Big East Coast Bias: FanPosts

WTF is going on with BECB?

2013-04-30T16:29:19Z

I'm sorry, but the question has to be asked. What is going on with Big East Coast Bias?

My understanding is that the person who was the original prime blogger here was a Louisville fan. And he disappeared without another word right around the time Louisville announced it was going to the ACC.

(IMHO, that was incredibly un-professional on the part of Mengus22. But I digress...)

Now, we are in limbo, with no official updates since then. Only a couple fanposts and fanshots by the few of us that actually care.

What is going to happen with this site? It can't simply disappear.

Will it be turned over to fans of the new Big East, to focus on the Catholic Seven and the new generation of basketball immigrants? (No offense, J.P. Scott.)

Or will it be turned over to fans of the old Big East, to become a conference blog for the American Athletic Conference?

All I want is some sort of closure. We've been sitting in limbo here for five months. This is ridiculous.

I'm sorry, but the question has to be asked. What is going on with Big East Coast Bias?

(IMHO, that was incredibly un-professional on the part of Mengus22. But I digress...)

Now, we are in limbo, with no official updates since then. Only a couple fanposts and fanshots by the few of us that actually care.

What is going to happen with this site? It can't simply disappear.

Will it be turned over to fans of the new Big East, to focus on the Catholic Seven and the new generation of basketball immigrants? (No offense, J.P. Scott.)

Or will it be turned over to fans of the old Big East, to become a conference blog for the American Athletic Conference?

All I want is some sort of closure. We've been sitting in limbo here for five months. This is ridiculous.

Hello, Big East. We're Omaha. Nice to meet you.

2013-04-14T04:32:25Z

Contrary to what many disgruntled fans and talking heads tell you, Big East basketball is not dead.

By parting from the football schools and adding three like minded institutions, "The Catholic Seven" did the best thing possible for a sport that had previously been powerless to the forces of the ever-changing college football landscape.

One of those three institution/teams added to the "New Big East" is Creighton.

As a guy who grew up on the East Coast, I'm fully aware of the perceptions and opinions of the Midwest. Nothing but cows and cornfields, right? Well, yeah...for the most part.

In the year 2000, my career choice brought me to Omaha, Nebraska. Thirteen years later, I call the city my permanent home and defend her honor like a soldier defends a flag. Omaha is a great city. One of the things that makes it a great city is Creighton University.

You could argue that Creighton University boasts the best athletic department in the nation without a football team. Men's soccer, Women's basketball, baseball and Men's basketball are consistently among the top two or three teams in their conference. In the case of soccer, they are often among the top five in the nation.

Omahans (600,000-plus in the metro area) show up to support Creighton University's sports team in masses. The men's basketball team is the flagship program, selling over 13,000 season tickets for the 2012-2013 season and consistently packing over 17,000 into the CenturyLink Center for home games against the likes of Northern Iowa and Wichita State.

The City, the University, and the fanbase welcome the move to the new conference and the chance to give the East Coast an up close and personal look at Omaha. When you come here, you are going to be surprised if you've never been. You'll find no cows or corn, no barns or tractors. What you'll find is a thriving city full of proud midwestern people who believe in hard work, hustle, and handshakes.

Our house will be loud and as intimidating as any you've seen in the old Big East. Our fans will be confident, yet pleasant. We'll root against you one minute and give you directions to the best steakhouse in town the next.

Don't get us wrong. None of us expect to walk into the new conference and start dominating. We know better. We know who we are. We know our role, however, it may not be the one you expect us to play. Creighton will compete. They'll win some and they'll lose some. And yes, every once in a while, the Bluejays will win a conference title.

What we won't do is kick down the door and pick fights. There won't be a lot of smack talk. We'll pride ourselves on what happens on the playing fields. We won't poke and prod to start false rivalries, as Creighton and Marquette already have some history. We feel like we have that covered.

We are Omaha and we are Creighton. Moreover, we are excited for the opportunity and anxious to prove to the rest of you that we can fit in to a conference that is not the end, but the beginning of something great.

We'll see ya soon.

Contrary to what many disgruntled fans and talking heads tell you, Big East basketball is not dead.

One of those three institution/teams added to the "New Big East" is Creighton.

As a guy who grew up on the East Coast, I'm fully aware of the perceptions and opinions of the Midwest. Nothing but cows and cornfields, right? Well, yeah...for the most part.

We'll see ya soon.

