Rick Pitino: Navy & Air Force Joining Big East (FB Only) By End Of Week

[Murph]

Army instead of Air Force. Other than being a worse team (and let's be honest, BE FB is going to suck), they have better ratings, history, and a bigger fanbase.

Oh, and they're also NOT IN COLORADO.

You'll never again hear someone say "They're not really in our geographic footprint."

 

[HuskyHawk]

If they're going to go THAT FAR West, then F IT!

Just invite Boise State.

Sadly, their league is likely to be better. Air Force is probably making a mistake if they switch.

 

[sportsart]

Why would we lose our AQ with WVU and TCU, if they still come?

Air Force is a much better choice than Army....much better.

You gotta believe they'll put fannies in the seats when they visit new venues. Don't they also get decent TV ratings with military folks all over the country?

 

[whaler11]

Let's invite Boise State (seriously, not a terrible option at this point), Alaska - decent hockey and this: , and Hawaii - great vacations! to complete the time zone quintafecta. Don't know if that's a word. We'd bring in a legit team, score the award for greatest intro video in the country, and have a cool (irony!) place to visit each year and watch us play.

It's a superfecta.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Why would we lose our AQ with WVU and TCU, if they still come?

Air Force is a much better choice than Army....much better.

You gotta believe they'll put fannies in the seats when they visit new venues. Don't they also get decent TV ratings with military folks all over the country?

Not really. Based on my own anecdotal evidence, when I was in the Corps, I didn't know anyone who rooted for Navy just because that's what our service academy is. Maybe cause it said Navy, now that I think about it. But really everyone identified with their home state's team. And I had no idea there were so many guys from Nebraska, of course it was mid 90's Nebraska hey day so I'm sure there was a lot of bandwagon stuff going on. I pull for Navy whenever I see them play, but I don't know a lick about them except they play like 3 QB's at once.... hmmm.... maybe we have a new offense?

 

[whaler11]

Why would we lose our AQ with WVU and TCU, if they still come?

Air Force is a much better choice than Army....much better.

You gotta believe they'll put fannies in the seats when they visit new venues. Don't they also get decent TV ratings with military folks all over the country?

Because there is no way in the world that TCU is going to commit program suicide. Air Force is going to put fannies in the seats? You may as well invite them because they have cool helmets. At least the fact they have cool helmets is true.

 

[cliptide]

So do we just change the conference name to big country? And Bryant reeves could be the league president.

 

[Scalito]

Inviting Navy and Air Force into the Big East for football only is one of the best moves left to the Big East and UConn. Both teams are better, historically and overall, than UConn. And both teams likely carry more national cache than UConn.

This is not to say that I am happy with the prospects of playing in a football conference with Air Force and Navy. However, unless we get an invite elsewhere, UConn will not be playing in a BCS football conference. It is, therefore, time to start thinking about how to build a football league that will complement our basketball program as best as possible until something better comes along. If playing good, albeit unflashy, football allows UConn basketball to continue to stay strong, I'm all for it.

 

[Scalito]

Because there is no way in the world that TCU is going to commit program suicide. Air Force is going to put fannies in the seats? You may as well invite them because they have cool helmets. At least the fact they have cool helmets is true.

Beggers can't be choosers. Air Force may not bring out the fans, but neither does UConn. And while this may hurt, as the son of a West Point grad who grew up on service academy football, I can guarantee you that the academy fans travel better than UConn fans. It's not even a contest.

UConn at this point is looking for a potential way station. We should put together the best football league possible that preserves our basketball pedigree, suck it up, and bide our time.

 

[zls44]

So do we just change the conference name to big country? And Bryant reeves could be the league president.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

While far from ideal choices (let's be honest with ourselves however, there are no ideal choices available to us) wouldn't Houston and UCF have made a hell of a lot more sense?

 

[ctchamps]

It would be nice to know who the decision makers were in the selection process of the teams and what the rational was for the choices. It would also be nice what type of clout these institutions would have with the BCS and networks.

I'm with wing u. Now that the Cuse and Pitt are gone, wait and see how the B12 plays out. The service schools aren't bad. But Boise State and some of the B12 schools are better options. And I'm sure Boise State would be foot ball only if asked. And the BCS system might like this option of getting Boise and Idaho in the fold. So that might help with keeping the BCS bid alive.

 

[whaler11]

Beggers can't be choosers. Air Force may not bring out the fans, but neither does UConn. And while this may hurt, as the son of a West Point grad who grew up on service academy football, I can guarantee you that the academy fans travel better than UConn fans. It's not even a contest.

UConn at this point is looking for a potential way station. We should put together the best football league possible that preserves our basketball pedigree, suck it up, and bide our time.

