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Message: [QUOTE="Zissou, post: 2150376, member: 7920"] There is one block of opinion that the Big East should not have any members that play FBS football. Their view is don't repeat the conflict that ruined the oBE. That includes UConn adding or Nova moving up. Some would say UConn can join only if you drop football to FCS. If we have FBS schools they will always just be temporary members looking to bolt at the first P5 invite. I think that block is a minority view, but a significant one. You will see a lot of references to "like minded" institutions. I don't agree with that view. If a few members play FBS football it's not a great risk, especially as they would play football-only in another conference or play independent. If UConn played in the Big East, for example, and bolted in 7 years for a Big10 expansion, I don't care. We would have had a mutual benefit for 7 years. This would not be like tearing apart a BCS power conference to jump ship. It is what it is. Where NY, Philly, and Boston are Top 10 media markets, Cincy is in the 30s. Where UConn brings a footprint to the NY to Boston area, Cincy would be the second team in a much smaller market. Is their hoops program so good to override all that other stuff? Probably not. Additionally it forces a format change to the double round robin schedule. Temple might be a better choice to double up in Philly, a Top 5 market. But that would not have the same type of support as UConn either, imo. The Big East is not desperate for expansion. UConn is a unique interest. [/QUOTE]

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