A little birdie heard....

[honkytonk]

....from a significant booster that Xavier, Creighton, SLU and Butler are most definitely getting invites. Attendance is a slight concern with the new league relative to what we have had in the BE. From what I have heard, MU is not necessarily the leader in all of this mess because the source (OK...Larry WILLIAMS)...didnt have all the answers. There is a slight amount of concern that GU doesnt have two feet in....but they have no where else to go. SJU and GU are working hard to secure long term OOC agreements with Syracuse. Some of the "other" schools dont like that effort.

[GGGG]

Well, there is nothing that can be done about Georgetown.  Regardless of how dedicated they are, this is the best move for MU even if Georgetown and SJU get invites elsewhere.

[🏀]

Well, there is nothing that can be done about Georgetown.  Regardless of how dedicated they are, this is the best move for MU even if Georgetown and SJU get invites elsewhere.

I don't see GTown of SJU getting better invites, if they want to work something out with Syracuse, whatever.

[Goose]

Well I hope the little birdie is wrong. Once you hook up with the SLU's, Creighton's and Butler (minus Stephen's) you are in that class for a long time. If I were LW I would have GU attitude and be working hard for better deal. Bringing in the mentioned school's brings us down too far in food chain.

[Tugg Speedman]

I don't see GTown of SJU getting better invites, if they want to work something out with Syracuse, whatever.

I hope we are working out OOC deals with ND and Louisville.  If so, are GU and SJU upset with us?

[keefe]

There is no question that Gonzaga must be part of this construct. No question whatsoever.

[Tugg Speedman]

Well I hope the little birdie is wrong. Once you hook up with the SLU's, Creighton's and Butler (minus Stephen's) you are in that class for a long time. If I were LW I would have GU attitude and be working hard for better deal. Bringing in the mentioned school's brings us down too far in food chain.

+1

C7 plus X, SLU! Creighton and Butler runs the risk of turning into a mid-major.

Need Gonzaga, VCU to ensue this inference can have 4+ bids.

[Dawson Rental]

+1

C7 plus X, SLU! Creighton and Butler runs the risk of turning into a mid-major.

Need Gonzaga, VCU to ensue this inference can have 4+ bids.

Three of those four schools made the NCAA tourney last year.  (Butler was the one who didn't). 

One of them (Xavier) made the sweet sixteen. 

[Aughnanure]

Well I hope the little birdie is wrong. Once you hook up with the SLU's, Creighton's and Butler (minus Stephen's) you are in that class for a long time. If I were LW I would have GU attitude and be working hard for better deal. Bringing in the mentioned school's brings us down too far in food chain.

God, shut up with this constant fear.

[Aughnanure]

+1

C7 plus X, SLU! Creighton and Butler runs the risk of turning into a mid-major.

Need Gonzaga, VCU to ensue this inference can have 4+ bids.

So Butler and Xavier turn this league into mid-major but VCU's time in the CAA makes this conference legit?

[Goose]

You can be assured ZERO fear on this front. Simply stating a fact, both on business and basketball side of a conference that includes the schools mentioned. If you get excited over those names it tells me the race has been run and most are hoping for making best out of situation. I still have hope that we do better than the making the best out of a situation.

[keefe]

So Butler and Xavier turn this league into mid-major but VCU's time in the CAA makes this conference legit?

+1

Butler, Xavier, Gonzaga, and Creighton are good. Very good.

Dayton, VCU, Richmond, Wichita State, SLU, St Joe's, Shippensburg State, UW-Platteville, Lehigh, Duquense, LaSalle, UMass, Toledo, and any other A10 are bad. Very bad.

[muguru]

God what the hell is the Presidents or anyone else's infatuation with SLU?? You are absolutely right, if SLU and Dayton are part of this league, it's no question the national perception will be that of a mid major. if you were going to split like this, then you HAVE to do it right and invite the best possible basketball schools you can. Xavier is one of them, butler is one of them, gonzaga is one of them, and Creighton is one of them. SLU and Dayton are not even close to that.

[AirPunches]

If they add Dayton and slu then there better not be divisions. Would really affect attendance and season ticket sales if those were two of the guaranteed home games every year.

Also, why does this need to be done overnight? Start with 10 teams and then in a few years re-evaluate the landscape of college athletics and go from there. No need to rush to adding these mid majors (Dayton, slu).

[keefe]

If they add Dayton and slu then there better not be divisions. Would really affect attendance and season ticket sales if those were two of the guaranteed home games every year.

They must not add Dayton and SLU! We might as well stay in the shriveled Big East. Please end the discussion around Dayton and SLU. Please end it.

[MarquetteDano]

They must not add Dayton and SLU! We might as well stay in the shriveled Big East. Please end the discussion around Dayton and SLU. Please end it.

Man, a lot of hate for Dayton.  46th in all-time wins (we are 45th), 27th in attendance last year, $423 million endownment.

I am not saying they should be top of the list but they have to be a candidiate.

[brewcity77]

They must not add Dayton and SLU! We might as well stay in the shriveled Big East. Please end the discussion around Dayton and SLU. Please end it.

