No Statement From The League Office...??

[sju88grad]

“We are very proud that UConn earned the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament following another tremendous season that included both the Big East regular season and tournament titles.

Marquette, a No. 2 seed, and Creighton, a No. 3 seed, give the Big East three of the top 10 overall seeds in the tournament, as many as any other league. We consider each of them legitimate contenders for a Final Four berth and another Big East national crown on April 8th.

These high seeds follow our most successful Big East Tournament to date, which saw five sellouts and our usual impassioned crowds at The World's Most Famous Arena. Our four-year extension with Madison Square Garden, announced on Friday, means that the event, a New York City staple, will celebrate its 50th anniversary at MSG in 2032, a run unmatched in the college basketball world.

We have great respect for the NCAA men's basketball committee and the time and effort that goes into selecting and seeding the teams for the NCAA tournament. It is a very challenging job, and we have been advised that this year’s upsets added to the complexity and contributed to the committee's final bracket selections. Given the high level of play in our league, we are understandably very disappointed that some worthy Big East teams were not selected to participate. We will be working closely with our schools in the coming months to best position the Big East next year and to ensure that we continue to be represented in March Madness in a manner befitting our stature as one of the best conferences in college basketball.”

Underwhelming to say the least……

[billyjack]

Better off saying nothing.

[redmen9194]

Not sure what the league office can do. The statement clearly indicates there was a discussion with the committee regarding it so the conference has let them know it's not happy. Just because it's not being done publicly doesn't mean it's not being done. The three coaches with the gripe - Pitino, English and Sha - certainly are not wallflowers and I'm sure they will carry their anger into next season and it will be different. This committee was not smart-from who got in to who was out and the seeding. Got it all wrong for sure. But winning cures everything. The Big East against the World has always worked for us. We have the most entertaining brand of basketball with an unmatched array of coaches and a Men's Post Season Tournament that is the envy of all others. Despite the lack of football money, we own three of the last 8 Natties. Did we get snubbed? Yes we did. But sometimes that happens. Time to move on. Lets win both the NCAA and the NIT and then kick some ass next season. A lot of talk about Dave Gavitt and how he would have been banging his fists and yelling and screaming. I don't think he would have. HE would have talked to the powers that be behind the scenes and let them know his anger, would have publicly indicating his disappointment, and then would have told his coaches to go out and scorch Earth on the court never again let the committee put so many of our teams in a position where we are on the fence. These coaches will do that with or without a fiery response from Val - who by the way has been eating the lunch of the so called "Power Five" for years. When the ACC and Big Ten jointly approached the Garden to bring their tournaments to NYC and alternate years with the Big East, she quietly came in and extended our deal first to 2028 and now to 2032. She negotiated the deal to bring UConn home. We have a TV contract that puts 99% of our games on linear TV with no paywall and a slew of them on Big Fox. We sell out the conference tournament every session - even on days where the locals are not playing. This is a fluke - the committee was clueless not only with us but on a lot of issues. It's not a conspiracy, it's not a trend, it's a group that did not do their job competently. Let's go win these two tournaments, hit the portal and recruiting trails hard, and get ready for the revenge tour in the Fall. Go Big East.....

[Hall2012]

I respect and appreciate everything Val Ackerman has done for this league, but a much stronger defense was needed here.

I was initially against letting her go until I remembered that we have the perfect replacement simply waiting for the phone call.

It's time for "the commissioner" to take his throne. Hire Jay Wright.

[stever20]

Interesting what Rick Pitino tweeted out a few minutes ago:
Have a great suggestion for Dan Gavitt, who is absolutely the best. I know three guys who are watching games all year n would be a great addition. They won't just look at certain metrics. Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams n Coach K. They need to be part of selection Sunday!!!