A Big East Divided?

[Aughnanure]

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/09/big-east-united-nations-conference-realignment/1

"One official in the Big East who requested anonymity said that was not an accurate assessment of the sentiment in the room. The official said league schools are committed to recruiting more schools but did not make any pledge to remaining in the league until it's clear what the league will look like."

http://gmuhoops.tumblr.com/post/10479395863

"There were also reports of the six basketball-playing private schools in the Big East (Notre Dame excluded) looking to join up with a group of A-10 schools that included UMass, Rhode Island, Dayton, Xavier, and then potentially some additions from the CAA (George Mason, VCU). Marinatto, however, claims that the basketball schools have also pledged to stand firm in their allegiance to the Big East."

[dwaderoy2004]

If option 2 has really been discussed and could happen, that's my choice to happen right now.  The main problem I see is keeping the Big East name.

[PE8983]

RI, Dayton, UMass, GM, VCU - welcome to the land of the mid-majors and irrelevance.

[brewcity77]

If option 2 has really been discussed and could happen, that's my choice to happen right now.  The main problem I see is keeping the Big East name.

I think we should do everything in our power to remain in the Big East for 2 more years. Getting the 8 years of continuity is big for NCAA bid purposes. After that, as long as we are able to stick with St. John's, Providence, Georgetown, DePaul, Seton Hall, and Villanova and/or Notre Dame, we're good to go.

I know someone mentioned that the NCAA might relent on their auto-bid regulations if everything blows up, but why? This will still only impact 3-4 conferences. It's the remnants of the Big East and Big 12, and the few that might get dragged into a basketball-only league. They won't change the rule for that because it wouldn't have any impact on the other 25-30 leagues.

[teddycoke]

If option 2 has really been discussed and could happen, that's my choice to happen right now.  The main problem I see is keeping the Big East name.

Couldnt Agree More...No doubt eventually we will go to an All Hoops League Because of the Obvious Dollars and Cents...

We Must Retain The Big East Name or it is gonna get real ugly.....

[GGGG]

RI, Dayton, UMass, GM, VCU - welcome to the land of the mid-majors and irrelevance.

So irrelevant that two of those schools have been to final fours in the last few years.  If you include Georgetown, MU and Nova, that is five of those proposed members.

That's the reality folks.  We were in the CUSA and did just fine.

[GGGG]

“There were also reports of the six basketball-playing private schools in the Big East (Notre Dame excluded) looking to join up with a group of A-10 schools that included UMass, Rhode Island, Dayton, Xavier, and then potentially some additions from the CAA (George Mason, VCU). Marinatto, however, claims that the basketball schools have also pledged to stand firm in their allegiance to the Big East.”

Six?  I am assuming he means seven excluding Notre Dame.  Unless Nova isn't on board yet.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I actually don't mind that conference, with one caveat:

These schools need to get out and play really tough non-conference schedules.

I think the only way for a league like that to stay nationally relevant is to get out and play in the tough pre-season tournaments and schedule major opponents.

I know each of these private schools uses basketball revenue to support their athletics, but I think the conf. would slowly lose steam over the years if the bottom 1/2 still played crappy non-televised non-conf. opponents and then depended on doing well in conference.

Everybody needs to agree to get out and take on a bunch of BCS schools early in an attempt to get on TV and get national exposure for the conference.

I know the logistics of this are tough, but I think a basketball only conference has to make some innovative steps to stay relevant.

[GGGG]

BTW, four of those schools are public (UMass, URI, GM and VCU)

[drbchilds]

I want the following schools in our conference:
1) Marquette
2) Depaul
3) St. Johns
4) Georgetown
5) Villanova
6) Seton Hall
7) Providence
8) Notre Dame
9) Xavier
10) Butler....maybe

If we start watering down a very good basketball conference with Rhode Island, VCU, George Mason, etc  we are flirting with the mid-major label again....I know George Mason's final 4 run, but that was a fluke and everyone knows it......

We have to keep the Big East name and we have to continue to have the tournament in MSG

THis sucks and I wish we had football and were attractive to the greedy scumbags running the other universities, but we don't and that, unfortunately, is how it is.......

Nauseating for sure.....

[Litehouse]

Six?  I am assuming he means seven excluding Notre Dame.  Unless Nova isn't on board yet.

I saw a similar quote where they mistakenly excluded DePaul, so I wonder if they just carried through the error.  Although, I guess what they've done the past few years may not be considered "playing basketball".

[MerrittsMustache]

I actually don't mind that conference, with one caveat:

These schools need to get out and play really tough non-conference schedules.

I think the only way for a league like that to stay nationally relevant is to get out and play in the tough pre-season tournaments and schedule major opponents.

I know each of these private schools uses basketball revenue to support their athletics, but I think the conf. would slowly lose steam over the years if the bottom 1/2 still played crappy non-televised non-conf. opponents and then depended on doing well in conference.

