Why The Big East Won't Expand - - Round Robin

[Bluejay]

2. A flight from NY to Omaha is 2.5 hours in the air. So is the flight from Omaha to Spokane.

Do you have anything showing that a flight from Omaha to Spokane is only a 2.5 hour flight? I find that very hard to believe. I am guessing it would be closer to 3.5 hours at least, assuming there is even a direct flight.

One other aspect missing when discussing travel is that you are using only time in the air. That works fine for men's basketball when the teams probably fly charters from one destination to another. I find it unlikely schools will be chartering flights for soccer, etc. As a result, you are looking at commercial flights for which there will be layovers, time necessary to go through security, etc. When adding in layovers, plan on at least doubling the estimated flight time.

[Bill Marsh]

2. A flight from NY to Omaha is 2.5 hours in the air. So is the flight from Omaha to Spokane.

Do you have anything showing that a flight from Omaha to Spokane is only a 2.5 hour flight? I find that very hard to believe. I am guessing it would be closer to 3.5 hours at least, assuming there is even a direct flight.

One other aspect missing when discussing travel is that you are using only time in the air. That works fine for men's basketball when the teams probably fly charters from one destination to another. I find it unlikely schools will be chartering flights for soccer, etc. As a result, you are looking at commercial flights for which there will be layovers, time necessary to go through security, etc. When adding in layovers, plan on at least doubling the estimated flight time.

Yes, I did look up the air time when I came up with that number. It's 2.5-2.75 hours for 1100 miles. Jet airliners fly at up to 600 mph, so that's about right.

Of course there is extra time in the airport, but that doesn't change based on the length of the trip. It's the same for a 5 hour flight as it is for a half hour flight. One thing not calculated is that the trip to Gonzaga may well be replacing a current bus trip for some teams, which is lucky to average 60 mph. At that speed, a 300 mile trip takes5 hours on the road.

Gonzaga flies all it's teams by charter. The Big East would be wise to do the same thing on a flight to Spokane. As I suggested, if they coordinate the men's and women's schedules, it's the same cost for a charter for 2 teams as it is for one.

For anyone willing to look the solutions are there and are already being used by other conferences with long flights. For those looking for objections, you can find those as well. This is the 21st century with modern travel capabilities. When the Ivy League was officially formed 60 years ago, teams did not fly. How long do you think it was for a bus trip from Philly for Penn to play a game vs Dartmouth in Hanover, NH? In fact, those same schools had been playing each other 50 years before that when train was the only mode of travel and trips were even longer.

[billyjack]

2. A flight from NY to Omaha is 2.5 hours in the air. So is the flight from Omaha to Spokane.

Do you have anything showing that a flight from Omaha to Spokane is only a 2.5 hour flight? I find that very hard to believe. I am guessing it would be closer to 3.5 hours at least, assuming there is even a direct flight.

One other aspect missing when discussing travel is that you are using only time in the air. That works fine for men's basketball when the teams probably fly charters from one destination to another. I find it unlikely schools will be chartering flights for soccer, etc. As a result, you are looking at commercial flights for which there will be layovers, time necessary to go through security, etc. When adding in layovers, plan on at least doubling the estimated flight time.

Yes, I did look up the air time when I came up with that number. It's 2.5-2.75 hours for 1100 miles. Jet airliners fly at up to 600 mph, so that's about right.

Of course there is extra time in the airport, but that doesn't change based on the length of the trip. It's the same for a 5 hour flight as it is for a half hour flight. One thing not calculated is that the trip to Gonzaga may well be replacing a current bus trip for some teams, which is lucky to average 60 mph. At that speed, a 300 mile trip takes5 hours on the road.

Gonzaga flies all it's teams by charter. The Big East would be wise to do the same thing on a flight to Spokane. As I suggested, if they coordinate the men's and women's schedules, it's the same cost for a charter for 2 teams as it is for one.

For anyone willing to look the solutions are there and are already being used by other conferences with long flights. For those looking for objections, you can find those as well. This is the 21st century with modern travel capabilities. When the Ivy League was officially formed 60 years ago, teams did not fly. How long do you think it was for a bus trip from Philly for Penn to play a game vs Dartmouth in Hanover, NH? In fact, those same schools had been playing each other 50 years before that when train was the only mode of travel and trips were even longer.

I'm with you Bill on Gonzaga, if we were to go to 11.
The Big East would be stacked.