Big East Conference (1979-2013)

2013-03-17T05:43:36Z

I never thought I'd find myself eulogizing the Big East Conference. While I've spoken plenty of its demise, I've got no right to speak at its funeral. After all, I'm an alumnus of one of the football Johnny-come-lately schools, a school which, other than a spark in the 2011-2012 season, has absolutely no birthright to the rich tradition that is Big East basketball. Perhaps that's precisely why I saw what I saw, and why I feel compelled to write this.

The championship game of the final Big-East-as-we-know-it Tournament provided a perfect allegory for the downfall of a once great conference.

Syracuse and Louisville arrived at the same point by two very different means, in more ways than one. Syracuse was an architect of the grand experiment that became the Big East Conference in 1979; Louisville joined during its last expansion in 2005, a last-ditch effort to save the conference after Virginia Tech, Miami, and Boston College were poached by the ACC. Both are now ACC bound; Syracuse was an addition as the conference decided to expand to 14 (now 15) schools; Louisville was added to replace the University of Maryland-College Park after it announced its departure for the Big Ten.

1 Timothy 6:10 is often misquoted. "Money is the root of all evil," quote many, but in full, the love of money is the root of all evil. Likewise, some will claim that football killed the nation's greatest basketball conference, but it was the love of football, its ever growing contracts, endless paper chase, and the realignment that was precipitated by it all, that killed the Big East.

As the conference swansong began, it seemed that a night in which all things Big East basketball were celebrated would be a coronation of the old guard. Syracuse dominated the first half, entering the locker room with a 35-22 lead and leading by as many as 16 in the second half. But when Louisville awakened, it took a lead off of a 24-3 run and never looked back. From that point on, it was all Cardinals, leaving those watching to wonder what they had just witnessed as the final seconds ticked away from the Big East Conference.

There's something perversely poetic about the end of the Big East Conference coming as a conference newcomer takes down an original member. Louisville is the conference's current football champion (to be fair, so is Syracuse, in a four-way tie that further highlights the absurdity of Big East football of late, but Louisville was the BCS representative) and was a member of Conference USA just eight years ago. The two will part ways for just a season, as Syracuse heads to the ACC and Louisville plays one year in the yet-to-be-named conference containing the remaining Big East football schools and additions, before being reunited when Louisville joins the ACC in 2014.

The Big East isn't dead, some may say. Indeed, a Big East tournament will play a year from now, in Madison Square Garden. But the Big East, as long recognized and celebrated, has died. It may have died tonight. It may have died back in 2005 and it's just been Sixth Sensing it ever since, because we all wanted to believe. But after this season, the founders will be scattered to the four winds. Boston College has been gone for nearly a decade. Georgetown, Providence, St. John's, and Seton Hall will carry the name into the new conference, with Villanova and newcomers Marquette and DePaul. Syracuse, much to the annoyance of head coach Jim Boeheim, will play its next conference tournament in Greensboro, NC, and Louisville will spend a year in limbo before joining their foes from tonight in the Gate City. No one extant entity will lay a legitimate claim to the history of the Big East, but it is possible the conference's entire story was told tonight in 40 minutes.

The championship game of the final Big-East-as-we-know-it Tournament provided a perfect allegory for the downfall of a once great conference.

What the football schools should do

2013-03-04T23:35:27Z

The Catholic 7 our going to add some teams chances are two or three.

The Football schools should add two or three strong basketball schools.Keeping ECU as a football only member and add one more football only member.Cincinnati along with Memphis and Connecticut would be happy to have a couple strong basketball additions.The Catholic 7 take Xavier ,Butler and Creighton then take St.Lois and Wichita ST or Dayton.Twelve for Football and twelve for basketball.This would keep the new football conference as the sixth best at least in both sports.

The Catholic 7 our going to add some teams chances are two or three.

Louisville Wins Sugar Bowl

2013-01-03T05:01:13Z

What a huge win for Louisville, Charlie Strong, and their football program tonight. I'll bet the ACC folks are pretty happy now they picked Louisville over UConn or Cincy. If Louisville keeps coach Strong I think they have a great shot at winning the Big East next season. Remember, now that Boise St. is gone, there will be no Big East Championship game next year, which is too bad in my opinion. And for all the trash that is talked about Big East football teams... those people can shut it. Why has the Big East been picked apart by conference realignment? Because the Big East has good football teams in valuable media markets. As everyone scatters and joins new conferences, I know I will be cheering for all former and current Big East members. I hope the newcomers can do this conference proud, because the Big East name and legacy deserve it. Anyways, congrats to Louisville on their BCS win!

Big East (present and 2013) bowl game running thread

2012-12-29T21:46:13Z

Syracuse is leading West Virginia, 12-0, in the Pinstripe Bowl as I type this. (finished article with 5:03 2nd quarter) So, where are we right now?

