John Marinatto resigns as Big East Commish

[CTMike]

It's a bit of a stretch that UCF and the TV deal would have lead to the stability of the Big East, but yeah, this isn't all on Marinatto. The death spiral started with the first round of defections in 03. It's picked up steam with the latest round of defections. Hamstrung with a crap TV deal. Maybe the upcoming TV deal will delay the invevitable. This is like a giant black hole. It sucks and there's no way out. And no one wants to pull the trigger to end this league's misery.

League is gonna split. It would be better to do it quickly and that way everyone can move on but this is dragging out painfully slow.

Anyway. I'm just concerned with how this will affect UConn, UConn Football, UConn Hoops, and the remaining sports. Where will UConn Football end up? Can a football-only league survive? Thrive? Will hoops/remaining sports remain Big East affiliated?

I'm just rambling again. Freakin sucks. UConn has no outs unless another league makes an offer, and none are imminent.

Whatever hoops school dared suggest that they get the 75 end of a 75/25 split should get a boot to the arse.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

With this position are you claiming that ND will also get shoved aside by the non FBS Big East members or are you claiming that NDs catholic leadership will be enough for the remaining catholic schools to make an exception in their case?

You've made many narrow minded, unfounded assertions over the years but this one is as rich as any have been.

This isn't a Notre Dame message board. Why don't you find one, and ask them?

 

[uconnfan68]

This is just stunning. This clearly shows that football will be the focus of the conference going forward IMO. JM should have taken the TV money ESPN threw at him and not waited for 2013. WVU, Pitt and Cuse might have stayed in this conference.

Except that, according to reports, Pitt (and Georgetown) lead the charge to NOT take the money.

 

[uconnfan68]

If someone wants to use this photo and photoshop in the schools, feel free:

Not humorous at all.

 

[noeynox]

I haven't read every post in this thread and have checked it out throughout the day. Some good points.

I said when SU and Pitt bolted, that it would be the Basketball schools that got tired of this arrangement and not the other way around. Truthfully, and I say this as "football fan foremost", I can't say that I blame the basketball schools. For them, there is no reason to continue the attachment to the FB schools. BC and SU were original Big East members as was UConn. Pitt came on early enough to be considered pretty much an original member. With those three schools gone the only Big East ORIGINAL MEMBER, that plays football at the highest level, is UConn. The football schools, none of which were original BE members aside from UConn, are now asking them to bring on the likes of SMU, Houston, Central Florida into the Big East conference for hoops. I could see where St. John's and GTown are saying, "wait a minute were doing this to protect the football interests of schools like Rutgers, South Florida, and Louisville who is dying for a way out of this conference as we speak"? Truth is, the BE basketball schools have better options than those schools within the Big East's original footprint to split off as a pretty damn good basketball only conference.

I worry about what Marinato's resignation, and a possible split of this conference will do to UConn football. An independent football schedule for UConn is pretty much a pipe dream. We may find ourselves in a football conference with Old Dominion and UNC Charlotte, who didn't even field teams on any level last year. I was rooting like hell for the latest incarnation of the Big East to succeed, because it was better than the alternative, which is we don't know where the fugg we will end up for sure. If we're fortunate enough to get a lifeline from the ACC or any other "big boy conference", i'll be ecstatic, but that isn't something anyone associated with UConn has any control of at the moment.

As for Marinato his biggest fault in all this, is that he couldn't rally the school presidents toward a common goal before the latest raid. He simply either lacked the vision, or the persuasive skills to hold this together. If they could have kept it together, the Big East was in line for some nice TV money. With a little foresight, he could have prepared the presidents, for ESPN eventually playing the role of Eve and dangling the apple for a couple of schools to jump ship, instead and this is pure conjecture on my part, he expected ESPN to play like a nice business partner and let the Big East put their product out to bid on the open market without weakening it. He talked in public about being the only BCS league with a tV contract up for bidding, basically begging ESPN to come in and decimate them once again. Chuck Neinas pulls the the Big 12 from death's door by getting giants like Texas and Oklahoma to grant their media rights to the conference. By the time Marinato brought this idea to the BE presidents, they would have had to been complete idiots to sign on. The Big East, needed a real leader, a visionary if you will, to make this work, not a guy who sends roses to a man responsible for getting the Big 12 into a tenuous position to begin with. He was limited in what he could do, but he didn't help the situation either.

