Ticket Bonanza Opening Weekend Preview

Ticket Bonanza Opening Weekend Preview

Survey of the cheapest tickets listed at StubHub.com (8/9/09)

Games to be played on 9/5/09 unless otherwise noted.

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game: Virginia Tech vs. Alabama

Upper End Zone 307 Up to 7 $162.00 each

597 ticket listings

Speculators betting on a big pay day. This will need some follow up.

Miami at Florida State

Monday, September 7, 2009

Lower Level End Zone 118 Up to 4 $186.00 each

118 ticket listings

Jacksonville State the following week much better seats for less the $20.

Cincinnati at Rutgers

Monday, September 7, 2009

Lower End Zone 116 Up to 4 $45.00 each

125 ticket listings

Are the Yankees playing the Red Sox?

Minnesota at Syracuse

Upper End Zone 330 Up to 4 $38.00 each

22 ticket listings are displayed in the map

In two weekweeks you can see Northwestern for just $14

Navy at Ohio State

Deck 6 C 28 $143.00 each

122 ticket listings

No tickets for the Buckeyes are currently listed below the century mark.

BYU vs. Oklahoma at Dallas Cowboys New Stadium in Arlington, TX

Upper Reserved 401 2 $81.99 each

346 ticket listings

Worth the money just to see the 8th Wonder of the World.

Georgia at Oklahoma State

129 ticket listings

Lower Corner 101 2 $129.00 each

There are muliple listings for seats in section 101 which are in the "Fun Zone" and cost $336 per seat for the eight home games. This prices are well beyond those for the rest of the season and may be a result of the Bulldog Effect.

Louisiana Tech at Auburn

Upper Deck Sideline 48 Up to 4 $29.99 each

191 ticket listings

And this is about the best home SEC game of the week.

Utah State at Utah

Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Redzone N 27 Up to 4 $22.00 each

60 ticket listings

Coming off a historic season and only $22?

The "Y" Bowls

Not every bowl game can have great teams, at a great time, at a great venue, in a great location. Here is a list of the “have not-iest” games:

EagleBank Bowl
Date Dec. 20
Teams Wake Forest vs. Navy

Venue RFK

Location Washington, D.C.

Other 11:00 a.m. kickoff

On the good side Navy got a real break on travel expenses. The minuses: bad stadium, temperatures in the high 30’s, and early kickoff (attendance: 28,777)



magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl
Date Dec. 20
Teams South Florida vs. Memphis

Venue Tropicana Field

Location St. Petersburg, FL

Other Isn’t Skype free

The Trop is bad baseball venue and even worse for football. The field looked like it had snow on it except where they covered up the baseball dirt area. On the positive side ESPN announcers said MagicJack more than the required number of times. (attendance: 25,205)


Emerald Bowl
Date Dec. 27 ESPN
Teams Miami vs. California

Venue AT&T Park

Location San Francisco, Calif.

Saturday by the bay but another of the baseball stadium game. AT&T park feature the endzone wall and the ever popular shared sideline.


Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl
Dec. 30
Teams Maryland vs. Nevada

Venue Bronco Stadium

Location Boise, ID

Other: High temperature of 40 with rain

Maryland fans are falling all over themselves to book airline tickets for a winter trip to land of the Smurf Turf. This game has been the boobie prize of the
ACC for several years now. Which is worse for Ralph and the boy: staying home for the holidays or seeing the sites in Boise.


GMAC Bowl
Jan. 6
Teams Tulsa vs. Ball State

Venue Ladd-Peebles stadium

Location Mobile, AL

Other GMAC is in serious trouble

The only bowl game using Federal bailout money the only issue here is the late dat of this game. Yes, the hardcore college football fan will care but by January 6th most are looking forward to next fall.

Tickets Galore #10

Florida State at Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, GA
Upper Level Sideline 203 $81.00
Nice seats. Prices helped by the openess of the ACC crown?

Missouri at Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, TX
Corner A $19.00
See a Tiger game on the cheap?

West Virginia at Connecticut Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT
Upper Sideline 205 $60.00
2007 Co-champs face off. Not worth $60.

Northwestern at Minnesota Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN
Face of the two Big 10 pretenders. Not worth $59.

