Conference Realignment Thread v. 2016

[Bill Marsh]

If it wasn't too far they would already be in the BE.

Gonzaga is never going to happen. The only two that make any sense to add (even if they are both extreme longshots) are UCONN and ND.

In that case, I guess they'll never expand because you could say the same thing about any candidate. If the league wanted them, they'd already be in.

Norte Dame football is far too valuable for them not to have an association with a football conference. The days of total independence in football are long gone. Except for BYU of course and they're desperately trying to correct that.

I live near UConn and I can assure you that they are not dropping football to go to the Big East. Anyone entertaining this possibility is delusional.

You still haven't answered my question. If Gonzaga so too far, why did 70% of the schools in the conference schedule trips just as far this year?

[_lh]

You can't just add Gonzaga for basketball. It's too far away to make sense financially and that is why they were not added when Creighton was.

I never said UCONN is going to drop football for the BE but other factors may require them to drop or move down.

ND is also not going to move on their own to the BE.

I realize both are extreme long shots but they are still the only two that make any sense as additions.

[Bill Marsh]

You can't just add Gonzaga for basketball. It's too far away to make sense financially and that is why they were not added when Creighton was.

I never said UCONN is going to drop football for the BE but other factors may require them to drop or move down.

ND is also not going to move on their own to the BE.

I realize both are extreme long shots but they are still the only two that make any sense as additions.

I agree that it's not possible to add a team just for basketball.

It's been clear from the very beginning that a driving force in expansion could be Fox of they want more content. It may not make sense to you to anyone other than ND and UConn, but at that point, they'd have to consider other options.

[Bluejay]

If it's too far, why did 70% of the league schedule trips just as far - or even farther in some cases - this year alone?

Dumb comparison.

One trip is not the same thing as having all or most of the sports in your athletic department making that same trip at least once every other year. For a revenue sport like men's basketball its no big deal. For every other sport in a Big East's athletic department its a damn big deal.

Then again, I'm not surprised. Last summer you openly claimed that Spokane is only one hour away from Omaha. Worse, you stuck by this ridiculous statement even after I said that Denver is over an hour away (by air) from Omaha.

Gonzaga is 2 time zones away from the present westernmost member of the conference and three time zones away from most of the members of the conference. Until we invent time travel or discover a secret wormhole from the east coast to Spokane, Gonzaga isn't joining the Big East. We will have public schools as members before we ever have Gonzaga (and note that I used the plural "schools").

[Savannah Jay]

If it's too far, why did 70% of the league schedule trips just as far - or even farther in some cases - this year alone?

Dumb comparison.

One trip is not the same thing as having all or most of the sports in your athletic department making that same trip at least once every other year. For a revenue sport like men's basketball its no big deal. For every other sport in a Big East's athletic department its a damn big deal.

Then again, I'm not surprised. Last summer you openly claimed that Spokane is only one hour away from Omaha. Worse, you stuck by this ridiculous statement even after I said that Denver is over an hour away (by air) from Omaha.

Gonzaga is 2 time zones away from the present westernmost member of the conference and three time zones away from most of the members of the conference. Until we invent time travel or discover a secret wormhole from the east coast to Spokane, Gonzaga isn't joining the Big East. We will have public schools as members before we ever have Gonzaga (and note that I used the plural "schools").

Will take the dumb comparison comment a little further. Taking a nonconference holiday trip to participate in a tournament in Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, etc. is not the same thing as traveling across two time zones in conference play. In those instances the teams stayed for several days and played several games. When Nova went to Hawaii this year, they had 6 days off before and after the trip. Those instances are not the same thing as having a game in Spokane on Saturday and then having another in DC on Tuesday.

At the risk of piling on, Omaha and Spokane are an hour apart if you are in a vehicle that travels 1300 miles an hour.

[_lh]

If it's too far, why did 70% of the league schedule trips just as far - or even farther in some cases - this year alone?

Dumb comparison.

One trip is not the same thing as having all or most of the sports in your athletic department making that same trip at least once every other year. For a revenue sport like men's basketball its no big deal. For every other sport in a Big East's athletic department its a damn big deal.

Then again, I'm not surprised. Last summer you openly claimed that Spokane is only one hour away from Omaha. Worse, you stuck by this ridiculous statement even after I said that Denver is over an hour away (by air) from Omaha.

Gonzaga is 2 time zones away from the present westernmost member of the conference and three time zones away from most of the members of the conference. Until we invent time travel or discover a secret wormhole from the east coast to Spokane, Gonzaga isn't joining the Big East. We will have public schools as members before we ever have Gonzaga (and note that I used the plural "schools").

