WAC Director's Meeting 6/04

[Designated Hitter]

Just passing on information that I did not see earlier today on barks and bytes. WAC Website is reporting several business items from recent meeting of directors.

One item was as follows:
"Appointed 3 member subcommittee to study league membership and potential expansion candidates."

Sounds similar to when Benson went shopping as part of subcommittee several years ago and ended up recommending Boise State and Louisiana Tech. That process back then was longer fromer initial start of study than most probably think on this board.

This looks more to end of with some priorities when the domino effect occurs over the next couple years.

[Dwayne From Minden]

It won't be in a couple of years -

It will be in a couple of months -

If the WAC is not ready to act, it could be destroyed by defections overnite...

[Designated Hitter]

Most new memberships may not take effect in conference alignments for 1-2-3 years due to scheduling commitments in various sports by teams moving to other conferences.

The ACC invitations have to be accepted first and what year each new member actually comes in, then the reconfiguration of Big East and possible other large conference tweaking follows, etc. I would not expect WAC to be driver in advance of major conference changes. Therefore, WAC changes within 2 months may not happen, unless they take couple of weaker teams early in a panic.

As to membership studies by Conferences, theystudy their membership rules to review what schools leave behind in former conference when defections occur and when conference shares kick in for new members. You want to be competitive and realistic for your respective situations. Therefore, expect many membership rules by conferences to be adjusted in 2003.

[Dwayne From Minden]

I really believe conference line-ups will be set by Spetember 30 at the latest...

Play might not begin until 2004/2005 or 2005/2006 -

But the reconfigurations with start immediately after June 10 - 15...

[Memdawg]

Not so fast my friend... ESPN, Tony Cornholer, reported that the 5 Big East football schools have filled a LAWSUIT against Miami and BC, but NOT Syracuse... They were trying to find out if that was a reporting error, re. "cuse"...

This could be dragging on for some time now...

Supreme court will probably decide!!!!

[Dwayne From Minden]

Supreme court will probably decide!!!!

From the beginning they have threaten this - but I will be HIGHLY surprised if the courts will touch it, much less a Federal court...

If it goes to the courts it could be bad for all athletics, especially the smaller D-1 schools -

The larger schools generate almost all the money from TV, etc - the last thing the smaller schools want is for the BCS schools to be awarded a larger piece of the pie -

[FriscoDawg]

Not so fast my friend... ESPN, Tony Cornholer, reported that the 5 Big East football schools have filled a LAWSUIT against Miami and BC, but NOT Syracuse... They were trying to find out if that was a reporting error, re. "cuse"...

They apparently cannot find any evidence that Syracuse gave the same level of verbal commitment that Miami and BC did to stay in the Big East. They are using a March 2002 Donna Shalala quote to try to bind Miami.

The process may get slowed down, but I can't see this lawsuit being an eventual deal-breaker. It may just give the five Big East schools leverage for a financial payoff.

[Memdawg]

Leave it to a former Clintonite to screw it up for the rest of us!!!!