More To the BBall/Football Infighting In The Big East Than You Might Think?

[Tugg Speedman]

Big East commissioner Tranghese to announce retirement today

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/articles/2008/06/05/big_east_commissioner_tranghese_to_announce_retirement_today/

Saying it was simply time to do something else, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese will announce his retirement later today, ending a reign of 19 years in which Tranghese guided development of the Big East basketball conference into a 16-team super league and oversaw the creation of the Big East football conference into a competitive 8-team league, which took a full body blow five years ago when three of its members -- Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech -- jumped to the Atlantic Coast Conference, but has still managed to survive, if not thrive.

The official announcement that Tranghese will retire next June will come later today, but Tranghese said that he felt the timing was right for him to spend one more year to make things were in order before he stepped down at the end of the 2008-2009 athletic season.



It sounds like he is burned out (after 19 years) or is being pushed out.  And then this:

It will not be an easy job since the Big East is essentially two different leagues in basketball with different schools and different agendas, which, at times, have clashed.

Tranghese said that he didn't think there would be an immediate move to break the league into two conferences, with the football schools breaking off from the predominantly Catholic basketball schools.

"Right now everything is working fairly well,'' said Tranghese, who says he still wants to work, but at a different pace. "In football, there doesn't seem to be any movement towards a ninth school and everyone is happy with the level of basketball. We've never been stronger.''


"clashed"?  "he didn't think there would be an immediate move"?  "Right now everything is working well"?  These are not the words of harmony.  These are the words of a "cease fire."  Add to this the comment from Father Wild.  In an April 15, 2008 article about hiring Buzz the article concluded with:

http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/04/15/father-wild-on-crean.aspx

While Wild credited the team of Marquette officials and influential alumni for the hard work they put in to find a new coach, he also said the Big East Conference was a big help as well.

"There's high motivation within the conference to see the basketball programs succeed, along with football," he said.


Basketball programs succeed along with football?  Is he saying that Big East basketball has yet to reach the stature of Big East Football?  Let me repeat, Big East basketball is second banana to Big East football???

Rumblings are that all is not well in the Big East.  Talk has them splitting into a football and "National Basketball Catholic Conference? (ND, MU, DePaul, 'Nova, G-Town, Providence, St. Johns and Seton Hall) and possibly inviting schools like Xavier into the mix.


More to this than everyone is letting on or am I reaching?

[ecompt]

No, you're not reaching. When I worked in NY, the Post basketball guy always told me the conference would split up into the football and non-football schools after a few years. I don't think ND will be part of any "Catholic Basketball Conference" -- that's beneath them. But the other football schools in the BE have this vision of playing for a national title every January, and that's just not going to happen.   

[jce]

You are not reaching one bit.  I have no doubt that the BE will eventually splinter into two conferences, possibly as soon as 2011.  Reasons?

First, the Big East football teams want to the league to expand.  Right now, they only play seven league games.  Finding five annual non-conference opponents is tough and there are home and away schedule imbalances every year.  (These are the same reasons the Mountain West added TCU as a ninth member a couple years ago.)  Realistically, the league can't grow to more than 16 teams, and they will not get into the "football only" situation it was in during the 90s.

Second, football is much more lucrative than basketball.  The football schools are going to want to exert more influence over membership because the BCS brings in more $$$ than the NCAA tournament does.  These disparities are growing...not shrinking.

Third, the BCS television contract with Fox ends after 2010.  That is also when Tranghese is retiring.  I don't think that is a coincidence.

We're just going to have to face this.  Football drives college sports.  The ACC basketball powers didn't want that conference to expand - but they did for reasons entirely based on football.  The same will happen to the Big East.  The basketball schools are just going to have to make the best of it - hope that ND sticks with us, but look to add schools like Xavier, St. Louis, Dayton, St. Joes, etc.

[Tulsa Warrior]

With travel costs and market exposure issues if orwhen we see a realignment the BB schools are in good shape.  New York, Philly, Chicago and Milwaukee are great media markets.  Add a St. Louis, keep a Cincinnati and I can live with that.  In the end the football schools won't gain what the lose by giving up the traditional roundball schools.

[BrewCity83]

With travel costs and market exposure issues if orwhen we see a realignment the BB schools are in good shape.  New York, Philly, Chicago and Milwaukee are great media markets.  Add a St. Louis, keep a Cincinnati and I can live with that.  In the end the football schools won't gain what the lose by giving up the traditional roundball schools.

Cincy has football.

[jce]

Cincy has football.

He means by adding Xavier, they keep the Cincy market.

[jce]

In the end the football schools won't gain what the lose by giving up the traditional roundball schools.

I don't really know what you mean by this.  In the end, it will probably be beneficial for both the basketball and the football schools.

