The Holy Land of Hoops

Forecasting out 5-10 years do you think there is any chance the Big East presidents consider adding a public university? Someone such as VCU or Wichita St or even a school with FBS football like UConn or one of the Florida schools - UCF or USF? What would it take for FOX to force such a move?

There's a chance for a public school (albeit, seemingly very slim) but I don't see an FBS school ever being allowed to join this conference. The Big East leadership has decided they like a certain profile (small, private, good academics, basketball tradition). I can see a possibility for going outside this profile only if the school would add an extremely high value to the conference (I'm guessing a national championship would have to be involved somehow). It is very unlikely for the conference to add UConn, unless they drop their football program down to FCS. UCF and USF are completely out of the question. They have nothing to offer the conference. They are flight risks with mediocre football teams and sub-par basketball traditions. They are large schools, public, with mediocre academics, and they are outside our geographic footprint. I don't mean to sound harsh, but there is just no chance for those two to ever be in the Big East.

It would be due to conference realignment. Say university of Kansas was on the wrong end of conf realignment. They are a definite basketball school, it would be a situation like that

Never is a long time, but I'd certainly say it won't happen soon.

What we've learned so far is that the presidents want to run this league and they want complete privacy. They don't care if running it this way upsets the media or, to a lesser extent athletic directors, coaches and even fans. Adding a public school means that the public school would be open to freedom of information act requests, inquiries from publicly elected boards of trustees that leak like a sieve, etc.

Maybe 10 years or so after the league is fully established, a public school might be considered. But it isn't happening soon.

sarp wrote:It would be due to conference realignment. Say university of Kansas was on the wrong end of conf realignment. They are a definite basketball school, it would be a situation like that

I think if something happened in the Big 12 or the FBS breakaway left them without a home and no one else was smart enough to take Kansas. I sincerely doubt we would turn them down. Even with an FBS team(if you can call it that) they are and will always be a basketball school(I mean for heaven sake their first coach invented the sport). They would instantly make us a permanent presence in basketball and ensure the respect of the collegiate basketball community.

Realistically, I think UCONN is the only school they would accept because of their past Big East history but they would have to drop football and that ain't gonna happen.

Seems unlikely. I do wonder if they will ever go south however? The Big East is a northeast US centered league so there might be some advantage to expanding south some day.

UConn will only go to the B1g or the ACC-they think they are too good for any other conference.

VCU seems the most likely to me and I would call them South, I doubt it though it, it looks like a private school league to me. I think we will wind up with 12 - St. Louis plus either Dayton or Richmond. Incidentally, half the BE is Midwest not Northeast.

I really hope we stay at ten. If we do expand then whoever else gets the nod needs to be a true natural fit. A huge state school would be the last natural fit.