San Diego State lost to BYU, 23-6, in the Poinsettia Bowl.

UCF beat Ball State, 38-17, in the Beef O'Bradys Bowl.

Boise State edged Washington, 28-26, in the Maaco Bowl.

SMU beat Fresno State, 43-10, in the Hawaii Bowl.

Cincinnati beat Duke, 48-34, in the Belk Bowl.

Rutgers lost to Virginia Tech, 13-10, in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

We still have Louisville v. Florida in the Sugar Bowl, and Pitt v. Ole Miss in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Syracuse is leading West Virginia, 12-0, in the Pinstripe Bowl as I type this. (finished article with 5:03 2nd quarter) So, where are we right now?

San Diego State lost to BYU, 23-6, in the Poinsettia Bowl.

UCF beat Ball State, 38-17, in the Beef O'Bradys Bowl.

Boise State edged Washington, 28-26, in the Maaco Bowl.

SMU beat Fresno State, 43-10, in the Hawaii Bowl.

Cincinnati beat Duke, 48-34, in the Belk Bowl.

Rutgers lost to Virginia Tech, 13-10, in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

We still have Louisville v. Florida in the Sugar Bowl, and Pitt v. Ole Miss in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

BEast Conference Play Is Upon Us

2012-12-26T05:46:36Z

It's the last season of Big East basketball before more major defections. Let's see where all our teams stand (IMH and biased O) before we head into conference play!

#8 Cincinnati: The last undefeated Big East team and one of the last five undefeated teams. Cincinnati looks pretty good and should compete for the conference title, right? Well, before conference play starts they have one more tough test against a pretty good New Mexico squad. Cincinnati hasn't played any ranked teams yet, although that's hardly their fault. They won the Global Sports Classic in November by defeating Oregon and Alabama. Cincinnati is still a bit of an enigma, however. There's no telling how they will play against tougher competition, although one must certainly expect them to rise to the occasion. They open conference play Dec. 31 at Pitt.

#21 Notre Dame: These guys are good, especially at home. They knocked off Kentucky (yay!) but lost to St. Joe's early in the season. Still, Mike Brey is obviously an excellent coach and Jack Cooley should be a BE POY candidate. They open conference play Jan. 5 vs. Seton Hall. They have yet to play a true road game, however, and will face a stiff challenge at Cincinnati a mere two days after ballin' with the Hall.

#24 Pittsburgh: So severely underrated it's not even funny. The 2012 NIT champions are playing like they could be 2013 Big East champions. Jamie Dixon's team took Michigan to the brink and came this close to winning. Otherwise, they haven't faced much tough competition and have yet to play any true road games. They open conference play Dec. 31 vs. undefeated Cincinnati and could very well knock them off. They will certainly be back in the NCAA tournament this season.

#4 Louisville: To say Rick Pitino's team is pretty good would be an understatement. Their only loss came to Duke in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, and even then it was close and contested. Once they get Dieng back, heck, they could be unstoppable in Big East play. The sky's the limit for these guys. Louisville begins Big East play Jan. 2 vs. Providence, but not before a huge game against Kentucky. Expect Calipari's squad to receive a drubbing.

#15 Georgetown: Very close to being undefeated, their only loss came against #1 Indiana in overtime in the Legends Classic. This team has proven it can win low-scoring games (37-36 vs. Tennessee, anyone?) and can keep up with anyone, although they might have lost to Florida to open the season, had the game not been called at halftime. Georgetown starts Big East play Jan. 5 at Marquette, their first true road game of the season.

#9 Syracuse: Just lost to a surprisingly good Temple team at MSG in the Gotham Classic, which is Batman's new non-conference tournament. Syracuse has all the pieces for a national championship run but has played a lot of cupcakes. On the flip side, SU went to Arkansas and won a hard-fought game, and beat a great San Diego St. team on a friggin' aircraft carrier to open the season. Syracuse starts conference play Jan. 2 vs. Rutgers.

Seton Hall: They won most and lost a couple, to Washington and LSU. It's hard to gauge how good Seton Hall really could be, but don't expect them to finish at 6th in the Big East standings. A decent team, to be certain. But let's not fool anyone, this is a team which will struggle in Big East play, which for Seton Hall begins Jan. 2 at DePaul in what will be a hard-fought game.

Connecticut: Credit Kevin Ollie for doing so much with so little. Connecticut is ineligible for post-season play, and as such are a darkhorse candidate to win the Big East regular season - they have the talent to do it. At the same time, they tend to play teams pretty close. How they close out games will be crucial. Big East play begins Jan. 1 at Marquette for UConn.

