Southern Miss ready to take advantage of realigment

Just over a month ago the Big Ten Conference served notice to the world of college football that changes are on the way. The league announced that they were beginning a study to expand conference membership.

There’s no secret that a number of Big Ten schools are lobbying for expansion to twelve teams. Even the Dean of college football coaches Joe Paterno has gone on the record with his support for the move. Twelve is the magic number and that’s where everyone wants to be.

A twelfth team will allow the Big Ten to host a championship game that could generate as much as $15 million in additional revenue for the league. The Championship game also has the potential to add some much needed prestige to the league that looks to be playing catch-up to the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 at the moment.
It’s unlikely that the league will expand by more than one program, an earlier version of the Western Athletic Conference proved that 16 members is unwieldy and unsustainable. The most favorible candidates for a Big Ten expansion seem to be Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and Missouri. It’s not worth wasting time speculating on Notre Dame, as they have no interest in joining a football conference.

Missouri is probably the least attractive program on the short list for several reasons, the most notable reason being they would be the most likely to decline the invite opting to remain in the Big 12. The Big Ten seems to be better served in the future by moving eastward.

Some analysts believe that Rutgers may be the best fit including Tom Dienhart, Senior College Football Writer for Rivals.com and one of the nation’s most respected experts on the college game.

“I think Rutgers is most attractive,” Dienhart said. “It meets the Big Ten’s academic profile, and it would broaden the league’s footprint into the New York City market.”

While it’s not a certainty, in all probability the Big Ten will select a current member of the Big East and like the previous three rounds of re-alignment it’s sure to cause a trickle down effect to Conference USA and potentially other leagues.

Like the Big Ten, a key for long term stability for the Big East is to get to the magical number of 12 teams.

“If the Big East loses a school, I think it should try to add enough to get to 12, split into two divisions and have a title game,” Dienhart said. “What schools would make the most sense? East Carolina, UCF, Memphis, Southern Miss and maybe it would take Temple back. “

Southern Miss willing and able to take advantage of realignment

The Golden Eagles appear to be in a much better position for inclusion in a 12-team Big East than once believed. Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini is in a key position to help the Eagle cause. He holds a seat on the prestigious Division I FBS Football Committee.

“We’re on top of the situation,” he said in an exclusive interview with BigGoldNation.com.

And while Giannini wouldn’t comment directly on the possibility of Southern Miss making the move to the Big East it’s clear that he believes the Eagles would be an attractive candidate for any league considering expansion.

“Southern Miss athletics has a lot of positive aspects to be proud of and we will continue to work hard and our goal has always been to play on the highest level of the FBS in football and our other sports,” he said.

Southern Miss is in the middle of an athletic enhancement plan that has seen more than $67 million dollars invested into athletic facilities since 2000, and there are more plans on the way. Projects funded include - an expanded M.M. Roberts Stadium, major renovations to Reed Green Coliseum, enhancements to Pete Taylor Park and newly constructed softball and tennis facilities.

“Over the past ten years Southern Miss has invested more private dollars into facilities than any other program in Conference USA,” Giannini said. “We’re going to make sure that Southern Miss will compete with the best and that our facilities are equal to anyone in Division I athletics.”

Inclusion in a BCS automatic bid conference would be a huge windfall for Southern Miss who has historically ran one of the most cost efficient athletic departments in the country. Fewer than one quarter of NCAA FBS programs operated in the black during the 2007-08 academic year. The added revenue sharing from inclusion would nearly double the Eagles’ athletic budget, and would help to level the playing field in-state where the other major programs have long had inclusion.

It is widely speculated that if the Big East were to move to a 12 team league that the divisions would be aligned into north and south format. This could put the Eagles in a South division with programs like - Louisville, South Florida and current C-USA rivals - East Carolina, Memphis and UCF.

If that were to happen Southern Miss would be able to retain long standing rivalries with Memphis and East Carolina while re-igniting one of the most heated rivalries in the program’s history - Louisville.

The changes are likely to start a domino effect out west.

“I think if the Big Ten makes a move, it will set off a series of moves across the nation that will see leagues altered. The Pac-10 likely would add two teams to get to 12,” Dienhart said.

At this point we can only speculate at how fast the changes will come from the Big Ten, but regardless of when it happens, be it in the next two weeks or two years, it’s apparent that Southern Miss is working to insure that they are willing and able to take advantage of any opportunity presented when these changes do come.

