Eastern Football Conference Dreamin' | Syracusefan.com

Eastern Football Conference Dreamin'

CA Monk

I'm Woke, But I'm Very Groggy.
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Yes I do like cheese with my whine.

Heartened by what's happening at SU these days. We are likely to be a player once again. We've risen to a level where there we register fewer upsets because we're now expected to win or play close. I'd be thrilled to knock-off a depleted FSU team. They still have plenty of 4 and 5 star players and we've lost 9 straight to them. Only a Floyd Little-led team beat them in 1966 (9 years after Burt Reynolds left FSU). My lament is thus:

A long time ago in a college football galaxy far, far away events should've conspired so Syracuse would now be in a P5 Conference called the
Eastern Football Conference

Were it not primarily for the short-sightedness of Joe Pa (and other factors) in bolting for the Big 10 about the time the Big East was forming, it may have come into existence. And they would've been the major player in this hypothetical conference instead of just a player in the Big 10. I'm not here to argue a host of issues (whys, wherefores and recriminations except the Joe Pa part). I just want to fantasize w/those of my Orange kind about what the league might look like:

1. The Syracuse Orangemen
2. Penn State ('nuff said)
3. Pitt (William Pitt would be honored)
4. BC (small private school like us)
5. West Virginia (WVU vs. Texas Tech - ooh there's a rivalry)
6. Maryland (wish they were still in the ACC instead of Louisville)
7. Rutgers (an easy drive and natural recruiting rivalry)
8. Connecticut (an easy drive, mediocre program and good geographic fit)
9. Temple (we promise not to kick them out this time if they start to suck)
10. Navy (a consistently decent service academy - welcome aboard)

That would be the core group. For a 12 team or more conference w/a championship game I'd propose:

11. Army (easy on the secondary, hard on the D-line)
12. Va Tech (their fans have told me they hate to play us)
13. Virginia (not exactly an over the top SEC program w/a rabid fan base)
14. Not sure: Buffalo, ODU, UMass maybe Villanova (they'd need upgrades for P5)

As I continue to stamp my feet and sip my favorite beverage, a few more items:
  • Revert to an 11 game schedule with only 6-5 or better teams bowl eligible.
  • Old school uniforms (or at least uniforms that don't look like the wardrobe from Superhero or Transformer movies)
  • Head Coaches must wear a suit & tie
  • Cheerleaders must wear...I'll skip that one
  • Any lip service about the "Fan Experience" short of cutting commercial time in half is bull
  • Early signing period for recruits
  • Dome is a magnificent facility for fans that cut their teeth in ancient, freezing Archbold. Really tough for opponents when the Loud House is cranking. However, it needs seatbacks, AC, better food choices and sound system.
I could go on and on. I already have. Suffice to say that in the candy store of life SU bball and football are double fudge-coated almond roca. I travelled from Reno to catch the Pitt and Clemson games - WOW. We have an adult coach who is not overreactive. He knows what he has in Syracuse (a fast, indoor, uncrowned surface perfectly suited to his brand of ball) and the hope is he brings us all the way back and settles in as coach emeritus like Coach Mac did.
 
Last edited:
h98B0BA41


except for Virginia in the SEC
 
h98B0BA41


except for Virginia in the SEC
I just meant the obviouly ACC Virginia program isn't one of those fanatic, face-painting, fire-my-coach-if-he-loses-2-in-a-row SEC programs. As for an Eastern Football Conference, unlike John Rambo, I'll just have to accept it's over.
 
I just meant the obviouly ACC Virginia program isn't one of those fanatic, face-painting, fire-my-coach-if-he-loses-2-in-a-row SEC programs. As for an Eastern Football Conference, unlike John Rambo, I'll just have to accept it's over.


in a "perfect" world there would be 8 (mostly) regional conferences each consisting of 8-10 teams. 8 team playoff with the conf champs

the NE would be:

BC
Cuse
Pedo State
Pitt
Rutgers
Temple
Va Tech
WVU
 
In the alternate Fringe universe, the original Big East was...

Boston College
Syracuse
Penn State
Rutgers
Temple
Providence
UConn
St Johns
Georgetown

Eventually Pitt, WV, and Maryland were added to make a nice 8 team FB / 12 team BB league.

Then we added Miami, FSU, Va Tech and ND for a 12 team FB / 16 team BB league.

And the ACC ... well, they play their games on FS1.
 
Yes I do like cheese with my whine.

