East Carolina applies to join Big East

[Anthony 78]

East Carolina of Conference USA announced on Wednesday it has applied for membership in the Big East Conference.

 

"While we have formalized our interest in Big East Conference membership as a viable option, ECU will remain focused on competing at the highest level through the efforts of Conference USA," chancellor Steve Ballard and athletic director Terry Holland said in a statement Wednesday.

 

The Big East is regrouping after Syracuse and Pittsburgh joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.

 

Source: ESPN

 

Decent football program, but this wouldn't come close to making up for the TV markets lost with Syracuse and Pitt leaving. The money is generated by television contracts.

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

Christ sakes, this conference re-aligning is getting ridiculous.

[rzb+ 367]

Sounds like a win/win to me. The Big East doesn't die and ECU gets more recognition.

[Anthony 78]

Sounds like a win/win to me. The Big East doesn't die and ECU gets more recognition.

 

I'm not so sure East Carolina would save the Big East. These schools are running to the money. Adding ECU isn't going increase the conference worth, because their market is so small. The Big East would rather talk Villanova into moving up to division I football, as they tried before, because Philadelphia is a major television market. It doesn't matter how good the teams are, it's a matter of which schools you can get that will escalate the amount of money networks will pay...and the market weighs heavily in that.

 

When the Pac 10 added Utah and Colorado, it added two of the nation's largest television markets. As good as Boise State is, no BCS conference wants them. It's because the Idaho market is shit.