Rutgers: They haven't defeated anyone good and sadly seem to be destined for the Big East basement this season. Conference play opens Jan. 2 at Syracuse. Rutgers will need a few miracles to even sniff the NCAA tournament this season. Losses to St. Peter's and at Ole Miss won't help anyone's perception of Rutgers.

DePaul: Other than taking down an undefeated Auburn, the Blue Demons haven't done a whole lot else and is there any reason to believe this season will be any different from the last few? Hopefully they can manage an NIT berth, and that is certainly attainable. They open Big East play Jan. 2 vs. Seton Hall, a team which is kind of their equal and will give them a great battle.

Marquette: Never underestimate Buzz Williams, but this is a depleted Marquette team which has struggled this season. They did beat Wisconsin, at Wisconsin, which is no small feat. Marquette should finish middle-of-the-pack in the Big East, and they start conference play Jan. 1 vs. UConn.

Providence: A young but dangerous team on the rise. Next season they could be superb and mark my words, they will upset at least one top 25 Big East team this year. A NCAA berth is possible but an NIT berth and a high seeding seem more likely. Providence starts Big East play Jan. 2 at Louisville (gulp).

South Florida: Oh, USF, how you confuse and astound us all. This team is talented, certainly. Not elite but a tough out. Another NCAA run is unlikely this season, but wasn't it surprising last year too? USF opens Big East play Jan. 6 vs. Syracuse, but not before getting one more shot at rival and future Big East team UCF, who beat the Bulls earlier in the season.

St. John's: Steve Lavin's first year may have been a fluke, as he inherited a wicked talented team from his predecessor. Once again, the Johnnies are under-performing and have lost 1/3 of their games. Even an NIT appearance will be a long shot. St. John's starts Big East play Jan. 2 at Villanova.

Villanova: What's going on in Philly? For the second year in a row, Jay Wright's team does not seem up to the challenge of winning tough games. They did win at Vanderbilt, so give credit where it is due, but this batch of players Wright has now reminds me very much of the Syracuse teams of 2006-07 and 2007-08 that had potential but failed and wound up in the NIT. Villanova's first Big East game this season will be at home against St. John's. Villanova best win if they have any shot at salvaging their season, because it only gets more difficult.

Anyone disagree with these assessments? I ain't no expert, mind you.

It's the last season of Big East basketball before more major defections. Let's see where all our teams stand (IMH and biased O) before we head into conference play!

Anyone disagree with these assessments? I ain't no expert, mind you.

Poll

0 votes

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So, what's the deal with BECB?

2012-12-07T11:59:45Z

Is this it? No news, updates, articles... Are Down The Drive and Big East Coast Bias both shutting down in the same week? And what a sad week it is for both the Big East and Cincinnati. Louisville and Rutgers abandon ship, Butch Jones looking at other coaching gigs.... Ugh, this is why I will always love my Browns before any college sports loyalty.

Otherwise, Big East basketball is looking strong as always. Feel free to use this as a thread to discuss the conference's basketball news in lieu of any official posts.

Go Bearcats!

Otherwise, Big East basketball is looking strong as always. Feel free to use this as a thread to discuss the conference's basketball news in lieu of any official posts.

Go Bearcats!

Rutger's sues Big East over buyout

2012-12-05T16:16:05Z

It seems Rutgers doesn't think the Big East can legally hold them to the buyout provisions of the conference bylaws.

Their argument: the Big East hasn't held anyone else to the provisions (Pitt, 'Cuse, TCU, WVU). I'm no lawyer, but that sounds like a good argument to me. My guess is that Rutgers' motivation for doing this is more about the 27 month waiting period. Per Big East bylaws (again, not a lawyer) it looks like Rutgers' exit fee is only $5 million. (See pg 23 here.)

This buyout legal battle fiasco has become part of the conference realignment shuffle. Cost of doing business, as they say. These begin to look more and more like legal formalities than true battles. The Big East, in particular, has demonstrated the emotional stability of a jilted lover. "If you don't want to be here, go ahead and leave," they seem to be saying in each of these legal battles.

It seems Rutgers doesn't think the Big East can legally hold them to the buyout provisions of the conference bylaws.

So... is this it?

2012-12-01T19:33:07Z

After losing Louisville, is there any chance that the western additions decide to join anyways, or will they go back to the Mountain West and Conference USA? Is there even enough room in those conferences anymore to take them back? Let's say BSU, SDSU, SMU, and Houston all change their minds about the Big East. That leaves us with Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Temple, Memphis, Central Florida, Tulane, and East Carolina for football. A weak football conference, yes, but a viable one.

