Dan Wetzel on the Big East

[GGGG]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/left-for-dead--big-east-still-alive-and-thriving-thanks-to-villanova-s-surprising-run-025233938-ncaab.html

"If College Sports Inc. couldn't rewrite the rules of basketball so you received a couple extra baskets if you had an 80,000-seat stadium on campus, it could try to squeeze everyone out with money and TV contracts and bloated conference memberships. It could try to leave the Big East, where basketball matters most, as some relic of the past, a quaint but ultimately quiet old place.

Villanova 95, Oklahoma 51 – and, yes, you could hear that Big East roar here.

Try as it might, football couldn't kill the basketball star."

[MarquetteDano]

Try as it might, football couldn't kill the basketball star."

Great Line.

[Lennys Tap]

Nice article - the rest of the league owes Villanova big time.

[jsglow]

Beautiful.  Chick and I were in a local Vegas watering hole and she let rip with a big 'Big East, baby! ' as the game ended.

[The Lens]

Hopefully he'll do a follow up story on how Xavier played like an A-10 team. 

[CountryRoads]

Good for the big east that Nova got the win yesterday. Time for MU to start doing their part though. They were supposed to be a headliner team but have embarrassed themselves in this "new" big east so far.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I would like to see a retrospective on the Arnolds who left the Big East and how that has gone for them. 

[The Lens]

Well Pitt hired a guy that Vandy wanted fired...

[Dr. Blackheart]

Well Pitt hired a guy that Vandy wanted fired...

For basketball: vUCONN and UC want in the Big 12. UCONN Did win the NCAA after coming off probation. Cronin almost jumped to a lesser conference. The AAC is a money bleeder for football and basketball.  Louisville and Syrucuse on major probation with SMU and UCF. South Florida fired their coach and Houston hired a cheater that Crean replaced. West Virginia seems to be doing okay but needed a subsidy for being on a geographic island.  Lots is squirmy.

Only Notre Dame seems to be in a better position.

[bamamarquettefan]

Hopefully he'll do a follow up story on how Xavier played like an A-10 team.

Ah, yeah I'd say Xavier was one of the four that won a game to help the Big East go 8-4. The third best conference was the Big 12 at 8-7.  Ripping on them or Butler for winning a game and then taking another team to the wire is silly - this was a great season for the BE led by Nova but contributed to by many teams - even St. John's over Final 4 team Syracuse.

And sorry, the third foul on Reynolds on a bad call after he had three dunks in 2 minutes was they key to that game - not playing like an A10 school.

[The Lens]

Ah, yeah I'd say Xavier was one of the four that won a game to help the Big East go 8-4. The third best conference was the Big 12 at 8-7.  Ripping on them or Butler for winning a game and then taking another team to the wire is silly - this was a great season for the BE led by Nova but contributed to by many teams - even St. John's over Final 4 team Syracuse.

And sorry, the third foul on Reynolds on a bad call after he had three dunks in 2 minutes was they key to that game - not playing like an A10 school.

They ran zero offense vs. Bucky.  Fouls had nothing to do with it.  They played stupid and it finally caught up with them.  Xavier had an Iowa year.   Peaked in the polls and did nothing in conf tourney / NCAA.  I'm not going to celebrate a 2 seed getting a NCAA win in round 1. 

And with regards to winners & losers: Louisville is the biggest winner in conference realignment ever.  20 years ago they were excited about an invite to Conf USA.  Now they're in the ACC.  They'll weather what ever penalties come and they'll eventually hire whatever coach they want. 

UCONN, clearly the biggest loser. 

[Silkk the Shaka]

They ran zero offense vs. Bucky.  Fouls had nothing to do with it.  They played stupid and it finally caught up with them.  Xavier had an Iowa year.   Peaked in the polls and did nothing in conf tourney / NCAA.  I'm not going to celebrate a 2 seed getting a NCAA win in round 1. 

And with regards to winners & losers: Louisville is the biggest winner in conference realignment ever.  20 years ago they were excited about an invite to Conf USA.  Now they're in the ACC.  They'll weather what ever penalties come and they'll eventually hire whatever coach they want. 

UCONN, clearly the biggest loser.

Seriously! Just drop football, no one on that campus cares about it anyway. Then come back to the BEast where they belong.

[Marcus92]

UConn doesn't share your perspective on either the current state or future of its football program. A quote from David Benedict, who was just appointed the director of athletics this February:

"UConn wins national championships and plays in bowl games, and I wanted to be part of an elite program like this."

You don't hire the former Chief Operating Officer at a football-is-everything program like Auburn (one with a $120-plus million budget) if you're even contemplating dropping football. For UConn, the equation is simple: major college football program = elite athletics program = elite public university.

That's been UConn's focus for the past 25 years. The university's board of trustees endorsed the the upgrade to Division I-A football by a 16-1 vote. Not even close. And their focus on football hasn't changed despite recent proposed budget cuts by the state.

UConn is the last school I'd want in the Big East.

[keefe]

Chick and I were in a local Vegas watering hole and she let rip with a big 'Big East, baby! ' as the game ended.

Too much chili?

I know guys who can belch out Stairway to Heaven. But a chick who can fart out "Big East, baby!" is worth her weight in gold.

Cherish her, glow!

[forgetful]

UConn doesn't share your perspective on either the current state or future of its football program. A quote from David Benedict, who was just appointed the director of athletics this February:

"UConn wins national championships and plays in bowl games, and I wanted to be part of an elite program like this."

You don't hire the former Chief Operating Officer at a football-is-everything program like Auburn (one with a $120-plus million budget) if you're even contemplating dropping football. For UConn, the equation is simple: major college football program = elite athletics program = elite public university.

That's been UConn's focus for the past 25 years. The university's board of trustees endorsed the the upgrade to Division I-A football by a 16-1 vote. Not even close. And their focus on football hasn't changed despite recent proposed budget cuts by the state.

UConn is the last school I'd want in the Big East.

Well with a $30M athletics deficit due to needing that football program, they are having to cut academic staff and freezing faculty salaries.  This is leading to the academics declining.

Maybe they should think about what being an "elite University" is actually about. 

UCONN is betting they can get an invite to the big boy table.  They and the rest of the top AAC teams are also betting $20-30M in losses each year that they get invited.  Its not going to happen and the Universities and (at several of the schools) the tax payers are going to be hurt as a result.

[Marcus92]

Well with a $30M athletics deficit due to needing that football program, they are having to cut academic staff and freezing faculty salaries.  This is leading to the academics declining.

Maybe they should think about what being an "elite University" is actually about. 

UCONN is betting they can get an invite to the big boy table.  They and the rest of the top AAC teams are also betting $20-30M in losses each year that they get invited.  Its not going to happen and the Universities and (at several of the schools) the tax payers are going to be hurt as a result.

No disagreement here. I think UConn is crazy to put so much into their football program — even if they manage to get an invite to join a Power 5 football conference.

But it doesn't matter what you or I think. UConn officials and administrators believe in football. It's a long-term strategy that they see tied to the future success of the university. In their view, without a major football program, UConn slips from the ranks of elite public universities where it rightly belongs.

While that viewpoint may be delusional, there's no evidence that it's changing.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

While that viewpoint may be delusional, there's no evidence that it's changing.

IIRC someone in the UConn leadership (maybe the president of the board of regents?) is a former UConn football player. I wonder if he were no longer around how much this perception would change.

UConn is operating under the assumption that they will be picked up by the ACC/Big 12 in the next round of realignment. I'm not convinced that happens. I think they are further down the wish list than they realize. If they get passed up again...their commitment to football may waiver. If they get passed up in two cycles of realignment, they might just drop it.