Big East Conference Expansion Ideas and Discussion

[NJRedman]

Gonzaga, BYU, SLU and whoever they want on the east coast (Richmond or VCU). That's a 7 bid league.

I like the idea of a 14 team league if they're going to expand beyond 10 (which is my first choice). 14 allows for a 19 game schedule if you play home and home I your division and once in the opposite division.

The problem with a 12 team league is that it's neither divisional play nor double round robin in the modern world of 18 game schedules. Either stick with 10 and do double round robin or go to 14 and play with divisions.

Why do you keep bringing up divisions? Divisions don't work in basketball. The Big East was at 16 members and didn't go to divisions. Let it go, divisions aren't happening and Gonzaga isn't getting invited. I mean are we here to talk about realistic possibilities or just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks? If thats the case we should just invite Duke and the Miami heat. WE CAN EXPAND SOUTH! DERP!

[lolhoya]

Oh get off you're high horse Hoya's.

<3 Happy Valentine's Day and good luck on Sunday!

To be serious though, I'm not trying to knock SJU, which is a very good school. I'm just saying that people don't associate athletic conference schools together academically. Adding VCU isn't going to make anybody think less of the schools already in the conference, especially since VCU is right in line with some of the schools academically already.

[Bill Marsh]

Gonzaga, BYU, SLU and whoever they want on the east coast (Richmond or VCU). That's a 7 bid league.

I like the idea of a 14 team league if they're going to expand beyond 10 (which is my first choice). 14 allows for a 19 game schedule if you play home and home I your division and once in the opposite division.

The problem with a 12 team league is that it's neither divisional play nor double round robin in the modern world of 18 game schedules. Either stick with 10 and do double round robin or go to 14 and play with divisions.

Why do you keep bringing up divisions? Divisions don't work in basketball. The Big East was at 16 members and didn't go to divisions. Let it go, divisions aren't happening and Gonzaga isn't getting invited. I mean are we here to talk about realistic possibilities or just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks? If thats the case we should just invite Duke and the Miami heat. WE CAN EXPAND SOUTH! DERP!

Why are you shouting and cursing?

[muskienick]

Should Gonzaga be invited to join the Big East, I find it highly unlikely that we would accept them as a full member. I would think the Zags' membership would be for Men's Basketball only (unless the women's team would fly east with the Men and play the same away schedule, differing only by time of game). I agree with the poster who opined that there should be no additional ($1 million) payment to Gonzaga. They should either accept or reject the same payment amount as the other members of the Conference. If the Zags get $5 million then the other 10 or 11 members should also get $5 million from Fox or from the League Office.

[Jet915]

Should Gonzaga be invited to join the Big East, I find it highly unlikely that we would accept them as a full member. I would think the Zags' membership would be for Men's Basketball only (unless the women's team would fly east with the Men and play the same away schedule, differing only by time of game). I agree with the poster who opined that there should be no additional ($1 million) payment to Gonzaga. They should either accept or reject the same payment amount as the other members of the Conference. If the Zags get $5 million then the other 10 or 11 members should also get $5 million from Fox or from the League Office.

I agree, they shouldn't get more money. 5 million or whatever it is is alot more than what they are getting from the WCC. It will easily cover traveling costs and they will have a few million extra in profit. Not to mention the increase exposure they will get. It's up to them if they want to endure the burden of travel. I don't think it will be bad for the rest of the teams causing with an unbalanced schedule, teams will not be going to Spokane every year. Like others have said, an extra 1-2 hours in a plane probably isn't a big deal to 18 year old kids. I'm sure most would rather play in DC, Chicago and NY instead of WCC locations. I think the scheduling can be done creatively where they could do 3 game east coast swings a year.

[gosports1]

cant Gonzaga just move the school to Minneapolis, Pittsburgh or Boston? That would be so much more convenient

[HoosierPal]

Should Gonzaga be invited to join the Big East, I find it highly unlikely that we would accept them as a full member. I would think the Zags' membership would be for Men's Basketball only (unless the women's team would fly east with the Men and play the same away schedule, differing only by time of game). I agree with the poster who opined that there should be no additional ($1 million) payment to Gonzaga. They should either accept or reject the same payment amount as the other members of the Conference. If the Zags get $5 million then the other 10 or 11 members should also get $5 million from Fox or from the League Office.

