UConn escape plan - The Big East

[TheBall]

Conference rpi between the Atlantic 10 and the conference of americans isn't even close. The Atlantic 10 is right up there with the 6 major conferences, while conference of americans is in that next pack of 4 or 5 conferences that is well behind the top 7.

The thing is, the Atlantic 10 has a bunch of schools that put basketball first, have decent facilities, fan bases and tradition, and are trying. Conference of americans has uconn, memphis, and cincy, while the rest of that conference is running so deep in the red chasing football mediocrity that their hoops is a distant afterthought. Heck, temple should be in that group of "good" hoops programs, but their athletics are a disaster right now as they slash sports left and right because their football program is bleeding them dry.

The Atlantic 10 actually has a nice look to it these days, and their exposure on cbs sports network is solid. It is a clear notch below the 6 major conferences, but it is also a step above the conference of americans.

[stever20]

Conference rpi between the Atlantic 10 and the conference of americans isn't even close. The Atlantic 10 is right up there with the 6 major conferences, while conference of americans is in that next pack of 4 or 5 conferences that is well behind the top 7.

The thing is, the Atlantic 10 has a bunch of schools that put basketball first, have decent facilities, fan bases and tradition, and are trying. Conference of americans has uconn, memphis, and cincy, while the rest of that conference is running so deep in the red chasing football mediocrity that their hoops is a distant afterthought. Heck, temple should be in that group of "good" hoops programs, but their athletics are a disaster right now as they slash sports left and right because their football program is bleeding them dry.

The Atlantic 10 actually has a nice look to it these days, and their exposure on cbs sports network is solid. It is a clear notch below the 6 major conferences, but it is also a step above the conference of americans.

what in the hell are you talking about?
current conference RPI
A10 .5396
AAC .5319
gap is .0077. Which is .0010 smaller than the gap between 2 Big East and 3 ACC. The A10 is the leader of the 2nd group. The 1st group is the F5 plus Big East. And, if Cincy can beat Xavier, that gap will close dramatically.

The AAC has programs like Tulsa and SMU which are having great years. Temple is doing pretty well as well. Think about this. This year UConn and Memphis have been pretty bad for themselves vs how they are normally- and the AAC is still #8 and still could get 3-4 teams in the tourney pretty easily. I don't know that the A10 could have a year where VCU was bad and still be looked at as a good conference. A10 needs to have Davidson, Dayton, and others stepping up OOC and avoid what could be Big 1 and then everyone else.

And TV- I'm sorry- but AAC's deal is light years better than the A10's deal is. Not only exposure but money.

[DudeAnon]

Conference rpi between the Atlantic 10 and the conference of americans isn't even close. The Atlantic 10 is right up there with the 6 major conferences, while conference of americans is in that next pack of 4 or 5 conferences that is well behind the top 7.

The thing is, the Atlantic 10 has a bunch of schools that put basketball first, have decent facilities, fan bases and tradition, and are trying. Conference of americans has uconn, memphis, and cincy, while the rest of that conference is running so deep in the red chasing football mediocrity that their hoops is a distant afterthought. Heck, temple should be in that group of "good" hoops programs, but their athletics are a disaster right now as they slash sports left and right because their football program is bleeding them dry.

The Atlantic 10 actually has a nice look to it these days, and their exposure on cbs sports network is solid. It is a clear notch below the 6 major conferences, but it is also a step above the conference of americans.

what in the hell are you talking about?
current conference RPI
A10 .5396
AAC .5319
gap is .0077. Which is .0010 smaller than the gap between 2 Big East and 3 ACC. The A10 is the leader of the 2nd group. The 1st group is the F5 plus Big East. And, if Cincy can beat Xavier, that gap will close dramatically.

The AAC has programs like Tulsa and SMU which are having great years. Temple is doing pretty well as well. Think about this. This year UConn and Memphis have been pretty bad for themselves vs how they are normally- and the AAC is still #8 and still could get 3-4 teams in the tourney pretty easily. I don't know that the A10 could have a year where VCU was bad and still be looked at as a good conference. A10 needs to have Davidson, Dayton, and others stepping up OOC and avoid what could be Big 1 and then everyone else.

And TV- I'm sorry- but AAC's deal is light years better than the A10's deal is. Not only exposure but money.

You dunnit now "TheBall", stever takes his AAC hoops very seriously.

