[jcmanson]

http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1264576

So here are Texas' options as of this moment, fully knowing the options could change in a heartbeat. But these are the options on the table at this moment after talking to UT sources:

Option 1 - Hold the Big 12 together.

Option 2 - The Atlantic Coast Conference. Texas has been looking at the ACC as a potential home because ESPN holds the TV rights to the ACC and because ESPN holds the rights to LHN.

Option 3 - The Big Ten. It would take a lot of creativity for this to work and for UT to be able to hang onto LHN. And it's a longshot. But the Big Ten wanted Notre Dame and Texas in the worst way. Jim Delany is going to have to think outside the box to attract Texas and/or Notre Dame.

Option 4 - Pac-12. The Longhorn Network definitely gets re-worked in this scenario, and the Pac-12 has the most restricting "all rights in" agreements in all of the BCS.

Option 5 - Independence. This really is not an option in the minds of Texas officials. They will not go independent.

[Sly Fox]

Wow, I don't see Chip getting referenced on here very often. He & I go way back and he's one of my sources in Austin. He also emphasizes the Longhorn Network factor. I hadn't considered how ESPN might be able to pull strings in the ACC because the league is in such a desperate spot. Still dont see it happening. DeLoss and the UT big whigs see themselves more aligned with Pac-12 schools than East Coasters.

No Kansas would jump out of their skin to come to the ACC. But I can't think of a reason the ACC would want them. Hoops doesn't run the show and KU brings just one significant TV market into the geographic footprint.

It is interesting to see the ACC looking to expand to avoid getting raided themselves.

[Sly Fox]

Chip's an old AP turned Dallas Morning News writer who has made the transition to online content very nicely.

[aredd33]

It looks like Pitt and the 'Cuse are about to announce they are going to the ACC. Seems kinda like it came out of nowhere. I hadn't heard much about this before today.

[Sly Fox]

It looks like Pitt and the 'Cuse are about to announce they are going to the ACC. Seems kinda like it came out of nowhere. I hadn't heard much about this before today.

The ACC was a pioneer in going to 12. Maybe they are planning a preemptive strike on the other conferences in going to 16?

Being a pioneer in mega-conferences doesn't always pan out. See Conference USA's launch.

There has been talk about conversations between ACC and Syracuse & Pitt for a few days. I would be surprised to see those go down unless the Texas-Oklahoma four concept is dead.

[LUconn]

I don't see what either of those 2 bring to the ACC in football or TV. I bet TCU feels stupid.

[soccer7]

With the departure of PITT and Sarycuse I believe East Carolina's invite to that conference is being printed at the moment as well as UCF's. If the BIG EAST is going to be pro-active who else do you think they will add? Maybe Baylor and U. of Houston or maybe they will go so far as to dip into the FCS pool and grab Appy State, JMU and may I boldly add our name to the list? I would like to hear your thoughts.

[LUconn]

I think that conference run by a bunch of idiots so who knows what they'll do. They've been waiting 20 years for ND to join, and in the mean time just let anybody pick their teams off one by one. I loved the conference movement in the beginning because I thought it would be beneficial to LU, but I think in the end we're going to get screwed by being in some FBS conference that will wind up practically being the new FCS. Only with more scholarships and no postseason.

[Sly Fox]

I hope you negative nellies are getting this out of your system early today.

Let's let the process work itself out before decrying our misfortune. There is no question that the landscape is going to shift considerably before it settles into place. Let's remain hopeful that we wind up being at just the right place at just the right time.

I admit that invitations to Syracuse & Pitt by the ACC are surprising. I'm not sure what it really accomplishes beyond locking up the college football dead zone of New England and drawing in one Top-30 TV market. It certainly was a preemptive strike against the B1G.

And for what it is worth, while the Big XII as we know it may be disintegrating it likely won't disappear. It is an existing FBS league that could easily reorganize as another mid-major conference. I could very easily see it become the MAC/WAC/Sunbelt of the South Central region allowing C-USA to take on that mantle in the Mid-Atlantic region.

[JK37]

WVU postgame radio show today reported Big East commish John Marinatto is headed West this week...but not to Baylor; rather to meet with the KU, K-State, and Iowa State contingent.

[Sly Fox]

It was the four of those schools that could possibly be coming en masse. Then again, does anybody really want Baylor or Iowa State?

[JK37]

does anybody really want Baylor or Iowa State?

TCU does now. They're the worst off of all if the Big East folds. WVU and Rutgers could be next if ACC or SEC comes looking for 15th and 16th teams.

