All Realignment Talk Here

This realignment thing has been rather insane the past couple of years.

But one thing that I keep reading in some posts on this, and a variety of sports-site boards...

"if they took in Penn State..."

Are you kidding me? All that Sandusky and JoPa dirt happened...imagine if THAT scandal dropped in this league? The BigTen can take a hit like that, but as the signature school of the Big East? A conference with a ton of Catholic schools? As if Catholics don't have a bad enough reputation when it comes to child abuse?

Why regret what mighta, coulda, shoulda, woulda, been? This conference realignment is a force larger than any one school or conference or vote. No singular entity takes the blame. Things are where they are, so like so many others here, I'm just excited about the possibility of a league with emphasis on hoops and hope that St. John's and others can undergo a rebirth of sorts. It's certainly more exciting to look forward to than a schedule of future Big East teams lurking all over the continent.

Lastly...football. I love what the Marquette coach, or AD, said about "we don't know what things are like 30 years from now." I think football is in the last of its golden era. People think I'm nuts when I say this, but look at horse racing and boxing...these were sports that had great attendance figures, radio coverage, etc. Now, they are literally sports on the fringes...The writing is on the wall, American football, while entrenched to the point that it will never disappear, can definitely crash and burn as a major sport. Football is a lost land these days...get rid of kickoff? Add half a league to the playoffs? Concussion lawsuits? Penn State and "culture"? Ask those you know who played football you will mind a MAJORITY of them would NOT let their kids play this game. NFL wants to expand to London, can't even get a team to stay in L.A. Massive rule changes every year? If you don't see this for the chaos that it truly is...

Basketball on the other hand, is the only American sport that has truly grown globally. Like soccer, its simplicity and access help. Looking at things for the long haul, a strong basketball conference might be the place to be one day anyway.

Happy Holidays y'all.

And can somebody please get the NCAA to settle this Sanchez situation already???
 
If UConn. were one of the non-football schools it would very likely be 8 schools joining together to form a new conference. Then the religious aspect of state U or private school thing would not hold up. This is a case of 7 schools whose needs are being ignored leaving. I'm Jewish and feel very uncomfortable that religion comes into this picture. Lets applaud Mick C. and other members of the BE who see this clearly and feel the 7 are right. The teams leaving are the non-football members, and it should have stayed at that. If this turns out to be a all-Catholic league that would be fine, but don't know if it should be promoted as such. I know the guys on this board just want to see SJU in a strong league, playing a good schedule, and some top notch hoops. I now feel like we are on our way.
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Agreed. The Catholic thing is out of control...it's about basketball, not religion. I don't want to scare away any secular schools who have good programs. We need to drop the "Catholic 7" label and go for something more like "Hoops 7".
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We don't have to drop anything. We are not using the term. Its the media who concocted it.
 
I once bought tickets a UCONN game; therefore I am on their mailing list. I received this rather sober letter from the UCONN President on their predicament.


Dear UConn Friends and Colleagues:
It is difficult to write to you about athletics or any other conventional university items in light of the Newtown tragedy. We will never understand it; hopefully there will be some healing in the future, although that seems very far off right now. I ask that you consider giving one of the greatest gifts of all to the survivors of Sandy Hook Elementary: the opportunity to attend a top research university like ours. Please make a gift to a young child, so that he or she might have the honor of being a Husky some day.


