Big East Conference Expansion Ideas and Discussion

[adoraz11]

Creighton off to a mediocre start, if they're eliminated it'll be the first time since 1993 Big East hasn't sent a team to the sweet 16. Anyone still in denial that we don't need to expand, aside from the presidents?

[Xudash]

Creighton off to a mediocre start, if they're eliminated it'll be the first time since 1993 Big East hasn't sent a team to the sweet 16. Anyone still in denial that we don't need to expand, aside from the presidents?

Yes, in my opinion we absolutely do not need to expand after this season. It's one season. Beyond that, if misery loves company, then the ACC isn't looking too swift either.

[gosports1]

im not convinced holy cross would be willing to do what is needed to join the BE. they seem perfectly content to be in the patriot league. great academics and really imo a good enviroment for the true student athlete. they did however express some interest in hockey east before uconn got the nod so who knows?

[paradox]

I am reluctant to admit VCU unless there VCU has a long term contract with Coach Smart and his contract has a substantial- substantial buy out making it highly probable that he will be at VCU for the next decade. I do not want to invite VCU only to have Smart bolt as occurred with Butler.

The Big East needs an infusion of big time heavyweight talent as evidenced by its horrible showing in the NCAA Tournament.

The Big East prospered with football schools. IMO it is time to swallow pride and approach UConn, UMass, and Cincinnati about joining the Big East and to seek permission to park their mediocre football programs in the Mid- American Conference or like conference.

Yeah, I understand that UConn and Cincy will continue to weasel their way into the ACC but the reality is that that invite from the ACC is not coming soon and with the withdrawal of Louisville from the AAC and entry of Tulsa and East Carolina to the AAC it is likely that UConn and Cincy need the relevance of the Big East as much as the Big East can be helpful to them.

I fear that after the Conference's poor showing in the NCAA Tournament the Big East will be look upon as a mid major without the addition of heavyweight talent. I am sorry, but Richmond, Dayton, and StLouis are not perceived to be heavyweight talent.

[SCS]

The only one who would gain from the Big East out of those programs is UMass. The UConn and Cincy would have to take a pretty major downgrade in football to join a basketball conference they don't really need.

[LeMoyne00]

If we're going to look for football schools again, then WHY did we leave the original Big East and give up nearly a 100-million in exit fees and NCAA money.

As for UConn or Cincy, why would they join the Big East for $3.5-million a year. The American's new tv contract has all their conference games on ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN 2, or ESPN U... it has all their football games broadcast with 80-90% of them on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN 2. Plus they have a ton of NCAA credits and BCS football money that they'd be giving up claim to. Not to mention putting their football in the MAC would be a huge step down for them and would probably cost them money (as one member of the American makes more than the whole MAC in media revenue).

Anyway, thanks to the money we left behind for the Big East name, there is an extra $5-million a year boost to Cincy and UConn over the length of their current media deal - which alone is more than they'd make in the Big East! The American won their BCS game, while having three football teams ranked, and they had five basketball schools ranked going into the Big Dance and they still have schools in the Sweet 16. The narrative of the conference isn't a dying one - I think now, the only way schools are leaving the American is for a P5 conference.

[SJHooper]

I totally agree. I've been saying for some time that we need Memphis, UConn, and Cincy but to make it even we'd need one more school...maybe VCU or Dayton. Now THAT would help a ton. Having Nova, UConn, Cincy, Marquette, G'Town, etc. there are 5 clear stalwarts to hush even the most vocal anti-Big East critic on ESPN. Even in a down year with those teams we could never be mentioned in the same sentence as the A-10. We could go toe to toe with the ACC some years if not better. The hard part would be convincing the 3 football schools above to park their football programs in the MAC or the conference of their choosing. They need to realize that their bread and butter is BASKETBALL. Football schools actually LOSE money unless you are Texas, OSU, Michigan, etc. So they save money, get more by being in our conference, Fox loves it, we get our swag back with 2 old Big East buddies, Xavier v. Cincy rivalry, UConn v. SJ/Nova/PC rivalries, etc. plus the Big East would help their RPI a ton. Are UConn/Cincy/Memphis really going to stay in the AAC when Tulane, Tulsa, East Carolina muddy the waters and kill RPI? Come on...they need to get real. I just don't understand why they think football is so important if they suck at it and lose money from it. No one considers those football schools. They are 100% basketball.

[marquette]

We should remember that the AAC is made up of the schools who assembled it. No one forced the incoming members on UConn, Memphis (maybe Memphis), and Cinncy. They strategically chose those schools for football purposes. These schools have made a conscious effort to emphasize football over basketball. The fact that they can make a moderate profit on basketball, while football is a money pit, does not matter to them. They are invested in the potential to make money on their football teams, and like a gambler who keeps losing they are going to keep doubling down until they go completely bust.

[Bill Marsh]

Problem with your theory, Hooper, is that those schools aren't sitting around saying, "What we really need is to be reconnected with the Cathloic basketball schools."

They're sitting at home just like you, saying, "what we really need is to be reconnected with Syracuse, BC, and Pitt." Or they're saying, "what we really need is to be back with West Virginia." So, they are doing everything they can to gussy themselves up to be more atteactive to the ACC and Big XII. UConn just spent millions hiring a new big time football coach and a batch of new assistants. They didn't do that so they could turn around a few months later and deemphasize football.

The train you're trying. To board has already left the station.

The way for the Big East to be competitive with the best basketball schools is not to look for a saviour. It's to win. It's to recruit. It's to invest. It's to market. If the Big East wants to coete with the best, it has to be the best.

The biggest mistake the Big East made was to bring football schools into the conference, starting with Pitt back in 1981. They should have said "no" to the proposal of adding football schools. They should have let Syracuse and BC leave. If they had done that, UConn would still be here. Their football would still be where it was. All the BE did by adding football schools was to create a platform for those schools to become more prominent and to become better in basketball.

UConn was not anything special when Gavitt and the others invited them back in 1979. But those guys saw their potential. The whole Big East concept was that we can be stronger together than any of us can be individually. That's what the Big east needs to do today. It needs to find partners with good potential. Them the group needs to put together a plan and work together on it to achieve success. It will take patience. It's not going to happen overnight.

[SJHooper]

I would think though that there comes a point...a line in the sand if you will when the UConn, Memphis, Cincy trifecta realize they aren't getting invites to the power football conferences, lose a ton of money, keep losing, and say enough is enough. It may come later than sooner, but I just can't see them staying in a terrible basketball conference. UConn still hasn't seen the post-Calhoun effects yet. Cincy loses Kilpatrick. You say they gambled...which is correct. But even the craziest, stupidest gambler has to give up at some point. I still don't see how it makes financial sense to stay there. The only thing holding them in place might be ESPN because they are worse than our conference in basketball but they are still on ESPN while we are on Fox. Every scenario where the AAC would be a better fit in my mind can be refuted.