Revamped Big East
- Thread starter SJU61982
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I agree. All schools need to consider these things to maintain a strong league. Fwiw, one of those schools could do worse than looking at hiring a guy like Tommy Amaker. He has Harvard in top 25 and can really recruit. Hed be good for one of those programs to at minimum, bring in a better talent base. He turned Harvard around and was 108-84 in e big 10 at Michigan. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to stay at an Ivy forever where his hands are tied. He'd recruit well at a program like Houston.
I don't think that Louisville, Cincinnati and Rutgers have anyplace else to go really or they would have went already. Bring in Memphis and Temple for all sports and add Navy and Air Force for football only and you have 14 football schools and 18 basketball schools and still the best basketball league around. Louisville, Rutgers and Cincinnati will just have to deal with it If I'm Marinatto. They'd like the extra cash it would bring to to each schools.
I agree. These other conferences aren't going to keep expanding and splitting the pie with more schools that aren't a huge draw. Now with talk of the BCS in flux, even less reason for some,of,those conferences to,add more schools. Time to re-build this one, that's all. Losing WVU IMO is a wash when gaining a UCF wrt football. Their basketball program will improve. Houston football is better than Cuse, and their bball program has a nice history. I think our biggest loss was Syracuse because of the fact they were a founding member. Pitt and WVU leaving are no big deal IMO. Cuse though, has a poor football program that's landlocked in the snow belt. Their great bball history attributable to one man...Jim Boeheim, whom is embroiled in scandal now and close to retirement. There will be a lot less excitement and draw for that bball program when their nearly 900-win coache is gone and they don't have the link to MSG that they enjoyed prior.
IMO Memphis and Temple are still no-brainers for all sports. They must be folded in wi what will now be a national conference. After that,mthey can add Navy, Air Force or whomever they want. Now with Boise and SDSU on board, I have a feeling that there will be renewed talks with BYU as well. Our best chance at survival is to go bigger, and make this thing nationall marketable for both bball AND Football. We can return some power shift that way.
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BYU? I hope not!
Our conference was founded by Catholic colleges. Adding a Methodist is fine but Mormons!?!? LOL!
Marinatto isn't inviting Temple or Memphis, plain and simple. The next time we hear the big east has talked to those schools, will be the first time. Because no school he's spoken to in the last few months has had a strong basketball.
And I agree that joining the conference will elevate these schools basketball programs, and Houston had some tradition to begin with; but losing Cuse and Pitt stings, theres no way around it. Look at it this way; were adding three teams that we'll play at Carnesseca only and losing two of our biggest draws from the Garden.
Stop trying to put positive spin on it. marinatto was asleep at the wheel and it's killing this conference.
And I agree that joining the conference will elevate these schools basketball programs, and Houston had some tradition to begin with; but losing Cuse and Pitt stings, theres no way around it. Look at it this way; were adding three teams that we'll play at Carnesseca only and losing two of our biggest draws from the Garden.
Stop trying to put positive spin on it. marinatto was asleep at the wheel and it's killing this conference.
Pitt was nothing at bball til Howland got there, and the draw last year to the game was mostly SJU fans. The Syracuse draw to the Garden? I could care less whether we lose that, but I'm certainly not happy that a founding member of the Big East hightailed. Stop putting a positive spin? Because I don't think it is as catastrophic as others do? There will also be no better time to start our run towards the top without those schools.
So what, the conference will be slight weaker for a little while? All that matter to me is SJU, and we have the opportunity to be just as good or better. The football side will be just as good and probably better now, with a larger national conference. Aloof that will be parlayed into TV dollars, which is the main issue we're facing. The pessimism is overdone until we see how this all shakes out. This conference didn't even have WVU nor Pitt for a long, long time. The only real losses Syracuse for tradition's sake. The rest are replaceable.
Class of 72
Active member
It may not happen this year but once all the new members are on board I can see the Big East becoming the All America Conference (AAC).
I also think that should Air Force and Navy pass on the invitation to join, Memphis and Temple.....will be invited for all sports to restore basketball as the signature sport. East, West, North and South....the new conference will have all four time zones covered and may become one of the first mega-conferences of the next decade.
