Poll - If Gonzaga Should Join Us In Big East...?

[muskienick]

I voted NO since I was critical of the last version of the Big East inviting schools like Boise State to be members. For me to vote YES on Gonzaga to join the current version of the Big East would be hypocritical of me.

Boise State was a one trick pony - football only. And they had nothing in common with any of the other schools. Inviting a basketball-first Jesuit college for all sports to a Catholic school conference built around basketball is a completely different animal.

Exactly

It is certainly different, but not "completely" different. I simply feel that any Conference that calls itself "The Big East" or "Mountain West" or "Western Athletic Conference" should be true to its name. That is particularly so when it comes to the extreme geographical difference that Gonzaga would bring to the Big East. Others are mentioning BYU and St. Mary's (CA) as potential Big East members. Those two are even more unsuitable for Big East membership.

BYU aspires to big time football and will likely be unable to sustain a Notre Dame-type independence for very long. Then it will be off to a Big Five Conference like the PAC, B1G, or Big 12. (Does that sound familiar to you Catholic 7 people?)

St. Mary's is a school with a mixed-bag history in its basketball program and plays its home games in McKeon Pavilion where 3,500 represents an overflow crowd. Furthermore, the Gael's are making an investment in the McKeon to add a paltry 500-600 seats and a new training room into the mix. That seems almost as fruitless as St. Joe's putting lipstick on old Hagan Arena. Geographically, St. Mary's would be just as bad as Gonzaga and, at the same time, not enjoy nearly the fan appeal of the Zags. I believe they have been mentioned only to create a travel partner for Gonzaga. That's not nearly a good enough reason for inviting the Gaels.

Look, I'd love to have Gonzaga in the Big East if it were situated in Wichita, Kansas. But it isn't. I'm also convinced, even in a 15-member, 3-division Conference that travel would be a big problem for Gonzaga especially even if they opt for basketball membership only. Assuming the Big East continues to schedule 18-game Conference games per member --- home and away versus divisional rivals, home against five of the other 10 Conference members and away against the other five --- the Zags will have to travel across continent at least 2 times each season (3 times the next season) with three members having to travel cross continent to meet Gonzaga (2 the next season). The Midwest five flights wouldn't exactly be a shuttle trip either.

I think it makes more sense to try to stay somewhat within our current footprint if we must go to 12 members. When doing that, I would also attempt to maintain a geographical balance within the Conference by having 6 members forming an eastern half (adding a Richmond or VCU) and the other 6 being in the midwest (adding an SLU or Wichita State). I also see nothing wrong with including a member that is not Jesuit and not even private, especially if that member has no FBS aspirations but does have a good basketball reputation with many rabid fans (like VCU or WSU).

But I am not suggesting that any two of those four schools should be our top selections for future membership in the Big East. That is for another day and another thread.

[aughnanure]

Exactly

It is certainly different, but not "completely" different. I simply feel that any Conference that calls itself "The Big East" or "Mountain West" or "Western Athletic Conference" should be true to its name. That is particularly so when it comes to the extreme geographical difference that Gonzaga would bring to the Big East. Others are mentioning BYU and St. Mary's (CA) as potential Big East members. Those two are even more unsuitable for Big East membership.

BYU aspires to big time football and will likely be unable to sustain a Notre Dame-type independence for very long. Then it will be off to a Big Five Conference like the PAC, B1G, or Big 12. (Does that sound familiar to you Catholic 7 people?)

St. Mary's is a school with a mixed-bag history in its basketball program and plays its home games in McKeon Pavilion where 3,500 represents an overflow crowd. Furthermore, the Gael's are making an investment in the McKeon to add a paltry 500-600 seats and a new training room into the mix. That seems almost as fruitless as St. Joe's putting lipstick on old Hagan Arena. Geographically, St. Mary's would be just as bad as Gonzaga and, at the same time, not enjoy nearly the fan appeal of the Zags. I believe they have been mentioned only to create a travel partner for Gonzaga. That's not nearly a good enough reason for inviting the Gaels.