[Boyee]

I totally understand the argument against expansion. But, there are suitable candidates. The Saint Louis University Billikens are former rivals with current members DePaul and Marquette from the old days of Conference USA and would put a like minded university between the Creighton University Bluejays and the other Midwestern Big East Conference members, especially DePaul and Marquette. If SLU was added, they would need a like minded Northeastern school to balance out the conference and there are many good options there for a 12th school. If they were to expand, they should wait until the 5th year of the current Big East Conference to give the league time to gel.

[Boyee]

Both Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and the University of Maryland, College Park are the flagship institutions in their respective states, members of the American Association of Universities and adjacent to a current Big Ten Conference school, which makes both fit the Big Ten profile. I think the Big Ten Conference made a poor choice in not adding the University of Missouri when they had the opportunity, but they're in the Southeastern Conference now, despite being a flagship Midwestern university.

[gosports1]

Every potential candidate has its flaws. If we went to 11 i still think the best overall fit/choice/selection is SLU

no way. Have you looked at SLU this year? RPI 222. Everything they did was because of Majerus and he's gone. Sorry- not interested whatsoever.

I said they all have flaws. SLU fits the profile. Catholic/private large metro area in current footprint. Has ties with current members. Not perfect but who is?

I also have some reservations abou Gonzaga. Not just due to location. I am concerened they won't be able to continue their success if they were in the BE. They very well may be able to but what if they cant? If SLU cant compete at least they are a better fit in other ways.

its been said before, if Gonzaga was in Pittsburgh, Boston or even Minneapolis they would be worth the risk. i have a hard time getting over the west coast thing

[Bill Marsh]

Every potential candidate has its flaws. If we went to 11 i still think the best overall fit/choice/selection is SLU

no way. Have you looked at SLU this year? RPI 222. Everything they did was because of Majerus and he's gone. Sorry- not interested whatsoever.

I said they all have flaws. SLU fits the profile. Catholic/private large metro area in current footprint. Has ties with current members. Not perfect but who is?

I also have some reservations abou Gonzaga. Not just due to location. I am concerened they won't be able to continue their success if they were in the BE. They very well may be able to but what if they cant? If SLU cant compete at least they are a better fit in other ways.

its been said before, if Gonzaga was in Pittsburgh, Boston or even Minneapolis they would be worth the risk. i have a hard time getting over the west coast thing

The thing that I like about Gonzaga is that they have demonstrated a high level of commitment to their program and they have the enthusiastic support of the community. Every game is a sell out.

Almost everyone goes through down periods, so they could struggle in the Big East. But I get the sense that they'd make the necessary investments to get the program back to where it had been. You can't say that about everyone. And you can't ask for much more than that from a conference member.

[robinreed]

We are making the same mistake the old Southwestern conference and the current B12 conference made in football. Business, government, universities, unions, hospitals and yes athletic conferences have the option to grow or wither. Eventually the presidents will see this and act accordingly. We do have a luxury that the football centric conferences do/did not have. Namely there are many good and a few exceptional college choices that are still available to us as additions. We are not required to act immediately, but eventually we must act. I expect it a year or so prior to our re-upping of the contract with FOX.

[Bill Marsh]

Every potential candidate has its flaws. If we went to 11 i still think the best overall fit/choice/selection is SLU

no way. Have you looked at SLU this year? RPI 222. Everything they did was because of Majerus and he's gone. Sorry- not interested whatsoever.

its been said before, if Gonzaga was in Pittsburgh, Boston or even Minneapolis they would be worth the risk. i have a hard time getting over the west coast thing

If Gonzaga is a no brainer in every way except geography, why not try to find a way to work around the geography? Imagine what this conference would look like this year - or almost any year in the past 15 years or so - if Gonzaga were in the mix. A battle between Villanova and Gonzaga for the top spot would be awesome. It would also intensify the competition with the other challengers like Butler, Georgetown, and Providence, raising it to another level.

[HoosierPal]

If anyone is interested, there are no direct flights from Omaha to Spokane to review air times. The closest direct flight is from Minneapolis to Spokane. Delta Flight 1503 is 3 hours and 13 minutes in the air. This is the time a charter would require. Omaha is about 200 miles west of Minneapolis and about 250 miles south, so distances to Spokane are within reason for a discussion.

Non stop NY to Omaha is 3 hr 25 minutes, United 5992. Charter time is the same.

Interestingly, there are no non-stop commercial flights from NY to Spokane. 7 hrs 23 minutes is he quickest trip, connecting in MSP.