I know that the national fan base for BSU doesn't even begin to compare to Notre Dame, and maybe shouldn't even be in the same sentence, but I am not suggesting we try and sign a TV contract with NBC either. One cannot deny that the entire reason ESPN locked down the WAC for a contract was BSU (sorry Idaho, true story). The deal was garbage, and it had to be split between all the member schools.

If, indeed, the AQ bids are entirely done away with, or worse the Big East simply loses their AQ status, the move would then be almost entirely for the increased revenue generated by the pending tv contract...projected to pay $6.4 million per school (though no deal is in place).

Just out of curiosity, auto-bids aside, do you think BSU as an Independent could sign a contract with ESPN that would approach or even surpass that projected Big East number? If it is even close, it may come out even if we can limit some of the travel by scheduling games closer to home. Additionally, BSU could play as many home games as they are able to schedule. There would be zero scheduling restrictions, less the difficulty associated with scheduling late season games when everyone is playing in-conference.

So, if AQ is eliminated from the conversation, could BSU schedule enough decent teams and secure a multiyear contract with ESPN to justify going independent as a program?