The next football member

[righthook]

I second this motion.

They did bring in Memphis though.

[dbernie41]

I wan't BYU. BYU TV pumped to 55 million homes. Can't hurt the exposure.

[insomniaisevil]

Again, I think BYU has to be the #1 choice. Air Force and Army though? If I'm Villanova, I'm pissed off if that happens. Big time. Perhaps BYU, Air Force...and Nova?

[#41]

I was half joking about Tulane -- but damn, if you're going to scrape the bottom of the can and dredge up Army or a newly-minted D1 program like 'Nova, you may as well take a school actually capable of winning football games in a fun city to visit.

I like the idea of a road trip to New Orleans a **** of a lot better than a road trip to West Point to watch the option.

[richard k.]

I was half joking about Tulane -- but damn, if you're going to scrape the bottom of the can and dredge up Army or a newly-minted D1 program like 'Nova, you may as well take a school actually capable of winning football games in a fun city to visit.

I like the idea of a road trip to New Orleans a **** of a lot better than a road trip to West Point to watch the option.

While I also don't want Army, and I readily acknowledge that New Orleans is a fun place to visit (I don't want Tulane either), if it isn't raining, West Point in Sept/Oct is one of the most glorious places in the country to watch a football game (and you can always drive down to NYC to party if that is truly important).

[#41]

While I also don't want Army, and I readily acknowledge that New Orleans is a fun place to visit (I don't want Tulane either), if it isn't raining, West Point in Sept/Oct is one of the most glorious places in the country to watch a football game (and you can always drive down to NYC to party if that is truly important).

Yeah, but New Orleans is New Orleans. I can go there a thousand times and never get sick of the food.

Plus, there's at least some possibility of Tulane being decent in football in the future (heck, they had an undefeated season in the not too distant past), whereas Army is just a lost cause due to the pressures they have on their admissions process and post-graduate service commitments required.

The reality is, in a true BCS-level conference, the service academies should get slaughtered on a regular basis. If they're competitive in conference play, that speaks volumes about the talent gap between the NBE and the remaining power conferences.

[swilsonsp4]

[QUOTE=#41;211582]Plus, there's at least some possibility of Tulane being decent in football in the future (heck, they had an undefeated season in the not too distant past).
QUOTE]

That would've been 1998, under Tommy Bowden, with Rich Rod as OC. The Green Wave have been a train wreck ever since those two left after that season (9 straight losing seasons heading into 2012). And, even that year, they faced only three teams with winning records.

Tulane brings nothing but decent academics to the table. The Wave couldn't possibly make a favorable impression on the networks during the ongoing negotiations.

Having a party in N'awlins shouldn't be a consideration within the context of trying to improve the BE.

[#41]

Tulane brings nothing but decent academics to the table.

Which is to say, they bring exactly the same thing Army does.

At that point, it's a choice between a school in a party town and decent sized media market with no recruiting limitations hampering future growth vs. a school in the middle of nowhere, in a nothing media market, with severe limitations on recruiting impeding future growth.

No brainer, IMO.

[swilsonsp4]

Which is to say, they bring exactly the same thing Army does.

At that point, it's a choice between a school in a party town and decent sized media market with no recruiting limitations hampering future growth vs. a school in the middle of nowhere, in a nothing media market, with severe limitations on recruiting impeding future growth.

No brainer, IMO.

I'm not in favor of attracting Army. But, I am in favor of pursuing BYU - if the media rights can be organized favorably to both the school and BE. Salt Lake City (which includes Provo, the home of BYU) is the #33 TV market, sandwiched between Columbus and Cincy. New Orleans is #53 and they're in the heart of SEC country.

[1977 BearCat]

I'm not in favor of attracting Army. But, I am in favor of pursuing BYU - if the media rights can be organized favorably to both the school and BE. Salt Lake City (which includes Provo, the home of BYU) is the #33 TV market, sandwiched between Columbus and Cincy. New Orleans is #53 and they're in the heart of SEC country.

You forgot to mention that NO has a pro football team and that no one in NO really cares about Tulane football (folks think UC has trouble getting attention in Cincy. Tulane is worse). The BE already has too many schools with those sorts of problems.

[#41]

No one in NO cares about Tulane football, true.

No one ANYWHERE cares about Army football, except on the day of the Army/Navy game.

If not Tulane, than someone else -- just not service academies. They're boring, low interest level football and due to the recruiting limitations placed on them by academics and service requirements, they'll never be anything better than they are consistently.

[1977 BearCat]

No one in NO cares about Tulane football, true.

No one ANYWHERE cares about Army football, except on the day of the Army/Navy game.

If not Tulane, than someone else -- just not service academies. They're boring, low interest level football and due to the recruiting limitations placed on them by academics and service requirements, they'll never be anything better than they are consistently.

I don't necessarily disagree about Army. BYU is clearly the best option.

[cpawstoney]

Aresco to talk to Navy

Big East commissioner says he will talk to Navy about possibly joining ahead of schedule

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...71a_story.html