Big East vs. AAC National Championships

[Kolumbo]

The AAC is actual garbage, so what are we?

UConn is the Phoenix rising up from the ashes left from the pile of garbage.

 

[bendm]

you're stuck on a single sport - there's an entire athletic department and university beyond the basketball court.

and you're stuck in the twilight zone. the only sports that matter when it comes to a school's national reputation are football and basketball. when's the last time you heard about Alabama's lacrosse team or Oklahoma's hockey team? oh wait...do they even exist? can't be very important then, can they? and more people watch little league than they do college baseball.

once we found a home for bball the other sports needed to fall in line. As far as football goes it already seems like the school is going to get more money and exposure out of their schedule starting next year.

 

[goskis2018]

you're stuck on a single sport - there's an entire athletic department and university beyond the basketball court.

Not at UConn, it starts and ends with the hardwood. You are hung up on a delusion that we had a shot at a Power 5 invite if we hung around in the American and continued to wither on the vine. The reality is that none of the major conferences are expanding anytime soon with the exception of maybe the Big XII for whom we would be the 7th or 8th option. Odds are that we will never end up getting an invitation into the P5 club; the only chance we have is if we return to national prominence in the sport our brand is built on, not by hanging our hopes on our joke of a football program.

 

[Guapo]

you're stuck on a single sport - there's an entire athletic department and university beyond the basketball court.

the Indy/Big East move is 100x better for the school and athletic department than staying in the AAC.

 

[Guapo]

My God stop the hate on the AAC already! It's a conference trying to make a name for itself and by most is doing an incredible job for the short amount of time they have actually been in existence. UConn opted out and it'll take a few years to see if that was the right move. The next Big East and the next AAC TV deals should reveal a lot. Whether the football program can gain respectability as a indie where they could not as a conference mate will also tell the tale. I hope the AAC does well along with the MW and the MAC. I hate the idea of a Power 5 vs the rest of the colleges. And keep in mind the Big East isn't a Power anything. They have a half dozen decent to good basketball schools and that's it. They have zero competition for the women's team. The baseball suck compared to the AAC.

I hate the AAC

 

[scoscox]

Even though this is the wrong way to look at it, I don’t view our 2014 season as a true season in the AAC. It wasn’t until 2015 when the AAC was at its current format, minus Wichita St. In 2014, the AAC still had Rutgers/Louisville, and did not have Tulane/ECU/Tulsa until the year after. Its funny to think that the AAC would probably be a decent conference in basketball as well as football if It just continued to looked the way it did in year 1 with UConn/Louisville/Memphis/Houston/SMU/Cincinnati/USF/UCF/Temple/Rutgers. I know thats completely unrealistic, but I think it shows how much ECU and Tulane weigh the league down.

Bringing in tulane/ecu/tulane was the death knell of the conference. such an enormous downgrade from the members that left. it was a pretty good conference prior to that move

 

[bendm]

Its funny to think that the AAC would probably be a decent conference in basketball as well as football if It just continued to looked the way it did in year 1 with UConn/Louisville/Memphis/Houston/SMU/Cincinnati/USF/UCF/Temple/Rutgers.

if a frog had wings it wouldnt bump its ass a-hoppin'

 

[tzznandrew]

Bring back the dislike button just for this post

I have other ideas about why to bring it back, but this is also one good one.

 

[Zissou]

As Big East Members - 9 National Champions
2020-21 Members: National Titles as Big East Members - 7
2020-21 Members: National Titles in their programs' histories - 9*

* Marquette and UConn hold titles won outside of their Big East membership

 

[navery12]

The AAC is actual garbage, so what are we?

Leaving

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Actually, we won zero of our titles in the conference that is now called the Big East. We won all four of our titles for the conference that is now called the American, but was called the Big East before it sold its name to the new Big East.

Yeah. So are the Syracuse/Georgetown/Villanova (1985) Championships. They all belong to the AAC as that is the real Big East

 

[Kolumbo]

As Big East Members - 9 National Champions
2020-21 Members: National Titles as Big East Members - 7
2020-21 Members: National Titles in their programs' histories - 9*

* Marquette and UConn hold titles won outside of their Big East membership

We all know the deal. UConn is still in the same conference it created in 1979 and has won 4 titles.

 

[Zissou]

Kolumbo,
I guess you didn't follow the agreement. The name, records, MSG contract, and history went with the group that had more claim to them - Georgetown, St Johns, Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova. The conference money, the commish, and the Providence, NH conferences offices went with the AAC.

There seems to be a peculiar hang-up here on legal entity.

Welcome back to the Big East!

 

[Kolumbo]

Kolumbo,
I guess you didn't follow the agreement. The name, records, MSG contract, and history went with the group that had more claim to them - Georgetown, St Johns, Providence, Seton Hall, and Villanova. The conference money, the commish, and the Providence, NH conferences offices went with the AAC.

There seems to be a peculiar hang-up here on legal entity.

Welcome back to the Big East!

I know that UConn never left the conference that it is in today. The Catholic schools did.

"While the other successor, which does not sponsor football, purchased the Big East Conference name, The American inherited the old Big East's structure and is that conference's legal successor. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, and the same history up to 2013.[5][6] The American is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco."

