Announcement of split today

[Aughnanure]

Let's hope it finally does.

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=5545

Barring a last-minute snag, the Big East is expected to make a formal announcement on Thursday that the Catholic 7 group of schools–DePaul, Marquette, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, Villanova and St. John’s will leave the conference, effective June 30th.

The Catholic 7 are expected to also announce that their new conference will be called the Big East (effective July 1) and they will immediately pursue plans to add additional members, who will join the conference and begin play next season.

A meeting among the Catholic 7 group in New York next week will focus on the names, with two Atlantic 10 members, Butler and Xavier, the most likely immediate additions.

The Big East also  is ready to announce that Notre Dame will exercise an option to leave the conference a year early and join the ACC as a member in all sports but football, but that announcement could also come out of the ACC office in Greensboro,  North Carolina.

The Big East is also expected to announce that a new name for the conference is being discussed and will be revealed, with more details in the next few weeks, as well as announcement that a site for next year’s men’s basketball tournament is being discussed.

All of the details of this final break up of the “original” Big East have not yet been completed.

The first step will be to officially announce the split with the Catholic 7 and that should be made with a simple statement on Thursday, barring some unexpected snag.

[Aughnanure]

Nm

[Eldon]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9026064/catholic-7-reaches-agreement-leave-big-east-summer-sources-say

The Big East Conference is expected to announce Thursday that it has reached an agreement with the Catholic 7 basketball schools, allowing for their departure this summer, sources said.

The agreement between the Big East and the Catholic 7 -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova -- will allow those schools to keep the Big East name and the right to play their basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden, sources said.

The seven schools will depart on June 30 and will begin their new league on July 1, sources said. They are expected to add Butler and Xavier and likely Creighton to have at least a 10-team basketball league for the 2013-14 season, according to sources.

Dayton and St. Louis are the leading candidates to increase the league's membership to 12 teams for the 2014-15 season, sources said.

The remaining schools in the Big East will have 10 members in 2014: Connecticut, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane and UCF. Navy is scheduled to join in 2015, and Tulsa is the leading candidate to become the league's 12th member in either 2014 or '15, sources said.

The current Big East will have to come up with a new conference name by July 1. The league's offices will remain in Providence, R.I., for at least a couple of years, sources said, even though Providence College is leaving.

[Norm]

Well, after watching the VCU-Richmond game tonight, I'd take either of those teams over Dayton, especially as it would put another East Coast team in the "Big East."

[wardle2wade]

Well, after watching the VCU-Richmond game tonight, I'd take either of those teams over Dayton, especially as it would put another East Coast team in the "Big East."

Agreed.  Granted it was a crosstown classic, the atmosphere at VCU is pretty unreal. Would be a fun road game.

[MUMonster03]

Hearing that the C7 and current Big East will announce the split sometime today and that we get the conference name and MSG. No mention of the TV contract, but that may be because its an ESPN article.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9026064/catholic-7-reaches-agreement-leave-big-east-summer-sources-say

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

And Richmond is a nice town to visit to boot.

[TallTitan34]

Essentially we are paying money to kick the schools we don't want out of the Big East.

I like it.

[DoggyDaddy]

Folks at Georgetown esp. JTIII prefer these VA schools because of East Coast recruiting needs and the Northern VA media market. Good test of Gtown's weight in the new BE.  My guess (I live out here) it's considerable. Maybe VCU and Creighton as a compromise package for making the 12.

[muguru]

Folks at Georgetown esp. JTIII prefer these VA schools because of East Coast recruiting needs and the Northern VA media market. Good test of Gtown's weight in the new BE.  My guess (I live out here) it's considerable. Maybe VCU and Creighton as a compromise package for making the 12.

Georgetown wants no part of VCU in the C7....hence why they are pushing for Richmond instead.

[mu_hilltopper]

Indeed.  The media needs to stop saying the C7 is "leaving" the conference. 

We're not leaving.   We're kicking out other teams, adding some others.

[MUMonster03]

Folks at Georgetown esp. JTIII prefer these VA schools because of East Coast recruiting needs and the Northern VA media market. Good test of Gtown's weight in the new BE.  My guess (I live out here) it's considerable. Maybe VCU and Creighton as a compromise package for making the 12.

One of the problems with adding a public school, VCU or any other, is then the financials of the conference have to be made public. Also, the Northern VA market is already there, when I lived in Arlington, VA for two years the media covered the DC schools, Richmond schools never were mentioned unless it was NCAA time, VA and VT got some coverage.