[soccer7]

The BIG EAST will not fold. They have a lot of options if they get on the ball. I said before that ECU's invite is in the mail. Then you have U. of Houston and then with I could see Baylor joinging. I could also see Appy State getting an invite to the Big East. If WVU stays put why would'nt they go after Marshall? Don't forget that UCF is still out there and they would be a great rivalry for USF! I still hope that LU and JMU gets a call from the BIG EAST as well!

[JK37]

The issue with the big east as a conference is that it has a lot of non-football school. Normally such schools carry less weight, but not so in the BE. There is a tremendous divide ruby now by the two sides. Syracuse was a founding member, and Pitt joined just 3 years after it formed. That right there, coupled with the fact that this move caught the conference office by surprise tells you enough.

Until the Big East can get to at least 12 teams, it won't be safe. And even then, it won't be perfectly safe from constant pilfering. And don't kid yourself: the pilfering of current BE teams isn't done. WVU, Rutgers, and USF are all in-play. The SEC and ACC are prowling in the weeds, waiting to pick off another.

At this stage, I believe the two best programs to replace Pitt and Syracuse are ECU and UCF. I'm not a big believer in altering one's conference footprint. I haven't liked the TCU move from day one. The biggest problem the BE has is that it can add only 2 more teams to it's bball league. Would ECU and UCF join as football-only? I'm not sure. But if not, the BE has only three options: invite two more, and keep getting picked off; or, promote to football from within (aka, Villanova); or become a super-giant in Bball with 18 or 20 teams.

[lynchburgwildcats]

ANy quality football team in the Big East better take notice of what is happening and leave ASAP. Big East is going to be in danger of losing their automatic BCS bid if they can't replace Pitt with another quality football school. Wasn't the reason for adding TCU to avoid losing the automatic BCS bowl bid?

[BJWilliams]

I was listening to College Gameday on ESPN radio leaving Wal-Mart and what I heard in regards to the ACC (or maybe the Big East) was that they have to give 27 months notice of leaving the conference so if that is true, they wont be actually out of the conference and legit in the ACC until at the soonest 2013 maybe 2014

[bigsmooth]

smart move by the ACC in being proactive. In Syracuse you get the New York market and in Pittsburgh you do introduce the ACC to a new market though it is a pro sports town. I think the ACC did this so they would not be eaten up by other conferences, and i feel like invites to UConn and Louisville are next to bring the league to sixteen to make the ACC a basketball superpower. Ol Roy and Coach K are on record saying they want sixteen teams with two eight team divisions. What UNC and Duke want, they usually get.

[LUconn]

With the SEC's move, I agree that the ACC needs to start grabbing ASAP so they aren't getting leftovers. Cuse and Pitt were just really strange choices in my opinion. But I guess they've locked down the finger lakes market.

[BJWilliams]

Also add that they took two of the flagship programs from the Big East

[LUconn]

The saddest part is the demise of the Big East tournament, where the best conference slugs it out in Madison Square Garden with the final being on Saturday night. I guess it's been inevitable for some time since what made it possible was the mix of football and nonfootball schools.

WVU would have made more sense than Pitt. Except for academics, but lets not pretend that's anything but an afterthought.

[jbock13]

WVU hates the ACC. ACC hates WVU. Trust me guys, WVU is not going to the ACC. The whole state would go into revolt.

[LUconn]

I'm sure they'd much rather be in a non-BCS conference?

[PAmedic]

I loved the conference movement in the beginning because I thought it would be beneficial to LU, but I think in the end we're going to get screwed by being in some FBS conference that will wind up practically being the new FCS. Only with more scholarships and no postseason.

I agree with you and have been debating this w/ SLY and others, over several different threads:

this was the conversation over here: http://www.flamefans.com/forums/viewtop ... 2&p=353294

starting to wonder- when we DO move up, will it be just in time for the BCS schools to break off and make yet another higher level, essentially putting us BACK in the second tier?

lotsa time and money spent for no appreciable gain in that scenario

PAmedic - In truth, we are really 3rd tier right now:

• 1st - BCS League
  2nd - Non-BCS FBS Leagues
  3rd - FCS

Actually we might even be considered 4th tier. Even if the BCS leagues step away from the NCAA to run their own deal like they did with CFA, we would be in a much better position in 2nd Tier.

[jbock13]

I'm sure they'd much rather be in a non-BCS conference?

But as of right now, the Big East still is a BCS conference? Exactly my point. Sure it sucks, but it still has a BCS bid. That's why TCU joined.

[aredd33]

So the ACC is at 14. ESPN says UConn wants to be the 15th or 16th member of the conference. If UConn is 16 who is 15?