Non-Big East Conference Realignment Thread v. 2017

[billyjack]

From a Boneyard poster:

"Football can have some time, but I don't see why that absolutely means the hoops program should wait around. To be honest, I'm not sure they have the time to.

I mean on the surface, the Big East as a ratings mine doesn't seem like much, but when you look at UConn's schedule, i'd much rather play Georgetown's JV team than see almost any other team in the American. And I mean that. Because there's history. There's a rivalry. There's actual interest. If you're going to tell me that fans wouldn't rather see UConn play Providence than say.... USF, East Carolina, UCF and Tulane - you're just nuts. Or even Seton Hall and St. John's at this point.... and I'd absolutely eat my left shoe to get Villanova back on the schedule, Georgetown back on the schedule (both twice) and add Butler and Xavier into the mix. And Marquette isn't exactly a storied rivalry, but at least there's a little history there and it's by all accounts a pretty good program. And i'm going to go see UConn play Providence. And I'm going to show up to discount days for Seton Hall and St John's, too I guess. And Creighton is a decent program, too.

I mean in the AAC, you have a sort of, I guess rivalry with Cincinnati (in the loosest sense possible). SMU, Temple and Memphis are the only other real 'interesting' games on the conference schedule. I mean I guess Houston will get there eventually I suppose - but I just don't give two shits about half of the conference. There's no history there, no shared culture, no nothing. Just another game on a Thursday night.

To me - I think Uconn is a tremendous asset to the Big East across the board - if for nothing that bringing interest back. You're basically looking at your old conference minus Syracuse, Pitt and BC and BC brings nothing to the table anymore, Syracuse is likely to take a big step back in the next few years and Pitt is.... Pitt. I guess. Switch that out with a steadily rising Xavier, and strong Butler program.. I'll take that just fine.

As for their ratings, it's FS1. No one watches it anyway with the exception of their UFC shows. And the Big East has a lot of the same problems we do - which is meaningful games in the W-L column and traditional rivalries. Adding UConn adds two interesting games to almost everyone's slate. And New York and stuff."

[billyjack]

UConn could go independent in football, go 6-6, and make a bowl.

[SJHooper]

UConn calls their fanbase the 6th borough, so SJ fans view them through a different lens. They are 3 hours away from NYC and they are not even in the same state, but they like to pretend the same way 6 yr old girls try on their mother's clothes. To be technical, we left them, they didn't leave us. However, they did leave us in a cultural sense...they decided they wanted to be football first while the C7 remained basketball only. So in a sense, they did kind of leave us. They should have done their homework and realized that there was a real possibility of failure trying to become a major college football program in the northeast. People just don't care up here. If anyone really follows college sports in these parts, it's hoops. The only time people would actually turn on their TV for college football would be for the BCS championship game. If UConn was in the south, I'd see the potential...but there have been absolutely zero college football programs in the northeast demonstrating they are capable of performing at a high level nationally on a consistent basis. It's not part of our culture. They rolled the dice and they failed...unless a miracle happens and the ACC or B1G invite them which is very unlikely. Sometimes when people get caught up in delusions of grandeur, they stray from reality and UConn thought it was Texas. Then the B12 meetings happened and they realized they are still pee wees.

UConn made their bed, let them lay on it now. Reading their forum, they are a very annoying and entitled fanbase by in large. UConn's luster has been significantly diminished removed from the Big East in just 5 years or so...just a few years after a ring. Just imagine what another 10 years in the AAC would do. They had their noses up in the air, looking down on the C7 and every team but DePaul has experienced legit national success at some point so far post-realignment. Let em stay.

[Hall2012]

I don't necessarily disagree with anything he said, despite the potshots at Seton Hall and St. John's who, let's be honest, would both wipe the floor with UConn in their program's current state. Despite what some of us may think of them, UConn is still a premier college basketball brand with a large following and that brings value to the Big East. They'll likely give us a little ratings boost on FS1 and we know they'll help pack MSG for the BET. I questioned the future of their program in a previous post, and to answer my question, I think they can still revive it, especially with the Big East. It brings back old rivalry games for the C7 and adds games against an exciting, new, high profile opponent for the other 3. I think these are all positives, both for us and them.

