sounds epic
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5553575


PHILADELPHIA -- Villanova is studying a proposal to join the Big East Conference in football, the school's athletic director told the Philadelphia Daily News.

"The Big East very recently communicated its interest in adding Villanova as a football member," Wildcats AD Vince Nicastro told the Daily News on Thursday. "As a result, we have decided to embark on an in-depth evaluation of this opportunity."


In a letter to alumni, Villanova president Peter Donohue wrote: "This is a complicated issue with numerous, multi-dimensional factors that come into play, and it is important that we investigate scenarios related to making -- or not making -- such a move."

The Big East has eight members for football. Villanova is a member of the conference in other sports, including men's and women's basketball. A ninth member would allow the Big East to play eight conference games -- four home and four on the road. Right now, teams alternate playing more home than road conference games each year.

Villanova currently plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, where it is ranked second in the nation. The Wildcats won the national title a year ago.

The Big East formally reached out to gauge Villanova's interest about two weeks ago, a person briefed on the conference's interests in adding the Wildcats told ESPN's Joe Schad. The conference always has "had a standing invite" out to Villanova to upgrade its program by joining, as Connecticut has done, the person said.

That person said in his opinion there was a 60 percent chance Villanova would join as a full member by 2014.

The Big East declined to comment. Sources told the Daily News and ESPN.com that the Big East would like an answer from Villanova by the end of the year.

One issue for Villanova is its home field, which seats 12,000 -- 3,000 fewer than the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision minimum.

The school also would need to fund 22 more scholarships for football, as well as a similar number for women's athletics in order to meet Title IX requirements. Upgrades to on-campus training facilities also would be needed.



[Edited on September 10, 2010 at 3:59 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2010 3:58:19 PM

sound like an easy conference win

9/10/2010 3:59:06 PM

I guess they're willing to spend more money on football than Temple was?

9/11/2010 1:31:02 PM

big ole middle finger to ECU, who would do anything to join the Big East ha

9/11/2010 1:32:19 PM

Not to be too harsh, but what does ECU have to offer to a BCS conference? They have a tiny, irrelevant market. They have a horrid basketball program. They have a horrid academic reputation. Big East isn't adding a team because they have a nice baseball history.

Villanova has a proven elite basketball program in a huge market with no real college football imprint... and is a good private Catholic school...

[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 1:39 PM. Reason : memphis and ucf would get the call long before ecu would]

9/11/2010 1:38:49 PM

^ yup, i agree. just being from eastern nc, i know how their fanbase sees it. and i find it funny.

9/11/2010 1:42:55 PM

Nova Nation is huge, it is pretty much the defacto team of SE PA (moreso than Penn State).

9/11/2010 1:49:54 PM

^in basketball, not football

I don't think this benefits Nova at all. Sounds like they would have to put up more money than they would get back. They already have a dominate basketball program, no need to put any more effort into football than they need to. They are already winning championships in FCS, I would rather leave it that way then be at the bottom of the Big East.

9/11/2010 2:09:07 PM

they're no worse than most teams in the big east

9/11/2010 2:13:42 PM

wow, ya'll really have your thumb on the pulse of all things big east and ecu. lol

ECU's market is alot bigger than greenville, however the TV execs do share your close minded idea of what a market is. I would argue that ECU's market is as big if not bigger than State's market.

ECU would love to get into a BCS conference, but everyone knows that the Big East is a joke of a BCS conference. We would love the BCS tag mostly for recruiting purposes. Even with the money sharing involved with the BCS, look at how many schools share that money in the Big East. There's like 100 basketball schools. So ECU isn't as in love with the BIG EAST, or the ACC for that matter, as everyone thinks they are.

ECU's academics obviously aren't on an ACC or Big East level, but some of that perception is due to politics and these crap publications that decide the tier level and rankings. But I wouldn't expect acc fans to appreciate this point.

Basketball has been horrible, especially recently. State fans can relate. You guys have had some rough times recently, even losing to ecu a couple years ago. Lebo seems to be bringing in some 4 star recruits for visits. That hasn't happened before Lebo. Things are looking up for ECU basketball. But don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily think ECU basketball would ever deserve to compete with ACC or Big East conference opponents. And I don't necessarily want our team to be in those conferences either.

The only conference that we're in love with is the SEC. And we all know thats never going to happen, so we're currently focused on doing what we do, which is dominating CUSA.

The fact of the matter is that ECU is a very unique place and we don't really "fit" into any conference. And we like that. We can still schedule ACC and Big East schools and beat them without being invited into your club. We like being the underdog.

