Pitt is giving up a lot. They had to be worried.

[UConnJim]

The more I think about Pitt's move to the ACC, it becomes clear that Pitt is giving up a lot to move to the ACC.

Think about it. Do you think Notre Dame will continue to play Pitt in football after this? ND is upset that Pitt is forcing them to consider moving to a conference. If ND has to commit to a conference schedule, I'll bet Pitt is one of the first teams they will drop. This is Pitt's biggest football game of the year.

Next, the annual game with WVU could be over. It may have been over anyway if WVU moves to the SEC.

Now basketball. Pitt's basketball coach, Jamie Dixon is a TCU grad and suggested TCU to the Big East. Do you think Dixon is happy this morning? He is a west coast guy, so I could see him moving on in the near future. In addition, has there been any school in the Big East that has benefited more from playing games in the NY area than Pitt? Many of Pitt's best players have come from metro NY. Will they continue to come to Pitt in the future? St. John's must be happy.

It must have been clear to Pitt that the Big 10 call was never coming, or that conference mates could be more attractive to other conferences, or perhaps WVU is gone to the SEC. If WVU was in the SEC, PSU was in the Big 10, and Syracuse was in the ACC with another Eastern team, what football recruit would have gone to Pitt? It seems like they had to move now before there were no good spots left.

One last point. Who has the most football history of the teams in the BE? Clearly, Pitt and Syracuse with WVU in third. But, Who are the top BE football schools and who has the most upside going forward? Clearly it's WVU, TCU, USF, and Louisville, not Pitt or Syracuse. Maybe fortunes change in the ACC for Pitt and Syracuse

 

[TouchdownHusky]

The more I think about Pitt's move to the ACC, it becomes clear that Pitt is giving up a lot to move to the ACC.

Think about it. Do you think Notre Dame will continue to play Pitt in football after this? ND is upset that Pitt is forcing them to consider moving to a conference. If ND has to commit to a conference schedule, I'll bet Pitt is one of the first teams they will drop. This is Pitt's biggest football game of the year.

Next, the annual game with WVU could be over. It may have been over anyway if WVU moves to the SEC.

Now basketball. Pitt's basketball coach, Jamie Dixon is a TCU grad and suggested TCU to the Big East. Do you think Dixon is happy this morning? He is a west coast guy, so I could see him moving on in the near future. In addition, has there been any school in the Big East that has benefited more from playing games in the NY area than Pitt? Many of Pitt's best players have come from metro NY. Will they continue to come to Pitt in the future? St. John's must be happy.

It must have been clear to Pitt that the Big 10 call was never coming, or that conference mates could be more attractive to other conferences, or perhaps WVU is gone to the SEC. If WVU was in the SEC, PSU was in the Big 10, and Syracuse was in the ACC with another Eastern team, what football recruit would have gone to Pitt? It seems like they had to move now before there were no good spots left.

One last point. Who has the most football history of the teams in the BE? Clearly, Pitt and Syracuse with WVU in third. But, Who are the top BE football schools and who has the most upside going forward? Clearly it's WVU, TCU, USF, and Louisville, not Pitt or Syracuse. Maybe fortunes change in the ACC for Pitt and Syracuse

Actually, Pitt probably was looking to upgrade their OOC schedule. Always prudent to have good teams on your schedule when opportunity presents. Besides if they want to schedule a nostaligia, throw-back, we use to be somebody game . . . Yale is always available.

 

[Stinger92860]

Why can't WVU and Pitt play as ooc?

 

[UConnJim]

Pitt can play WVU out of conference. Just like they can play Penn State out of conference. My point is that when two teams are not in the same conference, it COULD mean that they don't play or won't play as frequently. After PSU went to the Big 10, they stopped playing Pitt. Look at Oklahoma/Nebraska. This used to be the biggest rivalry in the old Big 8 and they are currently not scheduled to play in the future.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't think, as this progresses, any Big East schools are going to be leaving with less than mixed feelings. But leaving, and being indifferent about it, is a heck of a lot better than staying and find that you're the one that doesn't have a chair when the music stops.

