I got one question for Big East basketball fans!

[billyjack]

Hogan is pretty entertaining with this stuff on our Friar board, but usually directed at non-BE schools...!

[Hall2012]

I agree with the "earning your stripes" mentality towards the new schools to some extent, but my opinion on it was stronger in the old conference. It's tough to say though because there's no way to get people to generally agree on the "earn your stripes" criteria. Myself, I always looked at hardware. So as consistent as Marquette's been over the past decade, they finally earned their stripes last year with a share of the regular season title.

This year, we all need each other to survive so, I think there should be one simple criteria- having that BIG EAST logo on your home court.

That being said, it certainly wouldn't hurt to see some of the new schools add the first piece to their BIG EAST trophy case sooner rather than later.

[handdownmandown]

Agreed. We're willing to start adding as soon as this season!

[ChelseaFriar]

It'll still be relatively civil, since everyone needs everyone else to be terrific for the sake of the conference. But once that dissipates its gonna be a donnybrook. There's a definite undercurrent of original BE teams/added BE teams/freshly invited BE teams in that order, and if we (CU) pull our weight the first couple years and do what's necessary to establish the conference, that attitude will wind up getting a Return to Sender on it, and I can just see tons of scores being created due to 10 different perspectives.

As a fan of a long-time BE school I can tell you from my own perspective that there may be some loyalty built around decades of competition but I do not think there is necessarily a pecking order. In fact I will say that I consider Marq higher up, or more of a true BE team than a Prov & SHU because they have done more for the conference over the past several years. Do the new programs have to earn their strpes a bit? Absolutely, but that is said with respect. I have a feeling that Xavier especially is going to be a consistent top half program. If CU can do the same then they are not sitting at any kids table at the BE Thnaksgiving Feast. In the next 5 years if they are making tourneys and increasing our collective impact on college hoops I will consider them more of a true BE school than a SHU or DePaul if both continue to be basement dwellers. I always thought that SHU, Prov and DePaul needed to get their sh!t together if this league was going to be successful. It looks like that is happening with the former two at least. We need bids and we need to get to FF's. Whicher teams can do that will rise to the top of the pecking order.

Higher up right now? Yes. More of a true BE team? Pretty ignorant statement considering the history.

[Bill Marsh]

It'll still be relatively civil, since everyone needs everyone else to be terrific for the sake of the conference. But once that dissipates its gonna be a donnybrook. There's a definite undercurrent of original BE teams/added BE teams/freshly invited BE teams in that order, and if we (CU) pull our weight the first couple years and do what's necessary to establish the conference, that attitude will wind up getting a Return to Sender on it, and I can just see tons of scores being created due to 10 different perspectives.

As a fan of a long-time BE school I can tell you from my own perspective that there may be some loyalty built around decades of competition but I do not think there is necessarily a pecking order. In fact I will say that I consider Marq higher up, or more of a true BE team than a Prov & SHU because they have done more for the conference over the past several years. Do the new programs have to earn their strpes a bit? Absolutely, but that is said with respect. I have a feeling that Xavier especially is going to be a consistent top half program. If CU can do the same then they are not sitting at any kids table at the BE Thnaksgiving Feast. In the next 5 years if they are making tourneys and increasing our collective impact on college hoops I will consider them more of a true BE school than a SHU or DePaul if both continue to be basement dwellers. I always thought that SHU, Prov and DePaul needed to get their sh!t together if this league was going to be successful. It looks like that is happening with the former two at least. We need bids and we need to get to FF's. Whicher teams can do that will rise to the top of the pecking order.

Wow!

Only the last few years matter . . .

The Big East wouldn't even exist without the vision of a certain Providence College AD. For two decades before the league started, Providence was probably the most prominent program in the East and they lent that prominence to the conference when it began. They then went to a Final Four in the league's first decade, followed that up with a BG East championship a few years later and went to an Elite 8 a decade after the Final Four.

But because they went to an Elite 8 last year, Marquette is suddenly more of a "true" Big East program? Oh, yeah, they achieved a couple of Sweet 16's before that, which certainly brings the "wow" facto, don't they? I guess when a team hits a down cycle, it's time to kick them to the curb, eh? Well, be careful. Providence may actually surprise everyone and actually be better than Marquette this year. I'll. bet that would be a real mind blower. And then we could kick Matquette to the curb because it's a "What have you done for me lately?" world.

[DumpsterFireA10]

I wish only the last few years mattered for SLU.

[Noonzy]

No in fighting people. This board has been pretty much clear of that. We all root for each other until we play each other.

