BE at MSG through 2028

[GGGG]

Remember when some here didn’t think Val was a good hire?

She got it done.

https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/2018/12/09/big-east-tournament-madison-square-garden/2241068002/

[fjm]

Great news!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Fantastic

[GoldenWarrior11]

As HUGE as it was beating Bucky this weekend, this is definitely right up there.  Extending the Big East's deal with MSG was absolutely pivotal with the B1G and ACC lurking around outside.  They would have loved nothing more than to elbow themselves into our domain, hoping to not only grab a piece of our lucrative and successful conference tournament, but also looking to de-value and hurt our conference so that they can have a strong NE presence for their respective leagues.

This will be a BIG chip in our next television deal negotiations with Fox.  Now that we have this in our back pocket, we continue to focus on getting the on-court success that the league has experienced for the past several years. 

Val Ackerman: most underrated major conference commissioner in college athletics.  As soon as Delaney opened up his mouth about wanting to bump into MSG during tournament week (not a week before), she began negotiations with MSG to extend our deal.  Absolutely boss. 

[brewcity77]

This will be a BIG chip in our next television deal negotiations with Fox.  Now that we have this in our back pocket, we continue to focus on getting the on-court success that the league has experienced for the past several years.

That was my thought exactly.

[GB Warrior]

Other than the obvious importance to the Big East, this also means that this sign will continue to be hysterical

[Mr. Nielsen]

Wow. I didn't hear about this until this thread. That is great! Thanks you, Val!!

[Herman Cain]

Wow. I didn't hear about this until this thread. That is great! Thanks you, Val!!

https://nypost.com/2018/12/09/big-east-fends-off-acc-big-ten-to-keep-tournament-at-msg/

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Great news. I'll be seeing it for the first time in March.

[fjm]

Great news. I'll be seeing it for the first time in March.

Samesies

[jsglow]

Kudos to Val. And appreciate the MSG Board for seeing through the obvious play by the Big10/ACC and remembering where their bread has been buttered for decades. 

[The Lens]

Buzz, proven correct; Big East poised to collapse in 2029.

[avid1010]

Listening to her chat about it now during the St. John's game...always on selection weekend as well.  AWESOME news.

[wadesworld]

Buzz, proven correct; Big East poised to collapse in 2029.

Lol yeah.  And we have some Scoopers who just a couple weeks ago were proclaiming Buzz was spot on.

[Oldgym]

A bit more on the Madison Square Garden deal, and this:

Ackerman said the league was not in discussion about expansion right now, but when pressed, did admit that more than three schools have approached the Big East about potentially joining the conference.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-mark-few-continues-to-go-after-mark-emmert-figuring-out-kentuckys-3-point-woes/

[wadesworld]

A bit more on the Madison Square Garden deal, and this:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-mark-few-continues-to-go-after-mark-emmert-figuring-out-kentuckys-3-point-woes/

UCONN, Dayton...Cinci?

[LloydsLegs]

A bit more on the Madison Square Garden deal, and this:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-mark-few-continues-to-go-after-mark-emmert-figuring-out-kentuckys-3-point-woes/

And in the related (and linked) podcast, Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander opine that MU is best team in a watered-down and compacted BE. Also they conclude that Val/BE open to one additional BE member for a “true” round robin (although there are no specific talks outreach happening now).  Speculate that the teams in which BE potentially has interest are A-10:  basketball first, SLU, VCU, Dayton, Davidson etc... 5 or 6 year timeline maybe.  They believe that SLU is most likely. 

Uh-oh—go Scoop!

[Silkk the Shaka]

And in the related (and linked) podcast, Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander opine that MU is best team in a watered-down and compacted BE. Also they conclude that Val/BE open to one additional BE member for a “true” round robin (although there are no specific talks outreach happening now).  Speculate that the teams in which BE potentially has interest are A-10:  basketball first, SLU, VCU, Dayton, Davidson etc... 5 or 6 year timeline maybe.  They believe that SLU is most likely. 

Uh-oh—go Scoop!

SLU is the only one that remotely makes sense to me

Private catholic, they have a decent tradition, in a good sized city, and they open up a new TV market that FS1 may have an interest in.

Also not sure what the "true" round robin comment means, we already play everyone home & away.

I hope it stays at 10 unless UConn or Gonzaga want in

[JakeBarnes]

SLU is the only one that remotely makes sense to me

Private catholic, they have a decent tradition, in a good sized city, and they open up a new TV market that FS1 may have an interest in.

Also not sure what the "true" round robin comment means, we already play everyone home & away.

I hope it stays at 10 unless UConn or Gonzaga want in

I agree. Maybe VCU on that list. I think the biggest component to her statement was the school needs to be able to fill the MSG and also be a large help to the league from a competitive standpoint. I don't see SLU as one of those schools that can help fill the MSG.

UConn makes the most sense if they drop football. Gonzaga creates a logistical nightmare, but would add to the competitive front and fan base. VCU has location, fanbase and some reasonably strong recent success.

Should be interesting, but it seems that Val is in the driver's seat and not just making moves to make moves.

[Galway Eagle]

If Detroit was halfway descent they'd be ideal

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

UCONN, Dayton...Cinci?

