That's nice that BC said they would stay in an all sports conference, but what the hell was Tranghese going to do with the Bball only schools?
Tranghese seemed like a decent commissioner, but the big east was unlike any other major conference with bball only and FB schools wanting different things for different reasons. The thing was going to implode sooner of later. The reasons schools didn't bolt earlier was probably because no one was expanding.
This isn't really accurate. It was always about one thing - and one thing only - revenue sharing. Football schools didn't all want different things, they wanted the same thing, and never got it. It wasn't football schools pulling strings either from the very beginning - it was the basketball majority that voted to create the conference. The very first vote to exclude Penn State - had nothing to do with football. Paterno had visions for a northeastern based conference, but in 1982 - PSU football was doing fine among the 30 or so division 1A indendpents. It was about revenue sharing with all other sports - that PSU was excluded. - Basketball.
By 1990, with the changes in broadcasting rights and supreme court cases, and Notre Dame landing a monster contract the College Football cartel fell apart. THe entire intercollegiate model changed to a revenue sharing arrangement around college football regular season, and post season - and that meant it all fell into the control level of conference commissioners. ll the independants flocked into conferences. Some grew, some shrunk, some like the Big 8, folded, others started. Including the Big East
BC, Syracuse and PItt were going to leave in 1990, to join a conference where the revenue sharing would fit, with schools that had 1A football programs. Tranghese prevented it, by convincing Miami to join as a full member, and get a slice of the basketball revenue in return for a football conference home, and Rutgers, West Virginia, Temple and Virginia Tech to join as football only schools, so that a football conference could exist that would join the new (very first) edition of what became the BCS revenue sharing arrangement for college football.
Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami. That was the football conference from 1992-2004. Add UCONN in 1997.
That leaves Providence, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova, UCONN from 1990-2000. Rutgers, WVU, VTech would all eventually join as full members by 2000. Basketball members. All sports members.
The basketball schools found themselves in a minority by 2000 - but they had a friend in Tranghese. In 2001-2002, when Miami was facing all kinds of issues around a college football post season and national championship, he went on record publicly with a statement that said he was more concerned about the impacts of St. John's putting names on their jerseys or not.
THis concept that football schools were pulling strings, or all wanted different tings is a figment of the imagination, they all wanted the same thing - and that is a league that valued football as the driver of revenue sharing, and not basketball. If they had that, none of them would ever leave. Every school other than Cincinnati that had a division 1A program prior to the existence of the Big East - left the big east voluntarily (except for Temple, who was kicked out in favor of - UCONN)
UCONN was extended the invite along with Villanova to upgrade in late 1996, and we accepted the invite in 1997, which essentially made us a football school, then, even though our leadership didn't realize it until 2011. It was in limbo for a few years, pending stadium issues, but UCONN hit point of no return in 2000.
Temple - has the dubious distinction of being the only football program that existed at 1A prior to the inception of the Big East football conference, that did not leave the conference willingly, but was kicked out. Every other program on that list from the 1990s, plus Louisville later, left the conference willingly for a better conference arrangement.
Someone please explain how Jim Delaney can convince the membership of the Big 10 conference that adding Rutgers football was a postitive thing, while Mike Tranghese was unable to convince the Big East membership that having a multiple national championship winner in Miami was a good idea.
There is only one conference hat plays division 1 football (1A/FBS or 1AA/FCS) that has not had significant change repeatedly since the 1980s - that's the IVY league - because they have no interest in the college football post season, or revenue sharing from the regular season either.
Tranghese was the commissioner of the conference during a period of time where his leadership led to the building of the best basketball conference in the history of the intercollegiate sport, on the foundation that the top level of intercollegiate football provided - while exerting the least amount of effort necessary in maintaining the sport of football.
That's what