Temple at Navy Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD
Lower Level Sideline 31 $27.00
Last Navy real Home game of the season.

Oregon at California Memorial Stadium (Cal) in Berkeley, CA
Gold Zone XX $29.95
XXX section is $29.95 per month.

Tulsa at Arkansas Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, AR
Upper Level Sideline 500 $18.00
This is actually and interesting game of unbeaten Tulsa visiting an SEC team.

Fresno State at Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, LA
E 01 $7.00
The bargain game of the week.

Big dose of SALT

Tickets Galore #8

U.S.S. Hornet CV8--Heros
Wake Forest at Maryland Byrd Stadium in College Park, MD
Lower Sideline 7 $30.00
Very nice seats at about the 30. Later season tickets are even cheaper.

Baylor at Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium at Lewis Field in Stillwater, OK
Lower Sideline 119 $167.00
Row 5 on the visitors sideline...maybe get a great view of the Balor bench. Very few tickets on sale.

Syracuse at South Florida Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
Lower Level End Zone 125 $65.00
This price is too high an these seats will most likely stay empty.

Indiana at Illinois Memorial Stadium (Illinois) in Champaign, IL
Horseshoe 114 $29.00
A far price to see the battle of the middle v. the bottom. And this is the featuring game on BTN at 8 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Navy Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD
End Zone F $69.00 each
Great venue for football and worth the price. And the students behave.

Air Force at UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV
End Zone 116 $29.00
Only three sets tickets on the market.

Mississippi State at Tennessee Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN
Upper Level Corner GG $15.00
Vote of no confidence in Mr. Fulmer?

Stanford at UCLA Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA
Bruin Reserved 15 $6.00
Sell it as, "Surprise Stanford team playing in the Rose Bowl!"

Just Like Mom Used To Make

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How much can you tweek a tradition before you made major changes and messed it up. Think about Thanksgiving dinner, there are traditional family and societal parameter that are best to stay within. Serving a turkey and a ham is acceptable but just a standing rib roast maylead to a revolt. Pumpkin, apple, and pecan are within limits but coconut cream would just be odd. Traditions also dictate when you make and eat the food: How many pumpkin pies do you eat per year? For most of us there is just the one the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

The Army v. Navy Game is one of those traditions that is looking at alternative locations and maybe adding a sponsor. This game is wild popular and profitable for the schools and one of the few games either of these teams play in which they are truly evenly matched with the outcome decided by coaching and individual effort.

A young pundit several years ago called Army v. Navy the most overrate rivalry games. He looked at Ohio State v. Michigan and Alabama v. Auburn and saw the meeting of the service academies wanting. He was correct is looking at the player not being at the same level as top level BCS schools but failed to appreciate that a rivalry was about being evenly matched with the opposition and the tradition behind the rivalry. Army v. Navy is beyond just team or alumni with millions of active, reserve, and retired military personal have a little stake in the game.

Those pondering the future of this game need to exercise great caution in the direction the intent to take and remember the special place this game and pumpkin pie have in American culture.

SEC Game of the Week 2008

Game of the week rules: looking for the most intriguing (not always the most important) game, home conference games only, every team must appear at least once.

Thursday, August 28
North Carolina State at South Carolina
The Old Ball Coach is not getting any younger. Can the other USC be a contender? Heavy tune up against an ACC school.

Saturday, September 6
Miami at Florida
Will the Canes be able to make this much of a game

Saturday, September 13
Georgia at South Carolina
The Old Ball Coach is not getting any younger. Can the other USC be a contender? The real test.

Saturday, September 20
LSU at Auburn
December preview?

Saturday, September 27
Mississippi State at LSU
Last year this game was uglier than _____________ (reader’s choice). Can Sly narrow the gap?

Saturday, October 4
South Carolina at Ole Miss
“We may not be #1 but we’re better than those guys game.”


Saturday, October 11
LSU at Florida
Can Tebow lose here and win a second Heisman?

Saturday, October 18
Ole Miss at Alabama
Arkansas at Kentucky
Vanderbilt at Georgia
LSU at South Carolina
Mississippi State at Tennessee


Saturday, October 25
Georgia at LSU
Championship game preview?