 

[scoscox]

I know that UConn never left the conference that it is in today. The Catholic schools did.

"While the other successor, which does not sponsor football, purchased the Big East Conference name, The American inherited the old Big East's structure and is that conference's legal successor. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, and the same history up to 2013.[5][6] The American is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and led by Commissioner Michael Aresco."

you say this like it means something

 

[John]

you say this like it means something

Reality has a tendency to mean something

 

[scoscox]

Reality has a tendency to mean something

big brain time. what does it mean? you're going to the big east and leaving the american. that's reality

 

[Windsorlocks]

"THE CREATION

In the Spring of 1978, only a few months after my arrival in Syracuse, Dave Gavitt, Jack Kaiser and Frank Rienzo, Athletics Directors at Providence, St. Johns and Georgetown respectively, gathered to discuss newly imposed NCAA men's basketball in-season scheduling requirements. These requirements forced independent institutions like the four of us to align and schedule schools with whom we had no interest or tradition. Self determination was far better than being told who your partners would be, and so the four of us met for countless hours in countless sessions to determine the make-up of our new conference to be. We considered the quality of men's basketball programs in the northeast, regional representation, significant media markets, etc. Boston College was invited over Holy Cross, UMass and Boston University. Connecticut was then added. Rutgers was extended an invitation but declined because it was aligned in the Atlantic 8 (now the Atlantic 10) along with Penn State. Rutgers didn't feel comfortable disassociating itself with Penn State. Seton Hall took Rutgers spot. Villanova was also in the Atlantic 8, but it joined up a year later over Temple and St. Josephs. Thus, in the first year of operation, 1979-80, we had seven active members which increased to eight in 1980-81."

Above from: A BIG EAST History & Retrospective (Part 1)

Gavitt is usually regarded as having started the conversation about creating a Northeastern basketball league. The 4 schools that then started the process and created the league included 3 from the Catholic 7 that reformed as the new BE. I would question Georgetown as geographically Northeast, but the league in its first 2 years was the Northeastern league its founders envisioned. All the schools the founding four invited, as well as those considered but not invited, were all Northeastern schools. That was the idea, and that is what it was for a couple of years.

The Catholic 7 included 4 purely Northeastern schools, plus Georgetown from the original 4. It was closest to the original vision.

If the way I see this can be lawyered, that's fine. I'm not looking at the letter of the league, I'm looking for the spirit of the league.

I've always looked at the whole debate over which of the two leagues, at the time of the separation of the Catholic 7, was the "real BE", from the point of view of which was actually closer to the original conception and the very first years. The Catholic 7 were obviously closer to Gavitt's and his colleague's original vision. That's where the spirit of the league was, it seemed to me. Hence I could never really feel resentment that the name and the league bb record went with them.

 

[Robertelamin]

Who cares really? We’re gone and maybe John can move on to his next stage of grief

 

[Crazyeights]

‘’However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date. As part of the separation agreement, the basketball schools were able to retain the basketball records while the football schools retained the football records respectively.’‘

 

[John]

Who cares really? We’re gone and maybe John can move on to his next stage of grief

No grief here, long-time season ticket holder from field house days. I'll enjoy seeing some of the old BE foes. The new ones are a bunch of mid-majors. Just haven't drunk the koolaid.

 

[superjohn]

No grief here, long-time season ticket holder from field house days. I'll enjoy seeing some of the old BE foes. The new ones are a bunch of mid-majors. Just haven't drunk the koolaid.

If Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are mid-majors...what the hell are SMU, Tulsa, USF, UCF, Tulane and East Carolina?

 

[Zissou]

2009 and 2010 Corvettes.

From separate legal entities.

The nGM legal entity took with it the name, branding, and key assets from oGM.

nGM is a good company, but it doesn't really have any history. It's only existed for a little more than 10 years.

 

[Zissou]

If Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are mid-majors...what the hell are SMU, Tulsa, USF, UCF, Tulane and East Carolina?

Conference USA?

 

[John]

If Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are mid-majors...what the hell are SMU, Tulsa, USF, UCF, Tulane and East Carolina?

All-sports athletic departments. Robust enrollments. Schools with institutional growth potential. Schools like UConn

 

[bendm]

All-sports athletic departments.

you know the only sport the aac sponsors that the big east doesnt is football, right? and UConn's team is better off as an indy. Confused as to where your hangup is.

 

[John]

you know the only sport the aac sponsors that the big east doesnt is football, right? and UConn's team is better off as an indy. Confused as to where your hangup is.

Robust enrollments.
Schools with institutional growth potential.

 

[bendm]

Robust enrollments. community colleges
Schools with institutional growth potential. community colleges

same number of players on a given roster, regardless of the sport, regardless of the school's size. why do you care that a combined 100,000,000 part time students are enrolled at UCF and USF?

 

[Greedo]

Robust enrollments.
Schools with institutional growth potential.

I’d much rather be associated with schools with 8,000 undergrads that are selective in who they accept than schools with 20,000+ that select 90% of applicants. We’re more like the Big East schools than you realize. The AAC is tarnishing UConn’s academic reputation. We’re honestly in CUSA right now. That’s not UConn.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I hate the AAC

Finally, someone figured out that a larger font size could shout down that post