National Expansion For College Football: Part II

National Expansion For College Football: Part II - “The Three 1000 Pound Gorillas.” Subscribe to BCSBusters - College Football Report

The three main hurdles, or better known as the three 1000-pound Gorillas, standing in the way of the BCSBusters national realignment movement are the PAC-10 Conference, Notre Dame and Jim Delaney. These are the three giants that doom college football from moving forward and they have been in the news a lot this week, on the eve of the opening day of camp week for most of the NCAA football powers. Jim Delaney and the Big-10 Expansion tsunami has sent shock waves across the country, affecting nearly everyone from east-to-west in the college football world, including the Big-12 Conference.

Wisconsin Football Coach - Bret Bielema - had a particularly scathing evaluation of Notre Dame, which reminded me of a similar comment posted by Oregon Football coach Mike Bellotti a year earlier. Almost as soon as SEC mastermind Mike Slive and the rest of the BCS cronies announced their plans to push a Plus-One Concept to improve the BCS, aristocratic PAC-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen announced that the PAC-10 would not support a plus one and would pull out of the BCS (along with the Rose Bowl), putting an already agitated college football community in a chaotic constant state of unrest. It will be anarchy…Stay tuned for another episode of “As The BCS Turns.”

By now, you’ve had a chance to digest the national realignment recommendation found in Part I of this series. Although I will probably never get the opportunity to discuss this face-to-face with the Godfather of the BCS, it may spark some debate with the people that matter most - college football’s blogger community.

The Conferences that are already unwittingly on board with the BCS Busters national realignment movement include the SEC, Big-12, ACC, and MAC Conferences. Other than a minor tweak to the current championship game formats within each of these conferences, the stage is set up nicely for an easy adaptation into the BCSBuster world of regular season playoff morphology.

Atlantic Division	Coastal Division
1. Wake Forest	1. Georgia Tech
2. Boston College	2. Virginia Tech
3. Clemson	3. Virginia
4. Maryland	4. Miami
5. Florida State	5. N. Carolina
6. NC State	6. Duke

West Division	East Division
1. Arkansas	1. Florida
2. Auburn	2. Tennessee
3. LSU	3. Kentucky
4. Alabama	4. Georgia
5. Mississippi	5. S. Carolina
6. Mississippi St.	6. Vanderbilt

North Division	South Division
1. Nebraska	1. Oklahoma
2. Missou	2. Texas
3. Kansas	3. Texas A&M
4. K-State	4. Texas Tech
5. Colorado	5. Oklahoma St
6. Iowa St	6. Baylor

West Division	East Division
1. C. Michigan	1. Ohio
2. W. Michigan	2. Kent St
3. N. Illinois	3. Akron
4. Ball State	4. Bowling Green
5. Toledo	5. Miami-OH
6. E. Michigan	6. Buffalo

In consideration of the process to become a 12-team, two-division super conference, the Big-East is - undoubtedly - the easiest fix. Army and Navy, two teams who share perhaps America’s oldest and most revered rivalry in college football, are both located along the northeast grid, and already play many of the current members of the Big-East Conference on an annual basis.

Although most people would assume that this rivalry would be eliminated with both teams placed in opposite divisions, it is simply not true. This rivalry would continue on a yearly basis as both teams would play 5 games against their own division and only two cross over games with their rival (sister) division, therefore ensuring this match-up, which is over a century old now, would continue annually.

There are two other programs that could easily make the transition to the Big-East, not only in football but all other NCAA Division I sporting venues as well. They include Appalachian State and East Carolina. To me this is a no-brainer, especially considering two-time Division I Playoff Series member Appalachian State rocked the college football establishment on opening weekend, while East Carolina has shined against Virginia Tech and North Carolina - two ACC BCS members. All teams are located in the northeast, and with the exception of Army (maybe) would compete consistently (worst case scenario) in the middle of this conference.

North Division	South Division
1. Louisville	1. South Florida
2. Rutgers	2. Pittsburgh
3. Cincinnati	3. West Virginia
4. UCONN	4. Appalachian State
5. Syracuse	5. E. Carolina
6. Army	6. Navy

Next comes the most radical recommendation in my national expansion movement. It involves reconfiguring the teams involved in the Mountain West, WAC and C-USA. The purpose of this conference re-shuffling is to identify the best non-BCS teams in the country and perhaps create a branding identity as the Non-BCS national champion. Not to mention the fact that they are included in the race for the Sears Cup.

