A Different Take on Movin' Up

[mcg]

Click on this link for a different take on moving up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/sports/ncaafootball/in-virginias-hills-a-football-crusade.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Liberty can't wait to move up, but first they've got to find a conference to that will take them.

 

[Grizzaholic]

"All Liberty students are expected to live a Christian lifestyle defined by specific behavioral rules, including a prohibition of alcohol consumption on and off campus. There is also a detailed and enforced code of conduct that includes mandatory attendance at a university-wide convocation service three times a week."

That sounds like a horrible school to attend.

 

[IdaGriz01]

"All Liberty students are expected to live a Christian lifestyle defined by specific behavioral rules, including a prohibition of alcohol consumption on and off campus. There is also a detailed and enforced code of conduct that includes mandatory attendance at a university-wide convocation service three times a week."

That sounds like a horrible school to attend.

If you're not into that sort of thing, it certainly would be. But BYU has a similar code of conduct, and most of the students seem perfectly happy with it. The convocation thing can be off-putting for those who visit the campus: I often do research at the BYU-Idaho library up in Rexburg. Not being a Mormon, having the entire campus community shut down for these events took some getting use to.

It would be foolish to scoff at Liberty's ambitions. Obviously the motivation and (most importantly) the money is there to make it happen. I am not an Evangelical Christian -- technically, I'm not even a Christian -- but I say "more power to them." They at least plan to "put their money where their mouth is."

 

[Silvertip]

Old Dominion with its feet barely wet as an FCS team has already announced its moving on to Conference USA. Ditto for Georgia State...ASU and GSU can't be far behind.

 

[On the Griz Side]

There's a strong possibility that they'll end up spending a ton of money only to wind up right back where they started after a new super power division is created for the major BCS teams - the dividing line will be $$ in the athletic budget.

 

[ISUguy]

There's a strong possibility that they'll end up spending a ton of money only to wind up right back where they started after a new super power division is created for the major BCS teams - the dividing line will be $$ in the athletic budget.

We often hear about this "new division," but nowhere have I seen anyone in authority (read: presidents of NCAA universities) quoted about anything concrete happening on this front. Far more likely, in my very humble view, is a scenario where the BCS schools all break away from the NCAA and form their own governance organization where there are no/limited "extra benefits" rules. This would allow the "big dogs" to pay their players, and to allow their boosters to do so as well. (This eliminates the embarrassment of constantly being investigated by the NCAA).

The rest of the current NCAA will be left to fend for itself, and who knows how all of that would shake out. I could see the "leftovers" agreeing to cut football scholarships, place limits on travel and recruiting budgets, maybe even agreements to limit overall athletic budgets.

 

[kurtismichael]

Old Dominion with its feet barely wet as an FCS team has already announced its moving on to Conference USA. Ditto for Georgia State...ASU and GSU can't be far behind.

Silvertip, wasn't App St recently looking at moving up and then decided against it?

 

[IdaGriz01]

We often hear about this "new division," but nowhere have I seen anyone in authority (read: presidents of NCAA universities) quoted about anything concrete happening on this front. Far more likely, in my very humble view, is a scenario where the BCS schools all break away from the NCAA and form their own governance organization where there are no/limited "extra benefits" rules. This would allow the "big dogs" to pay their players, and to allow their boosters to do so as well. (This eliminates the embarrassment of constantly being investigated by the NCAA).

The rest of the current NCAA will be left to fend for itself, and who knows how all of that would shake out. I could see the "leftovers" agreeing to cut football scholarships, place limits on travel and recruiting budgets, maybe even agreements to limit overall athletic budgets.

I used to lean toward the "breakaway" notion myself (still do, to some extent), but the most recent scheme they've dreamed up to milk the bowl system may delay that. Here's one discussion of the new plan: http://espn.go.com/college-football...x-bowls-pool-college-football-semifinal-games
The crucial point is

The national semifinals will rotate through the six bowl games, setting up two playoff games and four major bowl games each season. The national title game will be bid out each year through a separate process similar to the Super Bowl.
The six games will include three "contract bowls" and three "host bowls." ... The contract bowls are: Rose (Pac-12 versus Big Ten), Sugar (SEC versus Big 12) and Orange (ACC versus Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame). ... Those remaining three access or "host" bowls still must be determined, but the leading candidates are the Fiesta, Cotton and Chick-fil-A, sources said.

Most of the games, and money, will end up in the hands of the "power five" -- ACC, Big Ten, Big-12, Pac-12, and SEC. As a sop to the have-nots:

... the highest-rated champion from the "Group of Five" conferences -- the Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Mid-American -- will receive an automatic berth in one of the six access bowls.

The few details the writer provides do not make the scheme crystal clear. (I had to sketch out a kind of chart to get a clue on how it might work.) But it is clear that the big dogs have found a way to keep the have-nots reasonably content while cutting most of the pie for themselves. (What a surprise!) I am also betting that the days of the big bowls sticking it to the schools (where they lose money going to a bowl) will be a thing of the past -- at least for the power schools.

 

[RABIDAWG]

"All Liberty students are expected to live a Christian lifestyle defined by specific behavioral rules, including a prohibition of alcohol consumption on and off campus. There is also a detailed and enforced code of conduct that includes mandatory attendance at a university-wide convocation service three times a week."

That sounds like a horrible school to attend.

Could be the difference between moral (conservative) and amoral (progressive liberals).. :roll:

 

[griz4life]

Liberty doesn't just need to be an FBS school to accomplish it's goals. It needs to be recognized as a religious institution of higher learning seen as an athletic equal to Notre Dame. It's the same thing BYU wants.
Notre Dame's athletic status is the, no pun intended, holy grail for a religious university. Catholics have had this status to themselves for decades, but the LDS and evangelical churches have grown exponentially. They rival the Catholic church as forces in U.S. politics. Equal footing in the world of NCAA sports would only legitimize the LDS and evangelicals further.

 

[griz4life]

delete second

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Could be the difference between moral (conservative) and amoral (progressive liberals).. :roll:

Or, it could be the difference between people who need some "higher power" to impose morality on them versus people who are willing to take full responsibility for doing the right thing.

 

[Grizzaholic]

Could be the difference between moral (conservative) and amoral (progressive liberals).. :roll:

Or, it could be the difference between people who need some "higher power" to impose morality on them versus people who are willing to take full responsibility for doing the right thing.

Exactly :thumb:

 

[mcg]

Liberty doesn't just need to be an FBS school to accomplish it's goals. It needs to be recognized as a religious institution of higher learning seen as an athletic equal to Notre Dame. It's the same thing BYU wants.
Notre Dame's athletic status is the, no pun intended, holy grail for a religious university. Catholics have had this status to themselves for decades, but the LDS and evangelical churches have grown exponentially. They rival the Catholic church as forces in U.S. politics. Equal footing in the world of NCAA sports would only legitimize the LDS and evangelicals further.

The difference between Notre Dame and the evangelical universities is that the Catholic church has no problem with science. It learned from it's experience in 1500 and 1600's trying to maintain that the Earth is the center of the universe that denying science is a losing game. To put it as politely as I can, for the evangelical world, not so much.

 

[tourist]

In keeping with the topic, the events of the past eight months have pushed back any serious consideration of moving up to 1-A back at least ten years.