Now, will the basketball schools change their minds and decide to dissolve the league after the loss of Louisville? Probably, but it still would be foolish. Breaking away or joining the A-10 would likely mean a large pay-cut for the basketball schools. Plus, the A-10 is pretty well maxed out as far as size goes. They'll be losing Temple (in basketball) soon, so they might have one open spot (correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe someone like Villanova or Georgetown makes their escape, but what makes the Big East basketball schools, on their own, worth more than the A-10 schools? The reason schools like St. John's make so much money in the Big East are the Big East brand name (there's a reason Aresco doesn't want to change it) and the connection to the football schools. The Big East football schools will be fine, regardless of what the basketball schools do. Even if the football schools are forced to go it alone, they still comprise a viable 8-team conference that will get paid more than any basketball conference.

At the same time, the Big East television contract is up in the air, so there's no way to know what the football schools would get paid should they stay in the Big East and/or lose the basketball schools. Ultimately, the basketball and football schools are all worth more by sticking together, but that might not stop the basketball schools from leaving anyways. Ultimately, if the Big East does break up, everyone loses, but I think the football schools will still command a decent contract (maybe 1 million per school? I don't know). Literally anything could happen with the Big East right now. IMHO, and maybe I'm totally off-base here, the ACC will be devoured by other conferences and the Big East (or whatever the BE football schools become) will get the leftovers (Boston College, Syracuse, Wake Forest).

Even with all this garbage going on right now, I STILL think the Big East is more likely to be around for the long haul than the ACC, even if it does become essentially a mid-major conference. The ACC might lose 10 schools, even more if the Pac-12 creates an eastern pod with Notre Dame. The ACC will not survive that sort of loss. For the Big East, just about everyone worthwhile in football is gone... the league already is enduring its worst-case scenario, and it still exists. For how much longer depends on the basketball schools, but money talks, and if Aresco can sign a decent contract, one which is worth more than the Mountain West's or Conference-USA's, then the Big East stands a fighting chance.

Time to Pull the Plug.

2012-11-28T16:30:34Z

The Catholic schools have an opportunity as of today. They can put a merciful end to the league they created and start fresh. The Big East name, a name that long stood for excellence in college hoops, NBA style play in NBA arenas, the greatest post season tournament event of any league, coaching legends and historic NCAA runs, is being turned into a mockery. It's greatest product - basketball - is being watered down to an unrecongnizable disaster. The members that the Catholics wanted to remain associated with are all but gone. The basketball schools must now do the merciful thing and take the league off life support. Retire the Big East to its place in history and start anew. Form a new league. St. John's, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, Seton Hall, Xavier, Dayton, St. Louis. Want to go bigger? Not necessary but you can add Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Creighton and one or two more western schools. Tell Cincy, UConn and USF they are welcome to join in all sports but there will be no football. No reason to leave those schools totally out in the cold (even though they are more than willing to do it to us). Worried about TV contracts? Forget it. The current Big East is not going to get a TV contract that benefits the basketball schools in any significant way than they would do on their own. They will get on TV with this league. The programs are too good and in too many large TV markets. The basketball quality will be on par with the BCS leagues and will be able to put half its membership in the NCAA tourny regularly. The league can assume the MSG agreement for its tourny. To say the hoops schools are better off in a league with Tulane and SMU and UCF is just ridiculous at this point. Once July rolls in, the founders of this league will be at the mercy once again of schools such as Temple, Memphis, and Houston. If Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame had no regard for the league and its traditions, certainly the newcomers will not. Essentially, the Big East basketball schools are about to join Conference-USA, unless we do something about it.

ACC & BE should've merged after 2003

2012-11-27T16:08:55Z

Instead of John Swofford methodically picking off Big East programs 1 & 2 at a time - Miami & Va Tech in '04, BC in '05, Cuse & Pitt in '13 & Notre Dame in '14 (or something) ... Swofford should have been proactive & absorbed the entire BE football conference into the ACC ranks. If his dream was to create a true Atlantic Coast Conference from Cuba to Canada, he had the opportunity but he was too chicken to make it happen.

Big East football played it's first real 7 game schedule in 1993 so that's 11 seasons of existence before Swofford swooped in and vultured off their football teams. There obviously would have been a lot of media backlash & negative attention back in 2003 but it would've been pretty painless because every BE team (save Temple, sorry Owls) would've been able to join the ACC. All 7 of them. And Swofford wouldn't have been blamed for killing the BE because the BE is a private, Catholic basketball league from 1979 that added football in the 90s to make more money.