In the past 10 years of the BCS revolution, BYU, Utah, Boise State, TCU, Fresno State, Southern Mississippi, Louisville, Memphis, UTEP, and many other non-BCS teams have been on the rise, but the BCS formula has locked them out of the money ball in college football. While Louisville has come up golden - adopted into a BCS family - many others have suffered the wrath of the BCS.

Dr. Cowen (Tulane University President) led a recent reform movement - taking his campaign all the way to the steps of congress, and via the threat of antitrust litigation, has enabled Utah (2004) and Boise State (2006) to participate in a BCS Bowl. Many fans howled in appreciation of the inclusive open arms of the BCS committee, praising the selfless efforts of Dr. Cowen. I, however - continue - and always will continue, to be disgusted at the hypocrisy of an inequitable and unfair BCS monopoly.

Both, Utah and Boise State finished the season 13-0, winners of their BCS Fiesta Bowl Games. The BCS decries that Boise State and Utah can never compete on this level, yet both teams beat a BCS Conference champion in their respective bowl game. Neither Boise State or Utah will ever have a chance to compete for the national championship, unless of course they happen to go undefeated over the course of three-to-five seasons. As good as USC has been in the last 5 years, we’ve witnessed how difficult this task can be. It would be virtually impossible for these schools to ever compete in the BCS national championship game given the current arrangement.

Now many people will argue that even if these schools were included in an equitable and fair NFL-styled loser out playoff scenario, they would most likely never make the big dance. Yes, this is true…but history tells me otherwise. You see, I am an (ex) ALL-PAC-10 baseball alum from Oregon State University and people said for years the Beavers were undeserving of the playoff experience in Division I Baseball. Even when we had a deserving record, we had a hard time getting an NCAA post-season bid. One year in particular, in the early 1990’s, we won the PAC-10 North and didn’t receive a post season invitation. Washington - YIKES - got it, and went on to finish second at the 8-team regional in Baton Rouge. In fact, LSU had to beat the Huskies (a team who couldn’t win the poorly appreciated PAC-10 North) twice on the final day to earn the trip to Omaha.

In 2004, while scouting the College World Series, I kept saying to myself over and over that Oregon State could realistically compete with any team here. In fact, I called Marty Lee’s - an OSU assistant coach who I coached high school ball with in Oregon - and told him that Oregon State was not that far away from Omaha. That same season (2004), OSU finished 5th in the PAC-10, 15 games over .500, yet did not get an invite into the post-season. The SEC by comparison, got 9 NCAA invitations and four of the teams made it to Omaha, yet suprisingly, considering the ambiance of the SEC - not a single team made the championship series, which is grossly auspicious considering the hyped omnipresence of the overall conference.

What has happened since 2004? I think you know the answer in the form of back-to-back national championship seasons.

Oh stop…here it comes! The never ending cries of you can’t compare March Madness or the Road to Omaha with NCAA football! I think SMQ has answered the level of difficulty in advancing through the college baseball post-season as compared to college football’s ridiculous BCS format.

We have two spectrum’s occurring simultaneously in college football. One spectrum has the elite power schools who continue to monopolize the marketplace in college football, relying on their historic traditions and pageantry within the game which somehow creates a branded identity that they deserve the spoils because they have contributed the most in terms of the development of the game.

The other spectrum is the 85 scholarship rule and the leveling of the playing field as a result. The over riding theme of this spectrum is that on any given day, any team in America can beat another, irregardless of the historic traditions, level extravagance, or number of fannies their stadiums will hold.

Throw in a few penalties, injuries and turnovers with a well coached game plan capitalizing on field position and time of possession, and any team can win. It isn’t any different in basketball or baseball and the regular season isn’t cheapened by a season ending playoff format.

Unfortunately, although the overall health of the game - as well as the other popular collegiate sporting venues - is at an all time high, the networks and the polls still continue to uphold the traditions, pageantry and money greased relationships of the elite power structure within college football.

This is the basis for this radical re-shuffling of these three conferences (WAC, Mountain West & C-USA). One, it allows the best non-BCS teams from the east and west to meet on an annual basis, as part of the regular season. Two, as will become evident in the coming series of articles, it creates an opportunity to compete within a regionalized “POD like” tournament bracket in the final four weeks of the regular season, which allows fans to attend on short notice, and doesn’t put the fear of God into the athletic pocket books of these so called non-BCS programs. Two common objections the NCAA consistently utilizes in objecting to a playoff format for college football.

I for one would like to see TCU, Boise State, Tulsa, Houston, Southern Miss, and the other rising non-BCS stars play on an annual basis as part of the regular season. I for one would like to know who the best non-BCS team is on an annual basis, and have a mechanism in place to see those teams earn their schedule and their rightful place without the yearly scheduling woes which occur regularly.

