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Message: [QUOTE="champs99and04, post: 4658428, member: 488"] It really makes no difference to UConn whether the conference ranks second in NET or fourth, and it's pointless to argue. What matters is history, proximity, and recruiting. The Big East is a basketball conference with four charter schools staked smack in the middle of three of the best five or so recruiting metros in the country (NYC, Philly, DC) that has since expanded to similarly talent-rich markets like Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati. It was designed for the sole purpose of rallying passionate basketball fan bases behind a shared, basketball-centric vision in a world where football money reigned supreme. UConn struggled mightily in the first 5+ years of the new league's existence and has since hired an east coast coach (and Seton Hall alum) whose father runs a well-known prep school in New Jersey. Said coach immediately cast a net around the entire east coast by assembling a coaching staff with heavy ties to the aforementioned three cities and then proceeded to run train over the entire country like we hadn't seen since 2004. Anyone trying to argue that UConn basketball is as well-positioned to succeed in [I]any other conference [/I]- much less a Texas-centric conference like the one it just came from - must really not think this stuff matters [I]at all. [/I]Maybe you're right, but I'm not so certain. [/QUOTE]