Future BE Member Saint Louis vs St. Bonny A-10 Championship

[gtmoBlue]

Back in the day-the sixties-when I were a lad, I'd walk past the old football stadium, on the way to my part time job. Had no clue it was Creighton. Poor OPS social studies education. Now could draw you a map in my sleep. Go Jays.

As for SLU...make 5-6 NCAA tourneys, you've got time on your side. Then we'll talk.
Seriously, I'd take SLU, St Bonnie, and the Zags today!

[Gopher+RamFan]

Seriously, I'd take SLU, St Bonnie, and the Zags today!

St Bonnie? What?

It's a shame that VCU doesn't get more looks, having gone to the Tournament 11 out of the last 15 years with 5 different coaches. A $2 Million/year media rights contract (not including what they get from the Conference); always the top attendance at Conference Tournaments; institutional buy-in of basketball from the President on down, $25 Million practice facility; 31,000 students and another 13,000 employees - and in fertile recruiting grounds (which may have been the reason Georgetown was against the move); $1.8 Billion endowment; ranked #80 of all public institutions academically (156th overall), and an East Coast metropolitan city ranked as the 55th Designated Market Area - just next to the Peninsula cities which rank 42nd (and where many students and recruits come from).

I get that some believe the public school designation is a non-starter, and if it is - so be it. But it's strange seeing some support for schools like SBU, Denver, Loyola-Chicago over the years I've been on this board (2013). Rant over, the Big East doesn't need to expand anyway.

[Xudash]

Seriously, I'd take SLU, St Bonnie, and the Zags today!

St Bonnie? What?

It's a shame that VCU doesn't get more looks, having gone to the Tournament 11 out of the last 15 years with 5 different coaches. A $2 Million/year media rights contract (not including what they get from the Conference); always the top attendance at Conference Tournaments; institutional buy-in of basketball from the President on down, $25 Million practice facility; 31,000 students and another 13,000 employees - and in fertile recruiting grounds (which may have been the reason Georgetown was against the move); $1.8 Billion endowment; ranked #80 of all public institutions academically (156th overall), and an East Coast metropolitan city ranked as the 55th Designated Market Area - just next to the Peninsula cities which rank 42nd (and where many students and recruits come from).

I get that some believe the public school designation is a non-starter, and if it is - so be it. But it's strange seeing some support for schools like SBU, Denver, Loyola-Chicago over the years I've been on this board (2013). Rant over, the Big East doesn't need to expand anyway.

We don't need to expand, but, assuming the BE leadership can get past the "public" thing if or when expansion becomes a reality, your arguments for VCU are powerful and compelling.

Of course, if Georgetown says "no" then it's no, but I'm not sure why the Hoyas would be against it.

[adoraz]

Seriously, I'd take SLU, St Bonnie, and the Zags today!

St Bonnie? What?

It's a shame that VCU doesn't get more looks, having gone to the Tournament 11 out of the last 15 years with 5 different coaches. A $2 Million/year media rights contract (not including what they get from the Conference); always the top attendance at Conference Tournaments; institutional buy-in of basketball from the President on down, $25 Million practice facility; 31,000 students and another 13,000 employees - and in fertile recruiting grounds (which may have been the reason Georgetown was against the move); $1.8 Billion endowment; ranked #80 of all public institutions academically (156th overall), and an East Coast metropolitan city ranked as the 55th Designated Market Area - just next to the Peninsula cities which rank 42nd (and where many students and recruits come from).

I get that some believe the public school designation is a non-starter, and if it is - so be it. But it's strange seeing some support for schools like SBU, Denver, Loyola-Chicago over the years I've been on this board (2013). Rant over, the Big East doesn't need to expand anyway.

I'd definitely want VCU over teams like the Bonnies, Dayton and St. Louis.

If the Big East needed to expand this year, the only 3 teams that would have respectable enough resumes would be: Gonzaga, UConn, VCU.

If VCU made a recent Tournament run or two, then I think their odds would go way up. It's bound to happen again, hopefully soon.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

I'd definitely want VCU over teams like the Bonnies, Dayton and St. Louis.

