I wish the Big East hadn't collapsed

[source?]

Here's what the C7 gave up when they left the AAC schools:

(1) Affiliation with UConn, Cinncy, Memphis. Perennial powerhouse programs who bring a lot of attention.

(2) Affiliation with ESPN, the most widely known sports channel in the US. Tough losses, no doubt.

Here's what they gained:

(1) Stability. No one is leaving this conference for another non-football conference, and the football schools won't be calling.

(2) Money. The full members of the AAC are making, I believe, in the range of $2 million each for both sports. We are making $4 million per school for basketball. What do you think we would have made in the AAC for basketball only?

(3) Exposure. It may not have the name recognition of ESPN, but our deal with FOX has put all of our games on tv. That wouldn't have happened in the AAC.

(4) Affiliation with Creighton, Butler, and Xavier. I would argue that Xavier is an even trade for Cinncy, maybe better. The other two are obvious dropoffs from UConn and Memphis, but still extremely strong programs.

(5) Brand recognition. We kept the Big East name. That is hugely important.

(5) POWER. By far the most important. WE are the poachers now. Who do WE want to add? Maybe it winds up being Dayton and SLU this round. Who cares? Decent basketball schools with a similar vision. It's a stopping point at worst. When our contract is close to running out we leverage #13 and #14 options for more money. Maybe some of the football schools have a change of heart in the interim. We all have an equal voice in conference proceedings. If the football schools want to come to us, they won't have a greater voice than us if we take them back in. Why should we be beholden to the cult of football when

[Johnny B]

This would never happen, but just for the sake of argument.. The ACC invites Marquette, GT,Nova, and St. John's as basketball only members. All other sports remain in BE (which then expands further). How much do YOU consider that option if you're running the show?

I wish...

[Tums Festival]

This would never happen, but just for the sake of argument.. The ACC invites Marquette, GT,Nova, and St. John's as basketball only members. All other sports remain in BE (which then expands further). How much do YOU consider that option if you're running the show?

The basketball only schools would be considered second-class in this situation.

[GGGG]

This would never happen, but just for the sake of argument.. The ACC invites Marquette, GT,Nova, and St. John's as basketball only members. All other sports remain in BE (which then expands further). How much do YOU consider that option if you're running the show?

Not withstanding GoldenWarriors correction of your membership issue, I would follow the lead of the other three and hope we act as a group.  But it isn't going to happen.

[Mr. Nielsen]

The AAC does have 95% of it's conference games on national TV.  The C-7 also gave up being in a league with East Carolina,  Tulane,  Houston,  SMU, USF, UCF.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Another important fact to realize is that, when the Big East was originally founded in 1979, the conference was meant to be a basketball-only conference (in Dave Gavitt's eyes).  It wasn't until 1991 when the league decided to add the likes of Rutgers, Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia to offer football.  The old conference was in turmoil from the start.  Penn State applied for admission (and was denied) with Syracuse offering the deciding vote. 

As previously stated, the basketball schools are not getting in bed again with the football schools.  Ever.  Marquette (and DePaul) just caught the brunt end of the turmoil.  Villanova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence and St. Johns dealt with this over 30 years. 

I honestly have no idea how Gavitt kept the peace for so long.

[Atticus]

This would never happen, but just for the sake of argument.. The ACC invites Marquette, GT,Nova, and St. John's as basketball only members. All other sports remain in BE (which then expands further). How much do YOU consider that option if you're running the show?

I think the ACC likes all of its members in the eastern time zone. Plus, I'm sure they would be far more interested in Philly, NYC, and DC before they ever considered milwaukee. We would be SOL in this scenario. Luckily, it won't happen anyways.

[Tums Festival]

Another important fact to realize is that, when the Big East was originally founded in 1979, the conference was meant to be a basketball-only conference (in Dave Gavitt's eyes).  It wasn't until 1991 when the league decided to add the likes of Rutgers, Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia to offer football.  The old conference was in turmoil from the start.  Penn State applied for admission (and was denied) with Syracuse offering the deciding vote. 

As previously stated, the basketball schools are not getting in bed again with the football schools.  Ever.  Marquette (and DePaul) just caught the brunt end of the turmoil.  Villanova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence and St. Johns dealt with this over 30 years. 

I honestly have no idea how Gavitt kept the peace for so long.

Football happened under Mike Tranghese. Gavitt was gone to the Celtics by then.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

I love self-hating Big East fans.

Remember, the Big East in its current form isn't the alternative to Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, ND, etc.

It's the alternative to road trips to East Carolina, Tulane, Central Florida, etc.

[GOO]

I love self-hating Big East fans.

Remember, the Big East in its current form isn't the alternative to Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, ND, etc.

It's the alternative to road trips to East Carolina, Tulane, Central Florida, etc.

Agreed.  We are in a great situation that is stable.  Why lament what was or could have been.
The break up of the old BE is so, so far in my review mirror that I haven't given it a thought since it happened.

Move on and be great full that we landed in a great situation with a lot of $$ coming Marquette's way.

[humanlung]

The new big east is a shadow of the old conference. It may end up being good, but I doubt we'll ever be as elite as the old BEast was.

I feel that our fan base has a delusional sense of grandeur. We are in a better conference than our CUSA days, but the current conference is pretty weak. There is some upside, but it's limited compared to the conference that we came into in 05-06.

There. It needed to be said.

As an aside, this Oktoberfest tasting menu is great!

Yes, our current recruiting success is a clear indicator that the end is near...   

[chapman]

I wish the Big East hadn't collapsed too.  Same for Montgomery Ward and Prange Way.