Look, I'd love to have Gonzaga in the Big East if it were situated in Wichita, Kansas. But it isn't. I'm also convinced, even in a 15-member, 3-division Conference that travel would be a big problem for Gonzaga especially even if they opt for basketball membership only. Assuming the Big East continues to schedule 18-game Conference games per member --- home and away versus divisional rivals, home against five of the other 10 Conference members and away against the other five --- the Zags will have to travel across continent at least 2 times each season (3 times the next season) with three members having to travel cross continent to meet Gonzaga (2 the next season). The Midwest five flights wouldn't exactly be a shuttle trip either.

I think it makes more sense to try to stay somewhat within our current footprint if we must go to 12 members. When doing that, I would also attempt to maintain a geographical balance within the Conference by having 6 members forming an eastern half (adding a Richmond or VCU) and the other 6 being in the midwest (adding an SLU or Wichita State). I also see nothing wrong with including a member that is not Jesuit and not even private, especially if that member has no FBS aspirations but does have a good basketball reputation with many rabid fans (like VCU or WSU).

But I am not suggesting that any two of those four schools should be our top selections for future membership in the Big East. That is for another day and another thread.

So how do you feel about the Big Ten at 14 teams? Hell, they've been at 11 for decades now. Conference names are brands, not accurate descriptors of their makeup.

And what is "big east" about Chicago, Milwaukee, and Omaha?

[ElDonBDon]

Exactly

It is certainly different, but not "completely" different. I simply feel that any Conference that calls itself "The Big East" or "Mountain West" or "Western Athletic Conference" should be true to its name. That is particularly so when it comes to the extreme geographical difference that Gonzaga would bring to the Big East. Others are mentioning BYU and St. Mary's (CA) as potential Big East members. Those two are even more unsuitable for Big East membership.

BYU aspires to big time football and will likely be unable to sustain a Notre Dame-type independence for very long. Then it will be off to a Big Five Conference like the PAC, B1G, or Big 12. (Does that sound familiar to you Catholic 7 people?)

St. Mary's is a school with a mixed-bag history in its basketball program and plays its home games in McKeon Pavilion where 3,500 represents an overflow crowd. Furthermore, the Gael's are making an investment in the McKeon to add a paltry 500-600 seats and a new training room into the mix. That seems almost as fruitless as St. Joe's putting lipstick on old Hagan Arena. Geographically, St. Mary's would be just as bad as Gonzaga and, at the same time, not enjoy nearly the fan appeal of the Zags. I believe they have been mentioned only to create a travel partner for Gonzaga. That's not nearly a good enough reason for inviting the Gaels.

Look, I'd love to have Gonzaga in the Big East if it were situated in Wichita, Kansas. But it isn't. I'm also convinced, even in a 15-member, 3-division Conference that travel would be a big problem for Gonzaga especially even if they opt for basketball membership only. Assuming the Big East continues to schedule 18-game Conference games per member --- home and away versus divisional rivals, home against five of the other 10 Conference members and away against the other five --- the Zags will have to travel across continent at least 2 times each season (3 times the next season) with three members having to travel cross continent to meet Gonzaga (2 the next season). The Midwest five flights wouldn't exactly be a shuttle trip either.

I think it makes more sense to try to stay somewhat within our current footprint if we must go to 12 members. When doing that, I would also attempt to maintain a geographical balance within the Conference by having 6 members forming an eastern half (adding a Richmond or VCU) and the other 6 being in the midwest (adding an SLU or Wichita State). I also see nothing wrong with including a member that is not Jesuit and not even private, especially if that member has no FBS aspirations but does have a good basketball reputation with many rabid fans (like VCU or WSU).

But I am not suggesting that any two of those four schools should be our top selections for future membership in the Big East. That is for another day and another thread.

So how do you feel about the Big Ten at 14 teams? Hell, they've been at 11 for decades now. Conference names are brands, not accurate descriptors of their makeup.

And what is "big east" about Chicago, Milwaukee, and Omaha?

+1 The Big Ten has stated as much, i.e., people recognize the Big Ten not only as an athletic conference, but as a brand. They have that as their stated goal and IMO have reached it. It's all about brand and that's why we fought so hard to keep the name (and logo thankfully) as "Big East," despite the fact that half the league is not exactly east, per se.

Chicago and Milwaukee are still at least east of the Mississippi (like NBA). But, Creighton...umm....east of the Rockies?

