That's exactly what the bowls are, and the NIT used to be... I'm pretty sure there's not much they could do...
I too prefer UConn basketball to all the other sports.
My guess is it would never get that far. The Super64 thing is a fantasy that usually comes up when a coach or administration is having issues with the NCAA. The funny thing is, the very first thing the organization would do is create a governing body just like the NCAA that would probably have a rule book that's pretty similar to the crap the NCAA has.
So is ours.
The guy is using Villanova as the model...a small private school of 6500 undergrads. Villanova is not our model for ANYTHING. They are a modest sized private school that is primarily focussed on undergraduate education. UCONN is a major public university with a respected graduate school that awards PhDs (VU does in religious studies, I believe) in multiple disciplines, conducts cutting edge reseach, has a medical school, a dental school, a law school, graduate business school, school of pharmacy, school of social work and on and on. It operates on a completely different plane. It is much closer to UNC, Virginia, even Michigan and Ohio State than it is to Villanova. Villanova's peers are really schools like Fairfield and PC and Quinipiac. Comparing them is apples and oranges and comparing their athletic goals is too. As far as you other point, that you'd prefer to see UCONN football die than be Butler or Gonzaga...well that is not the choice. First I don't get the argument. I mean, who would want to go to consecutive NCAA finals? or be nationally ranked virtually every year? But really, it should be possible to get into a conference where both sports can thrive, and both the ACC and the Big 10 are such conferences. Without Pitt and Syracuse, the big East isn't the league it was. Lose any of UCONN, Louisville, West Virginia and it moves down another step, and lose 2 and it moves back even more. Georgetown, Villanova Marquette are nice programs, but htey are Top 20ish programs, not potential Top 5 programs. without the Big East as it has been, you have to wonder how or if they can continue to recruit the same level of athletes, too.
It is a national university, probably more similar to Tufts than UCONN, its true. And probably better known for its graduate programs and research than its undergraduate programs. Sorry if I hurt your feelings but it drives me nuts when people don't get that UCONN, rutgers, Pitt, schools like that so different from the basketball schools in so many ways, academically, socially, athletically and it just makes no logical sense to compare what they want to do and where they hope to go with where UCONN wants to go. Since 2000, UCONN has won national Championships in 3 different sports and gone to the finals in 2 others. that is a far different level of competitiveness than most of the basketball schools can even think of. Now clearly UCONN has been particularly successful, but still, most of the Catholic schools struggle to put 1 nationally relevent program, mens basketball, on the floor.
Yes the BE is bad also. I still can't understand Pitt and Syracuse going from one bad football conference to another bad one. Especially since both have bad media contracts. The fear of WV bolting made these guys jump. The first firecracker and they think its a bomb.
I don't know that that was true. I do think that this has been in the works for a while and with everything else that was going on, they were concerned about either being left behind or being part of something that was goin gto be a nightmare. If the B-12 had collapsed and say Kansas, K-State, Iowa State and Baylor joined the Big East, you've got a mess of a conference, and one that doesn't work well for football and even less well for basketball. They had an opportunity to go to a pretty stable situation, for good if not great money, preserve some old eastern rivalries in a league where football at least isn't viewed negatively. did West virginia's flirtation help? certainly not. But I don't think that was what drove these guys. I suspect that this was going to happen regardless of whether West Virginia or Rutgers were throwing themselves out there like the ugly girls at closing time on Valentines day.
