NY Post Big East to extend invitations to 6 schools by Tuesday

[The Funster]

Why can't a league like the Big East work? You and several others say this like it's a fact but provide no evidence. How did you reach this conclusion?

Because the schools aren't equal. They don't have the same agenda. They don't have the same expenses and don't generate the same revenue. Gavitt had a clue: he knew that it was going to be unfair to the football schools. That is why he talked about them going to the ACC many years ago. When ND joined, with it's own agenda, the Big East was like a three-legged stool; the problem being that each leg was a different length. The three legs made the conference unstable and an easy target, IMO. I'd also say that it is only now that the basketball schools have realized the flaw. They were bleating about breaking away from the football schools until they realized that, at this point in time, the best basketball schools are also the football schools.

 

[Druken Friar]

For me, one of the most surprising things of all of this has been how completely clueless the entire fanbases of the bb-onlies are. They have no idea why a conference where 50% of the teams make more money, generate more revenue, but have no more influence than the hangers-on basketball schools who contribute nothing, absolutely nothing, can't work. They don't understand why SU fans aren't up in arms over leaving Seton Hall & PC & St. John's behind to go play North Carolina.

No basketball-only school has won the basketball national title since Villanova in 1985 (UConn was transitioning to I-A in 1999). Only two have even PLAYED for the title since then.

The basketball-only fanbases really, truly, do not get it. And for gosh sakes, if you're only going to spend money on basketball, how come they almost never come close to the Final Four, yet alone winning the title? Talk about a waste of time.

Nice clueless rant, no relevant facts that explain anything related to Big East football.

Football schools get a greater share of the money. The Big East generates more money from basketball than football anyway. Still, they have yet to negotiate a new TV deal which would give football schools all the football related money.

The tournament became the BCS tournament years ago. So that point is invalid. Only recently have mid-major basketball conferences gotten a few at large bids. Of course if the tournament excludes a majority of the basketball only schools, the winner is going to be a football school. And some of the football schools are in name only. Duke plays football, really? Have you seen them play? How about Indiana?

No, there is no valid reason the conference could not have a football league. I suspect when everything is over it will. Schools are changing conferences from all sports conferences, Utah, TCU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Missouri as well as the Big East moves. Every school has a seperate agenda.

 

[Druken Friar]

Because the schools aren't equal. They don't have the same agenda. They don't have the same expenses and don't generate the same revenue. Gavitt had a clue: he knew that it was going to be unfair to the football schools. That is why he talked about them going to the ACC many years ago. When ND joined, with it's own agenda, the Big East was like a three-legged stool; the problem being that each leg was a different length. The three legs made the conference unstable and an easy target, IMO. I'd also say that it is only now that the basketball schools have realized the flaw. They were bleating about breaking away from the football schools until they realized that, at this point in time, the best basketball schools are also the football schools.

So you feel the football schools in the Big East have been underpaid, is that it?

Every league has problems with members getting along. The more members the more issues. Why is the Big 12(now 10?) struggling to stay together? Why did the Big 8 fail, the Sout West Conference fail or the 16 team WAC split in two? Do you think the BB onlies would object to the formation of a single sport football conference with it's own commissioner and TV deal? I don't.
Hybrid conference is way too simplistic an answer. The Big East is unique but that doesn't have to be a weakness.

 

[The Funster]

So you feel the football schools in the Big East have been underpaid, is that it?

No, "underpaid" is too simplistic. I think the Big East has been like the proverbial "apples and oranges" with a "pear" thrown in for good measure. An organization with divergent forces working within it is going to be either weaker or more fragile than an organization that is all pulling in the same direction. The member schools have to be willing to cede some of their own desires for the good of the conference.

Every league has problems with members getting along. The more members the more issues. Why is the Big 12(now 10?) struggling to stay together? Why did the Big 8 fail, the Sout West Conference fail or the 16 team WAC split in two? Do you think the BB onlies would object to the formation of a single sport football conference with it's own commissioner and TV deal? I don't.
Hybrid conference is way too simplistic an answer. The Big East is unique but that doesn't have to be a weakness.

The Big 12 is getting pulled apart because it isn't unified. It isn't moving forward as a unit. Texas has it's own deal it wants to protect, Missouri has tried to bolt twice. Even now, after allegedly offering WVU, the conference has done an about face. The SWAC was destroyed by recruiting infractions more than anything and the survivors of the conference and the Big 8 made the Big 12. The Big 12, again, is an alliance more than anything else. Look at the ACC. The best school for the conference, by consensus, would have been UConn. Instead the conference acquiesces to a member schools fear of competition and so they take another school. A strong, unified conference would have picked the best fit for the confererence overall. The ACC and Big 12 conferences do not project unity.

I'd say the SEC and Big 10 are prety stable and unified. The B1G looks at Missouri and as a group decide no. Northwestern asks for clarity about it's future as a B1G member and they get it. The Pac 12 wanted to expand it's footprint and did so logically and then, when it could have allegedly pulled a coup, backed away from Texas and OU because a) Texas would be divisive and b) as a conference decided that travel would not be fair to it more northern schools. Those are 3 conferences that project unity.

 

[Druken Friar]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I still think the Big East will have a football league when all is done. Who remains is another matter.

 

[The Funster]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I still think the Big East will have a football league when all is done. Who remains is another matter.

They very well could but it would have to function as a seperate entity from the bb onlies. It would still be a temporary holding place, IMO.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Why can't a league like the Big East work? You and several others say this like it's a fact but provide no evidence. How did you reach this conclusion?

My belief is that the only thing that had been holding this thing together is that (save one member) no school with the opportunity to move on to another major conference would remain. We've kept this conference solely because the bulk of the membership had no other legitimate choice.

People continue to speak about this conference as being successful but if this were true, why would are we continually losing schools? Why is ND trying to work out a deal with one (or more) of the ACC, B-12 & B1G? Why have Nova and Georgetown begun inquiring about what possibilities they may have if they were to leave the BE? The only non-football members who appear to be somewhat content with the hybrid arrangement are ND (as it allows them to compete in a major conference for their olympic sports while remaining independent) and Marquette (who I'm guessing views an association with ND, UConn, Nova et al as vastly superior than anything they've enjoyed since McGuire retired).