Duke at Vanderbilt
So if Duke beats Northwestern and Vandy beats Duke then Vandy is the king of …

Saturday, November 1
Arkansas State at Alabama
Florida vs. Georgia (Jacksonville)


Saturday, November 8
Alabama at LSU
Saban returns

Saturday, November 15
Georgia at Auburn
Championship game preview?

Saturday, November 22
The Citadel at Florida
A true cupcake put at the end of the season.

Saturday, November 29
Auburn at Alabama
Like Army v. Navy the next week this is the season in one afternoon.
Georgia Tech at Georgia
How ugly will this game get?

The Slime Bowl Is A Better Name

Navy...good!
Army...good!
Air Force...good!

Lower level ACC or C-USA team...alright.

Washington in late December...Not as bad as late July but not good.

Congress(ional Bowl)...just down right ugly. Proof below.

"Navy has become an attractive postseason candidate because we have shown time and time again that we sell tickets and bring fans," Gladchuk said. "Whichever bowl gets Navy, gets the commitment of an entire institution and the support of a widespread fan base."

Navy is invited to bowl game because theey sell tickets and they get TV ratings. As stated here before the bowl game is not about your team it is about getting people into town during the slow December travel season to spend MONEY.

That said with Paul Johnson leaving Annapolis the string of winning season may be coming to an end and it is not clear that the other two service academies have the same following. The other partner the ACC/C-USA may end up sending a Wake Forest or SMU that may not sell the needed tickets needed for a respectable payout. The Congressional Bowl may find itself going the way of the Garden State or the Cherry Bowl.

Pitch Left

Last November Mother Jones ran a typical article critical of college football taking the expected view of the negatives: Title IX, money diverted from education, and corruption of the academic mission of the college. The is little new here but it is a good read for the average college football fan not only to know what opponents are saying but as the picture that does not flatter you--think Oprah sans lighting and make up.

A couple of factual issues: (these really jumped out)

Columbia plays in the Ivy League with no athletic scholarships and is very different from the typical D1 school.

Army and Navy do not play football in the Patriot League.

As for the title: The Quagmire of College Football,trying not to get political, the term quagmire harkens back to the lefts view of Vietnam and, while college football is a double edged sword, this label is not appropriate.

Change of Venue

In Irish Bowl entry in this blog there was an attempt to poke fun at Notre Dame's bowl game woe's by making up a story about the Golden Dormers starting there own bowl game in New York. They wanted to be sure to invite teams they could beat. Sounds silly but in a way the rumored series with UCONN to certain point fills the bill--games at pro stadiums, a team that the Irish expect to be able to beat, and the ability to generate dollars. The questions for the Huskies are: Will this game generate enough enthusiasm about your program to off set the loss of a home game and what is you slice of the pie?

While the on field product has been less than spectacular and the management of Crewcut Charlie is in doubt, Kevin White has leveraged the position of the historic program to maximize the value of the property. Mr. White, like Notre Dame or not, is pushing the right buttons to make (keep) his program a true national brand. Look at the schedule grid from Mike at http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/5696/sched-f.htm adding these games with UCONN would fill the need to exposure in the New York/New England area and improving on the position left open by the apparent end of the series with Boston College. The pledge by Notre Dame to play three Big East schools in football each year--Pitt, Rutgers and now UCONN is looking like a shrewd move rather than as charity. (Note that Notre Dame will host South Florida in 2011 as part of a one and done.)

Notre Dame has a schedule over the next eight years that takes them to the East Coast: USC, Stanford, Washington, Arizona State, and BYU; Texas/Oklahoma: San Antonio (v. Baylor) Arlington (v. Washington State), and Oklahoma; Florida (Orlando in 2011 and 2014 v. TBD); the Northeast: Boston College. Navy, UCONN, and Rutgers; and the home turf of the Mid West: Michigan, Purdue, Pittsburgh, and Michigan State. The big holes are in SEC/ACC country (more than just Florida) but then how much headway are the Irish going to make in those markets.

Then we still have the UCONN issue which the fans are understandably upset about and while you can understand their anger these games have the potential to make the Huskies a regional powerhouse in the void that is college football in New England. The University of Connecticut football program has put all the correct pieces into place but they need games that squarely put them in the spotlight. A win against Notre Dame regardless of the venue can go along way toward establishing your college football reputation.

