Add Dayton and VCU

[Bill Marsh]

While I'm in no way in any rush to expand, the school that still really intrigues me is Saint Louis. It has strong facilities, brings a great media market (a fantastic sports town), and is a like minded institution. It's certainly a gamble as the school is struggling with financial issues at the moment and has little history of basketball success, but I think SLU could have the highest upside of any candidate not named UConn. Of course, we could get stuck with another DePaul - that's the gamble, but I see a like minded institution in a major city with zero high level basketball competition. I know their attendance isn't great now, but a bad A10 team isn't exactly something to get excited about. They drew well a few years ago when the team was winning. Travis Ford has already done a great job recruiting and I have a feeling combining that recruiting with high major conference affiliation could make that program explode.

I agree.

I'm also not dead set against Gonzaga.

If they win this tournament, I think the Big East should weigh the bad geography with all the positives their inclusion would bring to the conference. It would be a no-brainer in my book, and it would give the Big East the last two champions.

What happens after Few retires?

What if he doesn't?

[DudeAnon]

What happens after Few retires?

What if he doesn't?

That doesn't mean he isn't immune to turning sour as well. Fact is, if Gonzaga tanks then they are an awful addition whereas DePaul and Georgetown still offer benefits regardless of their basketball failures.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Even though the Big East's priority when the conference reorganized was to be an elite men's basketball conference, the reality is that not all ten teams can be great in a given year. There will always be a school, or schools, that struggle - but, thanks to the configuration of the league, every member has a like-minded institution, location and athletic program to fall back on. DePaul, even though they have been God awful for the past 10 years, still brings the largest Catholic university in the country, as well as one of the biggest media markets in the country - so, when they are down, they still bring chips to the table that allow them a seat.

Realignment is bigger than just athletics, look at Rutgers - a terrible athletics program that got into the B1G. Even in their worst years, they provide value to the conference because of like-mindedness, AAU, and large land grant university status. They are a peer. All of the current Big East schools are peers. They are like-minded. They have similar institutions. VCU, like Wichita State, is not a like-minded institution of the current Big East - hence why they will never be a member of the conference. It is because of this reason that Saint Louis and Dayton will continue to be the top expansion candidates - regardless of how others feel about it. It is the reality.

VCU is a much better fit for the American or A-10. That is about their ceiling in conference affiliation.

[RedStorm]

Really, this has nothing to do with the public/private difference. The conf would add UConn in a millisecond if they sought to join. And would encourage them to bring along Memphis. If hypothetically, the B12 was destroyed as it nearly was a few yrs ago and multiple teams were left stranded, the BE would be open to take in Kansas St and maybe a few others.

The reason Dayton and VCU are not getting in is because they are lowly midmajors....period. The conf is not going to cheapen itself by stocking a bunch of A-10 crap.

10-20 years from now maybe, when Creighton and Butler have put many years btw them and their midmajor affiliations, are seen as fully established powerhouse programs and are associated with major conf athletics only in the public consciousness and no longer new kids on the block, then maybe, if a school like VCU or Dayton has maintained consistency and has attained the level that Xavier had right before the realignment, they'd have a shot a being taken.

But no chance anytime soon.

[Savannah Jay]

Really, this has nothing to do with the public/private difference. The conf would add UConn in a millisecond if they sought to join. And would encourage them to bring along Memphis. If hypothetically, the B12 was destroyed as it nearly was a few yrs ago and multiple teams were left stranded, the BE would be open to take in Kansas St and maybe a few others.

Memphis is not a good school. There is no way on God's beautiful green Earth that the president's of the current Big East universities would invite anyone to "bring Memphis along."

[Edrick]

No one is EVER going to get an invitation with FBS football. And unlike UConn, Memphis' football looks like itll be viable long term. But you are right, the Big East isn't going to extend invitations to glorified community colleges either

[Dwon]

The Richmond DMA is the biggest one in the country without a professional sports team or an FBD football program.

VCU has a $2 million/yr media rights deal. Put that against any other "expansion candidate". If ratings and media are a factor, VCU has the measurables against the other candidates outside of UConn.

VCU has the best track record of any candidate outside of Gonzaga.

VCU is located in the best recruiting grounds (Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina are 3 of the top 5 states for D1 basketball recruiting).

VCU has the best traveling fanbase of all the candidates, with a proven track record of showing up in NYC for a conference tournament.

VCU is truly a program: 4 coaching changes and havent missed a beat. $25 million dollar practice facility.

VCU has 30,000 students along with 15,000 employees. Its endowment is $1.6 Billion. It is a public research university, received over $250 million in sponsored research last year.

IF the private/public issue was not there, then it would be a no brainer. VCU (from what I know) would've been in good position to join when X did, but was opposed by Georgetown. Unsure if GU's recent downturn does anything to affect a change in that regard.

If the Big East will never accept a public then this is all a moot point. Hopefully VCU would then join WSU and Dayton in the AAC.

Gopher Ram fan- I was elated to see you back me up with all that supported evidence. Seems to me that a lot of these folk that are against the idea of VCU joining them are like minded to the ones that would charge ridiculous prices for organic foods. Actual prices @ Whole Foods is $13 for a small bottle of healthy Pure pomegranate juice(the size of a Snapple's drink). Gotta be wealthy in order to ingest the blessed fruit.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Gopher Ram fan- I was elated to see you back me up with all that supported evidence. Seems to me that a lot of these folk that are against the idea of VCU joining them are like minded to the ones that would charge ridiculous prices for organic foods. Actual prices @ Whole Foods is $13 for a small bottle of healthy Pure pomegranate juice(the size of a Snapple's drink). Gotta be wealthy in order to ingest the blessed fruit.

Cheers, Old Sport!

[Savannah Jay]

Not sure the source of the comment "Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina are three of the top 5 states for D1 basketball recruiting." When I read that, it didn't make sense from a pure numbers/population standpoint...what about Texas, Cali, Illinois, Florida...heck even Georgia produces a lot of D1 talent. So I did a little checking (and only a little) and found this, which was done last fall and looks at the states producing all 5,176 kids playing D1 ball this year.

http://herosports.com/news/college-basketball-players-home-states-d1-mens-basketball-kentucky-texas-deaaron-fox

In case the link doesn't work, top 10:

1. Texas
2. California
3. Illinois
4. Florida
5. New York
6. North Carolina
7. Georgia
8, Ohio
9. Virginia
10. Maryland

[billyjack]

Gopher Ram fan- I was elated to see you back me up with all that supported evidence. Seems to me that a lot of these folk that are against the idea of VCU joining them are like minded to the ones that would charge ridiculous prices for organic foods. Actual prices @ Whole Foods is $13 for a small bottle of healthy Pure pomegranate juice(the size of a Snapple's drink). Gotta be wealthy in order to ingest the blessed fruit.

Cheers, Old Sport!

Lol...

This is the second supermarket reference in the last 2 weeks by Southern non-BE fans. One was by an Arkansas fan promoting Walmart for food shopping i think, and now a VCU fan . I think Rhode Island with 1 million people might have one Whole Foods or maybe 2.

What's the deal with supermarkets? My wife and I go to either Stop n Shop or locally-owned Dave's Market (think it grew from a Warwick family fruit stand into a chain of a dozen stores in RI).