[Bill Marsh]

Conference rpi between the Atlantic 10 and the conference of americans isn't even close. The Atlantic 10 is right up there with the 6 major conferences, while conference of americans is in that next pack of 4 or 5 conferences that is well behind the top 7.

The thing is, the Atlantic 10 has a bunch of schools that put basketball first, have decent facilities, fan bases and tradition, and are trying. Conference of americans has uconn, memphis, and cincy, while the rest of that conference is running so deep in the red chasing football mediocrity that their hoops is a distant afterthought. Heck, temple should be in that group of "good" hoops programs, but their athletics are a disaster right now as they slash sports left and right because their football program is bleeding them dry.

The Atlantic 10 actually has a nice look to it these days, and their exposure on cbs sports network is solid. It is a clear notch below the 6 major conferences, but it is also a step above the conference of americans.

what in the hell are you talking about?
current conference RPI
A10 .5396
AAC .5319
gap is .0077. Which is .0010 smaller than the gap between 2 Big East and 3 ACC. The A10 is the leader of the 2nd group. The 1st group is the F5 plus Big East. And, if Cincy can beat Xavier, that gap will close dramatically.

The AAC has programs like Tulsa and SMU which are having great years. Temple is doing pretty well as well. Think about this. This year UConn and Memphis have been pretty bad for themselves vs how they are normally- and the AAC is still #8 and still could get 3-4 teams in the tourney pretty easily. I don't know that the A10 could have a year where VCU was bad and still be looked at as a good conference. A10 needs to have Davidson, Dayton, and others stepping up OOC and avoid what could be Big 1 and then everyone else.

And TV- I'm sorry- but AAC's deal is light years better than the A10's deal is. Not only exposure but money.

You're wrong, Steve. Better check your facts.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Just to recap:

Last year, the AAC was a P6 conference, with UCF winning the Fiesta Bowl, UConn winning the National Championships in men's and women's basketball. The Big East was nothing more than a mid-major, as football is currently driving the bus and no one cares about "Little Sisters of the Poor" basketball. The American, which has lower average pay outs to each of the schools with its TV contract than the Big East (which, again doesn't sponsor football), still has a better contract because it has games on ESPN 2 and ESPNU. Finally, Big East schools do not have the resources to compete with the other Power 5 basketball conferences and will soon be regulated to mid-major status.

This year, the AAC was awful, AWFUL, in football. 6 of its schools had non-winning seasons, including 5 schools have 4 or fewer victories. 3 of those schools had 3 or fewer wins. In basketball, they are also really struggling to earn their spot among the strong. They currently have one team that is ranked (#23 SMU). 4 of the schools have losing records (ECU, UCF, Houston, USF). 5 of those schools, in basketball, are averaging under 5,000 people per game.

ECU: 4,565
UCF: 4,064
USF: 4,016
Tulane: 2,688 Includes one conf game at downtown NBA Arena vs Michigan
Houston: 2,416

This year, the Big East is very successful. 7 of the 10 teams have winning records, and still has one of the highest RPI of any of the conferences. 3 of the schools are currently ranked (Villanova, Georgetown and Butler). The league will probably be represented by 6 of the teams in the conference.

My point is this: The AAC's awful year this year should be considered an anomaly, due to the strength of the down schools in the conference (Memphis, UConn)? Interesting how all the AAC folks were convinced that the Big East's down year last year should have been reflective of the conference potential as a whole. Looks to me that AAC fans can dish it out, but can't take it back.

[Bill Marsh]

Just to recap:

Last year, the AAC was a P6 conference, with UCF winning the Fiesta Bowl, UConn winning the National Championships in men's and women's basketball. The Big East was nothing more than a mid-major, as football is currently driving the bus and no one cares about "Little Sisters of the Poor" basketball. The American, which has lower average pay outs to each of the schools with its TV contract than the Big East (which, again doesn't sponsor football), still has a better contract because it has games on ESPN 2 and ESPNU. Finally, Big East schools do not have the resources to compete with the other Power 5 basketball conferences and will soon be regulated to mid-major status.

This year, the AAC was awful, AWFUL, in football. 6 of its schools had non-winning seasons, including 5 schools have 4 or fewer victories. 3 of those schools had 3 or fewer wins. In basketball, they are also really struggling to earn their spot among the strong. They currently have one team that is ranked (#23 SMU). 4 of the schools have losing records (ECU, UCF, Houston, USF). 5 of those schools, in basketball, are averaging under 5,000 people per game.