You too can have the above Lucky Charms outfit.

Just Say No

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After 16 games does the AFC need a playoff? With last weekend's meaningless wildcard games we move to the second round of the much loved playoffs because as we know it the champion is best decides on the field. Yet in the case of the AFC there is no need for a post season as New England has vanquished every foe n defeating what is likely the second best team in the NFL in the the Colts. In fact why play the Super Bowl at all as it is clear the New England is the best team in the NFL and at best the current process can only serve to delay this conclusion or crown a pretender the the thrown.

Those that advocate the playoff in college football point to this past season with no regular season dominate team as proof of the need for adding a tournament single elimination contest to the regular season. The recent proposal by Georgia's Michael Adams might not be seems so smart if the Dawgs go undefeated through an SEC schedule only to lose in the first round to a no. 8 Hawaii (or alike). Then the screams would be to consider the difficulty to surviving a brutal SEC regular season and that the winner of the playoff was illegitimate.

This is not to say that we should crown the National Champion prior to one last test, like the vote to give the title to the University of Maryland in 1953 despite being beaten by Oklahoma 7-0 in the Orange Bowl (the final poll was taken before the game was played). The current system requires teams to position themselves for the #1 or #2 positions for a shot at the MNC and while the 2007 season had no dominate team and therefore gave voice to those advocating a tournament the NFL may show the folly of this approach.

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Ticket Roulette Bowl Game #1

Texas Bowl Tickets (Houston vs TCU)
Friday, December 28, 2007 at 7:00 PM at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX
Endzone for $33 with good seats for $62. Looks like the upperdeck is not being opened. Would have expected better for two Texas teams.

Sun Bowl Tickets (South Florida vs Oregon)
Monday, December 31, 2007 at 12:00 PM at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, TX
GA (general admission?)tickets for as little as $7 with 50 yardline seats for $30. El Paso is proably a very nice place but would you want to trade it for Tampa in late December?

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Tickets (East Carolina vs Boise State)
Sunday, December 23, 2007 at 3:00 PM at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI
Minimum $58 with a thin market. Better than spending the day in Boise.

Poinsettia Bowl Tickets (Navy vs Utah)
Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 6:00 PM at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA
Starting at $37 with 661 tickets listed the cost tops out at $148.

Papajohns.com Bowl Tickets (Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss)
Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 12:00 PM at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL
Ranging from $40 to $90 with only 14 tickets listed--Calista Flockhart thin supply.

Outback Bowl Tickets (Wisconsin vs Tennessee)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
Better weather than El Paso and higher prices with the cheap seats selling for $35.00. There are 3740 on the block--Delta Burke John Goodman supply.

Ticket Roulette Week Final

Army/Navy Game Football Tickets 12/1
M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD $130
At the top for a reason.

ACC Football Championship Tickets (Boston College vs Virginia Tech) at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, FL
Middle Level Sideline 231 P 2 $55.00 each
Good seats at a low price! When will the ACC sell tickets to this game? Look for the hidden BC fans ala" Where's Waldo".(Has to be better than last year)
Update: "Catlett, whose organization operates the ACC game, said a bit less than 20,000 tickets remain for public sale."

Big 12 Football Championship Tickets (Oklahoma vs Missouri) at Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
Upper Level End Zone 324 26 Up to 14 $56.00 each
Lower than expected.

SEC Football Championship Tickets (Tennessee vs LSU) Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA
Upper Corner 340 19 Up to 4 $141.00 each
LUXURY SUITE SIDELINE 1 $64,708.00 each
SEC fans travel and are willing to pay.

Pittsburgh at West Virginia at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, WV
Lower Level Visitor End Zone 98 18 2 $125.00 each
Not good seats and to sit in the cold.


MAC Championship Tickets (Miami vs Central Michigan) at Ford Field in Detroit, MI
Lower Level Sideline 103 3 Up to 8 $12.00 each
Bargain of the week.

No prices given.
Washington at Hawaii Football Tickets
Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 6:30 PM at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI

Conference USA Football Championship Tickets: Tulsa at Central Florida
Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 12:00 PM at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, FL

Future
GMAC Bowl Tickets Sunday, January 6, 2008 at 7:00 PM at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL $109
On the 50 row 5. What a deal

Ticket Roulette Week #10

Bo Derek was it in 1979 but maybe not 28 years later.