We did this already. In fact, many times.

Previously posted:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... oint-woes/

If expansion came to be in the Big East, Val Ackerman said going to 11 would be most ideal and "very workable" because it could allow the double round-robin intra-league scheduling to remain in place. Going to 12 or more schools would eliminate that.

The Catholic-school angle is also not insignificant. Butler, which is private and of similar makeup to the other nine, is the only non-Catholic institution in the Big East. There's also a high level of camaraderie and morale among the membership now, something that Ackerman noted wasn't there right before the old Big East fissured, when the league was bigger.

Virginia Commonwealth University (formerly the Richmond division of The College of William & Mary) was created by merger in 1968. It is a public university with over 31,000 students and is subject to compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Of the many schools that have previously been named as Big East expansion candidates on the HLOH message board, VCU is by far the worst institutional fit with the present ten member schools – a fact that is recognized by Val Ackerman and the presidents of the ten Big East schools.

BTW, this is a ‘Saint Louis‘ thread – not a ‘VCU’ thread.

[GoldenWarrior11]

I would not discount VCU outright, but I would still argue their candidacy face slim odds. There is tremendous value to Presidents in having institutional peers create the makeup of a conference - the B1G and SEC are the greatest examples of this, IMO. VCU has absolutely prioritized basketball, and has earned and experienced the results because of it. They have excellent facilities, and are located in a strong market. I still believe they are destined for the American, as they would be with other similar institutions (public, metropolitan), but am unsure on what the optimal timeline would be (I would have guessed in advanced of their resigning with ESPN, but now they are locked long-term with them). As I've stated before, the C7 had the opportunity to pursue a private/public hybrid non-football conference in 2013, and it chose not to (and immediately after VCU reached a Final Four). Who knows if Georgetown would, or has, block(ed) them; I still think there are too many hurdles for a VCU-Big East partnership.

[gtmoBlue]

Hell, rather have Bayhiim & cheating S'Cuse back before VCU. Luv ya 'Raz, but da Virginians are not an institutional fit.

[NJRedman]

You realize that saying Omaha is in the same neck of the woods as Milwaukee is distance wise the same as saying NYC is in the same neck of the woods as Raleigh.

Yes, but everything is further apart out there compared to out here. We have 5 major cities in the space between you and every other midwestern school besides DePaul and in that distance we have like 3

[adoraz]

Hell, rather have Bayhiim & cheating S'Cuse back before VCU. Luv ya 'Raz, but da Virginians are not an institutional fit.

I view FBS vs non-FBS as the biggest threat to the Big East, not private vs public. I get what you mean, but I don't think it should be a deal breaker (just as it shouldn't be one for UConn- even though they have FBS football... sort of).

If Georgetown allows it, then let VCU in on the basis that they won't create an FBS football team.

On another note, it is surprising the AAC has not invited VCU. If they really cared about basketball they would have added Gonzaga and VCU. Wichita St was a nice gesture, but not a great move with much better candidates available.

[MUBoxer]

You realize that saying Omaha is in the same neck of the woods as Milwaukee is distance wise the same as saying NYC is in the same neck of the woods as Raleigh.

Yes, but everything is further apart out there compared to out here. We have 5 major cities in the space between you and every other midwestern school besides DePaul and in that distance we have like 3

What does that have to do with anything? I'm not commenting on urban density, the fact is Omaha is not somehow our neck of the woods, didn't you take grade school geography when they divided up the great plains and the great lakes states?

Second, if you mean "you" as in where I live that's in Galway and includes all the eastern and canadian cities between me and Depaul. if you mean "you" as in Marquette then please you do not have 3 major cities in the 70-90mi (pending on starting point) between MKE and Chicago. Three actually major cities couldn't fit in that span and are just fooling themselves into thinking they aren't a suburb of NYC if that's what you're referring to. I anxiously await what cities you list to consider them major.

Here's a starting point for you to choose from,
https://mediatracks.com/resources/niels ... ings-2019/