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Boot DuhPaul and we can include them all

Xavier
Butler
Dayton
Saint Louis
Creighton
Virginia Commonwealth

DePaul won't be booted and shouldn't. It's Chicago and despite not being very good lately it has been a very powerful program. Chicago isn't crawling with basketball powers, if DePaul can reestablish itself the new conference could potentially dominate a city with a B1G team. You need to keep them and hope they get things in order. Hopefully whatever they decide on a new playing arena helps spark them along. Besides, they need the 7 for an automatic berth. You don't dump them to avoid making a decision on programs you aren't entirely thrilled with.

Why on earth would we boot a school we've partners with so we can add a school with the same amount of star power? DePaul may not be doing well now but college sports are cyclical. Not to mention our previous league fell apart because of a lack of loyalty and now we should turn our back on our friends for a school we don't have a relationship with? Terrible idea.

Dayton and St. Louis are solid additions but not sexy. At least if we were adding a sexy school it would be worth discussing. Like boot DePaul so we can get Duke or something. But St. Louis and Dayton??? If they don't join I don't really care. Right now it's Xavier, Butler, Creighton, Gonzaga, VCU, and pu pu platter.

Not to mention we need 7 schools playing together for 5 years to get an auto bid

Article from the Chicago tribune about Depaul and their AD:

DePaul AD sees better days ahead for basketball program
Ponsetto confident Purnell can turn program around and new league will be great for school

These are exciting if unsettled times for DePaul basketball, with the bright prospect of a new power conference affiliation looming around questions about a new home arena and the on-court direction of Oliver Purnell's program under the guidance of athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto.

Purnell is not yet "on the clock," according to Ponsetto, despite having his team finish last in the Big East in each of his first two seasons.

Pressure to return the program to some semblance of its national prominence in the late 1970s and early '80s under legendary coach Ray Meyer is a process Ponsetto views as incremental.

"We have an expectation that we will start to see a turn in the program in Years 3, 4 and 5," Ponsetto said in an interview with the Tribune. "And hopefully when we get to Year 5, we (will) be well on our way. But we fully recognized when he came in it would take time. … And you are starting to see it a little bit with the development of Brandon Young and Cleveland Melvin."

Purnell reportedly is being paid $1.8 million annually on a seven-year deal that runs through the 2016-17 season.

Purnell, who previously turned around programs at Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson, is 29-50 overall at DePaul with a 7-24 mark his first season, 12-18 last season and 10-8 in Year 3.

Ponsetto also acknowledges she is accountable for getting better results from the school's most visible sport.

"The men's basketball program, on many levels, has provided great opportunities for DePaul to tell its story," she said. "I obviously was here when (we were) experiencing a renaissance in the late '70s when my husband Joe (Ponsetto) played. … So I probably feel a little more intensity or a little more pressure to be successful because I have to go home and look at somebody every day who wants to see it successful."

But she also is accountable to the DePaul administration for shepherding the program successfully into its new conference.

The buzz around the Big East this season is the likely defection of DePaul and six other Catholic universities to form a new basketball conference. Such a move could add pressure on the Demons to step up their game.

"(In the '70s) DePaul wasn't in a conference," Ponsetto said, "didn't have a regular-season schedule that had some of the same nuances as the strength of what the Big East Conference has right now or what the new conference affiliation might have."

Marquette, St. John's, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Providence, Villanova and DePaul have agreed to separate from the Big East and form a so-called "Catholic 7."

"Honestly, I don't think our priorities or our sense of urgency will be shifted regardless of what conference we're in," Ponsetto said. "The university has made a significant commitment to men's basketball because we recognize how visible the program is and its long, storied history."

Ponsetto predicts significant progress will be made soon regarding the proposed new conference.

"As we took a look at the new conference, it became more and more apparent that for us to have the kind of association and affiliation that we were looking for in terms of institutional commonality, it made a lot of sense," she said.

"We are diverse, urban campuses and philosophically have a lot of commonality in commitment to academics and athletics."

According to multiple reports, Butler, Dayton, St. Louis and Xavier are interested in leaving the Atlantic 10 to join the new conference. Creighton of the Missouri Valley Conference also is believed to be in the mix.

Reports of major sports networks such as ESPN, NBC Sports and Fox Sports lining up to court and showcase a new conference have fueled those schools' enthusiasm. One report had Fox Sports offering $500 million over 12 years.

"Financially, that really remains to be seen," Ponsetto said. "(The decision to split) really wasn't financial, although there is a great appeal nationally for a lot of the institutions and the brands we have. And it certainly doesn't hurt us, too, that we have some great television markets."

The details of the conference shift remain fluid.

"We have hired a law firm out of (Washington)," Ponsetto said. "And we hired Neal Pilson (former president of CBS Sports) as our television consultant. The negotiation of how we are going to leave the conference has to be managed. Then who is going to be in the conference, besides the seven of us."

It is feasible a new conference could be in play by next season.

"By and large, our presidents are responsible for working through all of the separation," Ponsetto said. "There are a lot of legal ins and outs."

While the Blue Demons continue to play home games at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, many fans long for the days when DePaul played on campus at Alumni Hall. But she said there isn't really a suitable site near the school.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has expressed support for DePaul to return to the city, while Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf reportedly have offered free rent for 10 years and other perks for the Blue Demons to play at the United Center.

"We continue to have a great experience at the Allstate Arena," she said. "(But there is) really strong interest in bringing men's basketball back to the city of Chicago … or something in the Chicago area.

"Certainly, the United Center is an opportunity that is out there. And we have determined that partnering with someone is the best opportunity we have if we are going to build something new. We have had a lot of interest from a variety of different partners who want to work with us. I would say: Stay tuned."

On one hand, we all know DePaul is going to be in the C7. On the other hand, I've heard that DePaul will be back for the last 25 years.

They did win CUSA right around when they entered the Big East. They even were alright in the Big East early on, I think, getting some NIT bids. They really earned their current reputation in the last 4 or 5 seasons. Wainwright, as likable as he is, really oversaw that program tanking after it got up on its feet a little.

Even if we don't think their return is imminent, you don't drop them for a program you aren't entirely sure you want.

Here's a list of seasons DePaul has missed both the NCAA and NIT since 1980: 93, 96, 97, 98, 01, 02, 06, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12. That's not too bad through 07, only one stretch of no invites for 3 seasons. Since then is when they've become terrible with consistency.