Big East Conference Realignment v2018

[Xudash]

Let's leave the 20 game schedule out for a moment.

18 games...

Nova 15-3
Xav 14-4
Those 27 wins come from everyone below them, with maybe a split between the 2 teams-

Prov and SH rose due to coaching AND less better teams above them...no S'cuse, Pitt, L'ville, UConn, others. Now only Nova and Xavier above them in a given year.
Gumby, my man. You want DePaul back AND for Nova to stay in the top 2...same as I want StJ back ANd for the Jays to stay in the top 4.

Look at what the bottom 3 are doing lately - reeking havok on the 3-7 teams...even Nova and X have taken a couple of hits. If Depaul- StJ- Gtw
n where firing on all cylinders, and were rising to the top, this would merely be the beginning of the carnage. The current middle would become the new bottom.

You guys are wwwaaayyyyy off base here. It’s a losers mentality. Instead of demanding more of your own program and earning your success, you’d prefer for others to wallow in mediocrity so you can feel better about yourself? No thanks.

Let’s look at TCU in the B12. Before Dixon they struggled. Now they seem to on a better course. They’re winning games OOC, they’re pushing conference mates to be focused and sharp. You think it’s better for B12 success for them to just roll over? Nonsense. You think SJU hurt Nova long term with that win? Not in the least. It exposed weakness and gave JW more things to work on. We prob don’t win at X without the lessons learned vs SJU and PC. I am 100% convinced that had SHU not knocked us off in the BET Championship we would not have won the NC.

You seemingly don’t understand the importance of a strong conference slate for March success. You need the conference to sharpen your skills and to test your mettle. If SJU and DePaul went undefeated in OOC, would that be a good or bad thing? Would they not be 4 more top tier games on your schedule? I would absolutely prefer Nova finishing 12-6 in conference if the league had 10 teams in the top 50 instead of 5 teams and finishing 16-2. UConn finished in 8th place as a .500 team one year in the BE and won the NC. They were hardened and tested because they played a dozen games that year versus teams that had a legit shot at a FF. That’s what we need. Please, please, please, let’s not settle for mediocrity anywhere in this conference.

Git, no offense but you’re starting to sound like you miss the old days where CU had one tough conference game and then skated into the tourney. As fun as those 25+ win seasons were, they never got you closer to the FF than you are today.

This.

As Bill Marsh wrote: "If the BE finds it necessary to expand, they should only do so by considering quality programs."

And as I'll now offer as amplification: never, NEVER dilute a superior product. Why would anyone ever consider such a strategy in this specific (i.e. collegiate basketball conference composition) case?

There are 3 fundamental reasons to consider expansion, as I see it:

1. Conference as it stands is underperforming, and it needs new blood to bolster it's standing (hard to do, btw).

2. Television partner kinda, sorta - absolutely - demands an addition for inventory reasons.

3. Conference must respond to P5 movement towards 20-game conference schedule for positioning reasons (NCAAT).

Forget #1 for the Big East, as we are killing it as a conference at this point.

I'd offer to forget #2 at this point, as Fox has loaded in B1G games to go along with its other inventory; we seem to be in good shape on that one.

Re #3, perhaps the jury is out on that one right now. Were it to happen with the BE, it probably happens by going to 11 and not 12 to protect the Round Robin. If anyone here doesn't see the value of the Round Robin at this point, there is no helping you. I suspect the triggering point on this one at this time is movement on the part of the B12. And I don't see them responding to this issue; I don't see them expanding to 11 at this time due to football-driven matters.

So, bring on the bloodshed. Make it even crazier with Georgetown, St. John's and DePaul becoming powerful again.

The last thing I would want for Xavier is to have to be in a position as a fan where I would have to justify dominating a watered-down A10 at this point. That is all the A10 has become - a true mid-major mess with no name programs comprising it.

Just look at Gonzaga's interest in the BE, even with its domination of the WCC, and even given the logistical issues involved. Who wants to be in position of having to run roughshod over a crap conference on a sustainable basis as a means of attempting to stay relevant in this version of the highest level collegiate basketball environment?

[herodotus]

I don't know where the law of diminishing returns begins, but it should be noted that larger conferences get more exposure simply by having more teams to talk about.

There are certainly benefits to having more members, but there are drawbacks as well. Would adding Gonzaga, and a powerful UConn be good for Villanova, and Xavier? Heck yeah! Those 2 teams know they can compete with anyone. They'd be getting a couple of attractive games on the schedule as well. What if you're a marginal team that lives on the bubble? Is adding a couple of male lions to the pride going to mean that you end up starving? Sure, getting 10 teams into the NCAAs was great in the old BE, but was it great for Seton Hall when they struggled to compete, and smart alecks over on Benchwarmers suggested that they really belonged in the A10, and would be better off in a league where they could compete. I'm not advocating adding weaklings to the league, I'm advocating adding no one. It ain't broke, so why try to fix it?

[cu blujs]

a powerful UConn? Tell me, Cliff, what color is the sky in your world?

[GumbyDamnit!]

a powerful UConn? Tell me, Cliff, what color is the sky in your world?