I agree, they shouldn't get more money. 5 million or whatever it is is alot more than what they are getting from the WCC. It will easily cover traveling costs and they will have a few million extra in profit. Not to mention the increase exposure they will get. It's up to them if they want to endure the burden of travel. I don't think it will be bad for the rest of the teams causing with an unbalanced schedule, teams will not be going to Spokane every year. Like others have said, an extra 1-2 hours in a plane probably isn't a big deal to 18 year old kids. I'm sure most would rather play in DC, Chicago and NY instead of WCC locations. I think the scheduling can be done creatively where they could do 3 game east coast swings a year.

And what time do you play the West Coast games? 7 PM Pacific, a normal starting time, is 10 PM Eastern. A lot of East Coast TV's won't be tuned in. Are you going to make Gonzaga start all their games in late afternoon?

[Jet915]

Should Gonzaga be invited to join the Big East, I find it highly unlikely that we would accept them as a full member. I would think the Zags' membership would be for Men's Basketball only (unless the women's team would fly east with the Men and play the same away schedule, differing only by time of game). I agree with the poster who opined that there should be no additional ($1 million) payment to Gonzaga. They should either accept or reject the same payment amount as the other members of the Conference. If the Zags get $5 million then the other 10 or 11 members should also get $5 million from Fox or from the League Office.

I agree, they shouldn't get more money. 5 million or whatever it is is alot more than what they are getting from the WCC. It will easily cover traveling costs and they will have a few million extra in profit. Not to mention the increase exposure they will get. It's up to them if they want to endure the burden of travel. I don't think it will be bad for the rest of the teams causing with an unbalanced schedule, teams will not be going to Spokane every year. Like others have said, an extra 1-2 hours in a plane probably isn't a big deal to 18 year old kids. I'm sure most would rather play in DC, Chicago and NY instead of WCC locations. I think the scheduling can be done creatively where they could do 3 game east coast swings a year.

And what time do you play the West Coast games? 7 PM Pacific, a normal starting time, is 10 PM Eastern. A lot of East Coast TV's won't be tuned in. Are you going to make Gonzaga start all their games in late afternoon?

You play them at 6 or 7 PT. If they were in the Big East, you could air Big East games in ET, Central and PT times. No big deal, FS1 already does that with their PAC-12 games.

[senditinjerome]

VCU @ St. Louis on ESPN right now. Arena looks good..sold out, white-out game and the crowd is loud. Has the feeling of a major college b-ball game.

[muskienick]

HoosierPal,

Most of us are big girls and boys now and permitted to stay up until midnight even on weekday nights. Others, who may not have that permission, may have DVR's so that they can watch the Gonzaga games at the times of their choice.

Based on what we've been reading from your posts, you will find (or create) some impediment for any member other than the one for whom you favor. I am equally aware that there are posters here, myself probably included, who have a ready-made list of impediments that would bar your favorite potential entry to the Big East. The difference between most others and you is that we are open-minded about most of those being mentioned for #12 while you seem to feel that only one such team is suitable for that privilege. (I did say "most of those being mentioned" since I'm not for a Siena or Canisius to be named, two that were mentioned, but with tongue firmly in cheek, I am sure.) Others that have been mentioned for the next two slots like VCU, Gonzaga, UConn, and SLU have been taking care of business and are very worthy of careful consideration. Most would consider Richmond, Dayton, and Wichita State to be in a next tier down from them assuming that selecting for long-range stability and basketball achievement and excellence are paramount in the invitation process.

Most people would probably favor UConn (should they decide to downsize their FB program) and Gonzaga (as a BB-only member) in a heartbeat to bring our Conference to 12. But those two are unlikely at best. If Fox Sports 1 desires a 14-member Conference for an expanded (19-game) schedule, then Gonzaga might be tempted and that could open the door for the top three remaining programs who would be applying for membership with SLU leading that list.