Courtesy BigGoldNation.com

Memphis Has a Short List

Larry Porter, Rick Stockstill, Terry Bowden, Gunter Brewer and Bud Foster — have emerged as leading candidates to become the next University of Memphis football coach, according to sources close to the process. But Tigers athletic director R.C. Johnson, who would only confirm he had pared a list of 50 considerably, said no candidates have been interviewed to replace Tommy West, who was dismissed Monday after nine seasons as UofM coach. West, 55, will coach through the end of the season. ”There are an awful lot of people out there who are pretty excited about this job,” Johnson said. – Commercial-Appeal

Tommy West: Buyout talk is `boldface lie’

Memphis football coach Tommy West responded to rumors he could be fired soon. “I can’t control what goes on outside . . . I’m extremely proud of a football team for putting everything that’s been said outside behind them and not paying any attention to it and working to try and win a game, regardless of the distractions. And that’s what this is. It’s a distraction for a football team. . . . I guess somebody reported I had agreed to a buyout last night. For those people that would like for that to happen let me make sure you understand. I have never quit anything in my life and I will not quit this.” (on his critics) “I can’t worry about people that aren’t in the arena with me. I feel kind of sorry for some people. They get their kicks by going on the Internet without a name or a face or anything and telling lies. This (talk of a buyout) is a boldface lie. I’m glad to be the coach at Memphis and I intend on being the coach at Memphis.” – Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Memphis denies reports of buyout for Memphis coach Tommy West

University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson said today that multiple reports of a buyout of ninth-year coach Tommy West’s contract “are absolutely untrue.”… West’s Memphis-based agent, Jimmy Sexton, also said there was “no truth” to the reports of a buyout. “I don’t know where that stuff comes from,” Sexton said. West’s contract runs through 2012, and the buyout would be roughly $3 million. In nine seasons at the U of M, West is 48-54. He has taken the program to five bowl games in the past six seasons. – Commercial-Appeal

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson says it’s “absolutely untrue” that coach Tommy West has taken a buyout. Johnson released the statement Thursday afternoon after several reports surfaced that West had agreed to a buyout of his contract, which runs through next year. West has a 48-54 overall record is in his nine years as head coach of Memphis and has taken the Tigers to five bowl games. The Tigers have opened with a 1-3 record for a fourth straight year. They have finished with at least six wins during the past two seasons. – WREG

Memphis’ BCS Bid a Bad Joke?

There’s one in every family. Maybe it’s an obnoxious older brother. Or, perhaps, an over-bearing uncle. But there always seems to be someone who condescendingly thinks he’s better than the rest. Which leads us to Memphis. The Tigers are that brother, that uncle in Conference USA. Memphis believes it is superior to the other 11 members. The Tigers consider themselves a BCS-quality program trapped in a non-BCS league. That’s why Memphis has hired retired Big East Conference commissioner Mike Tranghese as a consultant. He is being paid $5,000 per month on a six-month contract to help the Tigers get into one of the six BCS conferences. Their chutzpah is stupefying considering the circumstances. Memphis football has a 1-3 record and is one of the very worst programs in Conference USA. The Tigers were abandoned by the most recognizable figure in C-USA — basketball coach John Calipari. And Memphis is dealing with an NCAA scandal involving its revered basketball program. And now — of all times — Memphis has the audacity to believe a BCS league would be interested in serving as a porter for all their baggage? It would be laughable, if it weren’t so outrageous. – Herald-Dispatch

Tommy West Era Likely Over in Memphis

Explain why it’s well past time for the guy to be fired. And I could do that, I suppose. There’s no shortage of material. But after a game like Saturday’s, it almost feels like piling on. This is over, isn’t it? It has to be over. After nine seasons and a lot of good memories, the Tommy West era at Memphis will end after this year. It gives me no pleasure to write this, but it’s not some great mystery. West has lost five of his last six games against teams from the Sun Belt Conference. He has abandoned many of the things he believed in to recruit players who were kicked off other teams. And Saturday, before a crowd of maybe 12,000, his Tigers lost to a lousy Marshall team, 27-16, in what could be the last game of the year they’ll be favored to win. – Commercial-Appeal

George O’Leary Feeling Heat at UCF

Citing the same ineffectual short-run offense that eliminated UCF from Conference USA contention last year, indecisiveness in personnel decisions, and an overall lack of spark coming from the team in their games against Samford and Southern Miss this year, donors, alumni, season ticket holders, and students are calling for George O’Leary’s head. Much to the surprise of Knights supporters, Athletics Director Keith Tribble and UCF President John Hitt aren’t crying foul toward the head football coach. A $5 million buyout in order to cut O’Leary loose might be the answer why. You see, in 2006, the university jumped the gun when the Knights were reaching new heights and on the verge of a Conference-USA championship. They signed O’Leary to a 10-year contract, keeping him at Central Florida until 2015. Two summers later, UCF announced that they were planning to cut five programs and 51 faculty members, saving them just over $6 million. Now is not a good time to be spending $5 million on football. No matter how the next few games go, O’Leary will definitely not be replaced midseason, and most likely won’t be replaced for a while. – Bleacher Report

Memphis Eyes BCS League

Former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has been hired by the University of Memphis as a consultant to assist the Tigers athletic program in its efforts to gain membership in a Bowl Championship Series conference. Tranghese stepped down as Big East commissioner at the end of June after 30 years with the conference, including the last 19 as commissioner. Tigers athletic director R.C. Johnson said Tranghese, who was hired Aug. 1, is being paid $5,000 per month from private donated funds. “His role is to help us and advise us,” Johnson said. “He asked me: ‘What’s my charge?’ I said, ‘There are six BCS conferences. Just get us in one.’” – Commercial Appeal