As you know, conference realignment continues at a rapid pace and UConn has new challenges we must face. I do not know when or how things will settle; no one does. There is more change to come that will reshape the landscape yet again. I assure you that the BIG EAST presidents are both unified and optimistic, working to strengthen the conference in imaginative ways that will see us through to a bright future for our students, coaches, and fans. Commissioner Mike Aresco is an outstanding leader at an extraordinarily complex time, and our university partners represent powerful, high-quality institutions that we are proud to join with in this conference.
I realize that this is aggravating to hear, but as in all things, we can only affect what is in our control. As a result, we strive for excellence at UConn daily across all departments, something very much in our control. We stand tall at UConn and we need not beg, plead, nor despair. That is not who we are, and my reading of our university history -- from 1881 to today -- conveys the pride of every generation, in good times and bad.
There are profound concerns about the future of collegiate athletics of course. I speak often to presidents across the nation, and we are hardly alone in our worries. Even many seemingly “secure” universities are fearful of the changes to come, not only in the realm of realignment, and hope for a long-term stability that seems elusive right now.
We here at UConn have incredibly powerful and compelling teams, decades of accomplishment, joyful traditions at games, and great plans in the works, such as our men’s ice hockey team entering Hockey East in 2014, the top conference in the nation, and our new building projects, like the Basketball Development Center.
I know that it is difficult to read much of the internet content right now about athletics, which seems to be dominated by negativity. Many bloggers, journalists, and even fans from elsewhere would like to see UConn hurt, and hence write with a cynical tone. This flip discourse is again, not in our control. The truth is that this is a top national research university with a terrific athletics program that will flourish, no matter what conference we are in and no matter what the media chatter looks like.
I wish you could see my mail and answer my phone, to get a true sense of how dedicated and upbeat our best fans are. Far from being depressed or dragged down by negativity, they are more committed than ever before, and know that it is their very commitment that will determine our future. They know that we will be more than fine, even if there are months and maybe even years of conference uncertainty ahead. We still get to play and we still get to win. Our true fans and supporters so love our coaches and students, and enjoy their tremendous efforts on the field and court. That is what I appreciate, and what all university presidents hope for.
When it comes to athletics, I normally write to you – so often these volatile days! – about student-athletes and our need to focus on them. Again, there is much cynicism around this topic. I cannot speak for other institutions, but here at least, focusing on our students guides what we think and what we do. We care deeply about student academic success, and the pride that we feel about all of our sports is both immense and genuine.
So, Huskies: Let’s all hang tough and please keep some perspective, as hard as it is in a time of great change. Win or lose, conference struggles or not, UConn is a research university. So if you are feeling low, just head to our university home page and glory in the amazing new faculty we are hiring at a rapid pace, our incredible student successes across disciplines, scientific awards and invention by our faculty, and all that matters most at your flagship university.
I was hired because I’m an optimist, and I cannot help being just that. I never see the productive value in cynicism and negativity, when there is so much to be proud of. It’s a tough world out there, but you can count on me to be the Number One Cheerleader for this superb place I call home. I hope to see you at many games this year – basketball, hockey, and spring sports are not too far off, despite the temperatures out there! Support our beloved university, our outstanding coaches and students, and all really will be well.
I realize that it is difficult to have a truly happy holiday if you are at all close to Newtown or are simply touched by it, as so many are, around the world. But do please have a safe and restful break, and be thankful that we are so tightly bound to each other by this great university community.
Susan Herbst
President
 
According to sources in the Big East, the 7 Catholic schools who announced on Saturday that they were leaving–DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s–and the three remaining FBS schools–Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati–will split a pot that includes more than $60 million in assets compiled from exit fees and the highly profitable “units” handed out by the NCAA to schools that perform in the lucrative NCAA basketball tournament.

http://ajerseyguy.com/
 
As we all go into the doldrums considering the future of St. Johns Basketball and the Big East peters out I've been thinking about the future and I have a proposal that I hope the grand pooh-bahs are considering.

Conference realignment from the stand point of making money has nothing to do with the teams or history, it's all about media markets, having the biggest national footprint, and mega events marketers can attach themselves too to focus attention on their brands. With the realignment I propose our league would have a dominate footprint in terms of media coverage, millions of Alumni nationwide but still maintains the air of reality these institutions require, and our community ties dictate. With the right approach to marketing no basketball league could even touch it in many ways, it would cover 40% of the DMA population, and include 7 of the top 10 media markets. Further the historic links these schools have to each other playing meaningful games would add to each school lore and position the league to dominate the collective mindshare in a whole new way. Finally, we live in a culture of Jay-Z and urban life. This league is positioned to be a part of that culture in a way no other league can in terms of location. Plus, the scheduling of the league I am proposing would be very realistic for teams that dont make money. It would also be a national powerhouse in Women's hoops, Men's and Women's soccer, Baseball, Tennis, and Golf.

With that in mind, if I were the "Fathers" that be I would create one basketball Super Conference comprised of the following:

West (the historic WCC): Gonzaga, USF, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland & BYU
Central: Marquette, Dayton, Xavier, Depaul, Butler, Detroit, St. Louis, Creighton
East: Holy Cross, Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Villanova, St. Bonaventure & Fordham

Teams could play mixed schedules where they play 14 regional rivals and then 4 featured games (supported by heavy media focus to build the brands) against other teams around the conference at predetermined larger locations (eg. Oakland, MSG, etc.). At the end of the season, I would host 3 regional championships in NY, Chicago & LA (or SF, Seattle) And host a made for TV Super Championship the weekend before NCAA's are announced featuring the Top 4 teams from each regional league. Screw the NCAA, toss out the existing league relationships of the 24 teams and negotiate directly with ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS or NBC for exclusive rights to the whole nut (regional league season packages, featured cross-league match ups (e.g. St. Johns-Gonzaga regularly at MSG over President's Day weekend could be an event) conference championships, mega finals weekend, the works) all starting in 2015.

