Welcome to The Holy Land of Hoops

Thought it was noteworthy. It's been a fun 4 years so far. The future is bright for all.

It's been a good ride for both the Conference and the three additions. The Big East could not have made better additions, and those additions could not have benefited more.

One can only hope that things continue to improve and that future decisions related to the addition of members (or not) work out as well as the one that has brought the Big East to its current state of excellence!

If you look at all of the schools that changed conferences, not a whole lot were able to elevate both the conference and their programs. Nebraska football has struggled in the B1G, where as its basketball program is still average at best. Texas A&M and Missouri have both been very competitive in football, but both have had their luster wear off - and both have failed to meet expectations in recent years. Colorado and Utah both struggled in their first years in the PAC-12, but now both seem to be on the upswing.

With Butler, Creighton and Xavier, all three programs not only helped elevate the current incarnation of the Big East (with the C7), but their programs have all tremendously taken off since them joining. They have, seamlessly, added strong men's basketball, as well as other sports, to the current collection of programs, and have solidified their standing as strong members of the Big East. I have used this term before, but I view the Butler/Creighton/Xavier contingent as the backbone of this incarnation of the Big East. They will always be dependable and consistent, and be able to continually support the league when certain teams - like St. Johns, or Georgetown, or Marquette - are in rebuilding phases. Most importantly, all three programs have removed their "mid-major" label, and are now known as national programs, capable of competing on the big stages of college basketball.

What this trio has done should be inspiring other like-minded area schools - like Dayton, Saint Louis, Richmond, St. Joseph, Fordham, Duquesne, Davidson, etc. - into investing more into their programs and schools in order to achieve the same level of success and national prestige. Unfortunately, I only see that from Dayton and Saint Louis, presently.

It's been good for all involved and I'm glad for it! Hope we keep getting stronger together!

I remember watching ESPN when everything was happening and seeing Xavier's name mentioned as one of the teams the Big East was interested in...was like a dream come true.

The conference is very fortunate that these three newcomers have gotten out of the gate so strongly. They've picked up the slack for an underperforming STJ and G-town so far. Without their performance these 4 years, i dont think the Big East is still considered an elite conference. It would maybe be regarded as the least of the Big 6 rather than the top 2 or 3 league that it is today.

July 2, 2013: "Yes, Butler is officially a member of the Big East! What a great day."
July 3, 2013: "What? Coach Steven's is leaving for the Celtics? What a crap day."

I remember it was reported that Dayton and St.Louis were also coming. I wonder what officially happened with that.

MUPanther wrote:I remember it was reported that Dayton and St.Louis were also coming. I wonder what officially happened with that.

It was never true, so it was bad reporting. Nothing "official" had to happen with that.

I'm not sure it's fair to suggest that we've been more successful than most hoped we'd be at this point, but it doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is that we have been successful and we've laid the necessary groundwork for continued success.

At the very least, we can continue to build the conference's strength over the next five years as we move towards possible and probable football realignment - yet again.

Whereas this deal has been, at the very least, a relief to Villanova, etc., it has been game changing for Xavier. I knew moving to the Big East would be beneficial to Xavier, but I didn't appreciate the scale of impact it's had on X. Xavier was already a solid place with a great basketball program. But this whole thing has changed everything, as the recruiting uplift has been substantial. The ability to actually officially enter the club and not have to look through its window from the mid-major lawn is a blessing, and that was as a program that was not thought of as a mid-major.

I gotta say it is fun going back in the HLOH time machine and reading posts from late 2012 and early 2013, prior to the official announcements. Butler and X were thought to be clear additions and then the debate was over who would be team #10 and if there would be team #s 11 and 12. Reading Jays fan's cautious optimism evolving into unbridled joy = very cool. Dayton, VCU, SLU, St. Joe's, Richmond and Wich St fans all making cases on why they should be included. There's actually a post from good ole Gtmo suggesting that the C7 should add Gonzaga first. Jet predicting that the league would be an unquestioned Top 5 league with 4-5 consistent bids each year. Good stuff.
If you've got a few minutes it's definitely a fun read...

I've very much enjoyed being a part of this HLOH community since then. Cheers to our Admin / HLOH Founder (even though he is a Hoya fan )