These teams never have a chance to create a branding identity in college football and even when they get an opportunity (a.k.a. - Utah and Boise State), they have zero chance of competing in the championship game -EVER!

There are too many 1000-pound Gorillas standing in their way with a pessimistic mindset as high and long as the Great Wall of China. Accordingly, I would place the best teams over the past 15 years into an “East of the Rockies” and “West of the Rockies” format, so we can determine the best non-BCS teams to be included in the BCS regular season bracketed playoff for college football. It would offer a unique look and an intriguing flavor to the game.

West Division	East Division
1. Boise St	1. TCU
2. Hawaii	2. Houston
3. Fresno St	3. Rice
4. Nevada	4. Tulsa
5. Wyoming	5. SMU
6. Air Force	6. UTEP
7. Colorado St	7. Southern Mississippi

East Division	West Division
1. Marshall	1. San Jose St
2. UCF	2. San Diego St
3. UAB	3. Idaho
4. Memphis	4. New Mexico
5. Tulane	5. Utah St
6. Troy	6. UNLV
7. Middle Tennessee	7. New Mexico St

Now, speaking of the 1000 pound Gorillas. Many people believe the PAC-10 - if it ever expands - will choose Boise St or Fresno St. Not a chance! As snooty as Tom Hansen and company is over the icon of the PAC-10 (Rose Bowl) and their academic prowess, the Bronco’s and Bulldogs haven’t got a chance in hell of ever competing in the conference. As great as Boise has become in the last 10 years - their stadium holds less than 30,000 and the other sport programs bring absolutely nothing to the table.

Boise State is better off in the newly created BCSBusters Rocky Mountain Conference, which combines the best teams historically in the WAC, Mountain West and C-USA.

Fresno State is an intriguing character, but the academics do not meet the PAC-10’s aristocratic stature. The Bulldogs would bring an A+ to the athletic report card, as the other sports programs are stellar, but again - we’re talking academic, idealistic fantasyland, which is where Tom Hansen and the Presidents of the PAC-10 institutions vacation on a weekly basis.

Further diminishing the Bulldog chances is the fact that the visiting locker room at the football stadium, which happens to be the visiting locker room at Beiden Field (Baseball facility), has drawn the ire of PAC-10 officials. It is nearly a 15 minute walk just to get off the field and into the dressing room and the space inside is very limited, built for a team of 30 some… not 60 some players. To say the least, it is an embarrassment to Fresno State as a whole.

Utah and BYU, however, would meet the academic equation, and their sports programs, facilities and number of season ticket holders would meet the PAC’s requirements. Only BYU’s stance of not playing on Sunday’s would wrinkle the nose of the conference. From a scheduling and logistics standpoint, the air travel would be less of a problem in a major airline hub like Salt Lake City, as compared to the hic-cup transfer flights needed to get into Boise and Fresno. If the PAC-10 does expand, it is likely to be Utah and BYU. Therefore the conference would have the following look.

North Division	South Division
1. BYU	1. USC
2. Oregon St	2. UCLA
3. Oregon	3. CAL
4. Utah	4. Arizona St
5. Washington St	5. Arizona
6. Washington	6. Stanford

Personally, with the history and tradition BYU brings to the athletic and academic setting, this to me is another no-brainer. Both teams would be very competitive - in all sports - including both mens’ and womens’ venues, much like the Big-East Conference with the additions of Army, Navy, East Carolina and Appalachian State.

The bigger Gorilla to cage is Notre Dame. The grand-poo-ba of college football and the one school that has competed and sided against the NCAA since the early days of television, has a history of dancing to the beat of it’s own drum. The golden dome has whined repeatedly in the last decade or so regarding the rising difficulties of recruiting to the level of the dominant teams in college football.

I, for one, do not feel sorry for Notre Dame. They have all the advantages that other schools do not have (NBC TV contract, BCS Bowl free pass, and an annual place in the Top-10 when many other programs are more deserving) and have managed to fail consistently - dropping a whopping ten strait bowl games, and have been blown out in every BCS Bowl game they have managed to mingle and dine their way into. Poetic justice is a bitch sometimes isn’t it?

The devastating fact of the matter is I don’t see the Notre Dame factor changing. Given their alliances with the elite members of the game, due to their commanding presence among the good ol’ boy baby-booming CFA network, why would they ever change unless they are forced to? Would you? Would anyone?

You have to hit Notre Dame directly where it hurts the most and at the same time provide them with an exit strategy out of their present situation as they continue to drown in their own cesspool of mediocrity.