I don't know if they 'travel' better. Army and Navy just have pockets of fans everywhere (the Air Force probably does too, I've just never paid attention to them).

UConn doesn't travel for *#$&. Many on this board don't want to deal with that reality, they would rather blame the commissioner of the league.

I guess I'm impressed by the people who think they can fake their way to keeping UConn basketball relevant. There is no combination of leftovers that makes that possible though. It truly is ACC or bust.

 

[whaler11]

While far from ideal choices (let's be honest with ourselves however, there are no ideal choices available to us) wouldn't Houston and UCF have made a hell of a lot more sense?

I would certainly take UCF and Navy over Air Force and Navy.

 

[rich1122]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C95Cb2ByHNA

 

[Scalito]

But Boise State and some of the B12 schools are better options. And I'm sure Boise State would be foot ball only if asked. And the BCS system might like this option of getting Boise and Idaho in the fold. So that might help with keeping the BCS bid alive.

I never thought I would be the negative Nelly on the Boneyard, but why would Boise State join the Big East for football only at this point? The only thing the remaining football schools have to offer is a strong basketball conference. If we withhold that remaining plum, what do we have to offer to a school that has a decent shot of making a BCS bowl each year without us? Certainly not credibility: our best remaining football programs---West Virginia, Cincy, and Louisville---were barely good enough to retain a BCS bid before Pitt and Syracuse left. And certainly not stability---read the statements of Ms. Susan Herbst. Or the Boneyard, for that matter.

 

[Scalito]

While far from ideal choices (let's be honest with ourselves however, there are no ideal choices available to us) wouldn't Houston and UCF have made a hell of a lot more sense?

Once you engage in this debate---Houston and UCF over Airforce and Navy---you concede what is obvious: our football conference is done. Best look out for basketball, until we can find an escape hatch for all sports.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Once you engage in this debate---Houston and UCF over Airforce and Navy---you concede what is obvious: our football conference is done. Best look out for basketball, until we can find an escape hatch for all sports.

How is that a concession? UCF is every bit as promising today as USF was when they joined a half dozen years ago. Houston is in a huge television market, was very relevant in both football and men's basketball not too long ago, was ran nked for nearly the entirety of the season two years ago, would have been ranked for the entirety of the season last year if they hadn't lost their hesiman candidate QB and opened this season with a win over a solid UCLA team.

I personally see the additions of the service academies (kind of ironic that the one located closest to the BE's offices is the one not joining) as opposed to a move such as UCF and Houston as a concession that an attempt to rebuild the football conference is not worth the effort.

 

[John Greene]

I haven't read this entire discussion but why would Navy and Air Force be interested in joining the BE as football only members? I can see from the BE perspective that having two service academies in the football conference would add political risk to pulling the BCS bid. But what would Navy and Air Force get in return? More money for two schools that are funded by rounding errors in their service budgets?

 

[Scalito]

The concession is that we won't be playing in a BCS conference. None of the teams mentioned will save the Big East. Houston? Maybe it has potential. But I have lived there, and can promise you that I saw more Army and Navy games on television when there than Houston games, etc.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The concession is that we won't be playing in a BCS conference. None of the teams mentioned will save the Big East. Houston? Maybe it has potential. But I have lived there, and can promise you that I saw more Army and Navy games on television when there than Houston games, etc.

Are you claiming that Air Force and Navy will allow us to keep our BCS status but UCF and Houston would cost us the same status?

 

[Scalito]

But what would Navy and Air Force get in return? More money for two schools that are funded by rounding errors in their service budgets?

This will obviously come as a surprise to you, and likely to almost everyone else, but the service academies' athletics departments are not funded by the federal government. The academies fund ALL of their sports from football revenue and alumni donations. They are therefore very much incentivized to get extra dollars any and everyway possible.

 

[Scalito]

Are you claiming that Air Force and Navy will allow us to keep our BCS status but UCF and Houston would cost us the same status?

To the contrary, I am claiming that we are screwed football-wise no matter what we do. I therefore believe we should be willing to add decent football programs that will not impose any drag on our basketball conference (to the extent they won't demand to join our conference and water it down any further).

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The concession is that we won't be playing in a BCS conference. None of the teams mentioned will save the Big East. Houston? Maybe it has potential. But I have lived there, and can promise you that I saw more Army and Navy games on television when there than Houston games, etc.

You realize that Syracuse and Pitt have a combined losing record in Big East play since the last realignment, right?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

You realize that Syracuse and Pitt have a combined losing record in Big East play since the last realignment, right?

That's not fair. Cuse was horrendous since Raid #1, so obviously their combined record will be dragged down.

Do you realize that Pitt and Syracuse have the most tradition of any schools that were currently in the Big East? That's why they were taken. Branding.