The other thing it does is add an instant "villain" to the conference. A lot of us still hold grudges against them for their role in destroying the old Big East and we know their fans will come in here with the attitude that (despite secretly popping champagne at news of the invite) they're too good for this league and just settling because they got screwed by the F5. It could start to break up the kumbaya brotherhood attitude around here, and I'm honestly not sure if all this would be a good thing or a bad thing.

However, if we do accept them, we need to require 2 things:

1. They commit to this league as a final destination. Whether it be through a massive buyout clause or something else, we need to know they're committed and won't go campaigning for an F5 invite once expansion rumors start popping up again. Even if they ultimately don't get in to another league and stay, active campaigning (and even just submitting a bid) to join another league is simply bad PR for our league.

2. They drop that awful new logo and revert back to the old one. The Big East one.

[Bill Marsh]

I don't necessarily disagree with anything he said, despite the potshots at Seton Hall and St. John's who, let's be honest, would both wipe the floor with UConn in their program's current state. Despite what some of us may think of them, UConn is still a premier college basketball brand with a large following and that brings value to the Big East. They'll likely give us a little ratings boost on FS1 and we know they'll help pack MSG for the BET. I questioned the future of their program in a previous post, and to answer my question, I think they can still revive it, especially with the Big East. It brings back old rivalry games for the C7 and adds games against an exciting, new, high profile opponent for the other 3. I think these are all positives, both for us and them.

The other thing it does is add an instant "villain" to the conference. A lot of us still hold grudges against them for their role in destroying the old Big East

I'm curious. What did UConn do in destroying the old Big East.

and we know their fans will come in here with the attitude that (despite secretly popping champagne at news of the invite) they're too good for this league and just settling because they got screwed by the F5. It could start to break up the kumbaya brotherhood attitude around here, and I'm honestly not sure if all this would be a good thing or a bad thing.

However, if we do accept them, we need to require 2 things:

1. They commit to this league as a final destination. Whether it be through a massive buyout clause or something else, we need to know they're committed and won't go campaigning for an F5 invite once expansion rumors start popping up again. Even if they ultimately don't get in to another league and stay, active campaigning (and even just submitting a bid) to join another league is simply bad PR for our league.

This is precisely the reason why UConn should not be allowed anywhere near the new Big East.

[Hall2012]

I don't necessarily disagree with anything he said, despite the potshots at Seton Hall and St. John's who, let's be honest, would both wipe the floor with UConn in their program's current state. Despite what some of us may think of them, UConn is still a premier college basketball brand with a large following and that brings value to the Big East. They'll likely give us a little ratings boost on FS1 and we know they'll help pack MSG for the BET. I questioned the future of their program in a previous post, and to answer my question, I think they can still revive it, especially with the Big East. It brings back old rivalry games for the C7 and adds games against an exciting, new, high profile opponent for the other 3. I think these are all positives, both for us and them.

The other thing it does is add an instant "villain" to the conference. A lot of us still hold grudges against them for their role in destroying the old Big East

I'm curious. What did UConn do in destroying the old Big East.

and we know their fans will come in here with the attitude that (despite secretly popping champagne at news of the invite) they're too good for this league and just settling because they got screwed by the F5. It could start to break up the kumbaya brotherhood attitude around here, and I'm honestly not sure if all this would be a good thing or a bad thing.

However, if we do accept them, we need to require 2 things:

1. They commit to this league as a final destination. Whether it be through a massive buyout clause or something else, we need to know they're committed and won't go campaigning for an F5 invite once expansion rumors start popping up again. Even if they ultimately don't get in to another league and stay, active campaigning (and even just submitting a bid) to join another league is simply bad PR for our league.

This is precisely the reason why UConn should not be allowed anywhere near the new Big East.

Actively campaigning for an invite to another league. West Virginia leaving was whatever, who cares, but once UConn started begging for an ACC invite- that's what really got the ball moving and forced everyone to start exploring other options. The fact that they got rejected by every league they begged to join doesn't mean they weren't part of the problem.

[Barley]

It's as simple as this:
UConn needs the Big East.
The Big East doesn't need UConn.

[_lh]

It's as simple as this:
UConn needs the Big East.
The Big East doesn't need UConn.

I agree. I also think it is as simple as this:

The BE doesn't need to expand.