Heartened by what's happening at SU these days. We are likely to be a player once again. We've risen to a level where there we register fewer upsets because we're now expected to win or play close. I'd be thrilled to knock-off a depleted FSU team. They still have plenty of 4 and 5 star players and we've lost 9 straight to them. Only a Floyd Little-led team beat them in 1966 (9 years after Burt Reynolds left FSU). My lament is thus:

A long time ago in a college football galaxy far, far away events should've conspired so Syracuse would now be in a P5 Conference called the
Eastern Football Conference

Were it not primarily for the short-sightedness of Joe Pa (and other factors) in bolting for the Big 10 about the time the Big East was forming, it may have come into existence. And they would've been the major player in this hypothetical conference instead of just a player in the Big 10. I'm not here to argue a host of issues (whys, wherefores and recriminations except the Joe Pa part). I just want to fantasize w/those of my Orange kind about what the league might look like:

1. The Syracuse Orangemen
2. Penn State ('nuff said)
3. Pitt (William Pitt would be honored)
4. BC (small private school like us)
5. West Virginia (WVU vs. Texas Tech - ooh there's a rivalry)
6. Maryland (wish they were still in the ACC instead of Louisville)
7. Rutgers (an easy drive and natural recruiting rivalry)
8. Connecticut (an easy drive, mediocre program and good geographic fit)
9. Temple (we promise not to kick them out this time if they start to suck)
10. Navy (a consistently decent service academy - welcome aboard)

That would be the core group. For a 12 team or more conference w/a championship game I'd propose:

11. Army (easy on the secondary, hard on the D-line)
12. Va Tech (their fans have told me they hate to play us)
13. Virginia (not exactly an over the top SEC program w/a rabid fan base)
14. Not sure: Buffalo, ODU, UMass maybe Villanova (they'd need upgrades for P5)

As I continue to stamp my feet and sip my favorite beverage, a few more items:
  • Revert to an 11 game schedule with only 6-5 or better teams bowl eligible.
  • Old school uniforms (or at least uniforms that don't look like the wardrobe from Superhero or Transformer movies)
  • Head Coaches must wear a suit & tie
  • Cheerleaders must wear...I'll skip that one
  • Any lip service about the "Fan Experience" short of cutting commercial time in half is bull
  • Early signing period for recruits
  • Dome is a magnificent facility for fans that cut their teeth in ancient, freezing Archbold. Really tough for opponents when the Loud House is cranking. However, it needs seatbacks, AC, better food choices and sound system.
I could go on and on. I already have. Suffice to say that in the candy store of life SU bball and football are double fudge-coated almond roca. I travelled from Reno to catch the Pitt and Clemson games - WOW. We have an adult coach who is not overreactive. He knows what he has in Syracuse (a fast, indoor, uncrowned surface perfectly suited to his brand of ball) and the hope is he brings us all the way back and settles in as coach emeritus like Coach Mac did.
blech - I like the ACC way better than that bunch of misfits - if you're in that conference you're right back in the debate about whether they deserve to be a "power" conference and the networks aren't handing over anywhere near as much money for the rights to that mess

No thanks.
 
The story that was put out in Joe Pa's defense on this was that he wanted a true all-sports conference of the Eastern schools (who had played each other seemingly forever) and not be like the Big East in the sense it had "just" basketball and the minimum number of Olympic Sports which met the NCAA requirements to be considered a conference eligible for an autobid.

As much as we and the Twerps complained about the "All Carolina Conference", it's hard for me to imagine that the two of us would have wanted to leave back then.
 
I do believe what is, and has been, missing from college football in the NE is geographic rivalry. IMO its hurt the sport in this region limiting the relative growth in comparison to some other areas of the country over the past 30 years. The best remaining shot of some assemblage of a "NE" conference would be possible if the ACC could ever get ND to join as a full time member (a long shot). The move to 16 teams then could prompt 4 "pods" potentially putting ND in the NE pod (also a bit of a long shot). In that situation you would have:

ND
Syracuse
Pitt
BC

PS: Extra points to the OP for the use of Orangemen
 
If the conference was a dream conference and timing was pre-1990,

Syracuse
Ped-State
Rutgers (need a door mat - could be dropped)
Temple (two door mats is even better - could be dropped)
Pitt
WVU
VATech (but Beamer had not yet established the Chokies as a perennial winner/choker)
FSU (Bobby Bowden was on his way to building a powerhouse AND had extensive ties to the northern etams from his days at WVU)
Miami (Thug U in it's prime)
ND (Not happening then, not happening now, if the playoffs expand to 8 or more teams, not happening in my lifetime)

Possible additions:
Army (Respectable, hard playing, great people, great tradition great setting)
Navy (Respectable, hard playing, great people, close proximity to Baltimore/DC metro)
Maryland (not likely to leave the ACC)
UVA (See Maryland)
ECU (Not a prime team back then but would have been a black eye to the ACC))
Louisville (they had a team but didn't really know how to play football)
Cincy (See Louisville, within good recruiting grounds, too)
Tulane (Road trips, need I say more?)

Just say "NO!"
UConn
Villanova
Every other Big East team that played less than D1A football

NOTES:
FSU and Miami were indies back then, could have had both and the ACC would have joined us.
 
No thanks...I'm great here. Also, I want nothing to do with those awful people at PSU.
 

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