[Sly Fox]

It didn't mention South Utah but nearly all of the speculation leading up to the news conferences had them joining the Big Sky as a full member. Interesting to hear what is said in these news conferences going on right now.

[ATrain]

With the Big Sky expanding, are there any other Western FCS conferences for schools to step up into?

[Sly Fox]

The Great West Football Conference is falling apart with 2 of their 5 core teams bolting.

The rumors floating now is that the Big Sky isn't picking a 12th team yet because they expect one of the WAC schools like San Jose State to step down to FCS for financial reasons.

[Chris Lang]

There's a lot of ifs here, too. If the Summit decides to start sponsoring football, I figure they would force their core members -- NDSU, SDSU, WIU and SIU -- to play in that league, leaving the Missouri Valley with five core members plus affiliate Youngstown State. The Summit then invites North Dakota and South Dakota for all sports, leaving two six-team leagues in the heartland. Then again, that newly formed Summit wouldn't be eligible for an auto bid for two years per NCAA rules, so I don't know if the XDSUs and WIU would go for it. But would the Missouri Valley want to expand to 12 full-time members by taking on the XDSUs?

[SumItUp]

And the Big Sky isn't done expanding, commissioner Doug Fullerton said. The league will likely invite a 12th member by late December to create two six-team divisions in football.

http://www.standard.net/topics/sports/2 ... ve-big-sky

SUU seems to be a fit because they could be a travel partner with Weber State.
SJSU or Idaho have primarily lived in the land of FBS insignificance. I think these options are less likely unless the respective universities do not have the administrative fortitude to stay with FBS.

[Chris Lang]

SUU would actually be a travel partner for Northern Arizona. It's a shade under four hours from Cedar City to Flagstaff, it's about six to Ogden from Cedar City. Plus Weber already has a partner in Idaho State, which is about two hours away.

[ToTheLeft]

SUU seems like a perfect fit. However, there is no rush on inviting them, since they're not going anywhere, so they might as well wait for SJSU to see if they'll come down a level.

[JK37]

The Big East has extended an invitation to Villanova.

http://m.philly.com/phillycom/db_/conte ... ue#display

[LUconn]

They've done that before. But isn't their still a moratorium in effect?

[jcmanson]

This could be the beginning of our move to the CAA.

[soccer7]

This could be the beginning of our move to the CAA.

OR our own invite to the BIG EAST Let's keep hope alive!

[Sly Fox]

Yes, there is a moratorium in effect through next summer. But theoretically they could be transitioning to FBS next fall. I can assure you that the NCAA will not stand in the Big east's way on this one. Nova already has a conference and they will find a way to come up with a temporary stadium solution to get approval.

The longterm challenges for Villanova to find a stadium solution are extremely difficult. Temple has a 10-year deal sharing the big house with the Eagles. The new soccer stadium is a long way from campus and is soccer-specific. I suspect a short-term lease with Penn might be their temporary ticket. They have no room to upgrade on campus and very little fan support in Philly. Combined with the sudden improvement of the Owls (who have slightly better fanbase & great stadium lease) and you have a recipe for a tough road for 'Nova.

I honestly do not believe that the Big East would invite them unless they knew the answer would be yes. This has been months if not years in the development as Villanova looks for a way to make this happen. Essentially Villanova is hedging its bets that a Big East schedule will suddenly turn Philly into a 'Nova stronghold. Temple tried that before with disastrous results. Medic can attest to the fact that Philly is a Penn State town.

As for the potential fallout if this does happen, it could indeed be very good news for us. While the initial cry will be from the 3 remaining affiliates up north to add somebody like Stony Brook or Albany, the league could choose this as a time to reconsider stepping up to FBS with its full membership. Villanova was never going to step up with them since if they went FBS it was going to be with the Big East. The CAA certainly has little need for their farflung northern affiliates. So they would likely look at moving those that want to move up from full membership (which would probably leave out William & Mary and Towson who seem content in FCS) and bring in some new allies for a step up such as Appy, Georgia Southern and a school right in the heart of their footprint in Lynchburg. Yeah, this is wishful thinking. But isn't that what message boards are for?

[jcmanson]

I think more realistic is the CAA having to add some more teams while staying at the FCS level. With ‘Nova gone and Rhode Island leaving that leaves UNH, UMass, and Maine stranded up north. If the CAA doesn’t add Stony Brook, Fordham, Albany, etc. it is very realistic that these teams could bolt the CAA. If that happened, that would leave the CAA with Delaware, Towson, JMU, W&M, Richmond, Georgia State and ODU. That’s only 7 teams, they would have to add at least one or two schools if not more. If this happens, we’re sitting pretty.

