[TDDance234]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/ ... wF80US3G6H

NYPost is saying it's a done deal. The 7 non-FBS schools will be gone. It'll be interesting to see the fall-out. Do the four remaining BE schools retain the BE name and the contract with Madison Square Garden? Do the 7 get absorbed by the A-10 and become a basketball super conference? Do the 7 form a new conference and rob some smaller market schools to join forces?

[Purple Haize]

Good for them, they don't need to tarnish their brand by sticking with that sinking ship, they with a few more schools added would be a great conference on their own

Which would make a full circle. The Big East was formed to be a Power Basketball conference. To have the Catholic 7 and a couple of more it could be again. At least that's my hope!

[bluedevilflame]

I'd be backing out if I were Boise, SD St, Navy and all the CUSA teams jumping. This could swing open the creation of a new FBS conference, could trickle down our way if the BE falls apart. Can't have 2 conferences die can you?

[LUconn]

The most ridiculous part of this is ever since Miami, VT and BC left all any BE fan as ever heard is "it's inevitable that the basketball schools will split". Every single move every single year that's what everybody has always said. And now it's happened. Everybody was right. And yet all of the football schools seem completely unprepared for it! Uconn's president was begging them not to leave! How did they not plan for this?

[bluedevilflame]

UConn and Cincy's best hope is for the ACC to bring them in to get to 16 if they are left in the cold

[Purple Haize]

Oh, don't think for a second that the establishment powers of the B1G, SEC, Big 12, and Pac 12 don't want this to happen. They would love for all of the other leagues to die and have 4 16 team conferences and that be it for major college football. At that point they could probably just cut the NCAA out altogether. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

You did take notes in class!

[ATrain]

The most ridiculous part of this is ever since Miami, VT and BC left all any BE fan as ever heard is "it's inevitable that the basketball schools will split". Every single move every single year that's what everybody has always said. And now it's happened. Everybody was right. And yet all of the football schools seem completely unprepared for it! Uconn's president was begging them not to leave! How did they not plan for this?

UConn did plan for it, but the plan hasn't worked since there's been no invite to the ACC.

[Blessed1]

Since there could be a mass exodus back home from most of the schools in the nBE, does anyone think WAC football could come back in 2014?

Not everyone can come back home. For instance, C-USA have 14 teams signed up to play by 2014, but as many as 6 former schools (Tulane, ECU, UCF, Memphis, Houston and SMU) might need a conference to call home... Ultimately, this situation creates a logjam of FCS schools waiting in the wings. Will the "WAC-East' plan rear its head again?

Mr. Hurd, you have a telephone call on line one...

[soccer7]

Why would this create a mass exodus from the BE football teams. Would'nt they just stay in tact for the most part to form their own brand? They would have to add a few more all sports members like ECU bringing the rest of their athletics programs. Is that not realistic? Just wondering.

[Kricket]

Well, you can be sure that UConn and Cincy are going to be leaving at first chance (Basketball was the BE's last positive that they were holding on to), and because of this Boise State and SDSU are likely to get uneasy about joining a conference that is starting to make the MWC look good. I think we should hope for these defections to happen and that the nameless football conference, formerly known as the Big East, survives and adds more teams leaving the C-USA and Sun Belt looking for schools again.

[PatrickKelly]

I agree soccer, why would the remaining schools not pick up a few other schools and re-brand themselves? WKY could be a possible school along with ODU, GA St and Charlotte. Liberty in the BE, now that's what I'm talking about. Ha.

[Blessed1]

Why would this create a mass exodus from the BE football teams. Would'nt they just stay in tact for the most part to form their own brand? They would have to add a few more all sports members like ECU bringing the rest of their athletics programs. Is that not realistic? Just wondering.

It could... San Diego State and Boise State have no worries since they can come back to the MWC. I've read that Houston and SMU could be in play for the MWC as well as Tulsa and UTEP. I think Memphis, ECU and Temple would stay. Most likely, the nBE will add more regional members like UMass, ODU, or Charlotte and possibly create a "new" western division with Tulane and other candidates from C-USA and maybe the Sun Belt. IMHO, It would be wise for the nBE to think regional at this point.

[PatrickKelly]

I guess there's to many unknowns to consider how this affects Liberty. Just a quick glance. If the BE stays together as a football conference they will be forced to pick up several more teams which can only be a good thing for us. Worst case scenario is one of the football conferences folds or merges together. That would push us back to a very long list of candidates.

[Sly Fox]

The fact that so many CUSA schools were moving up together makes them staying together to form a new league a viable option under NCAA by-laws. Of course, they would likely lose auto bid status for a few years. But the league would undoubtedly score multiple hoops bids regardless of auto bid.

Everyone is holding their breath to see how negotiations come to completion for the break-up. This could go many different directions.

[4everfsu]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story ... ource-says

It is not that they are leaving it is how

[CajunFlame]

I live about 3.5 hours away.

Cajun, what state are you in now? Hopefully, you can attend some nearby away games to really get the feel for LU athletics!

I am in NC, about 3 hours from Lynchburg. I plan on getting to some baseball games if my work schedule permits. The (fake)USC games could be fun.

[rogue_nine9]

Liberty has EVERYTHING on paper to be a top FBS school and be able to reach millions of more people for Christ through athletics but because we arrogantly refuse to abide by separation of church and state, we shoot ourselves right in the foot thus not truly living to our mission.

Liberty isn't a government owned/funded school so the Establishment of Religion clause of the constitution doesn't apply to it. The 1st amendment only prevents the government from establishing a state religion. So the only way that separation of church and state ever come into play with regards to LU is if the Federal or state government tries to force LU to change its beliefs or to change its policies in a way that would necessitate violating them. (Such as the current ACA case, LU vs. Geithner)

[rogue_nine9]

The separation of church and state is nowhere mentioned in the Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson explained it as the intent of the establishment clause of the first amendment.

While I'm generally a big fan of Thomas Jefferson, Justice Scalia makes a pretty good point (at in the video linked below 15:40) that the best way to interpret the constitution and laws is to read the actual text as a reasonable person at the time it was written would read it, not necessarily how the people who wrote/voted on it intended it to be interpreted.

[RVAparks]

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporting Xavier and Butler is a done deal to join the Catholic 7.

[logic]

Dayton and VCU joining would be huge.

[Purple Haize]

That would be a sweeeet hoops league.

[lynchburgwildcats]

The now Catholic 9 would apparently prefer to be a 10-team league.

[4everfsu]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... basketball

[4everfsu]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... h-bulldogs

[Kricket]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... h-bulldogs

Wrong link for this thread, maybe?