I searched for it, but couldn't find it. If that really was the single predicate for the big east falling apart, it was a world class screwup by Trangese. It feels credible though. I vaguely remember him writing to Swofford to apologize for giving the New York Times and interview that was critical of the raid. That's Charmin soft.
The opposite is true. Relegation is not killing soccer. But The American owners of the biggest clubs just proposed a super league and the fans revolted. That is analogous to what is being proposed here and it would kill soccer.
You can join us in the chat where we will be complaining about the ACC refs. 😉
WVU would’ve rather been invited to the ACC. They went to B12 to save themselves just like UConn would.
Here's an SI article which I believe misstates the when and how.
A little different than you described it but still an epically dumb idea. Sure it might've helped firm up the ACC, but it would have started the big east move towards irrelevancy sooner.
Actually Trangese approached the ACC about the BE’s football playing members being allowed to play in the ACC for football only. The ACC rejected this and then the BE FB conference was formed.
but as we found out, football is everything.
Which would put Louisville back in its legacy basketball conference with its historic rivals (well Cincy and Memphis).
I would swap out Virginia Tech for UConn
CR is about maxing revenue and minimizing mouths to feed.
I hear you, but eastern coast history is not the same as northeastern identity (which is what the Big East represents). From 1921 to 1951 Maryland was in the Southern Conference (with a bunch of other ACC tobacco road schools), independent in 1952, and ACC from 1953 to 2013 before the call-up to BIG. So Maryland and Syracuse played each other in football 36 times compared to 14 times for UConn-Syracuse...yet UConn-Syracuse have played each other in basketball 95 times since 1956 (compared to 10 for Maryland-Syracuse). Let's face it, since joining the conference in 1979 UConn's basketball (men and women) has been the face of Big East the last 25+ years. If you would ask any Maryland fan do they identify with the Northeast and you're likely to get crab seasoning jammed in your eyes. Shizzle gives much more thought to his arrangements than this guy did...putting UConn in the Metro reeks of insolence and obtuseness. As for putting Penn State in the Big East...I can only wish that the powers that were had let that happen.
This may be. But if maximizing revenue is the key, then minimizing your product offering makes no sense. More conferences means more product and more viewers. CR is reducing the value of many programs. Texas and Oklahoma in the Big XII makes all those other Big XII programs more valuable.
So your argument is that Oklahoma and Texas in Big 12 is more valuable than those brands in the SEC? I disagree. Just the notion that the SEC was willing to pay them that much more because of the media deal they received is one reason.
No, that is not my argument. Oklahoma and Texas in and of themselves are valuable. Playing in the SEC makes the SEC more valuable. Leaving the Big XII makes the Big XII less valuable. My argument is that the Big XII and the SEC were more valuable in total prior to Oklahoma and Texas switching. I think a P6 or even P8 structure is more valuable in total than a P4 structure. You are elevating a few schools and relegating/squeezing out many more schools. Like I implied, you are reducing the number of programs that matter which is not going to maximize revenue in total. I agree, media partners are picking and choosing which schools will survive, but they are needlessly relegating other programs and making the pie smaller.
This is the dirty little secret of conference realignment. Consolidating valuable teams in fewer conferences reduces the cost of high value games. If you accept the logic of that and follow it to its logical conclusion, it means that the end game of this process will be to cull the weak teams out of the valuable conferences.