ESPN and the "death" of the Big East

[moomoo]

Can someone tell the producers at ESPN that the Big East is continuing, and it can be argued will be as strong?  I am so sick of seeing their announcers talking about how the Big East is gone and anything else that comes forward will be a shell of its former self. If they had the rights to the basketball in the future, maybe they wouldn't be slamming it so much. 

[BlindboyPatSmith]

Can someone tell the producers at ESPN that the Big East is continuing, and it can be argued will be as strong?  I am so sick of seeing their announcers talking about how the Big East is gone and anything else that comes forward will be a shell of its former self. If they had the rights to the basketball in the future, maybe they wouldn't be slamming it so much. 

Your last sentence SAYS IT ALL.....

[MarquetteDano]

Can someone tell the producers at ESPN that the Big East is continuing, and it can be argued will be as strong?  I am so sick of seeing their announcers talking about how the Big East is gone and anything else that comes forward will be a shell of its former self. If they had the rights to the basketball in the future, maybe they wouldn't be slamming it so much.  

Yeah, and maybe if they were not one of the major reasons why the conference fell apart it wouldn't have an air of hypocrisy that they are so sad about it's demise.

[jsglow]

I'm looking to full fledged promotion on Fox.

[sarcastro]

If you're sick of it now wait until next year at this time when ESPN starts ignoring Big East teams in regards to "who's in/who's out" tournament coverage.  

I expect ESPN will treat the Big East like it treats the NHL....

[moomoo]

Yeah, and maybe if they were not one of the major reasons why the conference fell apart it wouldn't have an air of hypocrisy that they are so sad about it's demise.

100%!!  It's infuriating.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

If you're sick of it now wait until next year at this time when ESPN starts ignoring Big East teams in regards to "who's in/who's out" tournament coverage.  

I expect ESPN will treat the Big East like it treats the NHL....

hahaha, i doubt it.

[sarcastro]

hahaha, i doubt it.

Okay, but I expect people on here to complain like ESPN was treating the Big East like the NHL...

[chapman]

If you're sick of it now wait until next year at this time when ESPN starts ignoring Big East teams in regards to "who's in/who's out" tournament coverage.  

I expect ESPN will treat the Big East like it treats the NHL....

Who's our Barry Melrose going to be?  A strange old dude who is as much joke as analyst so nothing is taken seriously...

[BrewCity83]

Who's our Barry Melrose going to be?  A strange old dude who is as much joke as analyst so nothing is taken seriously...

They already have Dickie V for that role, but he's hypin' the ACC.

[Sunbelt15]

ESPN: If we win, they will report! That's all that matters. Plus, they love Georgetown.

[keefe]

If you're sick of it now wait until next year at this time when ESPN starts ignoring Big East teams in regards to "who's in/who's out" tournament coverage.  

I expect ESPN will treat the Big East like it treats the NHL....

We need our own Barry Melrose

[MU82]

Can someone tell the producers at ESPN that the Big East is continuing, and it can be argued will be as strong?  I am so sick of seeing their announcers talking about how the Big East is gone and anything else that comes forward will be a shell of its former self. If they had the rights to the basketball in the future, maybe they wouldn't be slamming it so much.  

Thrilled that MU and the rest of the C7 made lemonade. Given how many longtime observers -- including lots of folks on this board -- often have called the Big East of the last several years the best conference in history, do you really think it an be argued that C7+ will be as strong? I guess anything can be argued as long as the arguer doesn't mind handily losing the argument.

Let's respect the NBE for what it will be, but let's not exaggerate. There aren't many people -- I mean, is there even one intelligent person? -- who would choose the New Big East over what the Old Big East has been.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Yeah, and maybe if they were not one of the major reasons why the conference fell apart it wouldn't have an air of hypocrisy that they are so sad about it's demise.

The Big East presidents had a huge deal in front of them and the presidents turned it down.  I'd put a lot more blame on the presidents than on ESPN. 

[79Warrior]

The Big East presidents had a huge deal in front of them and the presidents turned it down.  I'd put a lot more blame on the presidents than on ESPN. 

Yep. Greedy bastards screwed the pooch. Perhaps in the end everyone will be on the short end of this one.

[MarquetteDano]

The Big East presidents had a huge deal in front of them and the presidents turned it down.  I'd put a lot more blame on the presidents than on ESPN. 

No doubt that some Big East schools played the largest role in this.  However, let's not forget that ESPN consulting the ACC on their expansion put the final death knell to the Big East.

You have college basketball analysts from ESPN lamenting the fact the league will never be the same whilst their ESPN management was telling the ACC who they would most like to poach from the Big East for football purposes.

There is no way their analysts are that Pollyanna... they know what really went down.  For that, they are hypocrites.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The Big East of a few years ago was the greatest college basketball conference ever created.  It is gone, never to be duplicated (or unlikely).  That's all they are saying.  They are right.