UConn for sure. Gonzaga had reached out one point but I don't think that's doable. Dayton and SLU make the most sense to me as the other two besides UConn. Cinci's football is a much better situation than UConn's so I think they will continue in the AAC until a P5 conference comes a calling.

SLU is the only one that remotely makes sense to me

Private catholic, they have a decent tradition, in a good sized city, and they open up a new TV market that FS1 may have an interest in.

Also not sure what the "true" round robin comment means, we already play everyone home & away.

I hope it stays at 10 unless UConn or Gonzaga want in

I wouldn't like the addition of SLU. Ford has them trending up at the moment but I don't have faith that they have the financials to stay at a competitive level. They have next to no basketball history.

I think the "true" round robin comment was saying that we could add one more team and still keep the current true round robin that we have. We'd simply extend the conference season to 20 which is all the rage nowadays.

If the Big East were to expand, which I think it will eventually, I think it will be UConn. History, tradition, and most importantly $$$. I'd love Gonzaga but I just don't see it happening. SLU and Dayton would need to grow a ton before I'd give them a sniff.

My guess is that the next round of expansion won't be until after the 24-25 season. I think the world is waiting on the Big 12 to implode. I have this fantasy where Kansas gets left in the cold, drops football, and joins the Big East.

[Carl Spackler]

SLU is the only one that remotely makes sense to me

Private catholic, they have a decent tradition, in a good sized city, and they open up a new TV market that FS1 may have an interest in.

Also not sure what the "true" round robin comment means, we already play everyone home & away.

I hope it stays at 10 unless UConn or Gonzaga want in

True round robin for a 20 game conf schedule like BIG and the rest will be at in the next few years.

[Silkk the Shaka]

UConn for sure. Gonzaga had reached out one point but I don't think that's doable. Dayton and SLU make the most sense to me as the other two besides UConn. Cinci's football is a much better situation than UConn's so I think they will continue in the AAC until a P5 conference comes a calling.

I wouldn't like the addition of SLU. Ford has them trending up at the moment but I don't have faith that they have the financials to stay at a competitive level. They have next to no basketball history.

I think the "true" round robin comment was saying that we could add one more team and still keep the current true round robin that we have. We'd simply extend the conference season to 20 which is all the rage nowadays.

If the Big East were to expand, which I think it will eventually, I think it will be UConn. History, tradition, and most importantly $$$. I'd love Gonzaga but I just don't see it happening. SLU and Dayton would need to grow a ton before I'd give them a sniff.

My guess is that the next round of expansion won't be until after the 24-25 season. I think the world is waiting on the Big 12 to implode. I have this fantasy where Kansas gets left in the cold, drops football, and joins the Big East.

Okay that makes more sense re: round robin comment

And as long as we're fantasizing, why not have BOTH KU & UConn drop football and join us? Let's do this right!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Another random thought, financial commitment to athletics is the best indicator IMHO of potential. Schools that are financially sound could turn from basketball nobodies to somebodies if they decided to throw money at their athletic programs. This has made me wonder if schools like Boston University and Denver could be dark horse candidates. You would need to see a lot of progress, obviously. But both schools have a lot of money to spend and if they used it to improve their basketball programs, I think they could develop into candidates. This would of course take years, possibly decades so neither are candidates for immediate expansion.

[GoldenWarrior11]

A lot of interesting updates have come up in the last few days, since the BE announced its new TV deal.

First, Val openly stated that the Big East could go to eleven members in order preserve the round-robin format.  A few weeks ago, she also had a comment about wanting schools that "want to be here" (i.e. not using it as a stopgap until something better came along).  With the BE keeping MSG, and likely getting a strong chip in negotiations to extend with Fox (our games on Saturday offered strong ratings on the big network), we are in a position of strength to add, not out of despiration.

Secondly, the AAC is in all sorts of mess right now.  Aresco, whom we nearly got stuck with in the divorce, had to clarify some thoughts on a theorhetical GOR for the AAC, where it was rumored that he wanted to give unequal revenue distribution to "the Fortunate Five" - UCF, USF, Houston, Cincinnati and Memphis (which, rumored, really upset other conference members, namely UConn).  If the next AAC TV deal is not in the $8-$10 million range (which UConn was making in the Big East, and in the AAC due to the divorce package under war chest funds), and UConn realizes they will be making even less money, then the likelihood of them pursuing a Big East membership becomes much closer to reality.  UConn to the Big East would definitely make the league and its membership more money and exposure overall. 

With SLU having an incredibly strong attendance figure against Butler (nearly 10k) and wins against both Butler and Seton Hall, that is definitely a significant push in the right direction for their candidacy.  They already bring a like-minded institution (Jesuit), in a big media market (St. Louis - which has a great viewership opening in the Winter, thanks to the Rams leaving and no NBA team) and modern/updated athletic facilities.  With basketball on the up-and-up under Ford, he had a strong recruiting class the past two years, and a 7-2 start this season, if they were to win the A-10, or even get a win or two in the tournament, they would be brought in when their stock is high, thus allowing them to adjust to the Big East over the course of a few years - not unlike Butler, Creighton and Xavier successfully did.