11-1-2007 Thursday
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech $44
Was expecting more

Florida State at Boston College $72
Must be that baseball is over. Actually this has been a hot ticket all season.

Wake Forest at Virginia $40
Last year’s surprise versus this year’s!

Kansas State at Iowa State $9
Maybe it’ll be one of those postcard perfect fall days…Why else go?

Ball State at Indiana Football Tickets $21
A win here means the Hoosier go bowling without the ugly shoes.

Michigan at Michigan State Football Tickets $110
RIVALRY

Marshall at Central Florida $29
Still lovin’ the new house.

East Carolina at Memphis $60
How much would you pay for the clash of the C-USA East titans?

Rutgers at Connecticut $40.50 (auction)
Nice seats in section 204. Would prices be higher if Rutgers were winning?

Navy at Notre Dame $49
Anchors away...bargain tickets ahoy.

UCLA at Arizona $2.99 each
The gas getting out of the parking lot might be more expensive.

Tennessee Tech at Auburn $23
Bye week!

Vanderbilt at Florida $40
FAU tickets in two weeks are more expensive.

Ticket Roulette Week #3

Ball State at Navy Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 5:00 PM $7.75
And you can have a nice time in Annapolis before the game.

Texas at Central Florida Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 3:30 PM $101.00
Opening day prices

Idaho State at Oregon State Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 3:30 PM $6
Cheap Beaver

Ole Miss at Vanderbilt Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 6:00 PM $15
Not the must see SEC games

Notre Dame at Michigan Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 3:30 PM $90
Looking for history for one of these teams.

Wyoming at Boise State Football Tickets 9-15-2007 Saturday 6:00 PM $60
The honeymoon continues?

Utah State at Oklahoma Football Tickets 2:30 PM $53
The bargin game of the season for the Sooners.

West Virginia at Maryland Football Tickets 9-13-2007 Thursday 7:45 PM $145
No cheap seats left. Even a parking pass is selling for a great price.
PARKING Z1 $93.00 each

Prices as of 5:00 9/12/07

Attendence Week #1

Top 5
Idaho @ 1 USC
Attendance: 90,917

2 LSU @ Mississippi State
Attendance: 50,112

Western Michgan @ 3 West Virginia
Attendance: 60,563

Arkansas State @ 4 Texas
Attendance: 84,440

Appalichin State @ 5 Michgan
Attendance: 109,218
More in attendence or watching on BTN?

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Others of interest

Connecticut @ Duke
Attendance: 17,251
So no one was there to see #13

Virginia (0-1) @ Wyoming
Attendance: 31,620

Wake Forest (0-1) @ Boston College
Attendance: 42,292

Miami (OH) @ Ball State
Attendance: 15,488

Navy @ Temple
Attendance: 30,368
Two words--Shore leave

14 UCLA @ Stanford
Attendance: 38,860

Eastern Michigan @ Pittsburgh
Attendance: 36,183

Army @ Akron
Attendance: 17,865

Washington @ Syracuse
Attendance: 40,329
39,000 hearts breaking

Richmond @ Vanderbilt
Attendance: 32,215

Missouri @ Illinois (St. Louis)
Attendance: 62,352
Success of the neutral site games

Louisiana-Lafayette @ South Carolina
Attendance: 78,234


Mystery Stadium

Quick Hits 8/19/07

Go FGCU!
So how much would it cost to go D1? Florida Gulf Coast University has crunched the numbers and the price to get into the college football business includes:
Most of the stiff-arm has to do with money matters. It would take a minimum of $50 million to build a stadium today, more likely toward $100 million to do it first-class. McAloose figures it would take an additional $10 million to start the program and at least $5 million per year for scholarship and salary funding.

McAloose said the student population likely would need to be around 20,000-25,000 to support the sport, about triple the current enrollment.

This is low side estimate as it only looks at the start up costs not the losses incurred while getting the program off the ground(See FIU/FAU).

