Big East Conference Realignment v2018

[Piratefan]

Given the move to 20 conference games, the BE will likely add another team. My view is that Uconn is most logical and I could understand why Providence would object. If Uconn doesn't work I don't see a better option than Dayton. Too bad that Richmond and Duquesne suck. Gonzaga makes zero geographic sense unfortunately.

[gtmoBlue]

Zags and the Bonnies...

[JayPak]

There are two, and only two, programs at this time that make sense as possible additions. Gonzaga and Notre Dame.

[DeltaV]

The only way Notre Dame would have happened would have been at the inception of the league, as a way for them to maintain their football independence. They're in bed now with the ACC, so that ship has sailed.

As for Gonzaga, I know that they have expressed interest and willingness to do the travel, but I wonder if they've been reading some of the articles about how travel hurts UConn. Travel for them would be roughly double the pain. I'd love to have them as well, but I just don't think it's logistically possible.

It's too bad Richmond or Davidson aren't better prospects. I'd love to expand into the heart of the ACC, just to mess with them. Maybe Davidson will have another great run, right around the time of TV negotiations.

[Bill Marsh]

As for Gonzaga, I know that they have expressed interest and willingness to do the travel, but I wonder if they've been reading some of the articles about how travel hurts UConn. Travel for them would be roughly double the pain.

Not necessarily. The only way that a BE Membership would work for Gonzaga would be if the conference agreed to give them priority scheduling in order to minimize travel.

1. Combine opponents on the same road trip the way the PAC-12, the Ivy League, and some others already do.
2. Give them 2 East Coast road trips during intersession to minimize the impact on academics.
3. If one of those East Coast trips included 3 opponents (SJU, SH, & PC), the entire East Coast could be covered in 2 trips outside the academic semester.
4. Schedule men’s and women’s games on the same trip so they could share charters, further saving cost.

What would be left is a couple of road trips half way across the country or less during the academic semester, not coast to coast. The trip to Omaha is in fact no different than their current trip to San Diego. Again, priority scheduling would give them 2 for 1 or even 3 for 1 road trips. Gonzaga already travels extensively in the WCC. Their closest opponent is 300 miles away and the next is 600 miles. Everyone else is between 750-1100 air miles. Not a single bus trip in the bunch.

UConn gets none of these considerations in AAC scheduling, which only adds insult to injury after the conference chose Tulsa over UMass as the replacement for Louisville.

The Gonzaga addition really is doable with the right approach to scheduling even though the distance seems insurmountable at first glance. It would just require a commitment to making it work and some creativity in overcoming the logistical challenges. Gonzaga already travels by charter, which also saves a great deal of time. And time is more the issue than distance.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Good post Bill, but it is hard to imagine the WCC allowing Gonzaga to move its Men's Basketball program to the Big East while leaving the other sports in the WCC. Gonzaga Men's Basketball is the jewel in their athletic crown.

Gonzaga University Athletics Information

Gonzaga University – Men’s Sports

Men's Baseball
Men's Basketball
Men's Golf
Men's Rowing
Men's Soccer
Men's Tennis
Men's Track and Field, Indoor
Men's Track and Field, Outdoor
Men's Track and Field, X-Country

Gonzaga University – Women’s Sports

Women's Basketball
Women's Golf
Women's Rowing
Women's Soccer
Women's Tennis
Women's Track and Field, Indoor
Women's Track and Field, Outdoor
Women's Track and Field, X-Country
Women's Volleyball

West Coast Conference

[herodotus]

I really don't see what adding Gonzaga, and UConn really does for the league. No league can be all powerhouses. Someone has to suck. What happens if Gonzaga, and UConn come in and flex their muscles? What happens is that PC, SH, and another team or two, become non contenders. As they struggle to compete, their recruiting falls off, and they become what they were in the old BE, stuck in the second division. All of this is great for Nova, and X, who add a couple of marquee games to the schedule, but not so great for the others, and if by chance Gonzaga came in and struggled, all of a sudden, you're flying out to Spokane to play the equivalent of Dayton, or VCU. That would get old really quick. The league currently has good balance, and the middle benefits from the league not being too top heavy.

