Pitino Endorses Coach K’s Idea of a “Mega Conference”

[UCLJ0211]

Rick Pitino endorses Coach K’s merger proposal to create ‘mega basketball conference’

Rick Pitino supports Mike Krzyzewski’s solution for the Big East and ACC.

nypost.com

 

[HooperScooper]

“I’d like to see the ACC and the Big East talk and form a mega basketball conference. Imagine if we had the Big East.”

Oh sure, just when the ACC is sucking wind he wants the Big East to come in and save their conference?

 

[ec33]

Talk of a "mega-conference" does provide some kind of pressure for the Big 12 to potentially make a "final" decision on UConn. Currently there is little downside to kicking the decision down the road (to the next TV contract).

 

[dennismenace]

The establishment (including Big TV) is very uncomfortable with Uconn. That scruffy little team in their backyard keeps undermining their hype and producing champions with old fashioned things like character, very hard work and above all a unified culture of unselfish teamwork. "Basketball Capital of the World" Indeed! This is going to be interesting watching how it all plays out. An interesting sideline phenomenon as the Huskies continue to grind away at what they do best.

 

[TheHorde]

The establishment (including Big TV) is very uncomfortable with Uconn. That scruffy little team in their backyard keeps undermining their hype and producing champions with old fashioned things like character, very hard work and above all a unified culture of unselfish teamwork. "Basketball Capital of the World" Indeed! This is going to be interesting watching how it all plays out. An interesting sideline phenomenon as the Huskies continue to grind away at what they do best.

I’ve been thrilled not only watching UConn stick it to them in basketball, but also ND sticking it to them in football.

 

[Bazz4A]

This would actually be my preferred conference realignment outcome - if you could get the non-football schools comfortable with not receiving any of the football revenue. And idk if that would be a dealbreaker.

But - 20 team conference, 12 play football. Keep familiar rivals, add basketball legitimacy and stability, and a football league uconn could be somewhat competitive in.

 

[Jaydumo20]

It's hard for me to dislike the ACC just because of old rivalries. The big ten, 12 and SEC are the ones we should be wary of:
they are rivals to every college sports fan in the country, even their own.
USC in the big ten for example is the biggest shark jump since "Plop" on the office.

 

[RuffRuff]

Reality is that if you aren’t adapting and moving the needle you get left behind. Both leagues need an injection of energy and marketing, and it would seem little downside on this one as it captures old and new potential rivalries.

 

[Palatine]

“I’d like to see the ACC and the Big East talk and form a mega basketball conference. Imagine if we had the Big East.”

Oh sure, just when the ACC is sucking wind he wants the Big East to come in and save their conference?

We've done it once ready. The BE was the better football league when the ACC raided back in (2004?). The dopes in Providence were giving away the football product. At this point no one knows what makes sense.

 

[Inyatkin]

This came up on the Cooper Flagg thread, but it's still crazy how bad the ACC has gotten. I know Louisville is decent again, but the dregs are just so lifeless. No wonder they want to shake things up

 

[RuffRuff]

This came up on the Cooper Flagg thread, but it's still crazy how bad the ACC has gotten. I know Louisville is decent again, but the dregs are just so lifeless. No wonder they want to shake things up

The ACC has one great team, two above average teams, a couple of scrappy teams and then a giant heap of bad. I don’t know what it is with that conference, but it’s losing “life”. You can almost feel it. It almost feels like the fans of the league are becoming apathetic over the realignment saga and the inevitability of it conceding at some point, with this GOR hanging over its head. Lacks unity like old family anticipating divorce. For that reason, it needs to make a move that feels substantial and will get some buzz, as these desperation oddball moves with Cal/Stanford and SMU feel so forced it only contributes to the perception. It’s like inviting a couple distant cousins from Europe to Thanksgiving hoping the family stays together.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

I don’t hate the idea but regardless, we need to do something to increase our bank roll. Things are only going to get worse and I don’t want to be left in purgatory again while we figure things out…

 

[80shusky]

I might think this was ok if they dumped BC, Syracuse and the west coast schools they just added.

 

[uh-no]

The ACC has one great team, two above average teams, a couple of scrappy teams and then a giant heap of bad. I don’t know what it is with that conference, but it’s losing “life”. You can almost feel it. It almost feels like the fans of the league are becoming apathetic over the realignment saga and the inevitability of it conceding at some point, with this GOR hanging over its head. Lacks unity like old family anticipating divorce. For that reason, it needs to make a move that feels substantial and will get some buzz, as these desperation oddball moves with Cal/Stanford and SMU feel so forced it only contributes to the perception. It’s like inviting a couple distant cousins from Europe to Thanksgiving hoping the family stays together.

shat on in bowl games, shat on in the sec-acc challenge....still running commercials calling it the "premier basketball conference"

If only they spent that money investing in the league rather than running out of touch ads.

 

[uconnric]

Lengthy discussion on this topic on the Conference Realignment board.

 

[Methalius]

At the end of the day College Football will dictate if a school will get invited to a conference or not. That is where the real money is at and we all know money is what drives these decisions for Universities and Colleges....

 

[RuffRuff]

I don’t hate the idea but regardless, we need to do something to increase our bank roll. Things are only going to get worse and I don’t want to be left in purgatory again while we figure things out…

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If you’re not the SEC or B10, only way to do it is get big enough to reach critical mass with enough relevant teams to keep you in the mix, but teams that make no sense for the P2. Or rebrand to some unique profile that you can market. This is what the B12 is trying to do on both ends and I applaud them for it. Meanwhile the ACC is just dying on the vine.