Army/Navy and BE Combo Reconsidered
Although Navy has been performing well enough to qualify for bowl games they have the problem of finding an alliance that works for them as they are an independent and the bowls like to have the predictability of conference tie ins. Therefore reconsidering the problem pointed out in Spit and Bailing Wirethere is a trade to be made conference games in exchange for bowl access. Navy and Army (with the exception of Notre Dame) could play each other, Air Force, Notre Dame, four Big East schools and still have five open games with a good chance of making a bowl. We could see some move on this as the bowls will be revising their deals in the next few years.

Jumping In?
UMass is again considering the move to D1. Nothing more than exploration but they should be considering their options.

Quick Hits

According to www.Indystar.com--Purdue football ticket sales surgeand, really going out on a limb here, ticket sales will slump next year ()except for that November 1st game against Michigan. Why does it take a column to point out the obvious? See Ticket Futures--Purdue

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Benson: WAC has surpassed MWC amounts to, "We're #7 and we try harder." Both the Mountain West Conferences and Western Athletic Conferences play entertaining football so trying to pick your favorite is difficult. Okay, mostly the problem is that most fans aren't quite sure what teams are in which.
Sort out the conferences, it's like Jumble in the newspaper
Boise State, Brigham Young, Fresno State, New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, TCU, Nevada, New Mexico State, Wyoming, San Jose State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Air Force, UNLV
No shame (for you) in opening up another window to look up the answer. The shame is that these two conferences lack any real identity.

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No more Colt 45 for Mr. Slive of the SEC. Dennis Dodd print this quote from last weeks meeting, "When I talk to our coaches I try to use a metaphor. The SEC is like a big aircraft carrier, it was the preeminent aircraft carrier, then other aircraft carriers were manufactured that had funny names like the ACC and the Big 12. There was a lot of competition." BS-damus has taken note and likes the Naval reference and the oddity of the quote.

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Just the opposite of the Purdue situation the University of Pittsburgh's home schedule lacks both elements needed to sell tickets: a successful team and opponents that will sell tickets. With the likes of Eastern Michigan, Grambling, Connecticut, Navy (moved to Wednesday), Cincinnati, Syracuse and South Florida the tickets are now at buy one cheap $120 for all seven games and get a second for $10. While this shows some weakness it also shows that someone at Pitt realized that it cost next to nothing to for the second ticket so $10 is better than zero. While Mr. Smizik's Pitt football-ticket sales in bad shape, mocks the strategy he appears not to understand business.

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Uncomfortable might be the best description of the recent situation for Tom O’Brien the new head football coach for N.C. State. The recent article at Forbes.com tried to paint it as the problem of being picked last for the first time in his coach career (Temple and Rutgers really enjoyed the nice fruit baskets) but that is not what most of use would be made uncomfortable by. The elephant in the room at the ACC recent media day meeting was the slap in the face given to Boston College by Mr. O’Brien’s departure. The lateral move sent a message to BC, “I can be more success elsewhere (because the athletic department here is not committed to being successful.)”

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The Cotton Bowl was at all of the recent media days for the BCS conferences trying to sell themselves are relevant and ready to go if there is a new BCS game. See Faded Beauties.

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News Flash: U-M, Notre Dame to play through 2031--film at 11. Will the Michigan home games be on BTN?

Spit and Baling Wire

The U.S. Service Academies at West Point and Annapolis are among the finest schools in the nation and while they both play D1 college football the demands of the schools hamper the them in selecting players--the minimum SAT score just does not cut it. Because of this factor the Army-Navy game is among the greatest rivalries in college football. No the players aren't the elite on any ones recruiting boards but they are evenly matched with intelligent disciplined players.

