the beginning because of Miami which is no longer there. The others are not really football powers; at least not anymore. A bunch of their teams used to be in Conference USA for god's sake.