Everybody needs to agree to get out and take on a bunch of BCS schools early in an attempt to get on TV and get national exposure for the conference.

I know the logistics of this are tough, but I think a basketball only conference has to make some innovative steps to stay relevant.

I like the idea, but the problem is that the BCS/superconferences might not be willing to schedule many games with the lowly, basketball-only conference that adds nothing of monetary value to the football schools.

[Aughnanure]

I want the following schools in our conference:
1) Marquette
2) Depaul
3) St. Johns
4) Georgetown
5) Villanova
6) Seton Hall
7) Providence
8) Notre Dame
9) Xavier
10) Butler....maybe

I like this. I'd potentially also try & grab UMass and Memphis as well, see if they're interested in at least being in a premier basketball conference. Its not like Memphis putting it football team in a different league will change much for them.

That gets it to 12, where I think it needs to be (2 divisions). If Notre Dame finally joins another conference, sub-in St. Louis.

[Aughnanure]

If we start watering down a very good basketball conference with Rhode Island, VCU, George Mason, etc  we are flirting with the mid-major label again....I know George Mason's final 4 run, but that was a fluke and everyone knows it......

We have to keep the Big East name and we have to continue to have the tournament in MSG

VCU, RI, George Mason have no business in a league like this. At least Richmond and Charlotte have arenas that seat over 9,000 and will get us into new markets.

[muhs03]

I dont know why a Charleston reporter tweeted this but he said an effort to raise the $5M opt-out at last night's football meeting with Marinatto was shot down.


Time for a bball-only conference, IMO.

[brewcity77]

I dont know why a Charleston reporter tweeted this but he said an effort to raise the $5M opt-out at last night's football meeting with Marinatto was shot down.


Time for a bball-only conference, IMO.

Of course it was shot down. Because most of the football schools are sitting by their phones waiting for an invite somewhere else and don't want a bigger poison pill to swallow if/when the phone finally does ring.

Still...if all works for the best, we should aim to break off to a basketball-only conference after the 2012-13 season. And hopefully add a couple basketball-only schools in the meantime to balance out the additions of Army and Navy (should that come to pass).

[Mr. Nielsen]

RI, Dayton, UMass, GM, VCU - welcome to the land of the mid-majors and irrelevance.

Some could say that about Marquette in the Conf. USA days. Those schools have the same profile as MU, other than not being in the Big East.

[GGGG]

VCU, RI, George Mason have no business in a league like this. At least Richmond and Charlotte have arenas that seat over 9,000 and will get us into new markets.

VCU is in Richmond, and their arena seats 8,000.

GM is in Fairfield and their arena seats 10,000.

[Abode4life]

I like the idea, but the problem is that the BCS/superconferences might not be willing to schedule many games with the lowly, basketball-only conference that adds nothing of monetary value to the football schools.

You would most likely have to do more away games in order to get BCS schools to bite.  You could set it up as a one year away game deal or a three year deal with two away and one home.  Then the negative is you take away from the number of your possible home games which decreases ticket sales. 

If you look at most schools, they only play a max of two or three quality non-conference games outside of the holiday tournaments.  That goes back to having more home games to get ticket sales. 

[PE8983]

"So irrelevant that two of those schools have been to final fours in the last few years."

Yeah, that makes them great historical bball programs - yeah right.   

[Aughnanure]

VCU is in Richmond, and their arena seats 8,000.

GM is in Fairfield and their arena seats 10,000.

Forgot, my argument against GM is that GTown would never let them in. Fairfield is the NoVa/DC/Md metro area. True on VCU, thought it was 7500 - but its apparently "expandable" to 8000.

I don't know who wins the shoving match between Richmond and VCU if we are forming a conference thats over 12 teams. VCU has a much larger alumni base (18,000 undergrads), Richmond has a much endowment over $1billion (surprise to me). VCU is ranked #170 on US News & World Report, Richmond is the #27 national liberal arts college.

[bilsu]

VCU is in Richmond, and their arena seats 8,000.

GM is in Fairfield and their arena seats 10,000.

Maybe with a step up they will build new arenas. They are NCAA tournament teams. VCU was in the final four.

[PE8983]

"Some could say that about Marquette in the Conf. USA days. Those schools have the same profile as MU, other than not being in the Big East."

RI and Dayton - are you serious?  MU had raised it's bball profile and status to being near the top of the best conference in the country.  These 2 schools can't even finish in the top half of a mid-major league.  

[bilsu]

"Some could say that about Marquette in the Conf. USA days. Those schools have the same profile as MU, other than not being in the Big East."

RI and Dayton - are you serious?  MU had raised it's bball profile and status to being near the top of the best conference in the country.  These 2 schools can't even finish in the top half of a mid-major league.  

The last time we played Dayton they kicked the crap out of us in the Chicago invitational. They looked like the more talented team even though we had Matthews, McNeal, James and Hayward on our team.

[77ncaachamps]

I just hate that BCS coaches are having a field day with potential MU and BE recruits over this. smh