Although I have Notre Dame entering the Big-10 (11) because it makes the most economic sense given the fact that they play Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue on an annual basis and are located well inside the travel basin, I don’t see it ever happening.

If the Irish were going to join the Big-10, they would have done so ages ago. So, to borrow a baseball term, you have to read the signs.

Notre Dame also traditionally plays at least 3 PAC-10 teams a year, and lately it’s been Washington, Stanford and USC. Since the Golden Dome recruits the fertile football grounds of California and Washington, this makes ecomonic sense, but the Big-10 and PAC-10 are out of the running given the fact that they have traditionally been on opposite sides of the NCAA-CFA fued. I can’t see Notre Dame joining either of the two conferences as they have fueded with the administrators within the two conference for years - and I mean YEARS!

The Irish don’t have the travel limitations and constraints that other programs do, so they could in fact join several conferences outside of the Big-10. In recent years, Notre Dame has also scheduled several ACC schools, including North Carolina, Boston College and Georgia Tech. Again, considering their national recruiting efforts, this makes perfect sense. The southeast corridor, which includes North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina is a recruiting hotbed. Some of the best high school football in the country is played within these borders. It isn’t a stretch that Notre Dame would join the ACC as well, in an effort to get a greater foothold and presence into the state of Florida and the fertile recruiting grounds of the southeast. They already play Boston College and Georgia Tech on an annual or semi-annual basis, why not add some new yearly rivalries with Virginia Tech, Florida State, Miami or Duke (which is a similar school of elite academic stature)? It makes much more sense considering Notre Dame would improve tremendously upon their present situation for basketball and baseball venues.

Many people believe the Golden Dome is destined to join the Big-East, since they already have one foot inside the door of this conference as members in baseball and basketball. But the reality is, what does Notre Dame gain if they succumb to popular semantics and join this conference? Other than New York and New Jersey, which they already have a commanding recruiting presence in, it doesn’t significantly alter their abysmal course with mediocrity in football, and the weather in the northeast for baseball is absolutely brutal at times. They would greatly improve their fortunes inside the sun-belt of the ACC.

So, if your watching the signs…and you can bet that Notre Dame is watching the signs… for they know the eventuality of the BCS equation. It is headed for some kind of a playoff within the next decade. The baby-boomer generation that houses the mindset of Tom Hansen, Jim Delaney and the CFA consortium is about to run its course. In the last 5 years, many founding fathers of the CFA movement - including Chuck Neinas, Vince Dooley, Barry Switzer, Frank Broyles, Bo Schembeggler and the like have either retired or passed. How much longer will active members like Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno be in the mix? Change is in the wind…imminently waiting for some fresh blood at the administrative level to bring the sport into the next millinnium.

Which brings us to Jim Delaney, the current godfather of the BCS - and the third and final 1000 pound Gorilla - of Silverback proportions - to tame. The Big-10 expansion phenomenon, while creating quite a stir this past couple of weeks, is nothing but a litmus test to guage the current flavor of the game. Result? The game hasn’t changed much as it moves slowly at the administrative level due largely to the fact that the same people have been in power throughout the last 50 years of civil unrest in college football.

Tom Hansen’s comments this week are further proof that, typically, it takes a little more than a decade to move huge agenda’s forward. For example, in 1952, the NCAA passed a socialistic television resolution to tame the fears of all administrators who believed the “free tickets” associated with televised athletic events would be catastrophic to the economic plight of the athletic bottom line. Notre Dame was one of the first to recognize the impact that televised athetic events would have on the intercollegiate platform and believed they were ahead of the masses in recognizing the burgeoning economic giant that television would become.

They too, recognized that the NCAA plan violated the basic premisis of free trade and antitrust constitutions. The NCAA in its meager beginning consisted of part-time administrators from the Big-10 Conference, who through their Rose Bowl association with the PAC-10, became embedded in the NCAA mindset and philosophy. As Notre Dame threatened litigation along with the University Of Pennsylvania over the antitrust monopoly, they were strong armed by the other members of the NCAA who utilized mob-like tactics in preventing the two schools from moving forward. Many members threatended to boycott the atheletic contests involved with Penn and Notre Dame if they didn’t succumb and reform to the status quo in supporting the NCAA plan.

A decade later, as the civil rights movement loomed along with a national recession created by the unpopular war in Vietnam, the NCAA dropped another bombshell called the scholarship reductions. Once again, the Big-10 led the way and, although they were the first to enact scholarship reductions which limited their athletic prowess, the southern states seethed in resentment as the NCAA added gasoline to the fire by limiting the number of coaches each instituion could hire as well. Bear Bryant was so enraged he challenged the NCAA in court - and won - eliminating the brief stint of the restrictive earnings coach in intercollegiate athletics.