[Goose]

IMO ESPN is in mourning. They helped create the greatest basketball conference ever and have been there every step of the way. I did not take offense because ESPN and the "original" BE we were attached at the hip. Even though MU was only in BE for short period I also find it sad to see BE take different look. Big Monday when it first started was unreal idea at the time.

Of course ESPN will move on and promote other conferences harder. You cannot underestimate what the BE meant for ESPN. ACC and Big 10 are great great conferences, but the BE was the greatest of all in terms of basketball. To some degree ESPN has grown so much that power ESPN led to the end of the BE as the nation knows it. The new conference might have the BE name but it is in name only.

[ChicosBailBonds]

IMO ESPN is in mourning. They helped create the greatest basketball conference ever and have been there every step of the way. I did not take offense because ESPN and the "original" BE we were attached at the hip. Even though MU was only in BE for short period I also find it sad to see BE take different look. Big Monday when it first started was unreal idea at the time.

Of course ESPN will move on and promote other conferences harder. You cannot underestimate what the BE meant for ESPN. ACC and Big 10 are great great conferences, but the BE was the greatest of all in terms of basketball. To some degree ESPN has grown so much that power ESPN led to the end of the BE as the nation knows it. The new conference might have the BE name but it is in name only.

Great post.  I can tell you that the two Big East tournaments I went to I went with ESPN.  The BET was a big deal to the network and the league was in their backyard, so they had a special affinity for it.  No question the Big East doesn't become the Big East without ESPN.

[brewcity77]

Great post.  I can tell you that the two Big East tournaments I went to I went with ESPN.  The BET was a big deal to the network and the league was in their backyard, so they had a special affinity for it.  No question the Big East doesn't become the Big East without ESPN.

In my opinion, that cuts both ways. Without quality programming to air around the clock, ESPN might have never got off the ground. An all-sports channel seems like an obvious idea today, so much so that every cable box has at least 10 of them, but that wasn't the case in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Without the Big East, it's possible ESPN never grows the way it did.

As far as blame, it goes to both sides, but while the Big East presidents did turn the deal down, ESPN chose to pass on trying further negotiations and instead killed the conference by directing the ACC to poach Syracuse, Pitt, and Louisville and telling the Big 12 to take West Virginia.

[Goose]

Brewcity

That was my point. ESPN owes BE as much as BE owed ESPN. It was a great marriage and I believe ESPN is sad about the end of the original BE. No doubt they move on and find different ways to make money. It was a special bond and all parties benefited a great deal.

[tower912]

There is a good article in this week's SI about the the rise and demise of the original Big East.   Huge offer from ESPN for the next contract that was rejected, hoping for more, and then the abandoning began.    Talks a bit about how the original BEast fired up at the same time as ESPN, that the first meeting between ESPN and BEast officials took place in one of the original trailers up in Bristol.    
       What is being underreported is that the new BEast returns to the roots of the old BEast, for many of the same reasons.     According to the article, the original BEast formed as a reaction to the NCAA trying to dictate that the east coast independents had to play a round robin schedule.   Or, basketball was being dictated to by outside forces.    Then, the NCAA, today football.

[ChicosBailBonds]

In my opinion, that cuts both ways. Without quality programming to air around the clock, ESPN might have never got off the ground. An all-sports channel seems like an obvious idea today, so much so that every cable box has at least 10 of them, but that wasn't the case in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Without the Big East, it's possible ESPN never grows the way it did.

As far as blame, it goes to both sides, but while the Big East presidents did turn the deal down, ESPN chose to pass on trying further negotiations and instead killed the conference by directing the ACC to poach Syracuse, Pitt, and Louisville and telling the Big 12 to take West Virginia.

Brew, the first domino was the idiocy of the Big East presidents.  As a business, you can't keep making sure the other guy gets his head on straight. The Big East had a great deal in hand, they pooh poohed it.  ESPN, as a smart business, said fine...we'll go where more level headed folks are.  Big East signs the deal, not having this conversation.

All actions lead to reactions and so forth.  I put the blame squarely on the Big East.  After that, the broadcaster has to do what they have to do.  They weren't going to be held hostage by a two bit football league, even if basketball is great because basketball in the grand scheme of things doesn't mean a whole lot in terms of dollars.  Just thank God every day that Fox chose now to take on ESPN because we are getting multi-X return due to that timing.  Sellers market, and as a result MU and the C7 come out very well right now.  We should be sending love letters to David Hill, Eric Shanks and a few others every day.

[muwarrior69]

Chicos, I must be living in a cave, but who are David Hill and Eric Shanks?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos, I must be living in a cave, but who are David Hill and Eric Shanks?

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