[GGGG]

Indeed.  The media needs to stop saying the C7 is "leaving" the conference. 

We're not leaving.   We're kicking out other teams, adding some others.

Actually from a legal standpoint, the C7 are leaving, and buying the rights to the name.  So it is an accurate report.

One of the problems with adding a public school, VCU or any other, is then the financials of the conference have to be made public.

No the financials of the conference have to be made public because they are not-for-profit entities.  If you go onto Guidestar, you can find the tax returns of all athletic conferences, even those made up completely of private members.

The supposed problem is that it makes any email that comes to, or leaves from, the servers at the public schools subject to public records requests, but IMO that isn't that big of a deal. 

[Hards Alumni]

Indeed.  The media needs to stop saying the C7 is "leaving" the conference. 

We're not leaving.   We're kicking out other teams, adding some others.

+1  Additionally, I'm glad they are just making this move effective this summer.  I really get annoyed with the schools who say they are leaving and then stay for 2 years.  I get that it is part of the rules, but it is stupid.

[martyconlonontherun]

Actually from a legal standpoint, the C7 are leaving, and buying the rights to the name.  So it is an accurate report.

No the financials of the conference have to be made public because they are not-for-profit entities.  If you go onto Guidestar, you can find the tax returns of all athletic conferences, even those made up completely of private members.

The supposed problem is that it makes any email that comes to, or leaves from, the servers at the public schools subject to public records requests, but IMO that isn't that big of a deal. 

Thanks for classifying . I was confused why this was a big deal considering you can see what thy report as buzzs salary already on tax forms .  Seems like kinky a big deal if you are doing shady stuff. If so just get a gmail account.

[Avenue Commons]

Essentially we are paying money to kick the schools we don't want out of the Big East.

I like it.

Exactly. The average fan doesn't follow this realigned stuff. Keeping the Big East name and MSG for the tourney is huge. We are still the Big East. The leftovers will be something else, even if on paper they are the "old" league.

Kind of like the old/new Cleveland Browns.

Which raises the issue of conference records? Who keeps them?

[Henry Sugar]

[GGGG]

Thanks for classifying . I was confused why this was a big deal considering you can see what thy report as buzzs salary already on tax forms .  Seems like kinky a big deal if you are doing shady stuff. If so just get a gmail account.

Yeah, Buzz's salary is already on Marquette's tax forms because he is the highest paid employee at the University.  And conference financials really aren't that big of a deal anyway.  I just perused the West Coast Conference's and the Big Ten's and they show income and expense in broad categories...salaries paid...distributions to members, etc.  Pretty routine information.

[RyanConroy]

Will naming rights to the Big East include carrying over the conference's historical/statistical information?

[MUfan12]

Which raises the issue of conference records? Who keeps them?

Personally, I think that is the measure of which is the "new" league. I'd have to imagine the C7 keeps them. But who knows.

[MU82]

"The league's offices will remain in Providence, R.I., for at least a couple of years, sources said, even though Providence College is leaving."

I think this is my favorite rarely-discussed part of it. The soon-to-be-ex-Big East schools have no idea where their office will be so they're leaving it in the cradle of the old Big East, where they have no presence and where they will be reminded daily of what they used to be.

[jsglow]

One must remember that ESPN is doing much of the reporting on this right now so their spin will certainly be that the C7 are leaving........... their television network, that is.  Typical Debbie Downer reporting as they try to prop up the remnant conference of misfits.

Just wait for the Fox Robot to start the hype machine for the real Big East.

[Henry Sugar]

One must remember that ESPN is doing much of the reporting on this right now so their spin will certainly be that the C7 are leaving........... their television network, that is.  Typical Debbie Downer reporting as they try to prop up the remnant conference of misfits.

Just wait for the Fox Robot to start the hype machine for the real Big East.

OMG - are we going to get Cletus?

[Aughnanure]

OMG - are we going to get Cletus?

I'm hoping for a new one. Doesn't Cletus have like built in shoulder pads and other football-centric gear? I want a basketball robot!

[MUMonster03]

One must remember that ESPN is doing much of the reporting on this right now so their spin will certainly be that the C7 are leaving........... their television network, that is.  Typical Debbie Downer reporting as they try to prop up the remnant conference of misfits.

Just wait for the Fox Robot to start the hype machine for the real Big East.

Does anyone currently watch games on a Fox produced regional channel? Just curious as to what their broadcast look like since I am so used to the ESPN/CBS layout. Even the current Big East Network obviously uses ESPN resources since it looks exactly the same. Just curious.