An Expansion Road Block

[WVUFan]

"NEW YORK -- Three of the game's premier coaches were inside Madison Square Garden Wednesday for the Big East Conference's basketball media day. Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Jim Calhoun of Connecticut and Rick Pitino of Louisville, with a combined 2,224 victories and four national championships, are three of the most powerful people in college basketball.

But those who wield power without peer within their sport were powerless this spring when their bosses were engrossed in the conference-expansion talks that dominated the college sports landscape for weeks in the spring.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10294/1096896-142.stm#ixzz130JLftz9"

 

[MidlandFrog]

Pitino can say that until he us blue in the face, but bottom line football is king. The Big East just needs to boot Seton Hall and bring in TCU. I mean seriously, they haven't been relevant in ten years and they don't even have an AD.

 

[WVUFan]

Pitino can say that until he us blue in the face, but bottom line football is king. The Big East just needs to boot Seton Hall and bring in TCU. I mean seriously, they haven't been relevant in ten years and they don't even have an AD.

I wish it was that easy but SH was one of the school who founded the BE Unfortunatly BB rules the BE and if we cant get the BBschool on our side of expansion BE is going to shoot it self in the foot

 

[Delmonico]

Pitino said the Big East is the only BCS conference that does not cater to football.

"Fortunately for us, the Big East is probably the only conference in America where college football doesn't dictate how the other sports go about their life," he said. "We're probably the only conference that doesn't make decisions [based] on college football. We make it on the total package."

The ACC might disagree.

 

[Duquesne Frog]

... if we cant get the BBschool on our side of expansion BE is going to shoot it self in the foot

Agree. I understand that the BB schools have unprecedented power and don't want to upset the apple cart, but at some level I'd think they've got to understand that if they don't ensure the viability of the football conference, they may not have a conference. And the non-football schools may not care ... they'll form a new (strong) BB conference or merge with the A-10 and go on living life. But Boeheim, Calhoun and Petino need to realize that no such safety net exists for their schools. If the Big East football conference doesn't survive, and their football programs do not get absorbed into the Big 10 or ACC, their BASKETBALL programs may be looking the MAC or CUSA in the eye ...

 

[Duquesne Frog]

The ACC might disagree.

But even there, the move to bring in Miami, VaTech and BC was strictly a football move. They understood what some of the Big East doesn't seem to which is that the basketball conference is only as strong as the football conference. Those schools added next to nothing as basketball schools but they helped the ACC football profile significantly ...

 

[WVUFan]

Agree. I understand that the BB schools have unprecedented power and don't want to upset the apple cart, but at some level I'd think they've got to understand that if they don't ensure the viability of the football conference, they may not have a conference. And the non-football schools may not care ... they'll form a new (strong) BB conference or merge with the A-10 and go on living life. But Boeheim, Calhoun and Petino need to realize that no such safety net exists for their schools. If the Big East football conference doesn't survive, and their football programs do not get absorbed into the Big 10 or ACC, their BASKETBALL programs may be looking the MAC or CUSA in the eye ...

+1

I thaught that was the dumbest statement i heard this whole BE media days I would expect that talk from Georgetown, Saint Johns,or Marquette not from a coach from a FB school

 

[frogs001]

Sure would be nice to see Coach Dixon get to match up against his alma mater in basketball. I use the term "match up" extremely loosely.

 

[HFrog1999]

ugh

 

[Horned Frog Country]

If the football schools were smart, they would split from the non football schools from them ASAP. The Big East as it currently configured is an unstable league that is a total mess. If TCU were to ever join the football schools of the Big East, I sure hope the non football schools are totally out of the picture. Otherwise, the Big East as it currently configured is nothing more than a glorified version of the old CUSA.

 

[Duquesne Frog]

If the football schools were smart, they would split from the non football schools from them ASAP. The Big East as it currently configured is an unstable league that is a total mess. If TCU were to ever join the football schools of the Big East, I sure hope the non football schools are totally out of the picture. Otherwise, the Big East as it currently configured is nothing more than a glorified version of the old CUSA.

They won't do that because it will cost them their connection to Notre Dame and, to a lesser extent, Georgetown and St. Johns. If they can get Nova to "switch teams" the football schools are at least hoping that will give them political power to expand. They will probably lose some of the basketball schools in the process, and may even be hoping to do so. But they want to keep ND and a few of the other relevant BB schools in the fold ...