[PAmedic]

Combined with the sudden improvement of the Owls (who have slightly better fanbase & great stadium lease) and you have a recipe for a tough road for 'Nova.

Medic can attest to the fact that Philly is a Penn State town.

Initially I was about to disagree with your point re: Temple v 'Nova

Temple is synonymous with HORRIBLE football, BUT they are improving. Rapidly.

'Nova is a solid program with a ton of respect, BUT "only" I-AA.

combine that with point #3 (PSU) and you may be right, overall. At least to the casual follower of NCAA football. Among true fans of the game, 'Nova wins- hands down.

A comparison, though admittedly NOT a perfect one, might be : who is more popular, ECU or App St?

[Sly Fox]

Villanova's Home Attendance Last Season:

• 9/12 vs. Lehigh - 8811
  
  9/26 vs. Northeastern - 11119
  
  10/3 vs. William & Mary - 8217
  
  10/24 vs. Rhode Island - 5517
  
  11/21 vs. Delaware - 12073
  
  11/28 Playoff vs. Holy Cross - 4319
  
  12/05 Playoff vs. New Hampshire - 2661

Do those like numbers of a team with fan support in the CAA much less the Big East? We generally drew more during the dark Karcher days. And we certainly would have drawn better in tiny Lynchburg for our playoff games.

[jcmanson]

I agree the attendance is a hurdle, but their home schedule will now be Temple, West VA, UConn, etc.

Those attendance numbers will double at least.

[PAmedic]

and check Temple's numbers (I honestly dont know what they are)

[SuperJon]

And forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Big East absolutely suck in football when Temple was in it? The Big East of today has some legit football programs and fan bases with WVU, Pitt, Louisville, Rutgers, and even UConn.

[LUconn]

When Temple was in it, Miami and VT were as well. And Syracuse was a top 25 team too.

[Sly Fox]

Temple's 2009 Home Attendance at Lincoln Financial Stadium:

• 09/03 vs. Villanova - 27,759
  
  09/26 vs. Buffalo - 13,949
  
  10/10 vs. Ball State - 13,420
  
  10/17 vs. Army - 14,275
  
  11/05 vs. Miami (OH) - 13,827
  
  11/21 vs. Kent State - 21,046

Can you imagine what we would draw with that schedule (and we aren't even playing in a cavernous NFL stadium)?

[jcmanson]

And VT had half the following and national prominence that they do now

[jcmanson]

Temple's 2009 Home Attendance at Lincoln Financial Stadium:

• 09/03 vs. Villanova - 27,759
  
  09/26 vs. Buffalo - 13,949
  
  10/10 vs. Ball State - 13,420
  
  10/17 vs. Army - 14,275
  
  11/05 vs. Miami (OH) - 13,827
  
  11/21 vs. Kent State - 21,046

Can you imagine what we would draw with that schedule (and we aren't even playing in a cavernous NFL stadium)?

That's an average of about 17,500. We would definitely draw that, but I'm not sure we could do much better. I mean the casual football fan doesnt care if its St Francis and Savannah St or Buffalo and Ball State. They don't know the difference.

[Sly Fox]

I disagree. If we have a schedule against teams somebody has heard of before then we will get some of the out of town alumni to drive in for games. It is tough to convince somebody to load up and drive 4-8 hours to come see us take on Gardner-Webb or Charleston Southern. But toss in MAC schools and especially Army and you could start to convince some of the alumni that it is worth the trip.

Temple's last year in the Big East in 2004 had them hosting home games vs. UVa, Florida A&M, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Boston College which netted an average attendance of 17,273.

[Schfourteenteen]

The real question for Nova is - is killing their football program worth saving the status of their basketball prowess?

[jcmanson]

I disagree. If we have a schedule against teams somebody has heard of before then we will get some of the out of town alumni to drive in for games. It is tough to convince somebody to load up and drive 4-8 hours to come see us take on Gardner-Webb or Charleston Southern. But toss in MAC schools and especially Army and you could start to convince some of the alumni that it is worth the trip.

Temple's last year in the Big East in 2004 had them hosting home games vs. UVa, Florida A&M, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Boston College which netted an average attendance of 17,273.

I agree with that. But I don't think a MAC schedule would do that. Any other FBS conference would.