How is that for some positive spin
I also think that should Air Force and Navy pass on the invitation to join, Memphis and Temple.....will be invited for all sports to restore basketball as the signature sport. East, West, North and South....the new conference will have all four time zones covered and may become one of the first mega-conferences of the next decade.
How is that for some positive spin
There's no question that Marinatto was asleep at the wheel and that it almost killed the conference. I agree with MCNPA in that we can turn this thing around. If we add the military acadamies they have a nationwide fan base and we have schools in all four time zones for marketing purposes. The Big East can truly become a national super conference in both sports. UCF is one of the fastest growing universities in the country (i read it somewhere, I forgot where) and they have a good basketball team. As far as Memphis and Temple are concerned, my sister lives in Memphis and Fed Ex has there hub there, Fed Ex has pledged to put money into the Memphis football program the same way Nike did with Oregon if the get into a better conference. Temple would also put more money into their program if they could get in to a better conference. These teams would improve. Marinatto should take them without hesitation.
Great Raftery tag line (among his many).
That team with Jerome Lane and Charles Smith absolutely destroyed Villanova in teh last regular season game in 1985. Weird how Pitt lost in teh first or second round, while Villanova won the nation championship.
After those guys left, they had even a more talented roster. Brian Shorter, Eric Mobley, Jerry McCullough, and Sean Miller. That was a stacked team that always disappointed in the tourney.
I cant disagree with that. What drives me crazy is that if a guy like Pitino, who Marinatto knows and has a good relationship with from their Providence days, is teliing him to add Temple and Memphis for all sports why wouldn't he do it. Is he that dense?
I can understand the time and hard work that he spent getting things right on the football side. Now what I do not undersand is why he has made no effort to try to do some things for the basketball side. Why aren't the basketball schools yelling in his ear to bring aboard MEMPHIS and TEMPLE to replace the loss of Syracuse, Pitt, and W. Va. It makes no sense at all. The basketball side is the signature part of the conference. The basketball schools have been silent and that does not get things done. We need at least 2, preferably 3 GOOD basketball schools added, and I think that should happen sooner rather than later.....
We could turn it around, I don't know if it would ever be an improvement on losing the Miamis, Vtechs, and now Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and WVU. But we could definitely turn things around, I'm in complete agreement. My point is just that Marinatto ISN'T turning things around.
If all of us can see that the Temples and Memphises would be huge additions then why isn't he pursuing them??
I can't think it's as simple as territorial rights. Because Pitino has been very outspoken about his desire to see the bball side of the conference improved ... and specifically with Memphis and Temple.
I think the football schools are saying no expansion that doesn't include a football program, because they think that's what got the Big East in trouble in the first place.
In reality the Big East screwed itself by turning down Penn State early on, and then letting ND in without football. Imagine a Big East with ND and Penn State....
Miami and Va Tech never leave, and the Conference probably signs the second biggest TV contract after the SEC. BC stays put, we probably never would have contacted USF, but could still have built the conference with Lousiville,and CInnci giving us enough teams for two divisions and a championship game to be played at Yankee Stadium or Met Life. Marquette and Depaul come on board for basketball only, but they balance each other out and make travel easier on some of of the midwest teams. And of course WVU, Syracuse and Pitt stay put in a football conference that TRULY represents football fans on the east coast, and the basketball league continues to be the best in the country.
It's not inconceivable that that could have happened. If Marinatto had the forsight and ambition he could have made it happen. ND probably would have needed to be given a larger split of football income, but I find it hard to believe the other teams wouldn't eventually give the Irish a bigger piece of the pie in exchange for the attention and ratings their football program brings.
But our commish had no ambition. He took the hits, didn't deliver them.
Let me refresh everyone's memory; the BEast bylaws require 80% of the members to approve any school for entry into the conference. Marinatto cannot act on his own.
It was not Marinatto's decision alone to reject the $1Billion contract offer from ESPN- that decision was made by a vote of the conference members. Likewise Marinatto cannot add or bar any team without the approval of the members. Perhaps Pitino knows what would be better for the BEast than the Louisville president but the Louisville president has the vote- not Pitino.
It was not Marinatto's decision alone to reject the $1Billion contract offer from ESPN- that decision was made by a vote of the conference members. Likewise Marinatto cannot add or bar any team without the approval of the members. Perhaps Pitino knows what would be better for the BEast than the Louisville president but the Louisville president has the vote- not Pitino.