Bottom line, no, I don't want to be in the A-10 but the Big East is not an option. I think that conference has a much more defined mission than most. It's not about being Catholic but it is about basketball and not being lured away by football. But then again, maybe they want to be sure they will always be able to pray before their games no matter where they play.
To me, in the event we do not get the thumbs up from the B12, splitting our football and Olympic sports programs makes zero sense economically, politically or any other way. Unless some conference wants to treat us like UT, give us our own network nobody else gets to share in, and moves their conference HQ to Hartford, what's in it for us?
Whether it's the A-10, new Big East, or any other mid major basketball only conference doesn't matter. We don't belong in any of them. Our administration has already indicated there's no interest in such a move. We're already in what is generally recognized as the best of the G5 conferences. Anything else at this point, short of a move to the P5, would be a downgrade from where we are now.
There's no reason to care at this point about who's pissed off at who due to past history.