[hoyahooligan]

not for GU kids i'm not - by your math - that's an additional 10-11 days they'd be missing. that's a sh*tload.

i find the second point kind of laughable. i really don't have an issue with kids "skipping" class - they have that choice. hell - i did it myself - and would encourage others to do the same on occasion - for the right reasons. but - these kids won't have the option - they're just going to be on the road.

1) We're discussing if it's a good idea from the BE's perspective not from GU's perspective. How much class their students miss isn't our concern. That's for them to be concerned about. For current BE students it would not be a big deal.

2) The second point is you claimed class attendance was necessary for student athletes so they could be actual students. But actual students miss class all the time so clearly it's not a big deal if student athletes miss class as well.

[Bill Marsh]

When you make comments claiming that it's a "pointless questions" or that logistics are "insane", you don't come across as being open minded enough to have give-and-take on the issue. If you simply want other posters to take your comments as the last word on the subject, fine. But forgive me if I don't accept the claim that I or anyone else hasn't read the entirety of your argument. It's a complex situation and the fact that others don't agree with you doesn't indicate that they haven't read or understood what you're proposing.

Do you feel as open minded on adding UConn?

Yes, I'm fine with adding UConn, but from everything I know about them, they have zero interest.

[Dave]

In the airport today, watching SJU soccer fly commercial. Made me chuckle.

[DumpsterFireA10]

When you make comments claiming that it's a "pointless questions" or that logistics are "insane", you don't come across as being open minded enough to have give-and-take on the issue. If you simply want other posters to take your comments as the last word on the subject, fine. But forgive me if I don't accept the claim that I or anyone else hasn't read the entirety of your argument. It's a complex situation and the fact that others don't agree with you doesn't indicate that they haven't read or understood what you're proposing.

Do you feel as open minded on adding UConn?

Yes, I'm fine with adding UConn, but from everything I know about them, they have zero interest.

I think UConn would be a fit in the Big 12 (or however many are there now). I thought they would go with Cincy relatively quickly.

[Bill Marsh]

Do you feel as open minded on adding UConn?

Yes, I'm fine with adding UConn, but from everything I know about them, they have zero interest.

I think UConn would be a fit in the Big 12 (or however many are there now). I thought they would go with Cincy relatively quickly.

Makes sense to me. Apparently it doesn't to the Big XII. I keep hearing comments about the distance to UConn being too great. You can imagine how I feel about that one.

Actually I think it has more to do with football. I think football has to be prominent for the Big XII to want you in that conference. Hence, they jumped on TCU. I don't think football is big enough at either Cincy or UConn for them to be interested at this time.

[hoyahooligan]

I think UConn would be a fit in the Big 12 (or however many are there now). I thought they would go with Cincy relatively quickly.

Makes sense to me. Apparently it doesn't to the Big XII. I keep hearing comments about the distance to UConn being too great. You can imagine how I feel about that one.

Actually I think it has more to do with football. I think football has to be prominent for the Big XII to want you in that conference. Hence, they jumped on TCU. I don't think football is big enough at either Cincy or UConn for them to be interested at this time.

B12 and WV already regret their marriage and Uconn does not have the football program WV had. Makes no sense for the B12 to invite them. ACC is the only school that makes sense for Uconn and I think eventually they'll get invited after a few ACC schools get eventually potched either by the SEC, B12 or what I think may eventually happen a super league that functions as a defacto minor league for football with the best 30 programs separating themselves from everyone else. Why should schools like Florida, Alabama, etc share the wealth with a team like Vandy. Just cut to the chase and get the top 30 programs and separate them into their own league with a system just like the NFL.

[trephin]

Can anyone clarify something i've seen both here and the GU board which I think is incorrect...

I've read multiple times about Gonzaga as a basketball only member with keeping their other sports someplace to lessen travel.

It is my understanding that you cannot have a basketball only member if basketball is the "major" sport (ie, no football) as per NCAA rules. Basketball is a designated criteria by the NCAA for what constitutes multi sport conferences (as opposed to a single sport specific conference like lacrosse or swimming or something)

Has any rules changed or am I "misremembering" the facts? LOL