Notre Dame, who waited patiently and witnessed the fact that their own radical idea of attacking the NCAA television resolution on antitrust grounds was about to become a national movement in the early 1970’s, teamed up with many of the southern powers to form the College Football Association movement.

This battle raged for another decade into the 1980’s, climaxing with the pivotal NCAA v. Board of Regents of Oklahoma University Supreme Court decision, when the NCAA was stripped of its power in regulating the economic price and output of each institutions athletic property. The only problem was the elite members of the college football world failed to understand the basic premisis of supply and demand, and failed to identify who the elite members of the television family truly were. Result? The market crashed, which stimulated another round of scholarship reductions in the mid-1980’s and suddenly the game exploded with the rise of the non-BCS factor gaining its foothold within the game.

As the televised money market headed in a bearish direction by 1990, Notre Dame tried desperately to reverse the flatlined economic trend, as well as, the fued between the CFA - Southern contingency and the NCAA - Big-10/PAC-10 contingency. ABC stepped in with a regionalized television plan that nearly brought all sides back together under one umbrella, which ultimately upset Notre Dame as the regionalized television plan would most certainly affect their national recruiting efforts in a negative manner.

Result? Notre Dame, as soon as they realized the ABC plan - by uniting the CFA and Big-10/PAC-10 alliances - would most certainly be in yet another violation of the antitrust laws of the Sherman Act, bolted for their own contract with NBC television in 1990. The CFA consortium was again seething with resentment as they lost their blue chip bargaining piece (Notre Dame) with the ABC network, yet “seized the day” and the resulting pot of gold 17 years later in signing with CBS. Thanks to the efforts of Roy Cramer, who created the super-conference movement, along with the conference championship game by bringing Arkansas and South Carolina into the mix, the world is now stuck in the quicksand created from the revolving BCS controversy.

The SEC led Super Conference movement has spawned the BCS revolution and the key players throughout this 50 year fued over television revenue and national stature continue to evolve. The soap-opera continues - the latest episode in “As The BCS Turns.”

So as you can see, I don’t see Notre Dame going to the Big-10, PAC-10 or SEC because they have fueded with these schools for years.

So the real question, if your paying attention to the signs - or the game within the game - is where is Jim Delaney and this Big-10 Network headed? Because this is sure to be the next revolutionizing factor in the game today. With his status as the Godfather of College Football, we could all gain significantly if he plays his cards right. For this reason, I believe the timing is right to push this BCSBusters regular season bracketed playoff in weeks 9-12 of the regular season.

The signs indicate that Nebraska will be the team Delaney adds into the Big-10. With Wieberg bolting the Big-12 with the allure of the Big-10 Network, it makes perfect sense. Could you imagine the Big…Great…Magnificent-12 looking like this?

West Division	East Division
1. Wisconsin	1. Ohio State
2. Nebraska	2. Michigan
3. Purdue	3. Penn State
4. Minnesota	4. Indiana
5. Iowa	5. Michigan St
6. Northwestern	6. Illinois

With the likes of Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, the Big-10 Network would be on par with CBS, who has the likes of Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina in the SEC. You would now have a conference that rivals the all mighty of conferences - The SEC.

Notre Dame and the PAC-10 had better get off the schnide because the college football world would race right by the Golden Dome and the PAC-10. The PAC can take all their marbles and play themselves in the Rose Bowl for all anyone else cares, because the SEC, Big-12, ACC and Big-East would have plenty of fire power in claiming a true national championship event, which would cost the PAC-10 millions in revenue.

If Notre Dame isn’t careful, by the time they react to the last of the conference reshuffling hustle, they may fall all the way to the Big-12, which wouldn’t exactly hurt Notre Dame as they would be right in the middle of the rich fertile recruiting grounds of Texas. Imagine this?

North Division	South Division
1. Notre Dame	1. Oklahoma
2. Missou	2. Texas
3. Kansas	3. Texas A&M
4. K-State	4. Texas Tech
5. Colorado	5. Oklahoma St
6. Iowa St	6. Baylor

Somehow, Notre Dame loses its luster playing in the Big-12, wouldn’t you agree? But then again, Weiburg left the Big-12 due to the infighting that has occurred between the big school - small school rift, which was the basic precipitater to the entire College Football Association movement. Wouldn’t it just be poetic justice if Notre Dame fell smack in the middle of this fight again? So Notre Dame, please do us all a favor and just enter the Magnificent-12, and maybe with nearly 40% of the television market covered within this newly created conference megaton, you can learn to get along like the rest of us.

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