FeistyFrog
Sir FeistyFrog
http://www.bigeast.org/News/tabid/435/Article/227181/Summer-Kickoff-Preview-No.-9--Looking-Toward-The-Future.aspx
The 2010 U.S. Census reports that there are some 6,371,773 residents of what is known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It’s the fourth-largest population center in the United States and the largest in the South. And at this time next year, it will be yet another spoke in the BIG EAST’s hub as Texas Christian University becomes the conference’s 17th member and its ninth football-playing school. In a day where the Big Ten has 12 teams and the Big 12 has 10, there’s no topic that ignites Internet message boards like conference expansion in college athletics. All it takes is one comment from the right person at the right time – whether that person has a stake in the matter or not – to stir the pot and send diehard fans drawing divisional alignments and evaluating which outsiders ought to be drafted into their favorite conference. While it’s a hot topic today, conference membership has always been a part of the BIG EAST landscape. The league began in 1979 as a basketball-playing entity featuring Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Syracuse. Villanova joined in 1980 and Pittsburgh followed in 1982, beginning a nine-year period of stability in the league.
The 2010 U.S. Census reports that there are some 6,371,773 residents of what is known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It’s the fourth-largest population center in the United States and the largest in the South. And at this time next year, it will be yet another spoke in the BIG EAST’s hub as Texas Christian University becomes the conference’s 17th member and its ninth football-playing school. In a day where the Big Ten has 12 teams and the Big 12 has 10, there’s no topic that ignites Internet message boards like conference expansion in college athletics. All it takes is one comment from the right person at the right time – whether that person has a stake in the matter or not – to stir the pot and send diehard fans drawing divisional alignments and evaluating which outsiders ought to be drafted into their favorite conference. While it’s a hot topic today, conference membership has always been a part of the BIG EAST landscape. The league began in 1979 as a basketball-playing entity featuring Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Syracuse. Villanova joined in 1980 and Pittsburgh followed in 1982, beginning a nine-year period of stability in the league.