[MU62]

I hope this does not happen.  I think it would be bad for Marquette.  Right now the shools that get the most fan attention except for Georgtown all happen to be football schools.  Louisville, Cincy, Syracuse, UConn, Pittsburgh and ND.  I know the extra electricity you can feel in the BC with those teams over the others.  This is very sad news. 

[spiral97]

the one option that never comes up is that one of the basketball schools could start a football team (perhaps with support from the conference?).. or would such a team need to start off in division 3 and move its way up?

[jce]

the one option that never comes up is that one of the basketball schools could start a football team (perhaps with support from the conference?).. or would such a team need to start off in division 3 and move its way up?

Georgetown and Villanova play in the Patriot League and the CAA respectively.  Both are 1-AA (or FCS as it is called now).  I know that the Patriot League is non-scholarship, but I think Villanova offers scholarships in football.

That being said, that is a long way from being able to play in the Big East.  My guess is that it would be a lot easier to expand by adding the likes of Memphis or East Carolina.

[79Warrior]

With travel costs and market exposure issues if orwhen we see a realignment the BB schools are in good shape.  New York, Philly, Chicago and Milwaukee are great media markets.  Add a St. Louis, keep a Cincinnati and I can live with that.  In the end the football schools won't gain what the lose by giving up the traditional roundball schools.

Basketball schools will lose out. ND will not go with BB schools. Tough spot for MU. Losing great rivals like UL and Pitt will be extremely difficult to replace.

[Tugg Speedman]

ND football will never join the Big East, ever.  So, where will they go if the conference splits and their is a "National Catholic Bball Conferene"?

[ecompt]

I would think ND would go to the Big 10.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Other than sheer arrogance, is there a reason ND won't join BE football / any conf. football?

[jce]

ND football will never join the Big East, ever.  So, where will they go if the conference splits and their is a "National Catholic Bball Conferene"?

ND will stick with the football schools because of their bowl arrangement with the conference.  In order to boost their overall bowl package, the BE agreed to allow these bowls to select ND in years when they are bowl eligible, but not BCS bound.  (There are some limitations on this, but I can't recall exactly what they are.)  My guess is this arrangement goes out the door if ND bolts to a "Catholic Conference."

[jce]

Other than sheer arrogance, is there a reason ND won't join BE football / any conf. football?

$$$$$$$$$.  They have their own football contract and guaranteed BCS payout.  The only thing that will get them to join a conference is if both of these dry up, which will probably only happen if they continue losing.

[bilsu]

Adding a 17th team makes the most sense to me. Another school for football and a balanced 16th game basketball schedule. No more mirror games, which makes for unequal schedules and unhappy coaches.

[Dish]

Notre Dame would JUMP at the chance to join Catholic USA (as I've been calling it for a couple of months now). Football would stay as an independent, but the rest of ND's athletic teams would join MU, DePaul, St. Johns, Georgetown, Nova, Providence, Seton Hall, Xavier, Dayton, and TBD (SLU, Creighton, or crazy enough, Gonzaga) in a heartbeat.

It all comes down to cash and the people who pull the strings at ND. Notre Dame considers itself a brand. Consumers of ND athletics don't mostly live in Stoors or Morgantown. They live in Chicago, New York, Cincy, Philly.

I said it before, and will say it again, the first domino that will fall will be Rutgers going to the ACC or Big 11. Assuming they stay good/relevant in football the next two/three years, the ACC and Big 11 are going to court them big time.

[Tugg Speedman]

ND will NEVER join a conference for football, ever!  And, if something causes a rip in the space/time continum that makes ND want to put their football program in a conference, the B10 would take them in a heartbeat.

So ND football stays independent, then ND has nothing to do with BE football.  So why not join the national catholic bball conference?

[DFW HOYA]

ND wants nothing to do with a Catholic BB conference. Georgetown and Villanova are on the same page as well.

[jce]

ND wants nothing to do with a Catholic BB conference. Georgetown and Villanova are on the same page as well.

What if the football schools split off?  What would Georgetown and Nova do then?

BTW, I think the idea of calling it a "Catholic Conference" would be dumb.  Why limit membership to Catholic schools?  Even if that's the case now, that doesn't mean there won't be other opportunities in the future.

[wampum77]

I doubt very much that Marquette would buy into the idea of a "Catholic BB Conference."

[Blackhat]

Classic Eight Conference
Marquette
Georgetown
Villanova
Providence
Depaul
Seton Hall
Xavier
St. Johns

[BrewCity83]

Classic Eight Conference
Marquette
Georgetown
Villanova
Providence
Depaul
Seton Hall
Xavier
St. Johns

That conference would sure look alot better with ND in it...

[MU Chi_IL]

ND has 25 other sports and places a lot on the director's cup standings (well at least Kevin white did), I am not sure if the Go God conference has the competition to keep them competitive and striving for national championships in those 25 other sports (I think Marquette only has 10 sports).