To go along with this, I would seek to re-ignite the power of the community of church itself to build a brand as the original Big East did. This league should be the first thing on the lips of every priest with basketball in his hand when he set them loose at 8 years old. I would make a concerted effort to re-connect all of these schools directly with the Catholic youth sports organizations in this country and seek to leverage the super-league as a starting point to destroy the cancerous AAU/Shoe Company mess that High School & College basketball has become make it a force for good in terms of returning youth basketball to the positive force it once was. I would create a national program seeking (from the top down) a channel to shuttle children playing CYO sponsored programs, youth leagues and High Schools directly into the league. I would not feel guilty about it either lets face it street agents are destroying kids. Everyone of these schools started with the same historic mission. To educate Catholic youth who where underserved in communities dominated by patrician Episcopalians and making an education possible to the needed and underserved. This league could become a true force for good in college sports & beacon in world gone mad.

People will pay for that and would be proud to cheer it. And finally I would say - in true Catholic fashion - yes some fo these schools are small, and have not been great for a long time but a rising tied can raise all ships.
 
As we all go into the doldrums considering the future of St. Johns Basketball and the Big East peters out I've been thinking about the future and I have a proposal that I hope the grand pooh-bahs are considering.

Conference realignment from the stand point of making money has nothing to do with the teams or history, it's all about media markets, having the biggest national footprint, and mega events marketers can attach themselves too to focus attention on their brands. With the realignment I propose our league would have a dominate footprint in terms of media coverage, millions of Alumni nationwide but still maintains the air of reality these institutions require, and our community ties dictate. With the right approach to marketing no basketball league could even touch it in many ways, it would cover 40% of the DMA population, and include 7 of the top 10 media markets. Further the historic links these schools have to each other playing meaningful games would add to each school lore and position the league to dominate the collective mindshare in a whole new way. Finally, we live in a culture of Jay-Z and urban life. This league is positioned to be a part of that culture in a way no other league can in terms of location. Plus, the scheduling of the league I am proposing would be very realistic for teams that dont make money. It would also be a national powerhouse in Women's hoops, Men's and Women's soccer, Baseball, Tennis, and Golf.

With that in mind, if I were the "Fathers" that be I would create one basketball Super Conference comprised of the following:

West (the historic WCC): Gonzaga, USF, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland & BYU
Central: Marquette, Dayton, Xavier, Depaul, Butler, Detroit, St. Louis, Creighton
East: Holy Cross, Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Villanova, St. Bonaventure & Fordham

Teams could play mixed schedules where they play 14 regional rivals and then 4 featured games (supported by heavy media focus to build the brands) against other teams around the conference at predetermined larger locations (eg. Oakland, MSG, etc.). At the end of the season, I would host 3 regional championships in NY, Chicago & LA (or SF, Seattle) And host a made for TV Super Championship the weekend before NCAA's are announced featuring the Top 4 teams from each regional league. Screw the NCAA, toss out the existing league relationships of the 24 teams and negotiate directly with ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS or NBC for exclusive rights to the whole nut (regional league season packages, featured cross-league match ups (e.g. St. Johns-Gonzaga regularly at MSG over President's Day weekend could be an event) conference championships, mega finals weekend, the works) all starting in 2015.

To go along with this, I would seek to re-ignite the power of the community of church itself to build a brand as the original Big East did. This league should be the first thing on the lips of every priest with basketball in his hand when he set them loose at 8 years old. I would make a concerted effort to re-connect all of these schools directly with the Catholic youth sports organizations in this country and seek to leverage the super-league as a starting point to destroy the cancerous AAU/Shoe Company mess that High School & College basketball has become make it a force for good in terms of returning youth basketball to the positive force it once was. I would create a national program seeking (from the top down) a channel to shuttle children playing CYO sponsored programs, youth leagues and High Schools directly into the league. I would not feel guilty about it either lets face it street agents are destroying kids. Everyone of these schools started with the same historic mission. To educate Catholic youth who where underserved in communities dominated by patrician Episcopalians and making an education possible to the needed and underserved. This league could become a true force for good in college sports & beacon in world gone mad.

People will pay for that and would be proud to cheer it. And finally I would say - in true Catholic fashion - yes some fo these schools are small, and have not been great for a long time but a rising tied can raise all ships.
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Holy Cross, St. Bon's, and Fordham are very ugly teams that have no business being in a league with us. You are also making this way too religious. This is a much more secular time and you will only scare people off being so hardcore with the Christy stuff. Too many cupcakes that bring the RPI down, and too much focus on religion. Let's focus on basketball and the best chance of getting into the tournament with better RPI teams.
 
According to sources in the Big East, the 7 Catholic schools who announced on Saturday that they were leaving–DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown, Villanova and St. John’s–and the three remaining FBS schools–Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati–will split a pot that includes more than $60 million in assets compiled from exit fees and the highly profitable “units” handed out by the NCAA to schools that perform in the lucrative NCAA basketball tournament.

http://ajerseyguy.com/
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This is great news!
 
