Agree w Rick, the Big East must strategically plan to expand and the ACC, despite its struggles, still has some quality programs. In this warp speed hoops environment, forget adding the schools that fit the traditional Catholic School model the conference was built on like Dayton. We love the “cozy” nature of the BE w ten teams and playing each other twice, but imo we are too heavy and need to think outside the box and merge with ACC if feasible.Rick had an interesting comment on McAfee show regarding NIL changes for next year. He said it goes from current format to a revenue sharing arrangement where all schools will be allowed to share $22 million with athletes so basketball only schools will have an advantage over the football schools who have to take care of the football players out of the that amount along with the other teams.
He also said again that he believes a Big East/ACC basketball merger would create a great conference able to compete with SEC's; and, of course, the tournament at MSG.
Of course this is not a “waving the magic wand” type move and merits a ton of leadership and creativity. Not sure Ackerman can capably lead this exploration, but the BE University Presidents must unite and develop an aggressive business strategy to explore the feasibility of this bold move. Apply the “adapt or perish” mantra as you see fit.