ECU: 4,565
UCF: 4,064
USF: 4,016
Tulane: 2,688 Includes one conf game at downtown NBA Arena vs Michigan
Houston: 2,416

This year, the Big East is very successful. 7 of the 10 teams have winning records, and still has one of the highest RPI of any of the conferences. 3 of the schools are currently ranked (Villanova, Georgetown and Butler). The league will probably be represented by 6 of the teams in the conference.

My point is this: The AAC's awful year this year should be considered an anomaly, due to the strength of the down schools in the conference (Memphis, UConn)? Interesting how all the AAC folks were convinced that the Big East's down year last year should have been reflective of the conference potential as a whole. Looks to me that AAC fans can dish it out, but can't take it back.

1. There is no P6. Nice try though.

2. The fact that UConn and Memphis have good histories in basketball doesn't mean that this year is an anomaly for the AAC. SMU has NO history in basketball, but they ranked. That makes up for one of the traditional powers being down. The fact is that of the 11 basketball schools in the AAC, only 4 have serious histories in basketball and recent success - UConn, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Temple. Houston has some great history but little to no recent success. The rest constitute a laughing stock of college basketball, i.e. East Carolina, Central Florida, South Florida, Tulane, SMU, and Tulsa. SMU and Tulsa are making some noise this year but years like this are the anomaly for them. Those 6 + a dormant program at Houston is why the AAC is a bad conference.

3. Your attendance figures are quite well chosen. They reflect the lack of interest in college basketball at far too many of the AAC schools. It's not that there isn't a potential fan base available; it's that they just don't care. ECU is a perfect example. They can draw 50,000 for a football games but can't draw 5,000 for basketball games. As a result, the football schools of the AAC put their money into investments in their football programs, not basketball.

4. When they brought in new members during realignment, the AAC failed to make basketball a priority - to their own detriment. They chose Tulsa over UMass. They failed to bring in a basketball school like VCU to complement the football-only membership at Navy. Adding Wichita State as a non-football member would have been a smart move as well to improve their profile in basketball. The objection to a new add like UMass is that their football is laughable. This is true. But they had no problem bringing in football schools whose basketball programs are laughable. With UConn and Memphis in the fold, they have a much better opportunity to achieve power conference status in basketball than in football. In fact they will never achieve power conference status in football. Nonetheless they care about football, and they don't care about basketball.

5. Restricting your analysis of these 2 conferences to the last 2 years is a problem. The reason that last season was regarded as an anomaly is because the Big East is a collection of schools with great history and traditions in the sport. So, people expect that they will be back when they are down. Even in a down year for the Big East, they had 2 teams (Villanova & Creighton) that were ranked much higher than the best AAC school (SMU) in a down year.

[stever20]

I think for me, 1 reason I questioned us was how down the C7 had been for the years before- outside of Georgetown, Marquette, and Nova. Seton Hall, St John's, DePaul, and Providence before last year hadn't done much in years. Then last year- 2/3 of the big guys- had really down years- with only PC stepping up. Butler collapsed. Creighton was great, but they had a generational type player. Xavier was solid. We barely got 4 in. I think it was fair to question the Big East. Heck, Big East people were questioning the Big East. Look at the comments they were making.... I think when a conference does have it's top teams down(like AAC is this year with UConn/Memphis, us last year with Georgetown/Marquette)- it does lead to questions.

I think 1 major point though. This year still has to play out. We have to perform in the tourney. We may get 5 or 6 teams in- with an outside shot at 7. Part of made the AAC so good last year was UConn in the tourney. Not saying we have to win the tourney, but we have to show up. If we're all gone 1st weekend, that's not good- and the same questions we have faced this year will be there again next year. Can't have any Florida Gulf Coast's.

[stever20]

Just to recap:

Last year, the AAC was a P6 conference, with UCF winning the Fiesta Bowl, UConn winning the National Championships in men's and women's basketball. The Big East was nothing more than a mid-major, as football is currently driving the bus and no one cares about "Little Sisters of the Poor" basketball. The American, which has lower average pay outs to each of the schools with its TV contract than the Big East (which, again doesn't sponsor football), still has a better contract because it has games on ESPN 2 and ESPNU. Finally, Big East schools do not have the resources to compete with the other Power 5 basketball conferences and will soon be regulated to mid-major status.