BE Basketball in 2003 = Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame then they added DePaul & Marquette for 2005. They had 14 teams total in 2003 w/ the 8 football schools. So absorb as many Atlantic-10 Catholic schools as you want.

Big East football in 2003:

Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Temple, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami (UConn jumped up from FCS in '04, partly because they wanted to but mostly of Swofford's raid)

BC, Cuse, Pitt, Va Tech & Miami ended up joining the ACC eventually anyway. Now that the B1G stole Maryland & the ACC has to choose between UConn & Louisville, retrospect shows West Va would've been a good addition despite academics. Rutgers fits despite being not fitting Swofford's basketball school mold.

Super ACC w/ 16 teams in 2004:

NORTH pod: Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh

ATLANTIC pod: Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech

COASTAL pod: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Wake Forest

SOUTH pod: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami

A proactive move like that by Swofford could have gotten the wheels in his head turning & come up with some ideas like creating ACCtv for Tiers 2 & 3 & leveraging the new markets in South Florida, Pittsburgh, NYC & New England to getting a respectable TV contract for Tier 1. ACCtv would've required giving our rights up & by 2012 the network would've been generating enough revenue, Maryland & Rutgers wouldn't need to play Iowa & Nebraska to afford their sports teams.

Looking back at the old landscape of football conferences back in '03, the SEC & Big XII were at 12. PAC-10 was at 10 and could add Utah & BYU to reach 12. Losing a lot of the reasons why ND liked it's BE membership, might've made them the Big Ten's 12 team or the B1G would've kept waiting for them at 11. So the 5 Power conferences would all be at 12 w/ the ACC/BE at 16.

So 3 moves to end conference realignment among the BCS conferences - BE's 7 join ACC's 9 = 16, Notre Dame joins BIG = 12, Utah & BYU join PAC-10 = 12. SEC & XII arealdy have 12. Everyone's happy. The end?

C-USA has 11 teams back then & would've still kicked out Army & definitely add Central Florida from the MAC, UConn from Independents, Temple from BE, & SMU, Rice, Tulsa from WAC to become a 16-team conference.

NORTH pod: UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, Louisville

SOUTH pod: UAB, ECU, UCF, USF

CENTRAL pod: Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa

WEST pod: Houston, Rice, SMU, TCU

The MWC would be at 6 teams after Utah & BYU join the Pac-12 & the WAC would've had 7 teams after 3 leave for CUSA. While Utah St, NMST & Idaho were in the Sun Belt.

SOUTH pod: Louisiana Tech, UTEP, New Mexico State, New Mexico

MOUNTAIN pod: Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, Utah State

NORTH pod: Idaho, Boise State, Nevada, UNLV

WEST pod: San Jose State, Fresno State, San Jose State, Hawaii

The MAC had 13 after UCF leaves so they just need UMass's football program & could expand to 16 w/ James Madison & Delaware.

POD - UMass, Buffalo, Delaware, James Madison

POD - Kent State, Akron, Ohio, Miami

POD - Marshall, Eastern, Central & Western Michigan

POD - Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State, Northern Illinois

Sun Belt would take the rest:

POD - Florida Atlantic, Florida International, South Alabama, Troy

POD - Georgia State, Middle Tennessee, Charlotte, Old Dominion

POD - Western Kentucky, Arkansas State, LA-Monroe, LA-Lafayette

POD - North Texas, Texas State, UTSA, Team 16?

Big East football in 2003:

Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Temple, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami (UConn jumped up from FCS in '04, partly because they wanted to but mostly of Swofford's raid)

Super ACC w/ 16 teams in 2004:

NORTH pod: Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Pittsburgh

ATLANTIC pod: Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech

COASTAL pod: North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Wake Forest

SOUTH pod: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami

NORTH pod: UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, Louisville

SOUTH pod: UAB, ECU, UCF, USF

CENTRAL pod: Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa

WEST pod: Houston, Rice, SMU, TCU

The MWC would be at 6 teams after Utah & BYU join the Pac-12 & the WAC would've had 7 teams after 3 leave for CUSA. While Utah St, NMST & Idaho were in the Sun Belt.

SOUTH pod: Louisiana Tech, UTEP, New Mexico State, New Mexico

MOUNTAIN pod: Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, Utah State

NORTH pod: Idaho, Boise State, Nevada, UNLV

WEST pod: San Jose State, Fresno State, San Jose State, Hawaii

The MAC had 13 after UCF leaves so they just need UMass's football program & could expand to 16 w/ James Madison & Delaware.