 

[tduconn]

WVU and Pitt are 80 miles apart. They played the "backyard brawl" as independents long before BE FB.
That series is not going away.
Pitt won't loose out on BB recruits going to the ACC. Are you kidding me? And neither will UConn.

 

[UConnJim]

If PSU/Pitt and Oklahoma/Nebraska can go away, so can WVU/Pitt. I'm not saying it will, but it might.

As for Pitt b-ball. Lets look at the history. In the 20 years before Pitt was in the BE, their record was 266-256. In the first 20 years in the BE, Pitt's record was 334-269. Their success has been in the past 10 years driven by two good coaches and a strong pipeline of recruits from NYC. If you are not playing in metro NY 4 to 8 times per year (including the BET), which Pitt was, it will be harder to recruit NY. Weren't BE schools selling the BET in NYC as a big recruiting tool to NY recruits? One last point, since BC left the BE, they now get almost no basketball recruits from the Northeast.

 

[jpm25]

The more I think about Pitt's move to the ACC, it becomes clear that Pitt is giving up a lot to move to the ACC.

Think about it. Do you think Notre Dame will continue to play Pitt in football after this? ND is upset that Pitt is forcing them to consider moving to a conference. If ND has to commit to a conference schedule, I'll bet Pitt is one of the first teams they will drop. This is Pitt's biggest football game of the year.

Next, the annual game with WVU could be over. It may have been over anyway if WVU moves to the SEC.

Now basketball. Pitt's basketball coach, Jamie Dixon is a TCU grad and suggested TCU to the Big East. Do you think Dixon is happy this morning? He is a west coast guy, so I could see him moving on in the near future. In addition, has there been any school in the Big East that has benefited more from playing games in the NY area than Pitt? Many of Pitt's best players have come from metro NY. Will they continue to come to Pitt in the future? St. John's must be happy.

It must have been clear to Pitt that the Big 10 call was never coming, or that conference mates could be more attractive to other conferences, or perhaps WVU is gone to the SEC. If WVU was in the SEC, PSU was in the Big 10, and Syracuse was in the ACC with another Eastern team, what football recruit would have gone to Pitt? It seems like they had to move now before there were no good spots left.

One last point. Who has the most football history of the teams in the BE? Clearly, Pitt and Syracuse with WVU in third. But, Who are the top BE football schools and who has the most upside going forward? Clearly it's WVU, TCU, USF, and Louisville, not Pitt or Syracuse. Maybe fortunes change in the ACC for Pitt and Syracuse

So ticking through your points, it seems to me that Pitt hasn't really given up anything. Wanting to play TCU in basketball? Really?

 

[Jimdish255]

You can't be serious that Pitt is feeling left out because they might not play ND for awhile. Most teams get along just fine without ND on the schedule and while I recognize the tradition and grew up as a ND fan, I don't understand the obsession.

 

[06029]

The more I think about Pitt's move to the ACC, it becomes clear that Pitt is giving up a lot to move to the ACC.

Next, the annual game with WVU could be over. It may have been over anyway if WVU moves to the SEC.

Because Florida does not play FSU every year, Clemson does not play S. Carolina every year, ND does not play US every year, etc..? Ohh, they do play every year as an annual OOC game. If the game means that much to both Pitt and WV, it will be played.

As far as the ND game goes, Pitt moving to the ACC is more of a problem for ND than Pitt. Quality games are going to be harder for ND to find because the expanded leagues will be playing at least 9 conference games.

 

[RS9999X]

Pitt is getting a huge pay raise without drama. They heve an excuse for a decade of mismanagement. . Things will be better in the ACC! Basketball won't be any worse. And they are survivors in a bad economy.

What downside did I miss? They have to endure UConn, Louisville and Rutgers groveling for the last two ACC slots?

 

[jpm25]

Because Florida does not play FSU every year, Clemson does not play S. Carolina every year, ND does not play US every year, etc..? Ohh, they do play every year as an annual OOC game. If the game means that much to both Pitt and WV, it will be played.

As far as the ND game goes, Pitt moving to the ACC is more of a problem for ND than Pitt. Quality games are going to be harder for ND to find because the expanded leagues will be playing at least 9 conference games.

I agree with your premise overall, but ND will not have any trouble filling its schedule in the forseeable future.