Boise Repudiates Hoarace Greely!

[donovan]

Well at least the Idaho Statesman is up front about the motivation for Boise State to sell its soul for a mess of pottage, very expensive pottage, however. And at least it notes that they sold out those that have been loyal to their success. Dang you have to be proud when you toss out your friends and country for quite a few bucks. Boise State, the WalMart of College Football.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/12/07/1907313/boise-states-gamble-on-big-east.html

BYU may well still be the smartest in all of this. They got a lot of money from the ESPN deal and they keep all their TV rights, which is the absolute deal killer with them...that motivation is not money driven, in fact is becomes a broadcast expense, though not real great.

[Grayghost]

You know, it is sad that all this conference realignment is happening, and that it is motivated by money, but on the other hand, I can't blame Boise, or any other program that does this. The system dictates these kinds of moves or become irrelevant regardless of on the field success. The BCS and the AQ/nonAQ moniker's created this mess and we have to live with it. I am no more happy than you about it, but sadly, I understand the motivation.

[WoVeU]

Economic decision making should always have a much broader base than just money!

I could steal and that is monetarily logical. I could lie to clients and employers and increase my salary. I could kill people and eliminate competition and reap improved monetary rewards. These are all very much unacceptable to a very high percentage of people, by a wide margin...so you'd have to come some good distance from these to be on solid ground.

But the root of the problem is this love for money. I don't get how these Universities and their Faculties can stand on their rather anti-capitalist platitudes and platforms with the Harlotry that goes on in College Sports. And not only strives for these grand dollars but also bends curriculum and true scholarship to advance the monetary agenda. But the one beautiful thing I have found about money and capitalism is that all play the harlot and find themselves quite the debutant when they can at all make a case for another to be a bigger harlot. I like to think of Universities as an ugly trailer trash "garden implement" cavorting around in pasties and vinyl clad 5" heels while screaming "garden implement" to the escort with an entire set of white teeth, her own hair, and 6" designer heels.

[billybud]

You know...it really isn't the universities. It is us.

The demand for sports is a consumer demand. We want it. We pay for it. We, as alumni and boosters, tie contributions to having a viable sports program.

And it isn't just football. Who said that places of higher learning had to support soccer teams, swim, diving, volleyball, track and field...oops..football supports those and more.

But just try to drop football in high school instead of firing a few teachers...the masses would erupt.

It is us. We make sports what they are.

[Spence]

You know...it really isn't the universities. It is us.

The demand for sports is a consumer demand. We want it. We pay for it. We, as alumni and boosters, tie contributions to having a viable sports program.

And it isn't just football. Who said that places of higher learning had to support soccer teams, swim, diving, volleyball, track and field...oops..football supports those and more.

But just try to drop football in high school instead of firing a few teachers...the masses would erupt.

It is us. We make sports what they are.

Yeah, that is how public school districts get levies passed. They threaten to take away sports. The joke is that even in high schools sports cost next to nothing in the scheme of things. As much as Ohio State generates in football, it is a drop in the bucket to the budget it takes to run the school.

[WoVeU]

I would agree it is just us consumers and sports if I hadn't seen what goes on in the research side of things. But I can't argue that consumers aren't the starters of this fire!

[donovan]

It is, as Mr. Billybud stated, and Pogo made famous.

[Eric]

I think the most interesting thing is that this isn't really an issue for a team like Rutgers, UConn, etc. They will have to, at max, fly out West twice a season. San Diego State is going to be the one with the largest travel budget. But this is really the first step into the world of "Geography Doesn't Matter." I think it gives a conference a sense of unity when they have some sort of stick. This conference has no stick. It'll collapse in a couple years. The minute the Big 12 won't mind adding a northern team (Boise) or the Pac-12 wants to go Pac-14, forget about it. Boise will be gone. If San Diego State becomes enough of a commodity, the Pac-12 may take them with Boise. If Big 12 is pressured to get to 14 or even 16 in the future, SMU and Houston are gone as well as potentially Cincinnati and Louisville. If the ACC has to go to 16, Rutgers, UConn, USF, or UCF are gone.

When this fails, they should just stick to being a minor sports / basketball conference. St. John's, Providence, Marquette, DePaul, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall. There you go.

[Swamp Daddy]

It's funny how some of you whinners can argue both sides of the coin. A year or so ago everyone was complaining how year after year most good Boise State teams got the shaft from the BCS old boy network. Now the join the network, and, everyone is still complaining. Doesn't make sense. For at least two years they may dominate the new Big East and get into BCS bowls. Doesn't that make you happy out there in CFP land? What will?

While I don't follow it that closely it seems now that 5 of the 6 AQ conferences are on-board to change things to the +one model and that probably the AC for conferences will dissappear. In two years when the current contracts are up there could be radical changes. No doubt whatever they are many will find reasons to keep complaining about whatever the current line-up is.

Should the AQ go the way of the dodo bird, I think newer and more interesting "conference realignments" will take place making the current changes seem peaceful.

I am more closely attuned to local talk boards so I admit not knowing enough to predict things nationally other than more changes are coming.

If I were to complain about anything it would be ESPNs clumsy big foot strangling sports telecasting.

Swamp Daddy

[Eric]

It's a mixed bag. Some of us on here are somewhat passive about the BCS, but they want Boise State to get more consideration for at-large status. People are saying the geography is kind of ridiculous, but I think they understand that the move makes sense for Boise State. They are blaming the AQ status for causing this alignment (there is no reason Boise would join the Big East if it weren't for the AQ status).

As for me, I'm just sour over what the Mountain West could have been. TCU, Utah, Boise State, BYU, Hawaii, Air Force, Houston, SMU, Tulsa, plus the rest. Bam, there you go, a conference that could have had enough clout for a BCS auto-bid.

[billybud]

Yep Eric...the MWC was so close to coming together.

Football has evolved. I have spent slightly more of my fan life cheering for FSU as a football independent than a conference member. When bowls and TV networks began contracting with conferences, the day of the independent was done.

In the days when the NCAA contracted for the TV money and divvied it up, one could thrive as an independent. I miss those days and national schedules but football moves on and I have now grown accustomed to conference play.

Nobody really likes change but the one constancy is that everything does change.