Big East Basketball Only Schools Meeting On Monday

[TallTitan34]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2011/09/19/2011-09-19_big_east_schools_eye_split.html?r=sports

The non-football members of the Big East are having a teleconference Monday to discuss their future.

[brewcity77]

Honestly, at this point, I hope we propose a basketball only conference and start sending out invites. The other football schools are all looking for a landing pad and we're better off being proactive than reactive.

[TallTitan34]

Couldn't agree more brewcity.  The fact that its the basketball only schools rather than all of the remaining Big East teams, makes it look like they may go this route.

[MUMac]

Honestly, at this point, I hope we propose a basketball only conference and start sending out invites. The other football schools are all looking for a landing pad and we're better off being proactive than reactive.

I have been wondering, which would be better for MU?  A basketball only conference or being the only or one of two basketball members of a BCS Conference? 

[MUMac]

Couldn't agree more brewcity.  The fact that its the basketball only schools rather than all of the remaining Big East teams, makes it look like they may go this route.

My biggest concern is what becomes of the BCS?  Will the "superconferences" try to BCS all the other sports - including basketball?  Will they breakaway from the NCAA for all sports and have their own tournaments?  This could get interesting.

[GGGG]

That is the big issue right there.  I can live with a basketball-only conference.  However if the BCS schools decide to leave the NCAA all together, and start running their own tournament, we're screwed.  I doubt this will happen in the short-term though.

[MUMac]

That is the big issue right there.  I can live with a basketball-only conference.  However if the BCS schools decide to leave the NCAA all together, and start running their own tournament, we're screwed.  I doubt this will happen in the short-term though.

When I mentioned this to a friend, his response was "you better not srew with Georgetown."  Georgetown is in the heart of DC.  I can see the congress getting inovlved in this at some point (not saying I agree with that or it is right/wrong - that is a debate for another time).  Georgetown weilds a great deal of influence in the nations Capital.

[Henry Sugar]

When I mentioned this to a friend, his response was "you better not srew with Georgetown."  Georgetown is in the heart of DC.  I can see the congress getting inovlved in this at some point (not saying I agree with that or it is right/wrong - that is a debate for another time).  Georgetown weilds a great deal of influence in the nations Capital.

Then good thing Father Pilarz is tight with Georgetown.

[brewcity77]

I have been wondering, which would be better for MU?  A basketball only conference or being the only or one of two basketball members of a BCS Conference?

I think it's just about reality. The reality of the situation is that with these leagues growing, who's going to want that scenario? The ACC won't need basketball-only schools. The SEC and Big 10 don't care about adding basketball only schools. And the PAC-12 looks like they'll be expanding to 16 without needing basketball-only schools. Do you really think any of these teams will think "we need to get to 18 in basketball, let's call Marquette and Georgetown"? I don't mean to be an ass at all, I just think that when Syracuse and Pitt bolted, it hailed the end of the BCS-level football/basketball hybrid. You'll still see it in leagues like the A-10 and CUSA, but is that what we want?

I think your other question is more poignant (and potentially dangerous for us). Will they try to BCS basketball? Have a 32-team tournament using only the top 8 schools in each of the 4 surviving BCS conferences? Or maybe only invite one school from each non-member conference at most to get to 64? I'm not sure how that'd work, and frankly, I imagine there'd be quite a few lawsuits if it came to that. But they've already done a great deal of damage to the earning potential of non-BCS member schools in football, so why not? If they do, we'll end up screwed no matter how this shakes out, unless they decide that they want one basketball-only BCS conference, in which case staying aligned with Georgetown (and maybe also Providence) is very important.

[MUMac]

I think it's just about reality. The reality of the situation is that with these leagues growing, who's going to want that scenario? The ACC won't need basketball-only schools. The SEC and Big 10 don't care about adding basketball only schools. And the PAC-12 looks like they'll be expanding to 16 without needing basketball-only schools. Do you really think any of these teams will think "we need to get to 18 in basketball, let's call Marquette and Georgetown"? I don't mean to be an ass at all, I just think that when Syracuse and Pitt bolted, it hailed the end of the BCS-level football/basketball hybrid. You'll still see it in leagues like the A-10 and CUSA, but is that what we want?