 

[CTMike]

Well said, Noey.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The faculty can give a hoot less. I'm sure Vandy's faculty is up at arms at their association with Arkansas.

Arkansas is a major state U research instution. It's infinitely better than Memphis, Boise or Houston.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

John Marinatto = Lord Cornwallis. "How'd we let this one get away from us?"

 

[Excalibur]

UCONN would then just have to find a football only league for the football team. Hopefully that football only conference will be a national conference that includes the names we are currently tied to.

Um, that's kind of an important detail and not nearly as simple as you make it appear.

 

[The Funster]

I know I live in SEC country but for what it is worth this is what I hear. The BB presidents really do not want to be associated with BSU, SDSU, Mem, etc. They don't think the potential pay day under the new contract will be enough for them to defend association with a group of third tier schools to their faculties, alums & donors. They also believe (rightly or wrongly) that a lot of the value of a new contract would be on the BB side and are therefore willing to push split if necessary. Marinatto was placed in the same position as Tranghese when BC tried to push a split in 2003. Tranghese was able to smooth it over, Marinatto not so much. Next step BB schools, including ND, announce a meeting to "examine options".

There is no depth of quality with the remaining basketball only schools. ND, Nova, Marquette and G'town. Then you have St John's, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul.

Which would be more likely: the top four help raise the quality of the bottom four or the bottom four drag down the top? The basketball only schools have failed to notice that the consistently best basketball schools played football. If the basketball only schools want to split, they'll be slightly better than the reconstituted A10 and will get a TV deal that reflects just that.

 

[metsfan2323]

Um, that's kind of an important detail and not nearly as simple as you make it appear.

Joining CUSA, the MAC or going independent will not be an acceptable option should the Big East split. There will be a significant amount of TV on the table for a national football conference. Reasonable minds will figure out a way to get that TV money. These schools already have a relationship through the Big East. It's not hard to fathom that this fall back position is already being discussed. It makes sense for schools as far apart as Boise, Houston, SMU, UCONN and Rutgers to be in the same football league together, it makes sense because these schools could help each other rake in some cash and keep their fanbases interested.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

metsfan2323 said: ↑

UCONN would then just have to find a football only league for the football team. Hopefully that football only conference will be a national conference that includes the names we are currently tied to.​

SEC - an all sports conference. ACC - an all sports conference. Big 10 - an all sports conference (exception: a couple of schools don't have baseball). Big 12 - an all sports conference. PAC-10 - an all sports conference. The Big East - a patchwork quilt. Syracuse had no baseball. Notre Dame had no football (well in the Big East that is). Catholic Schools no football. 38 teams, no identity (are we football? basketball? Definitely not all sports)

Now UConn needs to find a football only conference (while maining Big East status in hoops)? And this conference will be a national conference. Wow, no wonder the Big East is going down.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Great post above by noeynox.

I'm not one to criticize JM for things out of his control, though I do acknowledge his faults. That was a valid criticism and probably the most well thought out take on his run as BE Commish.

Who knows what really couldve have been done, but there had to have been someone out there that could have gotten the BE teams to sign a GOR once TCU joined.

Side note, it pains me to think that our home schedule in alternating yearrs would have been:

TCU, WVU, Cincy, Pitt
Syr, Rutgers, Ville, USF

That would have been amazing.

 

[freescooter]

I'm not convinced that a split is all that likely. there are some basketball schools that favor it, St Johns I've heard is the leader, but the 3 most important one, Georgetown, Villanova and Notre Dame don't. Even pro-PC anti-football Kevin MacNamarra is reporting that. In fact, the Irish would likely not go with such a league under any circumstances. Whatever you htink of them, they have no interest in being in a CYO conference. They just don't see it as in keeping with their place in the athletic landscape if for no other reason. So even if you could convince Georgetown and Villanova, I'm not sure the end result is all that much superior to the A-10, and I'm not sure it would command anything like the money the Big East currently gets never mind what it will get even in the worst case new scenario.