Exactly.

Gonzaga is never going to happen. They are just too far.

UCONN and ND are the only two that make sense. If they never want to join, so what, stay at 10. There is no real value in adding just to add and I'm sure the school's presidents see this as does Fox.

[Bill Marsh]

If it's too far, why did 70% of the league schedule trips just as far - or even farther in some cases - this year alone?

Dumb comparison.

One trip is not the same thing as having all or most of the sports in your athletic department making that same trip at least once every other year. For a revenue sport like men's basketball its no big deal. For every other sport in a Big East's athletic department its a damn big deal.

Then again, I'm not surprised. Last summer you openly claimed that Spokane is only one hour away from Omaha. Worse, you stuck by this ridiculous statement even after I said that Denver is over an hour away (by air) from Omaha.

Gonzaga is 2 time zones away from the present westernmost member of the conference and three time zones away from most of the members of the conference. Until we invent time travel or discover a secret wormhole from the east coast to Spokane, Gonzaga isn't joining the Big East. We will have public schools as members before we ever have Gonzaga (and note that I used the plural "schools").

Do you want to pull up the thread in which I supposedly said that?

I just looked through all the threads from last summer and couldn't find a single one from me on that subject. The air distance between Omaha and Spokane is 1140 miles. In modern jets, which typically fly at air speeds of 500-600 mph, that would make the trip to Spokane an additional 2 hours beyond Spokane. That's what I recall that I have consistently said on this subject.

Adding Gonzaga would not require that all or most sports involve travel to Spokane. Sports like Track, Cross Country. Swimming, Tennis, and Golf do not involve a regular schedule of competition among league members. Championships are decided at one championship tournament a year, which is held at a location of the conference's choosing.

Distance is not what matters. Time is what matters. With modern air travel, traveling at 550 mph is equivalent to traveling at 55 mph in the days of us travel - except that there are only traffic jams. A trip between NY and Buffalo was 8 hours back in those days. Same for a tip between Philly and NH, the 2 extremes of the Ivy League.

Your response is typical of the hysterical overreaction to even the suggestion that Gonzga might be considered, full of name calling, exaggerations, and inaccurate statements. Travel is a problem for the team that has to take all of its road games a long distance, not for the school that has to take 1 trip a year for team sports only. In this case, that would be Gonzga. And they're not complaining.

[Bill Marsh]

If it's too far, why did 70% of the league schedule trips just as far - or even farther in some cases - this year alone?

Dumb comparison.

One trip is not the same thing as having all or most of the sports in your athletic department making that same trip at least once every other year. For a revenue sport like men's basketball its no big deal. For every other sport in a Big East's athletic department its a damn big deal.

Then again, I'm not surprised. Last summer you openly claimed that Spokane is only one hour away from Omaha. Worse, you stuck by this ridiculous statement even after I said that Denver is over an hour away (by air) from Omaha.

Gonzaga is 2 time zones away from the present westernmost member of the conference and three time zones away from most of the members of the conference. Until we invent time travel or discover a secret wormhole from the east coast to Spokane, Gonzaga isn't joining the Big East. We will have public schools as members before we ever have Gonzaga (and note that I used the plural "schools").

Will take the dumb comparison comment a little further. Taking a nonconference holiday trip to participate in a tournament in Hawaii, Vegas, Orlando, etc. is not the same thing as traveling across two time zones in conference play. In those instances the teams stayed for several days and played several games. When Nova went to Hawaii this year, they had 6 days off before and after the trip. Those instances are not the same thing as having a game in Spokane on Saturday and then having another in DC on Tuesday.

At the risk of piling on, Omaha and Spokane are an hour apart if you are in a vehicle that travels 1300 miles an hour.

You seem to forget that many regular season basketball games are played over the holidays. The Big East starts its basketball season in December and games continue to be played during the January semester break. There are also 3 day weekends that mitigate the impact. You're also ignoring the fact that not all of these gamesI referenced were holiday tournaments.

Finally, Omaha and Spokane are not 1300 miles apart. Closer to 1100 air miles. And you are piling on since I never made the statement he claims.

[Jet915]

Article with some quotes from Ackerman. Doesn't sound like expansion is happening anytime soon.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/04/03/ncaa-tournament-villanova-big-east

[anXUfan]

Article with some quotes from Ackerman. Doesn't sound like expansion is happening anytime soon.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/04/03/ncaa-tournament-villanova-big-east

Some good quotes.