I posted without knowing whether a BCS league would have an interest.  I can see, though, from a political standpoint the desire/need to do so.  Right now, the BCS is being set up for some potential legal (some started already) action and the real possibility of a congressional affront.  They may look to adding a basketball school or two to say "it's not all about football and locking out the non-BCS schools." 

This was just a post for thought and discussion.

[tower912]

I see basically two options.   Absorb the remnants of the B12, or go forward as a basketball only conference, leaving Louisville, Cinci, South Fl to find their own way. 

[GOO]

Have a plan in place, but hold off until we see what happens in the next few days.  A conference with the basketball schools and maybe Kansas, Kansas State, etc, and UL and UCinn is a better way to go... all schools would have to agree to a killer buy out to leave the conference unless 3/4 of members agree to let a school leave.  If the BE had a large buy out, there would be more stability (e.g. 25 million - some may have left, but it wouldn't be an easy decision).

Have two divisions with a lot of cross over games.  I'd hate to see MU loose the east coast connetions we are reestablishing.. and I'd also hate to act to quickly and forclose the possiblity of a conference with UL, UCinn, the Basketball schools and some of the B12.

Maybe Texas and ND would go independent in football and form and conference for other sports and we'd be included.  I wouldn't act too quickly, if the possibility of a BE conference with the remaining B12 schools exists... as long as there is a very large buy out.

One name that I don't see come up anywhere - Memphis...?  Must have the plague?

[muwarrior69]

Mean while WCC teams Gonzaga, San Diego and St. Mary's are recruiting and competing in PAC 12/14/16 whatever country. There is always a niche market somewhere.

[4everwarriors]

Would be nice to get Chico's perspective from a television angle, aina?

[Henry Sugar]

Would be nice to get Chico's perspective from a television angle, aina?

Then email him... or you could just read this morning's Cracked Sidewalks post.

[MUFC9295]

My biggest concern is what becomes of the BCS?  Will the "superconferences" try to BCS all the other sports - including basketball?  Will they breakaway from the NCAA for all sports and have their own tournaments?  This could get interesting.

The NCAA will henceforth be known as the NACC.  ESPN will reinevent itself as ESPACC.  JP Tokoto will be ACC Tokoto.  My next car will be a Ford ACC.  In years to come, the "super conferences" will get sick of sharing and break up and we will be back in a "reformative" age.  It happens with teams with too many stars and companies with too much of a monopoly.  Eventually much will be as it was these last few years.  But consolidation is inevitable.

[dgies9156]

That is the big issue right there.  I can live with a basketball-only conference.  However if the BCS schools decide to leave the NCAA all together, and start running their own tournament, we're screwed.  I doubt this will happen in the short-term though.

For the first time, I'm sensing Marquette basketball is in danger. If football drives revenue and the football schools go their own way, we lose any chance we ever will have of again recapturing a national championship. We're competitive with anyone in basketball, but if football is THE driver  in intercollegiate athletics, then we're in trouble.

UConn and West Virginia are all but gone to the ACC. Which is interesting because among all ACC schools, only Florida State, Clemson and UWV have any kind of a football heritage. ACC football is a joke and is a poor country cousin to the SEC.

If the Big East were able to capture Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and retain TCU, we'd probably have a stronger, albeit geographically diverse, conference. Our football would still be bad, but our basketball would still be the nation's best (with KU, K-State, Georgetown, Villanova, MU and Notre Dame among the national leaders). But I question whether even this will happen now.

[Tribby]

If the Big East were able to capture Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and retain TCU, we'd probably have a stronger, albeit geographically diverse, conference. Our football would still be bad, but our basketball would still be the nation's best (with KU, K-State, Georgetown, Villanova, MU and Notre Dame among the national leaders). But I question whether even this will happen now.

