Welcome to The Holy Land of Hoops

After this week, the Big East will never be the same.

It will be better.

Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville — good riddance.

Rutgers, Notre Dame — don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

For this basketball junkie, it’s a welcome sight to watch the schools that sold out to football depart a league that was founded on great hoops. No more threats, rumors or innuendos about leaving. Just be gone, now and forever. Let this be a time for rhapsody.

Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall — keep standing tall.

Villanova, Marquette, DePaul — may you never fall.

Now add Xavier, Butler, Creighton — and just for rhymes — Saint Louis and Dayton.

Granted, the new Big East dominated by Catholic colleges will lose some terrific rivalries. The Syracuse vs. Connecticut six-overtime classic will have no connection to the reconstituted conference. And while there might be a little sympathy for the Huskies getting left behind, everybody knows they too covet pigskin prominence.

So embrace the change. Big East 2.0 (or at this point, maybe 3.0 or 4.0) is an alliance that will likely stick together for decades and have you forgetting about the defectors in no time.