Mock them today but they have 4 banners hanging in their rafters. That is an many as the rest of us combined. And they didn't happen 40 years ago either. All have been fairly recent.

[herodotus]

a powerful UConn? Tell me, Cliff, what color is the sky in your world?

When I say a powerful UConn, I mean a UConn restored to what it's been. I mean really, CU is a good program, but you're not even a pimple on UConn's derriere. Had UConn decided to drop football, and come along with the C7, CU would probably still be in the MVC. Or maybe they would have gone to the AAC with Wichita.

[billyjack]

I still would support adding Gonzaga (even with the travel concerns), though marketing-wise it would've been more effective last year coming off a National Final.

If we need an 11th only, make it Gonzaga, UConn or Dayton. 4th choice to me would be wildcard Northeastern in Boston. Saint Louis to me would be a sleepytown Sominex choice.

Tea Leaves Reading (just my gut feeling, but tuck this away in our memory banks):
The only school west of Creighton that would be considered in future, other than Gonzaga, would be San Francisco. But they would need to go on a tear across like 4 or 5 years. City school with great recruiting grounds and history.

SF's current coach Kyle Smith is pretty good, though he has no personality... makes the Pepperidge Farm guy look like Rip Taylor.

SF just beat St Mary's the other night. To me, Randy Bennett was outcoached. St Mary's has that Aussie thing going. Kinda weird.

SF would need to make say 3 out of 4 NCAA's, have boring Kyle Smith move on to the Pac-12, then have a more charismatic coach take over the Dons and build on their success.

[ecasadoSBU]

I wouldn't add teams from the West Coast... Period.

Creighton already stretches the league wide enough (don't get me wrong. Creighton was a fantastic addition. No regrets) . The league needs to add Connecticut as the 11th and final program to join the league. Connecticut will always be a positive move for the conference, no matter the current conditions of their program. Hopefully Connecticut can sort out it's FBS football and land it into a decent conference so that it can rejoin the Big East for all sports. It will keep the round robin intact and give us 20 league games. For the BET, someone could get a bye (odd #)


Forget Gonzaga, forget San Francisco... Wait, did we really just mention SF? No freaking way man

I don't even understand how you guys are okay with flying non-revenue sports programs across the country. It's nuts. It's already tough to fly out to Omaha. Why would you do that to student-athletes? That flight is easily 5-6 hrs.

[billyjack]

I wouldn't add teams from the West Coast... Period.

Creighton already stretches the league wide enough (don't get me wrong. Creighton was a fantastic addition. No regrets) . The league needs to add Connecticut as the 11th and final program to join the league. Connecticut will always be a positive move for the conference, no matter the current conditions of their program. Hopefully Connecticut can sort out it's FBS football and land it into a decent conference so that it can rejoin the Big East for all sports. It will keep the round robin intact and give us 20 league games. For the BET, someone could get a bye (odd #)


Forget Gonzaga, forget San Francisco... Wait, did we really just mention SF? No freaking way man

I don't even understand how you guys are okay with flying non-revenue sports programs across the country. It's nuts. It's already tough to fly out to Omaha. Why would you do that to student-athletes? That flight is easily 5-6 hrs.

Just reading tea leaves**... My point with SF was just to say that i think only Gonzaga and San Francisco (just reading tea leaves, with major improvement) would even be considered, if the Big East ever expanded west of Omaha, just reading tea leaves. No other teams would be on an expansion list. Basically, i'm ruling out the only other viable options: BYU, St Mary's and, just reading tea leaves, Denver. Just reading tea leaves... Lol..

** guy used this expression several times in a meeting last week, and it's so outdated that i keep thinking about it.

[Edrick]

1. Sign-On
2. See thread about something with 0% chance of happening
3. Open said thread
4. See someone submit San Francisco, a team that has made the Top 100 once in the Pomeroy Era, as a candidate.
5........

[ecasadoSBU]

I wouldn't add teams from the West Coast... Period.

Creighton already stretches the league wide enough (don't get me wrong. Creighton was a fantastic addition. No regrets) . The league needs to add Connecticut as the 11th and final program to join the league. Connecticut will always be a positive move for the conference, no matter the current conditions of their program. Hopefully Connecticut can sort out it's FBS football and land it into a decent conference so that it can rejoin the Big East for all sports. It will keep the round robin intact and give us 20 league games. For the BET, someone could get a bye (odd #)


Forget Gonzaga, forget San Francisco... Wait, did we really just mention SF? No freaking way man

I don't even understand how you guys are okay with flying non-revenue sports programs across the country. It's nuts. It's already tough to fly out to Omaha. Why would you do that to student-athletes? That flight is easily 5-6 hrs.

Just reading tea leaves**... My point with SF was just to say that i think only Gonzaga and San Francisco (just reading tea leaves, with major improvement) would even be considered, if the Big East ever expanded west of Omaha, just reading tea leaves. No other teams would be on an expansion list. Basically, i'm ruling out the only other viable options: BYU, St Mary's and, just reading tea leaves, Denver. Just reading tea leaves... Lol..

** guy used this expression several times in a meeting last week, and it's so outdated that i keep thinking about it.

lol. I had to look up turning leaves myself