In that scenario, the New Big East would still be an elite bball conference... but those four newbies don't replace UConn, Syracuse and Pitt, and the ACC already has Duke, UNC, Maryland... BEast wouldn't be "the nation's best" by any stretch.

[Litehouse]

I was more worried last year when everything was going on.  Since then, there has been substantial public back-lash toward all of this.  I just don't think there would be enough public support for the football schools to eliminate the NCAA tournament as we know it.

If we can land in a respectable basketball conference with Nova, G-Town, St. Johns, DePaul, Seton Hall and Providence, and still have access to the NCAA tourney, I think we'll be OK.

[mu03eng]

I was more worried last year when everything was going on.  Since then, there has been substantial public back-lash toward all of this.  I just don't think there would be enough public support for the football schools to eliminate the NCAA tournament as we know it.

If we can land in a respectable basketball conference with Nova, G-Town, St. Johns, DePaul, Seton Hall and Providence, and still have access to the NCAA tourney, I think we'll be OK.

Another poster mentioned the power of Georgetown in the Beltway and I think this is a very important point.  The power conferences need to tread carefully, as the political landscape makes a government intervention a very real possibility(and why we should absolutely be in lock step with Georgetown).

This is not intended as a political discussion but as a landscape statement.  Clearly, there is a lot of acrimony in Washington and a lot of partisanship and angst.  So I think both sides will be looking for something they can show bipartisanship on, and college athletics is about as American and warm apple pie as it gets.  There could be a very strong move by congress to step in if the power conferences get too crazy.  The issues of the NCAA and BCS as well as the hypocrisy of amateurism in face of a multi-billion dollar industry are getting too hard to ignore.  I think if the haves and have nots in football get too far out of wack or the basketball only schools(Georgetown) are significantly impacted or the NCAA tourney is in jeopardy Congress will act.

I do wonder what the general public thinks of all this.  Obviously, this is a revenue thing so there are lots of people out there that are just fine with everything.  However outside of maybe the 64 "most powerful" schools there has to be a lot of hate.  What impact does that have on all this long term?

[mu03eng]

I also wonder if anything can ultimately be done because TV contracts are driving all this, so there is a conflict of interest for organizations like ESPN who's stated purpose is to report and opine on sports however they want to land these lucrative opportunities so how much are they going to be willing to look the other way?  There has already been a lot of chatter in the blogosphee about ESPN's slanted coverage of Texas to the Pac-12 info.

[GGGG]

Then email him... or you could just read this morning's Cracked Sidewalks post.

You mean the one where he says the Big Ten is going to "panic??"

Yeah....OK...

[MarquetteFan94]

I was more worried last year when everything was going on.  Since then, there has been substantial public back-lash toward all of this.  I just don't think there would be enough public support for the football schools to eliminate the NCAA tournament as we know it.

If we can land in a respectable basketball conference with Nova, G-Town, St. Johns, DePaul, Seton Hall and Providence, and still have access to the NCAA tourney, I think we'll be OK.

Agreed.  Add ND to that list and you have a very solid 8 team basketball only conference....if you want 10 teams....add Butler and Xavier....if you wanted the religious focus then substitute Dayton for Butler and off we go.

[Pakuni]

For the first time, I'm sensing Marquette basketball is in danger. If football drives revenue and the football schools go their own way, we lose any chance we ever will have of again recapturing a national championship. We're competitive with anyone in basketball, but if football is THE driver  in intercollegiate athletics, then we're in trouble.

There's never been a time when football wasn't the driver of intercollegiate athletics.

UConn and West Virginia are all but gone to the ACC. Which is interesting because among all ACC schools, only Florida State, Clemson and UWV have any kind of a football heritage. ACC football is a joke and is a poor country cousin to the SEC.

Some might suggest Miami and Virginia Tech, and even Georgia Tech , have a pretty good football heritage.

[Pakuni]

Then email him... or you could just read this morning's Cracked Sidewalks post.

Any mention of DJ Newbill and dogs that wet themselves?