Bill Marsh wrote:NJRedman wrote:Bill Marsh wrote:
You're thinking like a fan of pro sports. DePaul and St John's do not bring the Chicago and NYC markets respectively. They represent their University communities, not their cities. If I turn on WFAN, St John's doesn't get more than a rare mention. Even less from Michael Kay and the rest at ESPN, which is never. These are pro markets, not college markets.
In Chicago, there is a better chance of Illinois or any number of Big Ten schools exciting college fans in that
market than a moribund DePaul program. Same with Notre Dame in either Chicago or NY.
Casual fans of college basketball aren't restricted to the local schools from big conferences if they want to follow college sports. TV offers plenty of options. If they want to go to a college game, they have no incentive to go to a game featuring a losing DePaul or St John's team. Alums of NY schools like Iona, Manhattan, Columbia, Fordham, St Francis, LIU, and Hofstra aren't suddenly becoming fans of St John's and buying tickets out in Jamaica Estates. They'll go to a game at the Garden if it's a big game. But if they're going to attend a game to watch a team lose, they'll go see their own alma maters. A losing program brings very little when it's losing regardless of its market. The attendance figures for DePaul and .st John's reflect that.
Frankly Gonzaga, or Creighton, or Providence are more likely to bring their markets - albeit smaller markets - when they're losing because they are the only game in town. They do attract casual fans in those markets precisely because there are no pro teams and whenever they play, it's a big event. They are part of the culture of their local communities in a way that big city colleges are not.
As for recruiting, most Big East schools recruit nationally. With a TV contract, kids know that the folks at home will get to see them. Occasionally there is a kid who goes to a school because the conference plays in their home town and they'll get back there once or twice a year. It's not like the ACC. Doesn't get kids from NY and Chicago even though they don't have conference members in those cities. The recruiting benefits are exaggerated.
No, i'm not thinking like a sports fan. If you don't think TV markets matter and it's strictly about eyeballs then explain Rutgers invite to the B1G?
Different situation. The B1G was able to negotiate deals with local cable carriers in those states to carry the BTN. It's carriage fees they're after, which means they get paid whether anyone watches or not. It's not about ratings. In addition, there is an enormous number of Big Ten alums in both the NY/NJ area and the DC area. They weren't depending on casual fans tunin in.Those teams means BE games in general are carried in those markets. St. John's getting 10% of NYC TV market to follow them is more valuable than 90% of the Spokane or Omaha market.
Do you have any evidence that St John's is getting 10% of the NYC TV market? I haven't seen that. Fox ratings for the Big East have been low and have not risen to the levels that Fox publicly projected. That's a problem for the Big East long term because if the rating don't improve, the big contract won't be there in 7-8 years. What's the solution?I get it, you want to see the really good team in the conference. You think we should add the really good team because they are really good. You see small desperate schools traveling far so why can't we?
I'll ask you a question. If this makes so much sense why didn't the presidents add them 4 years ago?
Following that line of reasoning, the conference will never expand with anyone because if it was going to happen, it would already have happened.
The question that I posed at the beginning of this thread is, what will be the response of the Big East if the AAC seeks to add Gonzaga and BCU in addition to Wichita State. When the AAC was formed, it was a terrible basketball conference beyond the top 2-4 programs. Bit since then SMU and Houston have grown dramatically. With the proposed additions to an improving core, there is the potential for another power basketball conference to emerge. In the past, that situation has motivated some conferences to expand im order to remove the proposed targets for expansion from competitor conferences. Just wondering if anyone sees the BE doing the same or just sitting tight.VCU made a FF run and weren't added. Wichita made a FF run and weren't added. Dayton made an EE run and weren't added. Gonzaga is no different. If it made dollars it would make sense.
Gonzaga is different. It's a natural institutional fit for the Big East. The other 2 aren't. It's one road trip a year for 4-5 teams for any school, trips which can be piggy backed on a trip to Omaha. If that's a deal killer, fine by me. I prefer the 10 team format anyway. I just thought it made for interesting conversation now that the BE season is over and Fonzaga is in the headlines.
dakphonics wrote:Outside of this board nobody is talking about Gonzaga joining the Big East. Not even Gonzaga. On the other hand UCONN has been rumored inside and outside. Prob best to concentrate chatter where it is warranted. No offense though because I love Gonzaga. Perfect fit but for geography in many ways. And Btw people that think Zags are some flash in the pan are nuts. Mark Few has been courted by countless power connference schools including Oregon with all the Nike money and parents live 10 minutes from campus. The dude has no interest in Anything but Gonzaga. He ain't going anywhere until he retires 10-20 years from now because he loves fly fishing Easter WA and ID too much.
Anybody that lives in Omaha knows it takes longer to fly to San Francisco than it does to Charlotte. Eastern Washington is not in the realm of our conference. If Omaha is far flung from NYC, Washington State is even more so from Omaha on a different level. Two time zones, mounitains, and a wilderness away. The Big East is geographically similar to the big 10 right now. They have Maryland to Rutgers in the East to Nebraska (cornhuskers) in the West. It's like Georgetown and Seton in the East to Creighton in the West. Not a lot different except BE goes further East and north with providence, and B10 has MN, MI and IA school(s) Talk about being far flung if the Big East wants to be as geographically desperate as the AAC by all means add a team as isolated from the rest as Gonzaga.
As much as Gonzaga would be a great brand for the Big East and I would be happy about it, it's hard to imagine it happening. I think the Big East is likely to add maybe 1 team if any, and if they do, they'd be more likely to add UCONN than anyone else. And that'd be the the end of it.
GoldenWarrior11 wrote:The compromise for the Gonzaga conundrum is a scheduling alliance, instead of a full-fledged membership. Have Big East teams play them a over a 3-5 year period. It improves their RPI and SOS, while increasing our visibility and getting a like-minded institution to play a lot against. It also protects against Olympic sports traveling 2,000 miles.
EMT wrote:Bill Marsh,
Do you think Few wants out of the WCC or is he trying to scare the other non-St. Mary's programs into stepping it up?
I say this because other than the BE, they can't really move that far up conference wise from where the WCC is right now. No P5 can take them and you could argue that even with WSU and Gonzaga joining the AAC, they won't move into the Top 6.
Is solidly 7th best conference worth the additional travel?
Tulsa World -
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 12:00 am
By KELLY HINES World Sports Writer | 0 comments
Last year, the American Athletic Conference inked a seven-year, $126 million TV contract with ESPN for rights to telecast the league’s games, primarily football and basketball. The deal runs through the 2019-20 season.
gtmoBlue wrote:Tulsa World -
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2014 12:00 am
By KELLY HINES World Sports Writer | 0 comments
Last year, the American Athletic Conference inked a seven-year, $126 million TV contract with ESPN for rights to telecast the league’s games, primarily football and basketball. The deal runs through the 2019-20 season.
3 more seasons left on the AAC TV deal.
As for polls the BE has normally 4 or 5 teams in the major polls during the season, so adding another is not that big of a deal.
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