We are currently looking at the possibility of creating our own little network, probably web based, to grab more of those dollars that we're missing out on by not having the BCS tag.

Obviously any school would be happy to get the BCS invite. This would give all student athletes more resources to add to their college experience.

However, ECU is not as in love with the BCS as most people assume.

I can honestly say that the Villanova invite does not bother me. I for one, assumed they would do that before they ever considered ECU anyway.

And for a person to say that ECU doesn't offer much to a BCS conference is extremely ignorant. Period.

9/11/2010 2:37:54 PM

Quote :

"Nova Nation is huge, it is pretty much the defacto team of SE PA (moreso than Penn State)."

in my experience, this is very much not true.

9/11/2010 2:40:11 PM

^^^^ Nova isn't that far out of the Big East. They won't be an immediate top of the conference team sure, but they'll be able to compete in a few years. I really don't think that Nova can't become a legitimate football team in the Big East in a few years.

Edit: Where you from simonn? I'm from MontCo PA.


[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2010 2:41:10 PM

from bethlehem.

9/11/2010 2:42:07 PM

who cares? it again makes the big east WORSE than they are

9/11/2010 2:42:38 PM

Ha, I was born in Bethlehem. Small world.

9/11/2010 2:43:23 PM

They are, what, 20 scholarships short? Just because the Big East has been awful this year (and they have) doesn't mean a FCS team would come in and compete right away. There is a still a depth and talent gap between FCS and FBS let alone FCS and a BCS FBS conference.

The only reason UConn was able to step and compete was because they got A SHIT TON of money from the state of CT to build a new stadium and a top of the line football center on campus. Without that, they are Temple right now.

Quote :

"ECU's market is alot bigger than greenville, however the TV execs do share your close minded idea of what a market is. I would argue that ECU's market is as big if not bigger than State's market."

That's silly. And I was mainly talking about TV market and fanbase potential. Memphis, UCF and Villanova all dominate ECU across the board in that respect.

[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 2:46 PM. Reason : x]

9/11/2010 2:44:31 PM

No shit UCF dominates ECU, it has the third largest student body (1 campus) in the US.

9/11/2010 2:48:15 PM

Just a question, would 'Nova still have to sit out a season as an independent? Or will their prior relationship with the Big East allow them to get that waived?

I actually like the idea. It gives Pitt a natural state rival in the conference, 'Nova already has a relationship with the Big East schools so there's an element of trust involved, and frankly I can't think of any east coast teams not already in the Big East, ACC, SEC, or Big T(welv)en that are worth having at the moment and adding in someone else would make their already unwieldy basketball conference even harder to maintain.

Plus by bringing up 'Nova from the FCS they can help preserve (and pad the record of) their top tier (Pitt, WVU, and whichever of USF, Rutgers, or Cincy has decided to step up during the year). If 'Nova's willing to put forward the money then yeah, I do like this idea.

9/11/2010 2:56:54 PM

Having seen Villanova's team in person last Friday I could see them getting to respectability in a short time. They currently run a fast paced spread offense that is difficult to stop and won last year's FCS National Championship. Again the stadium is an issue, and I don't believe they can use Lincoln Financial Field since that is currently Temple's home field. They would definitely be the whipping boy for the other Big East teams for a few years though.

9/11/2010 2:59:21 PM

Between LF and Franklin I'm sure they could find enough open dates to allow them to play at a stadium that meets FBS minimums until they can upgrade their campus facility...

9/11/2010 3:00:39 PM

Quote :

"ECU's market is alot bigger than greenville, however the TV execs do share your close minded idea of what a market is. I would argue that ECU's market is as big if not bigger than State's market."

Do you have any fucking clue what constitutes a TV market? Hint: it has more to do with the concentration of viewers, not space. I have no clue what sort of market you have in mind in which ECU's sports get more viewers than NC State. Perhaps you'd care to explain?

Just for comparison: the Triangle TV market is 26th nationally. Charlotte is 24. The mere fact that NC State has more grads than ECU makes them much more profitable in those markets.

Quote :

"ECU would love to get into a BCS conference, but everyone knows that the Big East is a joke of a BCS conference. We would love the BCS tag mostly for recruiting purposes. Even with the money sharing involved with the BCS, look at how many schools share that money in the Big East. There's like 100 basketball schools. So ECU isn't as in love with the BIG EAST, or the ACC for that matter, as everyone thinks they are."

Oooh! Is the SEC still interested in ECU because of their baseball program??? Seriously, this is bullshit you're making up to try to save face. Of course ECU would love to be in ANY BCS league, or maybe they're dumb enough to turn down the extra cash that comes along with it (you do know that there's quite a bit of profit sharing involved between the BCS games and the participating leagues, right?).

