April 27, 2010
By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - At the recent BCS meetings, conference commissioners gathered to discuss many items. However, media covering the event only wanted to hear from one man, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney.
It's believed Delaney will move first in regards to college athletics next wave of conference realignment. But he delivered anything but news to begin the process. Instead he repeated what he has been saying that his conference continues to study potential expansion and examine possible candidates. So that leaves media and fans more time to speculate on whether the Big Ten will go to 12, 14 or even 16 teams. That ultimate decision could play a significant role in UCF's athletics future.
Most believe the Big Ten list of potential schools for expansion includes Notre Dame, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Big East members Rutgers, Pitt and Syracuse. If that list is accurate to any degree you can see how two of the current BCS leagues would be hit, the Big East and Big 12.
But don't think for one second SEC commissioner Mike Slive is not paying attention to what's going on. He did not successfully deliver the biggest conference television contract in history by sitting back and not planning for the future. If the Big Ten decides 12 is too small, Slive will go to work. Don't underestimate Slive and don't think for a second he has not done the math about the potential value of a renegotiated television package that includes other nationally prominent universities.
So how does all this impact UCF?
Rest assured, UCF President John Hitt and Director of Athletics Keith Tribble have been on top of the conference realignment conversation for some time. They must be prepared to act in the best interest of the University upon which ever scenario presents itself in this unknown future landscape of intercollegiate athletics.
If more than one Big East team gets an invite to the Big Ten and accepts, what does the Big East do if it is to survive as a football league? What if the ACC decides to look at who remains in the Big East under that scenario and decides to grow to 16 teams? What if the Pac 10 decides to tap the Big 12 for a couple of teams and that league suddenly faces extinction if it loses members to the Big Ten and Pac 10? Those are just a few of the questions that cannot be answered today.
All UCF can do is be prepared for this potential wave of change. Of course, the Knights are members of a league that also knows it has several members that might be targets of other leagues. While it is easy for fans to talk about the long list of things UCF offers, the same case is being made elsewhere.
The folks at Houston would remind any league that it sits in a large television market. Memphis would argue its basketball success warrants a close look at the Tigers. East Carolina, SMU and others would happily share their stories as well.
For UCF, it is the third largest school in the country. It sits in the 19th biggest television market. It offers a recruiting hot bed in any sport. It is as attractive of a tourist destination for traveling fans as any other locale in the country. And one fact that cannot be undervalued is that in an economy that is stabilized, Orlando will grow in population and trade. A number of other schools and their cities cannot deliver that.
It is no knock on Boise State because if conference expansion was based on success on the football field, the Broncos would be a lock for a current BCS league. But television viewers and ad dollars make seven and eight figure media contracts become nine and ten figure deals. The population in Boise is not likely to have a significant jump in the next ten years. There's a very good chance central Florida will see big increases in population and business growth.
And here's another interesting note to keep in mind, that school to the west may have no choice but to become an ally of UCF in regards to conference expansion. They may need new members of their current league quickly if the Big Ten snatches away some members. And suddenly the two schools might be joined in their efforts to keep a league alive. Now that would be a sight to see!
Knights notes and more: Kudos to Torell Troup. The Knight defensive lineman was the 41st overall pick going in the second round of the NFL Draft to Buffalo. Read some of the Bills comments about Troup and you can see he is expected to play early and often. Great news for a great guy...Defensive Coordinator Dave Huxtable told me before the draft he hoped and expected Torell to go second round because he earned it. He was right. Also worth noting was Huxtable's smile when he started talking about his defense for 2010. He even had high praise for early entry freshman Jordan Ozerities, who Huxtable says did everything asked of him and then some...I was in Minnesota this past weekend where the local newspaper was gaga over the spring game attendance for the Gophers. It was 4,000. UConn had 2,000, Wake Forest 5,000, Pitt 6,500, Syracuse 4,700 and the school to the west announced 6,300. UCF 7,288...If you have not watched UCF senior Shane Brown play baseball, get out to one of the remaining home games. Brown will finish his UCF as one of the best hitters in school history. He's hitting well over .400 and while Chris Duffy has gotten deserved national attention for his sensational season, Brown gets no national publicity for what will be an amazing UCF career...Anyone else notice what was missing in CBS new contract with the NCAA and the Men's Basketball Tournament? That would be games on their college partner CBS College Sports...Final Thought: Has anyone really ever gotten a free meal because the restaurant didn't give you a receipt?