DeltaV wrote: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.
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herodotus wrote: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 wrote:herodotus wrote: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.
herodotus wrote: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.
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