Quote :

"ECU's academics obviously aren't on an ACC or Big East level, but some of that perception is due to politics and these crap publications that decide the tier level and rankings. But I wouldn't expect acc fans to appreciate this point."

Yes, there is a conspiracy to hold down ECU's academics. I don't dislike the school, but damn you people can rationalize some of the dumbest reasons as to why you really should be considered in the same sentence as ACC schools.

Quote :

"The only conference that we're in love with is the SEC. And we all know thats never going to happen, so we're currently focused on doing what we do, which is dominating CUSA."

LOL

Quote :

"The fact of the matter is that ECU is a very unique place and we don't really "fit" into any conference. And we like that. We can still schedule ACC and Big East schools and beat them without being invited into your club. We like being the underdog."

Yeah dawg, rationalize those sour grapes.

Quote :

"We are currently looking at the possibility of creating our own little network, probably web based, to grab more of those dollars that we're missing out on by not having the BCS tag."

Any school can stream their sports online. This isn't anything that Campbell couldn't do as well.

Quote :

"And for a person to say that ECU doesn't offer much to a BCS conference is extremely ignorant. Period."

I don't think any BCS league would pass over the TV markets in Houston, Memphis, Orlando, Dallas, New Orleans, Tulsa, or even Birmingham to get the coveted Eastern NC market. Why snatch up the largest non-BCS school in Orlando or a city like Houston with 2 CUSA teams when you could have a TV market that includes Havelock, Whiteville, and Atlantic Beach!

Seriously, there's nothing that ECU offers as a market or brand that isn't offered by or exceeded by far by the rest of CUSA, save Marshall or Southern Miss.

9/11/2010 3:11:42 PM

ECU brings more to the table than you expect. There are good matchups with Syracuse, Pitt, and WVU. They used to play each other often... The other members of the Big East would rather have ECU, UCF, or BC than Nova. Nova's football stadium is just over 12K... i dont even see how that would be allowed in division 1.

9/11/2010 5:19:33 PM

MULTI

DIMENSIONAL

FACTORS

9/11/2010 5:41:04 PM

Quote :

"ECU's market is alot bigger than greenville, however the TV execs do share your close minded idea of what a market is. I would argue that ECU's market is as big if not bigger than State's market."

Are you fucking stupid?

9/11/2010 5:50:05 PM

Excuse me, but are you forgetting the Elizabeth City and Kinston markets?

Seriously, I don't think you understand what "TV Market" means.

Quote :

"The other members of the Big East would rather have ECU, UCF, or BC than Nova. Nova's football stadium is just over 12K... i dont even see how that would be allowed in division 1."

It's not physically possible to build a bigger stadium.


[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 6:07 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2010 6:06:00 PM

they would have to move to the soccer field or some shit

9/11/2010 6:20:35 PM

Just wanted to throw this out there. PPL Park, the new home of the Philly MLS team out there is the proposed place they could play according to a few sources. It's around 20,000 capacity. Nice location, too about 20 minutes from campus.



[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 6:21 PM. Reason : x]

9/11/2010 6:20:55 PM

i also heard they average 8K or so in attendance and would need to average more for eligibility

9/11/2010 6:29:56 PM

No one in Oralando cares about UCF.

What does a huge market matter if no one watches.

And what does the size of your student body have to do with anything.

ECU has >25K and UCF has >50K. But so what. That has nothing to do with anything we're talking about. Nothing.

9/11/2010 7:26:51 PM

Quote :

"Do you have any fucking clue what constitutes a TV market? Hint: it has more to do with the concentration of viewers, not space. I have no clue what sort of market you have in mind in which ECU's sports get more viewers than NC State. Perhaps you'd care to explain? Just for comparison: the Triangle TV market is 26th nationally. Charlotte is 24. The mere fact that NC State has more grads than ECU makes them much more profitable in those markets. "

People watching TV's = TV market.

More grads? Lets see, who watches more football, engineers or construction company owners?

Uhhhhhhhhhh duuuhhhhh.

State and ECU's student bodies aren't that different in size. And its a fact that ECU grads are alot more passionate about their football than state fans. Thats just a fact, sorry.

9/11/2010 7:32:50 PM

Quote :

"Oooh! Is the SEC still interested in ECU because of their baseball program??? Seriously, this is bullshit you're making up to try to save face. Of course ECU would love to be in ANY BCS league, or maybe they're dumb enough to turn down the extra cash that comes along with it (you do know that there's quite a bit of profit sharing involved between the BCS games and the participating leagues, right?)."

lol what?

