2. How do you respond to all the public comments from other commissioners that there is now a “Big 5” and the Big East is not a part of it?
JB: We see ourselves virtually the same as the ACC, and I would say to you that we haven't verbally expressed that perhaps as much as we should. But at the end, it's really about performance. The proof is in your ability to execute, and the notion of what other people say, that's the expectation market. The reality is how well you do, how well your teams perform, how well your coaches coach, how well your players play. That ultimately is the way the Big East is going to be judged going forward, and that's the way all conferences are going to be judged moving forward.
Maybe I am nitpicking here, but I think that is the wrong answer. We shouldn't be trying to convince people that we are equal to the ACC, we should be making the case that we are better than the ACC. I know that is far from the public perception or the opinion of the 'experts' in college football...but we need to start laying some facts out on the table. Here is the scoreboard:
...........................................................................................................................
BIG EAST .........................
ACC.....................
Computer (unbiased) conference ranking over last 10 years .....................................X.............................................................
Bowl Performance over last 10 years.........................................................................X.............................................................
Historical BCS Performance......................................................................................X.............................................................
TV Markets Represented...........................................................................................X.............................................................
Public Relations...................................................................................................................................................X..................
Strenght of Commissioner....................................................................................................................................X..................
TV Alliances.........................................................................................................................................................X..................
Connections and Politics of College Football.........................................................................................................X..................
Public Perception.................................................................................................................................................X..................
In terms of actual performance and potential, the Big East is the superior conference. But interms of commisioner, PR, politics, hisotory and public perception, the ACC is the superior conference. We should shift the focus to the actual on-field performance and real facts.