As we all go into the doldrums considering the future of St. Johns Basketball and the Big East peters out I've been thinking about the future and I have a proposal that I hope the grand pooh-bahs are considering.

Conference realignment from the stand point of making money has nothing to do with the teams or history, it's all about media markets, having the biggest national footprint, and mega events marketers can attach themselves too to focus attention on their brands. With the realignment I propose our league would have a dominate footprint in terms of media coverage, millions of Alumni nationwide but still maintains the air of reality these institutions require, and our community ties dictate. With the right approach to marketing no basketball league could even touch it in many ways, it would cover 40% of the DMA population, and include 7 of the top 10 media markets. Further the historic links these schools have to each other playing meaningful games would add to each school lore and position the league to dominate the collective mindshare in a whole new way. Finally, we live in a culture of Jay-Z and urban life. This league is positioned to be a part of that culture in a way no other league can in terms of location. Plus, the scheduling of the league I am proposing would be very realistic for teams that dont make money. It would also be a national powerhouse in Women's hoops, Men's and Women's soccer, Baseball, Tennis, and Golf.

With that in mind, if I were the "Fathers" that be I would create one basketball Super Conference comprised of the following:

West (the historic WCC): Gonzaga, USF, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland & BYU
Central: Marquette, Dayton, Xavier, Depaul, Butler, Detroit, St. Louis, Creighton
East: Holy Cross, Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Villanova, St. Bonaventure & Fordham

Teams could play mixed schedules where they play 14 regional rivals and then 4 featured games (supported by heavy media focus to build the brands) against other teams around the conference at predetermined larger locations (eg. Oakland, MSG, etc.). At the end of the season, I would host 3 regional championships in NY, Chicago & LA (or SF, Seattle) And host a made for TV Super Championship the weekend before NCAA's are announced featuring the Top 4 teams from each regional league. Screw the NCAA, toss out the existing league relationships of the 24 teams and negotiate directly with ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS or NBC for exclusive rights to the whole nut (regional league season packages, featured cross-league match ups (e.g. St. Johns-Gonzaga regularly at MSG over President's Day weekend could be an event) conference championships, mega finals weekend, the works) all starting in 2015.

To go along with this, I would seek to re-ignite the power of the community of church itself to build a brand as the original Big East did. This league should be the first thing on the lips of every priest with basketball in his hand when he set them loose at 8 years old. I would make a concerted effort to re-connect all of these schools directly with the Catholic youth sports organizations in this country and seek to leverage the super-league as a starting point to destroy the cancerous AAU/Shoe Company mess that High School & College basketball has become make it a force for good in terms of returning youth basketball to the positive force it once was. I would create a national program seeking (from the top down) a channel to shuttle children playing CYO sponsored programs, youth leagues and High Schools directly into the league. I would not feel guilty about it either lets face it street agents are destroying kids. Everyone of these schools started with the same historic mission. To educate Catholic youth who where underserved in communities dominated by patrician Episcopalians and making an education possible to the needed and underserved. This league could become a true force for good in college sports & beacon in world gone mad.

People will pay for that and would be proud to cheer it. And finally I would say - in true Catholic fashion - yes some fo these schools are small, and have not been great for a long time but a rising tied can raise all ships.
Click to expand...
St. Bonaventure, Holy Cross and Fordham should not be part of the conference/ I like Gonzaga, but I am not crazy about many of the teams in the W. I also beliieve this is going to be primarily an all sports conferece, so the logistics would not work. I like your central division, add in the remaining BE schools and you have a great BB conference that makes sense geographically.
 
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf0eZTsoHT4[/video]

Nothing really important but interesting to hear some thoughts from an ex st. john's player.
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Felipe, what can you tell us about the Orlando Sanchez mystery?
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
Click to expand...

Here it is look on the left

zikuwj.jpg
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
Click to expand...

Here it is look on the left

zikuwj.jpg
Click to expand...

Based on our criminal justice program I'm going to guess he's secret service
 
Andy Katz ‏@ESPNAndyKatz

We have entered the era of conference smack talk. Sign at US Bank to UC fans from XU fan: "Where's your conference? CUSA"
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
Click to expand...

Here it is look on the left

zikuwj.jpg
Click to expand...

Based on our criminal justice program I'm going to guess he's secret service
Click to expand...

Where are the biddies? ;-)
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
Click to expand...

Here it is look on the left

zikuwj.jpg
Click to expand...

Based on our criminal justice program I'm going to guess he's secret service
Click to expand...

The Pres has some hops
 
This is random but I saw a picture of President Obama playing basketball at the White House and some guy had a SJ t-shirt on lol. Cool to see.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Reggie Love (former Duke player) is on his staff for some college bball ties.
Click to expand...

Here it is look on the left

zikuwj.jpg
Click to expand...

The Pres has some hops!
 
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