They aren't my first choices, but give me a break. The simple reality is that we are going to be in a league driven by basketball. That means it will be much harder to have a league made up of as many elite teams as you find elsewhere. From a competition perspective, Gonzaga and Creighton are good adds. But are they good fits? That's a different question.

I really want Gonzaga. But when you consider they will likely have to charter all their away games over 1,000 miles for non-revenue sports, that's a big expenditure. What about Creighton? Can they afford to send their teams to not only Milwaukee and Chicago, but Washington DC and New York?

Dayton and St. Louis both have a bit of tradition. Dayton has a fervent (psychotic might be a better word) fanbase while St. Louis has a new facility and seems to be investing in their future. Remember, there was a time when Marquette was down lower than those two are now. We got back up, they could do the same, especially with a new league to drive their growth.

Bottom line, we aren't going to have a Louisville. We aren't going to have a Syracuse. We aren't going to have the super-power schools we're used to seeing. But we'll have a good basketball league of teams dedicated to success. And as long as they are committed, we'll all be just fine.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

If they add Dayton and slu then there better not be divisions. Would really affect attendance and season ticket sales if those were two of the guaranteed home games every year.

I doubt there will be divisions if only because

1.) The Midwestern schools will want the east coast exposure through mirror games, rather than only playing in any given East Coast market every other year because they've got to pick up a mirror game with Dayton or SLU.
2.) Remember, kids, the Big East had 16 teams and no divisions.
3.) In fact, no high-level Division I Conference has divisions. Some allocate their schedules as if there were divisions, or seed their conference tournaments according to divisions, but the Big 10, Pac-12, SEC and ACC all treat their league standings as if it were a single table. If you're going to have divisions it has to mean something
4.) If you look at the likely teams and split it geographically, the divisions would likely split up Xavier and Dayton, only by virtue of the fact that there are 5 schools along I-95, and most of the other rumored teams are west of there.

X and Butler would appear to be locks. Dayton as well, given their rivalry with Xavier. That gets you to 10. Creighton would appear to be the lead contender for Spot #11, and while there's no doubt that Gonzaga surpasses SLU in basketball quality and sustained success, I don't want to add a school like St. Mary's or Loyola Marymount or whatever to get them. (Full disclosure: I got my J.D. at SLU.)

The format I see emerging is a 12 team league, with no divisions, and if I had to take a stab at membership, it would be Marquette, DePaul, SLU, Georgetown, Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, Villanova, Dayton, Xavier, St. John's, and Providence.

Play everyone once. 7 mirror games that rotate through the league, so at most, any team would never miss out on trips to a certain market in consecutive years.

[Tony Two Times]

Man, a lot of hate for Dayton.  46th in all-time wins (we are 45th), 27th in attendance last year, $423 million endownment.

I am not saying they should be top of the list but they have to be a candidiate.

Dayton wears that mid-major cologne. That mid-major cologne. Who wants to breath that in?

[Tony Two Times]

The format I see emerging is a 12 team league, with no divisions, and if I had to take a stab at membership, it would be Marquette, DePaul, SLU, Georgetown, Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, Villanova, Dayton, Xavier, St. John's, and Providence.

Dear God no. Dear God no.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

Dear God no. Dear God no.

Thanks for the input, guy who registered 20 minutes ago.

[honkytonk]

Dayton wears that mid-major cologne. That mid-major cologne. Who wants to breath that in?

The footbll members of the BE said the same thing when Mrquette and DePaul were added. You dont remember?

[buckchuckler]

Thanks for the input, guy who registered 20 minutes ago.

I didn't know how long someone had been a member of a message board was directly correlated to the significance of their opinion.  Last I checked, this was an internet message board, and no one's opinion means crap.  

[Tugg Speedman]

+1

Butler, Xavier, Gonzaga, and Creighton are good. Very good.

Dayton, VCU, Richmond, Wichita State, SLU, St Joe's, Shippensburg State, UW-Platteville, Lehigh, Duquense, LaSalle, UMass, Toledo, and any other A10 are bad. Very bad.

In 2012 the mountain west and A-10 both had 4 bids.  The ACC also had four bids while the PAC-12 has 2.

In 2011 the mountain west and A-10 both had 3 bids.  The ACC and PAC-12 both had 4 bids.

So which 2 are mid-majors and which 2 are high- majors?

Mid-major is as much a perception as it is a statistical measure.  If the C7 add mid-majors, the they will be a mid-major conference.

No to SLU and Dayton.

[GGGG]

You can be assured ZERO fear on this front. Simply stating a fact, both on business and basketball side of a conference that includes the schools mentioned. If you get excited over those names it tells me the race has been run and most are hoping for making best out of situation. I still have hope that we do better than the making the best out of a situation.

Marquette most certainly is trying to get into the best place for them.  If Georgetown's best place is a BBall member of the ACC, then good for them.  (I doubt it though....would have happened already.)  Right now it looks as though MU is going to be in the best basketball conference in the country that doesn't sponsor football.  Not much else can be hoped for at this point.