[handdownmandown]

It'll still be relatively civil, since everyone needs everyone else to be terrific for the sake of the conference. But once that dissipates its gonna be a donnybrook. There's a definite undercurrent of original BE teams/added BE teams/freshly invited BE teams in that order, and if we (CU) pull our weight the first couple years and do what's necessary to establish the conference, that attitude will wind up getting a Return to Sender on it, and I can just see tons of scores being created due to 10 different perspectives.

As a fan of a long-time BE school I can tell you from my own perspective that there may be some loyalty built around decades of competition but I do not think there is necessarily a pecking order. In fact I will say that I consider Marq higher up, or more of a true BE team than a Prov & SHU because they have done more for the conference over the past several years. Do the new programs have to earn their strpes a bit? Absolutely, but that is said with respect. I have a feeling that Xavier especially is going to be a consistent top half program. If CU can do the same then they are not sitting at any kids table at the BE Thnaksgiving Feast. In the next 5 years if they are making tourneys and increasing our collective impact on college hoops I will consider them more of a true BE school than a SHU or DePaul if both continue to be basement dwellers. I always thought that SHU, Prov and DePaul needed to get their sh!t together if this league was going to be successful. It looks like that is happening with the former two at least. We need bids and we need to get to FF's. Whicher teams can do that will rise to the top of the pecking order.

Wow!

Only the last few years matter . . .

The Big East wouldn't even exist without the vision of a certain Providence College AD. For two decades before the league started, Providence was probably the most prominent program in the East and they lent that prominence to the conference when it began. They then went to a Final Four in the league's first decade, followed that up with a BG East championship a few years later and went to an Elite 8 a decade after the Final Four.

But because they went to an Elite 8 last year, Marquette is suddenly more of a "true" Big East program? Oh, yeah, they achieved a couple of Sweet 16's before that, which certainly brings the "wow" facto, don't they? I guess when a team hits a down cycle, it's time to kick them to the curb, eh? Well, be careful. Providence may actually surprise everyone and actually be better than Marquette this year. I'll. bet that would be a real mind blower. And then we could kick Matquette to the curb because it's a "What have you done for me lately?" world.

...and there it is. Kicking ass for 15 years isn't enough to overcome programs that have been down - or more precisely, not 'up - for the same amount of time, save for a year or two here and there. Well if a Final Four and fifteen years of terrific play isn't enough, then what is 'enough', exactly?

Like I said, some are more equal than others. Animal Farm, meet (some) Big East fans.

[handdownmandown]

...also I did find the lack of a mention of a National Championship in someone's past resume that occured at about the same time as some of PC's mentioned high points to be a rather conspicuous omission.

[Bill Marsh]

As a fan of a long-time BE school I can tell you from my own perspective that there may be some loyalty built around decades of competition but I do not think there is necessarily a pecking order. In fact I will say that I consider Marq higher up, or more of a true BE team than a Prov & SHU because they have done more for the conference over the past several years. Do the new programs have to earn their strpes a bit? Absolutely, but that is said with respect. I have a feeling that Xavier especially is going to be a consistent top half program. If CU can do the same then they are not sitting at any kids table at the BE Thnaksgiving Feast. In the next 5 years if they are making tourneys and increasing our collective impact on college hoops I will consider them more of a true BE school than a SHU or DePaul if both continue to be basement dwellers. I always thought that SHU, Prov and DePaul needed to get their sh!t together if this league was going to be successful. It looks like that is happening with the former two at least. We need bids and we need to get to FF's. Whicher teams can do that will rise to the top of the pecking order.

Wow!

Only the last few years matter . . .

The Big East wouldn't even exist without the vision of a certain Providence College AD. For two decades before the league started, Providence was probably the most prominent program in the East and they lent that prominence to the conference when it began. They then went to a Final Four in the league's first decade, followed that up with a BG East championship a few years later and went to an Elite 8 a decade after the Final Four.

But because they went to an Elite 8 last year, Marquette is suddenly more of a "true" Big East program? Oh, yeah, they achieved a couple of Sweet 16's before that, which certainly brings the "wow" facto, don't they? I guess when a team hits a down cycle, it's time to kick them to the curb, eh? Well, be careful. Providence may actually surprise everyone and actually be better than Marquette this year. I'll. bet that would be a real mind blower. And then we could kick Matquette to the curb because it's a "What have you done for me lately?" world.

...and there it is. Kicking ass for 15 years isn't enough to overcome programs that have been down - or more precisely, not 'up - for the same amount of time, save for a year or two here and there. Well if a Final Four and fifteen years of terrific play isn't enough, then what is 'enough', exactly?

Like I said, some are more equal than others. Animal Farm, meet (some) Big East fans.

But the claim was that Marquette is "more of a true BE team than Prov and SHU because they have doe more for the conference . . ." What Marquette did for the first half of those 15 years - including the Final Four run - did nothing for the Big East because they were in CUSA at the time