Big East Conference Expansion Ideas and Discussion

[stever20]

stever, id say we had an ok year. not great but certiainly not as bad as some wish to believe. it doesnt matter how we got there, we had 4 teams in. of course things could hav egone better but it it what it is. Perception isnt reality. the numbers state the BE ranked 4th in the nation.
I dont get why some seem so focused on what the BE wasnt able to accomplish yet they dont hold the other conferences to the same standards.
If the BE is such a crappy conference that nothing should be expected of them. The acc and even the a10 were suppossedly great yet they didnt accomplish what they were expected to. why isnt anyone coming down on them? why arent they doomed to failure? americas darling VCU failed. why arent they written off? UMass ranked good part of season yet did nothing in crunch time. yet its the BE that sucks .Duke loses to Mercer and its just a fluke. Villanova loses to underrated and final 4 team Uconn and they (nova) are horrible. doomed to spend an eternity in a mid major league. left to obscurity like thier brother Creighton which many wish will never see a good player cross through their doorway again, now that mcdermott is done/
One coach leaves and the BE will slip away as a mass exodus begins.

I dont expect everyone to be whistling sunshine. But i would expect fair treatment and the same standards for all

My point is pretty simple. We had an off year. It happens. Remember 2 years ago, Pac 12 had a year where their regular season champ didn't even make the tourney. Now look at them now. I don't think the presidents will look at this year and think all is rosy and the tourney was a complete fluke. Objectively by almost any standards, we had an off year.

All the other conferences had at least 1 team go to the sweet 16, if not elite 8. Like I said, we were the only of the top 8 conferences that didn't have a sweet 16 team. So, while the individual teams were disappointments, the rest of the conference kept them ok.

I don't think we're going to panic and make a rash move this year. If it happens next year again, I think the presidents will really have to re-evaluate everything at that point.

[BEwannabe]

The Big East will expand, if they don't they will be forever locked horns with A10. Someone will recognize this and if they have any smarts it happens sooner rather than later.

[HoosierPal]

The Big East will expand, if they don't they will be forever locked horns with A10. Someone will recognize this and if they have any smarts it happens sooner rather than later.

You know, I think you have an original thought here. I had not put it into that context, but yes, until the Big East devours the A-10, they will always be there for comparison and competition in the 'Best Non-Football Conference' category.

[stever20]

The Big East will expand, if they don't they will be forever locked horns with A10. Someone will recognize this and if they have any smarts it happens sooner rather than later.

You know, I think you have an original thought here. I had not put it into that context, but yes, until the Big East devours the A-10, they will always be there for comparison and competition in the 'Best Non-Football Conference' category.

Problem is Big East really can't alone devour the A10. I mean, at the very most, they take 2 teams. Considering the A10 had 6 tourney teams this year, that would still leave the A10 with 4.

[BEwannabe]

First this isn't original thinking but Business101, ok maybe not 101 but it's how savvy businesses all operate. I'm sure Fox execs are promoting this in their discussions but this is a conference led by Catholic educators so they will probably pray on the idea until the opportunity has past.

[MUAvalanche]

My point is pretty simple. We had an off year. It happens. Remember 2 years ago, Pac 12 had a year where their regular season champ didn't even make the tourney. Now look at them now. I don't think the presidents will look at this year and think all is rosy and the tourney was a complete fluke. Objectively by almost any standards, we had an off year.

All the other conferences had at least 1 team go to the sweet 16, if not elite 8. Like I said, we were the only of the top 8 conferences that didn't have a sweet 16 team. So, while the individual teams were disappointments, the rest of the conference kept them ok.

I don't think we're going to panic and make a rash move this year. If it happens next year again, I think the presidents will really have to re-evaluate everything at that point.

While stever20 and I occasionally disagreed on the other board, we are in complete agreement here. And the BE is not the only conference to have a really down bid or credit year.

2004 PAC - 3 bids, 4 credits, 10 teams
2004 BIG - 3 bids, 6 credits, 11 teams
2006 ACC - 4 bids, 12 teams
2006 BXII - 8 credits, 12 teams
2007 BE - 6 bids, 16 teams
2008 ACC - 4 bids, 12 teams
2009 SEC - 3 bids, 4 credits, 12 teams
2010 PAC - 2 bids, 5 credits, 10 teams
2011 ACC - 4 bids, 12 teams
2012 PAC - 2 bids, 3 credits, 12 teams
2013 ACC - 4 bids, 12 teams
2013 SEC - 3 bids, 7 credits, 14 teams
2014 SEC - 3 bids, 14 teams

Now some schools in these conferences had good runs that led to reasonable credit levels, but every major conference is on this list. I think the presidents watch for another year. Too soon to react.

[BEwannabe]

Expansion is not a reaction, it is proactive business strike.

[adoraz11]

Expansion is not a reaction, it is proactive business strike.

EXACTLY this has been my point all along. Even if we had a good year with five teams making it and a final four run I'd still want to expand and get better

We are at ten teams, nowhere near the limit where expansion starts hurting you. On the other side, of course, having only ten teams hurts you in down years.

[aughnanure]

The Big East will expand, if they don't they will be forever locked horns with A10. Someone will recognize this and if they have any smarts it happens sooner rather than later.

You know, I think you have an original thought here. I had not put it into that context, but yes, until the Big East devours the A-10, they will always be there for comparison and competition in the 'Best Non-Football Conference' category.

Problem is Big East really can't alone devour the A10. I mean, at the very most, they take 2 teams. Considering the A10 had 6 tourney teams this year, that would still leave the A10 with 4.

God this is the biggest fallacy of ALL your arguments. No matter what, whatever good things other conferences did will continue in perpetuity, and whatever bad things are happening to the BE did will continue in perpetuity. Everything is glass half empty to you, everything!

[BEwannabe]

using my best Donald Trump imitation, you're fired.