The college football industry will survive financially without a 12-game season. The same can't definitively be stated about East Carolina.

Of all the Division I-A schools, ECU has more at stake than most of its peers as the NCAA contemplates the pros and cons of the expanded season.

A verdict that favors a 12th game could be the final domino that kicks off another round of conference reshuffling.

And this time, the Big East will have no choice but to lead the charge.

"Nothing is happening," ECU AD Terry Holland said about the conference situation in January. "We're just trying to win some games and hopefully some championships in Conference USA."

The approval of an additional game on the football docket would quickly alter that thinking.

A 12-game schedule puts Big East ADs in the most unenviable position. With only eight schools, the conference slate sits at seven, leaving five other games that would need to be scheduled on an annual basis.

Scheduling four non-conference opponents has become a sizeable task as it is, and no administrator embraces the burden of scouring the nation for a fifth. In fact, it probably can't be done without targeting foes from the Division I-AA ranks.

But expansion eliminates that problem.

While there are many compelling reasons for the Big East to expand its football roster, very few are born out of necessity. With its place in the Bowl Championship Series fairly secure for the time being, some have even suggested that it makes more financial sense for the league to maintain the status quo.

However, that case is tough to argue if the expanded schedule becomes a reality.

If the NCAA approves a 12th game, that could be East Carolina's cue to accelerate its push for Big East inclusion. Expansion by at least one school will be imminent, and the Pirates have plenty to sell to league administrators.

ECU's reputation for sustaining a strong football culture might provide all the mileage it needs. Of all the candidates, the Pirates have the best track record for filling stadiums, drawing television interest, and traveling en masse to postseason bowls.

In any expansion scenario, all three factors will be considered heavily, which greatly enhances East Carolina's chances to receive a call.

But if the Pirates are never extended that invitation, it could be a crippling blow.

With Conference USA on the verge of becoming more geographically expansive than its already scattered alignment, survival could be difficult for ECU in its current conference home. Aside from Marshall, Memphis, and Southern Miss, the new C-USA offers no match-ups that are considered a major home draw.

That leaves non-conference games to pick up the financial slack.

"One of the tough situations that we are facing is that we're not easy to get to," Holland said. "I can promise you that when I was at the University of Virginia, people would call me and would want to play.

"The first thing I looked at was the air schedule. How many times do we have to change planes, and particularly today with the amount of security you have to go through and the time involved. One of the things that we fight a little bit is where we are located. ...It is difficult to get to with a one-plane flight."

East Carolina avoids that scenario by securing a Big East invitation. As a result, the Pirates have opponents with whom fans can relate and a situation that is more geographically forgiving.

Closer proximity to conference foes alleviates some of the budgetary pressure and leaves more wiggle room with the non-conference schedule.

East Carolina takes a giant step closer to that goal if the NCAA approves a 12-game season. Hardly a slam dunk, but the Pirates at least have possession of the ball with Holland at the point.

Market advantage

A common myth surrounding East Carolina's potential candidacy for Big East inclusion is that the Greenville television market could severely hurt its chances.

But that's not the case.

In fact, Holland feels strongly that the Eastern North Carolina market should be viewed as an advantage.

"The television market is a fallacy," Holland said in October. "I don't think there is any doubt about that.

"When you take in the fact that Eastern North Carolina does care about this university and their eyeballs watch, we have almost the third largest media market in the country. And we continually promote that to people."

Unlike the Big East, the Atlantic Coast Conference did rely heavily on market size with its expansion approach. Boston College was targeted almost solely because of its market, even though the Eagles command very little attention in their hometown.

"People think that you have to be in a metropolitan area — or there seems to be some reason for people to think that — to control a media market," Holland said. "That again is not true.

"If you look at the very best football programs and basketball programs in this country, most of them are as far away from a major media market as you can possibly get. Where are Southeastern Conference schools located? I can't think of a single one that's located in a major media market. Where are the Big Ten schools located?"

The middle of nowhere.

After further review

The ACC announced last week that instant replay would be used for its league football games on an experimental basis beginning in 2005.

The decision makes the ACC the second conference to adopt replay, with the Big Ten pioneering it last season. Soon after the ACC formally embraced the technology, the Mountain West Conference said it also intended to give the concept a whirl.

Now the question remains whether or not other conferences will eventually follow suit.

"There may be some divisions that aren't able to do it because they don't have the facilities to do it or the finances to do it," N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said in an interview on the ACC's official web site. "It's hard to say. But everybody has access to video today. If it is just a matter of adding another monitor and having a guy up there who makes the decisions, what are you costing those schools?

"But there is no question you have to be sensitive to that issue, and I think we all are. There are still a lot of things to be decided. Last year it was the Big Ten who tried this, and now it is the ACC. Before it is all over there might be more than just the ACC this year. Then maybe everybody in Division I-A will be able to do it."

Hopefully not.

At some point fairness of competition has to be questioned. Unlike the NFL, most college stadiums — the ACC included — were designed decades ago and lack the setup to provide cameras with all the necessary angles needed to review questionable calls.

It would be nearly impossible to implement the concept consistently without some schools enduring a fairly significant financial burden.

Here's a better idea. Instead of relying on technology, more money should be invested at the conference level on the training and evaluating of officials.