POD - UMass, Buffalo, Delaware, James Madison

POD - Kent State, Akron, Ohio, Miami

POD - Marshall, Eastern, Central & Western Michigan

POD - Bowling Green, Toledo, Ball State, Northern Illinois

Sun Belt would take the rest:

POD - Florida Atlantic, Florida International, South Alabama, Troy

POD - Georgia State, Middle Tennessee, Charlotte, Old Dominion

POD - Western Kentucky, Arkansas State, LA-Monroe, LA-Lafayette

POD - North Texas, Texas State, UTSA, Team 16?

Perhaps the best scenario for everyone is a fresh start

2012-11-26T16:11:17Z

As I write this, we haven't yet heard what the next school will be to move from the Big East to the ACC. The presumption is either UConn or Louisville (although there are rumors of UConn and Louisville and Cincinnati all leaving for the ACC).

Either one might be enough to radically change the Big East. One rumor flying around is that after either UConn or Louisville declares that they are heading to the ACC, the remaining Catholic schools, having a 7-3 edge in voting rights, might vote to dissolve the Big East entirely. I don't see that happening, but I do think that perhaps major reform is needed.

One one hand, the basketball schools know that they're getting more money by being aligned with football schools. However, the future alignment of the football league (and for that matter the basketball league) has been distorted so badly that it makes very little sense. It doesn't even have any core geographic area anymore.

The future football league consists of ...

... two or three teams in the northeast (UConn?, Temple, Navy)

... one or two in the "midwest" (Louisville?, Cincinnati)

... two in the southeast (South Florida, Central Florida)

... three in the south (Memphis, SMU, Houston)

... one in the southwest (San Diego State)

... and one in the northwest (Boise State)

I'm sorry, but this is not a football league that is likely to get a massive TV contract, or anything close to what it was offered before when it still had Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Rutgers. It also has no strong connection to the "Big East." At least half of the football teams are former Conference USA members. Only one (Temple) is an original Big East football member (and they were originally kicked out in 2004). Connecticut didn't even join FBS until 2004. I don't think TV networks are going to have much faith that a football league that is so disjointed has much hope of staying together long-term.

It may be time for the "Catholic seven" that remain to sever ties with football. I do not see the seven non-football members voting to end the Big East. I do, however, see one possible scenario that might work out reasonably well for everyone involved in this mess.

1. The seven non-football members vote that the Big East will not sponsor football as a league sport in the future. Admittedly, this could be reversed as soon as the incoming members arrive, but that might not happen if ...

2. The seven non-football members vote that any schools that are either currently a member of the Big East that sponsor FBS football (Cincinnati, UConn/L'ville, USF, Temple) or incoming schools that sponsor FBS football (Navy, UCF, Memphis, SMU, Houston, BSU, SDSU) may leave the Big East, either with no penalty or some smaller reduced exit fee.

3. Boise State and San Diego State return to the Mountain West Conference.

4. Navy returns to its status as an FBS independent.

5. The remaining FBS schools form a separate conference that sponsors football and is also a respectable basketball conference.If we assume that UConn goes to the ACC, and the remaining FBS schools from the Big East grab a few more old friends, we have a "new Conference USA" that is a reasonably geographically sensible conference:

West: Houston, SMU, Tulsa*, Memphis, Southern Miss*, Tulane*

East: Cincinnati, Louisville, Temple, East Carolina*, Central Florida, South Florida

6. The remaining Big East teams (the seven non-football schools) add Duquesne, Dayton, Xavier, Butler, and St. Louis, becoming an east/midwest basketball-focused league (still called the Big East).

7. The Big East Conference and West Coast Conference (which adds Seattle and Denver to its lineup) collaborate on scheduling and on a new television contract. They provide a network with excellent coast-to-coast basketball programming but they still keep reasonable-sized conferences (12 teams each). They also have a presence in many major media markets, including New York, Philadelphia, DC, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

8. The "new Conference USA" and the Mountain West also collaborate on scheduling and a new television contract, receiving a better deal than either one could by themselves (and similarly having a coast-to-coast setup).

9. All four conferences collaborate on made-for-TV early-season basketball tournaments and non-conference games in basketball (and possibly other Olympic sports too).

The basic benefits:

All of the football teams have a home to go to (Navy will survive well enough as an independent, as they have for their entire existence);

All of the non-football schools have a basketball-first home and a competitive conference;

All of the conferences are reasonably geographically sensible;

All of the conferences benefit from collaboration with each other, gaining exposure, money, quality opponents, and (hopefully) stability;

All of the conferences are kept at reasonable sizes (12 schools each).