 

[WVUFan]

They won't do that because it will cost them their connection to Notre Dame and, to a lesser extent, Georgetown and St. Johns. If they can get Nova to "switch teams" the football schools are at least hoping that will give them political power to expand. They will probably lose some of the basketball schools in the process, and may even be hoping to do so. But they want to keep ND and a few of the other relevant BB schools in the fold ...

Honestly the reason they dont leavein because ATM they have an AQ for the next 4 years in the BE and if they wanted to leave they would need everyone onboat for a long hall not jump ship soon after + they would want KU KSt to make that commitment also.

It was discussed before the start of the season but that idea did not last long

 

[FeistyFrog]

Honestly the reason they dont leavein because ATM they have an AQ for the next 4 years in the BE and if they wanted to leave they would need everyone onboat for a long hall

 

[Horned Frog Country]

They won't do that because it will cost them their connection to Notre Dame and, to a lesser extent, Georgetown and St. Johns. If they can get Nova to "switch teams" the football schools are at least hoping that will give them political power to expand. They will probably lose some of the basketball schools in the process, and may even be hoping to do so. But they want to keep ND and a few of the other relevant BB schools in the fold ...

I really do not see the point of having ND in the conference if they are not going to be a football member. As for the others that don't play football but are good at basketball, I would think they want to move on from them as well because they are resistant to football expansion. Even If Nova does switch, the Big will have over 3 teams that will have played D1A football for less than 15 years. It will be hard to justify the Big East keeping the automatic BCS bid when you add Nova. The Big East football schools would be better off splitting and then adding a couple of established football schools.

 

[mcdaddy]

Sure would be nice to see Coach Dixon get to match up against his alma mater in basketball. I use the term "match up" extremely loosely.

This TCU alum has the highest ranked bball team in the Big East in thepreseason coaches poll- higher than those other three nuts.

 

[freebird]

I wish it was that easy but SH was one of the school who founded the BE Unfortunatly BB rules the BE and if we cant get the BBschool on our side of expansion BE is going to shoot it self in the foot

#1 thy will never shake out ND
#2 We do have an ace up our selves folks.
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.
.
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Jim is one of the home town boyz.

 

[Virginia Frog]

But even there, the move to bring in Miami, VaTech and BC was strictly a football move.

Those schools added next to nothing as basketball schools but they helped the ACC football profile significantly ...

VaTech has been projected as the #2 ACC team by ACC Coaches for the coming season, after Duke.

Miami, while not top drawer in b-ball, they CAN play.

 

[Kaiser]

Anybody think it's a coincidence the football schools have the most basketball success? I don't.

 

[Ravenous Ute]

Honestly the reason they dont leavein because ATM they have an AQ for the next 4 years in the BE and if they wanted to leave they would need everyone onboat for a long hall not jump ship soon after + they would want KU KSt to make that commitment also.

It was discussed before the start of the season but that idea did not last long

Problem is if the Big East doesn't get quality programs like TCU, they could end up losing their AQ to the MWC.

 

[fanatical frog]

Problem is if the Big East doesn't get quality programs like TCU, they could end up losing their AQ to the MWC.

Yep. Big East football seems to be in a progressive decline over the past several years. West Virginia is currently their only team in the AP Top 25. But I don't put much faith in the human polls so I tend to look more at the computers since regional bias doesn't come into play with computers.

Using the Massey composite computer rankings of 25 computer ranking systems as a measuring stick for comparison between the Big East and the MWC as it will be configured next year :

...............Big East............................................................MWC (2011)
Team..........................rank..................................Team..........................current rank
1. West Virginia............28............................1. Boise State...................2
2. Cincinnatti................49.............................2. TCU...............................3
3. Pitt.............................54.............................3. Nevada..........................24
4. Rutgers....................67.............................4. Air Force........................33
5. UConn......................71.............................5 San Diego St.................42
6. Louisville..................72.............................6. Fresno St.......................62

I think I read the BEast is safe for the next four years so it won't potentially be an issue until 2014......but beyond that , who knows. Some say ESPN will protect the BEast and they won't lose AQ status regardless of their performance. But if the BCS actually abides by their own rules for determining AQ it might get a lttle shaky for the BEast by 2014....assuming these kind of numbers continue.