Lets, something about SEC and ecu baseball...not sure what you're talking about.

Then we got...bullshit, saving face, extra cash, and apparently the BCS is about money.

lol what?

9/11/2010 7:35:54 PM

Hey pinky. ECU carries the entire state of NC as a market. The entire state. That means that people allll over this state watch ECU football. This spills over into the tidewater area of virginia.

Who watches state games east of i-95? Who watches state games west of charlotte?

I would also gander that ECU is on ESPN alot more often than NC State is.

This argument just shows how little some of you know about this whole BCS picture, yet you're fans of a BCS team. thats just funny

9/11/2010 7:40:06 PM

ECU Pirates football is the preeminent sports team in the state. They are comparable to the Carolina Panthers in terms of marketability, profitability and fanbase.

Nuts how I never knew this. I feel ashamed.

9/11/2010 7:44:17 PM

lol im talking to teenagers here

9/11/2010 7:44:53 PM

Yep... and people who obviously don't "really have [their] thumb on the pulse of all things big east ..."

** And just for the record that awesome ECU game last week carried a .7 rating. Southern-Delaware State pulled a .8.

[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 7:51 PM. Reason : x]

9/11/2010 7:46:29 PM

Man I cannot count the number of times I have walked into a restaurant and wondered "damn I wonder how they managed to cram all these ECU posters onto the walls" or found myself ashamed and confused by the sheer number of TVs showing the latest ECU sporting event.

Well, I guess I can, because outside of the counties immediately surrounding Pitt Co. I rarely see any. I think the only ECU stuff I've seen outside of there has either been on a smattering of car flags amidst the vastly more popular UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, and App State fans and a little corner that Carolina Ale House seems to have thrown together on the fly.

ECU's fanbase is statewide in the same way that 10 pebbles can cover a beach if you throw them really far apart.

9/11/2010 7:52:09 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

OH REALLY?

On East Whitaker Mill rd (inside the belt line near 5 points) High Park is an ECU bar. Go there on a saturday and educate yourself.

I think they have atleast 11 pebbles there. lol Im sorry ya'll just don't have a clue.



[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 7:58 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2010 7:55:40 PM

Awwww, you found one bar in Raleigh that the Pirates can gather at.that is just so adorable. It makes me want to pinch your little piratey cheeks.

9/11/2010 8:01:14 PM

lol ok

This is your board, I'll digress. And I don't hold the lack of college football knowledge against state fans. I blame it on the horrible biased Raleigh sports radio. Now those guys are close minded fools. But they get paid to be that way so its all good.

9/11/2010 8:05:24 PM

Between killpups and the stream of the State game which ECU fans are piling into, I wonder if ECU has some sort of deal to bring all of the state's downies to their college.

[Edited on September 11, 2010 at 8:41 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2010 8:40:46 PM

I had done downies......ahhhhhhhhduuuuuuuuuhrrrr yayyyyyyyyy.... Duhhh

9/11/2010 8:43:01 PM

Quote :

"** And just for the record that awesome ECU game last week carried a .7 rating. Southern-Delaware State pulled a .8."

i saw you had nothing for that one.

9/11/2010 9:36:05 PM

South Delaware state is a black school.

South Dakota State beat Kansas last week in Coach Gill's debut.

ECU was playing on sunday. Huge college audience Im sure.

But hey, atleast he knows what he's talking about.

9/11/2010 11:34:13 PM

Killpups, if you think that ECU is anywhere near as marketable as NC State you're fooling yourself.

9/11/2010 11:43:30 PM

1. What the fuck is South Delaware St.
2. Why does it matter that it's an HBCU
3. It doesn't matter how big the pie was, it matters that an ECU game got a smaller piece of the pie than a I-AA game

9/11/2010 11:44:01 PM

Sunday afternoon.......Labor Day weekend....last week of summer......vs. TULSA.. yea..pretty sure nobody caught that one. The hail mary that saved our ass made waves on ESPN and most major sports sites though

9/11/2010 11:44:20 PM

Quote :

"It doesn't matter how big the pie was, it matters that an ECU game got a smaller piece of the pie than a I-AA game"

9/11/2010 11:47:45 PM

It's a well known fact that ECU doesn't have fans.

9/11/2010 11:53:24 PM

How big is the Tulsa market compared to the eastern NC market

I'm gonna say 5x larger

9/11/2010 11:54:34 PM

Gainesville

Madison

Blacksburg

Clemson

Tallahassee

Athens

Lincoln

Ann Arbor

South Bend


S.

T.

F.

U.

9/12/2010 12:00:04 AM