Start with the fact the Big East has BCS membership only because of a hall pass.
The BCS commissioners awarded the conference a waiver to stay in the club in 2007 just, well, because. Back then, the Big East still had enough existing juice from its teams and power from its administrators to keep its nose under the BCS tent.
No more.
You don’t have to be told that the Big East hasn’t had a team ranked in the final BCS top 20 since 2009. Or had one team in the top 10 of the BCS since 2008. (The Big Ten has had seven.) Such things matter when a conference is being awarded an $18 million-$20 million bowl game each year just, because.
That’s why you may have noticed the Big East is expanding, to chase that magic BCS berth like it was a contact high. CBSSports.com’s Brett McMurphy reported Tuesday that Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU and Central Florida will join the league in 2013.
The problem is no one really knows what it all means. Four of the five new schools are basically warm bodies to keep the Big East afloat. The league is hoping the fifth, Boise, can keep the conference in the BCS big time. Air Force and Navy may join later.
But there’s no certainty the BCS is even going to be around in a few years. Commissioners will spend most of the next year deciding what college football’s postseason will look like beginning in 2014 (when the current BCS contract expires). The question – now that there is a bit of clarity regarding Big East membership – is if the league is better off with this current expansion.
Short answer: No. Not even close. The schools that have left – West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh – have accounted for five BCS bowls in the 14-year history of the system. That’s more than twice as many as the new schools bring to the table, all of them by Boise State (two).
But what choice did the Big East have? After the latest ACC raid, it just needed a heartbeat.
Here is breakdown between the old and new. Decide for yourself if the Big East is worthy of a BCS bid.
(Note: We are considering the “highest level of football” since 1973 when Division I was established by the NCAA. Boise State moved up to Division I-A in 1996. All ranking references are to the Associated Press and BCS.)
Boise State
Conference: Mountain West, first year
Age of program at highest level of college football: 16th year in Division I-A/FBS
Years in the BCS era that the Broncos ended the season ranked (1998-present): Seven
The last year the Broncos ended the season ranked: 2011
BCS bowls: two (2007 Fiesta, 2010 Fiesta)
San Diego State
Conference: Mountain West, 13th year
Age of program at highest level: 39th year in Division I/Division I-A/FBS
Years in the BCS era that the Aztecs ended the season ranked: None.
The last year the Aztecs ended the season ranked: 1977
BCS bowls: None.
Houston
Conference: Conference USA, 16th year
Age of program at highest level: 39th year in Division I/Division I-A/FBS
Years in the BCS era that the Cougars ended the season ranked: One (2011)
The last year the Cougars ended the season ranked: 1990
BCS bowls: None
SMU
Conference: Conference USA, sixth year
Age of program at highest level: 39th year in Division I/Division I-A/FBS
Years in the BCS era that the Mustangs ended the season ranked: None.
The last year the Mustangs ended ranked: 1984
BCS bowls: None.
Central Florida
Conference: Conference USA, sixth year
Age of program at highest level: 16th year in Division I-A/FBS
Years in the BCS era the Knights ended the season ranked: One (2010)
The last year the Knights ended ranked: 2010.
BCS bowls: None.
The skinny on new teams
Average stay in current conference: 8.4 years
Average age of new programs at highest level of football: 29.8 years
Total seasons in the BCS era that ended with a ranking: Nine (average of 1.8 times per school)
Average length of time, in years, since last end-of-season ranking: 16.4 years
Last season ranked at the end of the season: Boise, 2011
Total BCS bowls: Two.
The skinny on departing teams (West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse)
Average stay in current conference: 20 years (Each year was a charter member in football.)
Average age of programs playing at the highest level of football: 39
Total seasons in the BCS era that ended with a ranking: 12 (average of four times per school)
Average length of time, in years, since last end-of-season ranking: four
Last season ranked at end of the season: 2011 (West Virginia)
Total BCS bowls: 5