Lately it has leaked out that the Big East is interested in an alliance with the two schools to join the conference as 1/1A for football only. The motivation is simply that the addition of the 12th game to the schedule means that Big East schools must find five OOC games in addition to the seven (an odd number which causes a problem when it its your year to only have three conference games at home). The Army/Navy combo would mean that the AD's would only need to fill four slots each year and assure a minimum of four home games with the associated dollars. The two schools are very much in the geography footprint of the conference which could make for some nice away game road trips and more importantly the teams have a good fan support.\

Navy 2007
8-31-07 at Temple (Fri.) Navy at Temple
9-7-07 at Rutgers (Fri.) Navy at Rutgers
9-15-07 BALL STATE Ball State at Navy
9-22-07 DUKE at Navy
9-29-07 AIR FORCE at Navy
10-10-07 at Pittsburgh (Wed.) Navy
10-20-07 WAKE FOREST
10-27-07 DELAWARE
11-3-07 at Notre Dame
11-10-07 at North Texas
11-17-07 NORTHERN ILLINOIS
12-1-07 vs. Army @Baltimore, MD

Army 2007
9-1-07 at Akron @Cleveland, OH
9-8-07 RHODE ISLAND
9-15-07 at Wake Forest
9-22-07 at Boston College
9-29-07 TEMPLE
10-6-07 TULANE
10-13-07 at Central Michigan
10-20-07 at Georgia Tech
11-3-07 at Air Force
11-9-07 RUTGERS
11-17-07 TULSA
12-1-07 vs. Navy @Baltimore, MD

The problem here is trying to figure out what Army and Navy get out of the deal. They too may be feeling the pressure of filling twelve games but that's not a money issue. Either of these teams on your schools schedule comes the understand that they are not powerhouse but are respectable opponents from a good background the old money type. Navy for one does not need the money as they are better off financially then any the BE members (Army and Notre Dame are the big paydays). Army may still gun shy with the bad relationship they recently got out of with Conference USA. An association with a BCS conference only makes the road to a bowl game that much more difficult as games against the likes of Rutgers, West Virginia, Louisville, and South Florida during the upcoming season would be very challenging for these teams. They both currently four or five BCS schools but those are chosen rather than imposed.

If the parties move ahead with this idea it should be on a trial basis of two or four seasons as Army and Navy may trier of the routine and the Big East will need a stronger permanent member.

Predictions?

The keyboards are burning up with predictions and most of them are wrong. No, the predictions are not for the upcoming season but predictions being made about realignment of conferences. The problem with these predictions is that they rarely look at the complexity of any charge. If you change jobs it is almost always driven by an economic based decision. Even if the issue is that you hate the boss or the commute you are looking for income is the form of a better life rather than just plan dollars. But changing jobs requires you being able to fill a need of the other employer. So let's look at two such predictions about changing the current status quo of conference configurations:

Denny O'Brien of Boneville.net comes the conclusion that East Carolina would make a great addition to the Big East and would solve the problem the conference currently has with 8 teams, meaning seven conference games and needing five OOC games. The case is well made for freeing ECU from the limits of Conference USA and sounds like the benchwarmer's plea to the coach for a chance to prove himself. Mr. O'Brien goes a Bridge Too Far by pushing for a 12 team configuration.

— Army and Navy provide the perfect package deal. Both are national programs with wide-ranging interest and built-in bowl affiliations that could be added to the Big East's postseason package.

But perhaps no addition is more attractive than the annual game between the Black Knights and Midshipmen. Few regular season match-ups compare to that Civil War, and its eventual inclusion in the Big East TV lineup automatically drives the network bidders higher.

Yet if Mr. O'Brien were to look at the dollars that Navy generates he would see that they would be taking a pay cut by joining the Big East or even the ACC for that matter. Football carries clout at Navy

The team's overall revenue also compares well with other big college programs. In the 2004-2005 academic year, the Maryland Terrapins football team had about $9.3 million in revenue, compared with Navy's almost $15 million.

Tom Deinhart makes a similar mistake in Big trouble brewing for this midwest dirty dozen in predicting a possible break up the Big 12 with the group giving up on there marriage of 14 years and going there separate ways. The smoking guns here are the departure of Kevin Weiberg for the Big Ten Network (BTN), complaints about the unequal shares that the financial pie is cut into from Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard (his school got one of the small pieces) and the imbalance between between a dominate South and the North. He paints wild scenarios with the Pac 10 adding two Texas schools (yes the Pac 10 did look at adding Texas in the past) or the SEC taking Texas by deleting Vandy from the group.

What both of these predictions have in common is that neither address the real money motivation of the the groups and the, "What's in it for me!" of the individual schools. Change is a two sided equation in which both parties are looking to improve there current position and in the case of college sports conference the two sides is only the beginning of the complexity.