[GoldenWarrior11]

I really don't see what adding Gonzaga, and UConn really does for the league. No league can be all powerhouses. Someone has to suck. What happens if Gonzaga, and UConn come in and flex their muscles? What happens is that PC, SH, and another team or two, become non contenders. As they struggle to compete, their recruiting falls off, and they become what they were in the old BE, stuck in the second division. All of this is great for Nova, and X, who add a couple of marquee games to the schedule, but not so great for the others, and if by chance Gonzaga came in and struggled, all of a sudden, you're flying out to Spokane to play the equivalent of Dayton, or VCU. That would get old really quick. The league currently has good balance, and the middle benefits from the league not being too top heavy.

This cannot be overstated enough. Expansion is much bigger than adding a top team, or a top program, to a conference. Even when times are bad - a team is rebuilding, on probation, etc. - a university has to add to a conference. It has to add in academics, its recruiting location, its TV market, etc. No matter who is in 9th place/10th place in the Big East, they still add to the conference due to its membership. Its membership is not only based on men's basketball, but geography, athletic profile, academics, and institutional fit.

If the Big East HAD to expand to get to 11 after the season, there would be very, very, few schools that could acquire the 7 votes. UConn, according to Creighton, would be one (as would ND - but that ship has sailed further away than UConn). I believe Saint Louis would be the only other one. Dayton, I feel, would not garner enough support due to Xavier's new pull within the conference.

We have an unbelievable set up right now. If there are ever new additions to the Big East, they have HUGE shoes to fill. Butler, Creighton and Xavier set the bar very high.

[mel ott]

I really don't see what adding Gonzaga, and UConn really does for the league. No league can be all powerhouses. Someone has to suck. What happens if Gonzaga, and UConn come in and flex their muscles? What happens is that PC, SH, and another team or two, become non contenders. As they struggle to compete, their recruiting falls off, and they become what they were in the old BE, stuck in the second division. All of this is great for Nova, and X, who add a couple of marquee games to the schedule, but not so great for the others, and if by chance Gonzaga came in and struggled, all of a sudden, you're flying out to Spokane to play the equivalent of Dayton, or VCU. That would get old really quick. The league currently has good balance, and the middle benefits from the league not being too top heavy.

This cannot be overstated enough. Expansion is much bigger than adding a top team, or a top program, to a conference. Even when times are bad - a team is rebuilding, on probation, etc. - a university has to add to a conference. It has to add in academics, its recruiting location, its TV market, etc. No matter who is in 9th place/10th place in the Big East, they still add to the conference due to its membership. Its membership is not only based on men's basketball, but geography, athletic profile, academics, and institutional fit.

If the Big East HAD to expand to get to 11 after the season, there would be very, very, few schools that could acquire the 7 votes. UConn, according to Creighton, would be one (as would ND - but that ship has sailed further away than UConn). I believe Saint Louis would be the only other one. Dayton, I feel, would not garner enough support due to Xavier's new pull within the conference.

We have an unbelievable set up right now. If there are ever new additions to the Big East, they have HUGE shoes to fill. Butler, Creighton and Xavier set the bar very high.

+1

[Bill Marsh]

I really don't see what adding Gonzaga, and UConn really does for the league. No league can be all powerhouses. Someone has to suck. What happens if Gonzaga, and UConn come in and flex their muscles? What happens is that PC, SH, and another team or two, become non contenders. As they struggle to compete, their recruiting falls off, and they become what they were in the old BE, stuck in the second division. All of this is great for Nova, and X, who add a couple of marquee games to the schedule, but not so great for the others, and if by chance Gonzaga came in and struggled, all of a sudden, you're flying out to Spokane to play the equivalent of Dayton, or VCU. That would get old really quick. The league currently has good balance, and the middle benefits from the league not being too top heavy.

With all due respect, i’ll suggest that’s an oversimplification. By the same logic, the Big East never should have expanded beyond their original number of 7-8 teams. There’s no magic in the number 10.

I also don’t think there’s anything to fear from more local competition in conference. BC used the same logic to keep UConn out of the ACC so that they could dominate New England. The result has been that BC now sucks in both major sports and attendance is down because no one cares about the opponents they bring to town. They have no local rival which is a bad thing in the long run. Meanwhile the Carolina schools thrive in the same conference with beastly rivals literally just a few miles down the road.