Now, having said that. I would take UCONN, Notre Dame and Kansas as expansion candidates if any of the three wanted to join the BE. I only see UCONN as a real potential candidate though and even that one is pretty far fetched.

Why anyone discusses adding any other school seems crazy to me.

[Toronto Rapture]

The UCONN fan base is an interesting lot. Went to The Boneyard to check their reaction to the article.

You have to hand it to them - some of them think highly of themselves. They'll save the BE.

Looking at that board it is clear they don't want to give up football, and if they join the BE, it will only be until they can move over to a P5 conference. I think that UCONN in the BE makes sense, but now I lean more to the side that the BE does not need a member like that that could bring short term gain and long term volatility. Gonzaga is stating to look much better, travel be damned. If there are no ideal candidates, the BE should stay pat and re-evaluate after the next round of conference realignment and TV contracts, and in the meantime, maybe explore growing the brand in other ways besides expansion.

This will all work itself out at some point in the future. The question is which will be the first domino to fall?

[Bill Marsh]

I don't necessarily disagree with anything he said, despite the potshots at Seton Hall and St. John's who, let's be honest, would both wipe the floor with UConn in their program's current state. Despite what some of us may think of them, UConn is still a premier college basketball brand with a large following and that brings value to the Big East. They'll likely give us a little ratings boost on FS1 and we know they'll help pack MSG for the BET. I questioned the future of their program in a previous post, and to answer my question, I think they can still revive it, especially with the Big East. It brings back old rivalry games for the C7 and adds games against an exciting, new, high profile opponent for the other 3. I think these are all positives, both for us and them.

The other thing it does is add an instant "villain" to the conference. A lot of us still hold grudges against them for their role in destroying the old Big East

I'm curious. What did UConn do in destroying the old Big East.

and we know their fans will come in here with the attitude that (despite secretly popping champagne at news of the invite) they're too good for this league and just settling because they got screwed by the F5. It could start to break up the kumbaya brotherhood attitude around here, and I'm honestly not sure if all this would be a good thing or a bad thing.

However, if we do accept them, we need to require 2 things:

1. They commit to this league as a final destination. Whether it be through a massive buyout clause or something else, we need to know they're committed and won't go campaigning for an F5 invite once expansion rumors start popping up again. Even if they ultimately don't get in to another league and stay, active campaigning (and even just submitting a bid) to join another league is simply bad PR for our league.

This is precisely the reason why UConn should not be allowed anywhere near the new Big East.

Actively campaigning for an invite to another league. West Virginia leaving was whatever, who cares, but once UConn started begging for an ACC invite- that's what really got the ball moving and forced everyone to start exploring other options. The fact that they got rejected by every league they begged to join doesn't mean they weren't part of the problem.

You''re misremembering.

1. Oliver Luck began shooting his mouth off over and over starting in late 2010 about the problems in the league, blaming the non-football schools. He's the one who lobbied any conference who would listen for membership, saying that the Big East was no longer viable for the football schools. He is Villain #1.

2. The league proposed that Villanova upgrade its football. Villanova responded by submitting a proposal for football in April, 2011. The Villanova proposal was blocked from even coming to a vote by West Virginia, Pitt, and Rutgers. Villanova went back to the drawing board to develop a new proposal while Luck continued to scream aloud with criticism of the C7 and seeking a new conference.

3. Pitt president, Mark Nordenberg, Chair of the Big East executive committee, charged with proceeding with the Villanova plan and with resolving the basketball BS football issues, stabbed the conference in the back by secretly negotiating a deal with the ACC for Pitt and Syracuse. He was the Judas who worked against the conference's interests at the very same time he was the key figure who was supposed to be advancing the conference's interests. In September, the move to the ACC was announced.

4. In October, Oliver Luck got his wish and West Virginia was accepted for membership in the Big XII.

After the defections of Pitt, Syracuse, and West Virginia, followed by the loss of TCU and Boise State before either had ever played in the league, the hybrid was no longer viable. Sure, UConn was at that point looking for another option. So were Rutgers, Louisville, and Cincinnati. Obviously. So we're the C7. Obviously.

With Luck and Nordenberg actively working to undermine the league and with Syracuse following Pitt's lead and with Rutgers collaborating with Pitt and WVU to sabotage the Villanova proposal, I don't see how anyone could point to UConn as being to blame for the demise of the hybrid.