This year, the AAC was awful, AWFUL, in football. 6 of its schools had non-winning seasons, including 5 schools have 4 or fewer victories. 3 of those schools had 3 or fewer wins. In basketball, they are also really struggling to earn their spot among the strong. They currently have one team that is ranked (#23 SMU). 4 of the schools have losing records (ECU, UCF, Houston, USF). 5 of those schools, in basketball, are averaging under 5,000 people per game.

ECU: 4,565
UCF: 4,064
USF: 4,016
Tulane: 2,688 Includes one conf game at downtown NBA Arena vs Michigan
Houston: 2,416

This year, the Big East is very successful. 7 of the 10 teams have winning records, and still has one of the highest RPI of any of the conferences. 3 of the schools are currently ranked (Villanova, Georgetown and Butler). The league will probably be represented by 6 of the teams in the conference.

My point is this: The AAC's awful year this year should be considered an anomaly, due to the strength of the down schools in the conference (Memphis, UConn)? Interesting how all the AAC folks were convinced that the Big East's down year last year should have been reflective of the conference potential as a whole. Looks to me that AAC fans can dish it out, but can't take it back.

1. There is no P6. Nice try though.

2. The fact that UConn and Memphis have good histories in basketball doesn't mean that this year is an anomaly for the AAC. SMU has NO history in basketball, but they ranked. That makes up for one of the traditional powers being down. The fact is that of the 11 basketball schools in the AAC, only 4 have serious histories in basketball and recent success - UConn, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Temple. Houston has some great history but little to no recent success. The rest constitute a laughing stock of college basketball, i.e. East Carolina, Central Florida, South Florida, Tulane, SMU, and Tulsa. SMU and Tulsa are making some noise this year but years like this are the anomaly for them. Those 6 + a dormant program at Houston is why the AAC is a bad conference.

3. Your attendance figures are quite well chosen. They reflect the lack of interest in college basketball at far too many of the AAC schools. It's not that there isn't a potential fan base available; it's that they just don't care. ECU is a perfect example. They can draw 50,000 for a football games but can't draw 5,000 for basketball games. As a result, the football schools of the AAC put their money into investments in their football programs, not basketball.

4. When they brought in new members during realignment, the AAC failed to make basketball a priority - to their own detriment. They chose Tulsa over UMass. They failed to bring in a basketball school like VCU to complement the football-only membership at Navy. Adding Wichita State as a non-football member would have been a smart move as well to improve their profile in basketball. The objection to a new add like UMass is that their football is laughable. This is true. But they had no problem bringing in football schools whose basketball programs are laughable. With UConn and Memphis in the fold, they have a much better opportunity to achieve power conference status in basketball than in football. In fact they will never achieve power conference status in football. Nonetheless they care about football, and they don't care about basketball.

5. Restricting your analysis of these 2 conferences to the last 2 years is a problem. The reason that last season was regarded as an anomaly is because the Big East is a collection of schools with great history and traditions in the sport. So, people expect that they will be back when they are down. Even in a down year for the Big East, they had 2 teams (Villanova & Creighton) that were ranked much higher than the best AAC school (SMU) in a down year.

Your love affair of UMass is comical.. They have 9 NCAA appearances. Tulsa on the other hand has 15, and should be going again this year. UMass is NOTHING in basketball. The AAC may have made mistakes in basketball, but UMass sure as hell wasn't one of them. SMU has 10. So if SMU is a laughing stock at 10 appearances(and will be 11), what is UMass? Just stop with the UMass crap.

AS to #5, folks were questioning whether it was an anomaly or not. And your last statement makes no sense. SMU wasn't the best AAC school last year. That would be UConn, a team that beat Nova and won the title. You should know, since you are a UConn fan.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Uh, Bill, I'm with you every step of the way. I was speaking as an illogical and nonsensical AAC fan.

All good points though. If I had been serious, I would not have a rebuttal.

[Bill Marsh]

Uh, Bill, I'm with you every step of the way. I was speaking as an illogical and nonsensical AAC fan.

All good points though. If I had been serious, I would not have a rebuttal.

Yikes! You sucked me in. Well played, sir.