Conference realignment discussion - v. 2015

[marquette]

it could be argued that the close schools would be needed to saturate the NY metro with it's population density and multiple entertainment options in contrast to a more spread out population with less options in the midwest. note, this is complete conjecture on my part as I'm unsure of the makeup of the conference's midwest areas.

i do think UD's proximity to XU may be a hinderance either on a TV level or due to XU's desire. How much on court success matters is unknown. Can the conference expand with less on court success if balanced by a school with more success? does enrollment matter?

i'm not sure there is ANY urgency to expand in the next 5 years however

So, in regards to the spread of Midwest schools:
Marquette to DePaul: 78 miles
DePaul to Butler: 202 miles
Butler to Xavier: 123 miles.
Creighton is the outlier at 465 miles to DePaul, its nearest neighbor.

For the Eastern schools:
Providence to St. John's: 182 miles
St. John's to Seton Hall: 42 miles
Seton Hall to Villanova: 99 miles
Villanova to Georgetown: 148 miles

Take out Creighton and it's really not that big of a difference in terms of the spread. For the most part we are concentrated along the southern great lakes coast. You could call it the Midwest equivalent to the Northeast (Milwaukee-Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati are smaller, but the corridor is not too different from New York-Philadelphia-Baltimore-D.C.)

I have a theory that the presidents want SLU but aren't willing to give up the perception of being a power conference, which is wise. They would bring down our RPI and KenPom ratings and weaken our argument that we are a power conference. Maybe in 5 years, with enough success, it will just be an accepted fact that we are among the power conferences. At that point we could add a SLU and people would look at it similar to when the B1G added Rutgers. They have the profile and facilities, but not the success. I don't know if that's true, but I could see it.

To those who see Davidson as a good option, I'm torn. It is a great school, good facilities (well, their arena sucks but their new practice facility is awesome), decent history, east coast. My issues are that they are a lesser Richmond, in terms of size and academics, they play in a small arena, and they are completely overshadowed by Duke, UNC, and NC State.

[DudeAnon]

Ok, I think a reality check is in need. Is the NBE perfect? No, but we are a lot better off than some posters here may think. Throwing aside all the positives about stability, institutional similarities etc. We are doing very well as a basketball centric conference. We finished second in Conference RPI last year with 6 teams in the dance and will likely have a similar finish this year. If a few of our teams make deeper runs in the NCAA tourney then this conversation doesn't even happen. I think we underestimate how beneficial the round-robin schedule. It keeps the conference from making an upper tier and lower tier in the conference. When we enter conference play with 4-5 teams ranked, every team gets a chance to play them home and away. We don't have a second class who gets the shaft on scheduling. The bottom of the P5 conferences stay on the bottom for a reason. I can honestly say I think in 10 years the power of the conference could be totally switched and it wouldn't surprise me.

We aren't going to get raided by the P5 or any other conferences. So let this one have its era and let it play out. If 10 years from now we have collectively gotten stagnant or even regressed, then inject some new blood. But we haven't even given this conference a chance yet.

Fin.

[marquette]

Like I said before, I think we are a long ways off from expansion. I don't think expansion, if it comes, will come from a position of weakness. It will be based on a successful power conference, seeing a couple of major basketball programs playing in mid-major leagues that are ready to step up, taking action to make themselves even stronger.

That is not the case today. We are a power league and protecting that image is priority #1. 10 school round robin is the best way to preserve that, for now. Down the road, once it is no longer a question to the casual fan that we are a power conference, I see expansion as almost inevitable. Fun to talk about for now, ultimately meaningless.

[NJRedman]

Like I said before, I think we are a long ways off from expansion. I don't think expansion, if it comes, will come from a position of weakness. It will be based on a successful power conference, seeing a couple of major basketball programs playing in mid-major leagues that are ready to step up, taking action to make themselves even stronger.

That is not the case today. We are a power league and protecting that image is priority #1. 10 school round robin is the best way to preserve that, for now. Down the road, once it is no longer a question to the casual fan that we are a power conference, I see expansion as almost inevitable. Fun to talk about for now, ultimately meaningless.

I agree, I think it's going to be us in about 8 years taking those from the A-10 who have separated themselves as the top tier of that league. Let them in about the time we start negotiating our next TV deal.

Unless of course something crazy happens like UConn wanting to return to the fold. And for those who think UConn wont be accepted because they are public don't know the relationship they have with half the league. UConn to the Big East is what Notre Dame is to the Big Ten. Whenever they want to join they have a spot waiting for them.

[NovaBall]

Like I said before, I think we are a long ways off from expansion. I don't think expansion, if it comes, will come from a position of weakness. It will be based on a successful power conference, seeing a couple of major basketball programs playing in mid-major leagues that are ready to step up, taking action to make themselves even stronger.

That is not the case today. We are a power league and protecting that image is priority #1. 10 school round robin is the best way to preserve that, for now. Down the road, once it is no longer a question to the casual fan that we are a power conference, I see expansion as almost inevitable. Fun to talk about for now, ultimately meaningless.

Good post

Will we expand some day? Maybe. Is it imminent or necessary? No.

[gtmoBlue]

Excellent posts by DudeAnon, Marquette, NJRedman, and NovaBall.

In a several years (5 maybe) down the road, there will be much better pickin's when the BE decides to expand.
The current 3 year love affair with A-10 and other outlier schools will have waned. In 5 years there will be P5 castoffs
and disgruntled majors both private and public to negotiate with. I agree the BE will expand from a position of power.

[NJRedman]

Excellent posts by DudeAnon, Marquette, NJRedman, and NovaBall.

In a several years (5 maybe) down the road, there will be much better pickin's when the BE decides to expand.
The current 3 year love affair with A-10 and other outlier schools will have waned. In 5 years there will be P5 castoffs
and disgruntled majors both private and public to negotiate with. I agree the BE will expand from a position of power.

I don't think anyone is going to drop football to focus on BBall. I think it's going to be more of us harvesting the crop that is the A-10 just like we did 3 years ago.

[Noonzy]

The presidents of the BE schools don't want to add any state schools. They can't compete with the money the state school get from the state.

[NJRedman]

The presidents of the BE schools don't want to add any state schools. They can't compete with the money the state school get from the state.

Thats not true, we'd take UConn in a NY second.

[Gopher+RamFan]

Confused by a few things- 1. Dayton having a better 10 year run than VCU? 2. The same people putting down a VCU addition due to Shaka Smart possibly leaving (at the time) but saying the BE should add Davidson when Bob is 65 years old? 3. Talk of adding davidson when most of the discussion I've had on this thread over the years was looking for a large fanbase and sized school (Davidson has 1,600 students or so).

I think the Big East stays at 10 until a "candidate" forces the decision. Dayton makes a couple of S16 runs and weathers the post- Archie Miller era (it's coming). Or VCU shows it can compete by going to the S16 or better with Will Wade. SLU needs serious work, I hate to bring it up, but years ago I posted on here that SLu would be ok trouble after Rick Majerus' recruits graduated. UR needs a couple of deep tourney runs to be a serious contender.

Of course these are all on the court considerations, that's all I'm qualified to comment on.