OFFENSE-MINDED
Carter was one of
Penn State's most
formidable offensive threats in
1993. He finished
the season with a
team-high 1,026
rushing yards.
BWI file photo
Penn State's dramatic move from independence to the Big Ten triggered an
almost immediate realignment of the
other major football conferences, with
every NCAA Division I independent except Notre Dame following Penn State's
lead. The Big East finally formed a football conference, enlisting six of Penn
State's chief rivals – Pitt, West Virginia,
Syracuse, Boston College, Rutgers and
Temple – along with Virginia Tech. Two
other major independents – Florida
State and South Carolina – joined the
Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference, respectively.
In the winter of 1991-92, Penn State
paid dearly for giving up its independence. Four of the five major postseason
games teamed up with five conferences
plus Notre Dame to set up a national
championship game between the No.
1 and No. 2 teams in the major polls.
The deal included the Cotton, Fiesta,
Orange and Sugar bowls and the ACC,
SEC, Big Eight, Big East and Southwestern Conference.
Because of the exclusive and longstanding arrangement between the
Rose Bowl, Big Ten and Pac-10, those
three parties declined to participate
in what was called the Bowl Coalition.
After pairing the two top teams for
one of their bowls, the other three
bowls would abide by their conference
commitments to select their teams
for the New Year's Day games, with
Notre Dame and any other qualified
team as their possible wild cards to
fill a slot.