I know that the non-football schools of the Big East may make a bit less money without football ... but at some point the money is arguably not worth it. It is also possible that the collaboration with the West Coast Conference, while it may not replace all of the money, may provide some help, as well as long-term stability (which itself is worth something, not only to the members themselves but to TV networks).

How likely is this to happen? Probably not very likely. But if it did, all of the schools might be better off than they would be in a disorganized geographic mess of a conference.

The future football league consists of ...

... two or three teams in the northeast (UConn?, Temple, Navy)

... one or two in the "midwest" (Louisville?, Cincinnati)

... two in the southeast (South Florida, Central Florida)

... three in the south (Memphis, SMU, Houston)

... one in the southwest (San Diego State)

... and one in the northwest (Boise State)

3. Boise State and San Diego State return to the Mountain West Conference.

4. Navy returns to its status as an FBS independent.

West: Houston, SMU, Tulsa*, Memphis, Southern Miss*, Tulane*

East: Cincinnati, Louisville, Temple, East Carolina*, Central Florida, South Florida

6. The remaining Big East teams (the seven non-football schools) add Duquesne, Dayton, Xavier, Butler, and St. Louis, becoming an east/midwest basketball-focused league (still called the Big East).

9. All four conferences collaborate on made-for-TV early-season basketball tournaments and non-conference games in basketball (and possibly other Olympic sports too).

The basic benefits:

All of the football teams have a home to go to (Navy will survive well enough as an independent, as they have for their entire existence);

All of the non-football schools have a basketball-first home and a competitive conference;

All of the conferences are reasonably geographically sensible;

All of the conferences benefit from collaboration with each other, gaining exposure, money, quality opponents, and (hopefully) stability;

All of the conferences are kept at reasonable sizes (12 schools each).

How likely is this to happen? Probably not very likely. But if it did, all of the schools might be better off than they would be in a disorganized geographic mess of a conference.

Best-case results of a Big East break-up

2012-11-21T04:43:53Z

I don't want to see the Big East lose anybody else. Now would be a great time to swoop up a quick replacement, like East Carolina, to replace some of the value Rutgers brought to the table. If East Carolina is worth enough, perhaps the western schools won't leave. Sadly, however, it seems San Diego St., Boise St., Houston, and SMU may not want to head east afterall. This would leave the conference with 7 teams and surely on the verge of collapse. Let's say it happens, and the Big East sheds its football members, adds some A-10 schools and becomes a premier basketball conference, making the best of what they have. Where would the football members land?

Well, the very very best case scenario would be the Pac-12 shocks the world and grabs SMU, BSU, SDSU, and Houston to get to 16 and establish a presence in Texas, while adding an academic peer in SDSU and a great athletic program in BSU. Then, maybe the Big XII decides to grab some teams while it has a prime chance. Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Central Florida, and Memphis all join the Big XII, along with one other team from somewhere, and they get to 16 teams. Next, the ACC takes Temple and the Big Ten takes Connecticut plus another ACC team or Notre Dame to get to 16. Expansion is pretty much done, at the cost of the Big East. The ACC would take a hit but would survive as a legitimate 5th power conference. Now, this scenario will never happen, as Big East teams simply don't add enough value. Then again, I'm no economist. If the Big East does break up I think we all want the best for its member institutions.

When will the merry-go-round stop?

2012-11-18T00:47:34Z

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, surely you're heard the rumors by now. Maryland to the Big Ten. Does the timing make sense? Not at all. How about that exit fee? Is $50 million truly enforceable and legal? But when ESPN starts writing about Maryland and the ACC in the past tense... well, this seems like it could go forward. If it does, it could spell disaster for the Big East. Maryland's athletic department is strapped for cash and they've had to cut sports. If Maryland joined the Big Ten, it would solve the athletic department's budget deficit within a number of years. It's sink or swim and they're sinking.

Maryland will obviously need a travel partner, and popular opinion seems to be that partner will be Rutgers. The ACC will need a replacement for Maryland, and the best choice available is Connecticut. If the Big East loses Rutgers and Connecticut, well, I'm sure schools like Louisville will believe the sky is falling. The question is, how many teams can the Big East lose and still hold together? If Rutgers and Connecticut go, we will certainly need to add another football member to get up to 12. Could THIS be the end of the Big East? I really hope not, but if this rumor proves to be true...

Poll

Can the Big East survive losing Rutgers and UConn?

Yes

27 votes

Heck no

98 votes

125 votes | Poll has closed