Twelfth Team to the Big East

[Ewekon]

If you could add one (only one) team, for all sports (except football) to the Big East.....................who? Please keep in mind this will impact ALL sports, men's and women's, not just basketball. So competitiveness, travel, academics, marketability, rivalries, goeography, etc, all have a role in your decision.

I'll withhold my choice until others respond. I promise not to change my choice based on what others say. Gotta trust me.

Out there thought... BU..

Check marks for hockey, lax, soccer, baseball. Bring in a real HC and shoves it to BC. Gotta commit big to hoops though. At least Pee C big.

Good academics, right in footprint. Cannabalizes no other BU sport. FB goes great with 'Nova in FCS.

Win/win?

edit: plus, great Catholic school too

 

[Fishy]

I have no idea what various non-revenue sports at UConn like track, swimming or polo do for conference/game/opponents. But if even ONE of those niche sports travels to Creighton or Butler for so much as a chukka it'd be infinitely more sensical to use that map & pick a local conference foe. UConn's diving team should be in a conference with whatever 40 pools & schools are within an hour and half drive and that's it.

Understand what we’re talking about…

Men’s sports…soccer is on a plane two or three times a year. Track is going to meets locally and maybe gets on a plane once depending on where the Big East championship is. Golf is always on a plane because it’s cold in Connecticut in the winter - has nothing to do with their conference. Football, basketball and baseball are what they are.

Women’s sports…Track mostly does local meets, but will fly once or twice, depending on where the championship is. Field hockey…there’s a bunch of associate members in the Big East and most are relatively close by, but the program plays a national schedule because they’re good and that’s how it goes. Lacrosse…no home and homes, so you might fly twice to some of the midwest Big East schools and play two games against Butler or whoever. (Or Denver, which I think is an associate member.) Rowing is never on a plane. Soccer is on a plane two or three times a year, depending on where the championship is. Softball, like baseball, travels a lot because you can’t play outdoors here for part of the season. Swimming will always have a local schedule - they’re never on a plane. Tennis will always be local. Volleyball will fly to the midwest once or twice a season.

Basically, adding UMass to the conference does nothing for UConn’s travel budget. They’re already on the schedule of some of the Olympic sports and they’re not going to save us a road trip in some of the others.

It’s like adding Gonzaga would not really affect the travel for UConn that much either. (The travel for Gonzaga, on the other hand, would be disastrous.)

 

[Guapo]

A) the Big East is adding Gonzaga or no one

B) the people here suggesting UMass need their heads examined

 

[Fishy]

Based on what, exactly? Anything more than wishful thinking?

Wishful thinking.

A school that cannot compete on a consistent basis in the A10 is suddenly going to be competitive in the Big East.

It’s idiocy.

 

[Ha Who]

I love it when people call an idea dumb without explaining why or offering a better suggestion.

Your prefer some of the other ideas offered in this thread? How come you didn't call out Canisius or Memphis?

Only UMASS gets under your skin, perhaps because they are a rival.

Love that Amherst market

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Only if we kick out Providence. Somehow I doubt a closeted PC fan like yourself would go for that.

Man... You could've said a closeted Seton Hall fan or St. John's fan since I'm from NYC. But Providence? WTF!

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Said it in another post. Buffalo aka UB, academically light years ahead of UMass and every MAC school except Miami. Crazy as it sounds, another large state school with good academics in the Big East, they would be a much better addition than UMass, and an annual football opponent? Plus might piss off Suckacuse

Can you please request my Seawolves instead? STONY BROOK!!! The better SUNY. (Probably too close to St. John's)

 

[SubbaBub]

UMass. The Big East needs a team in Massachusetts.

I'm torn on this. Not whether or not to invite UMass but whether to reply with the John McEnroe meme or the Heath Ledger Joker meme.

 

[freescooter]

Temple. They can’t be thrilled with the new AAC. Plus Villanova would have a rival.

 

[CallMeBruce]

My first choice would be Syracuse but its not going to happen.
BC would be my second choice (see above)
Zags, not going to happen. Too much travel for them and their conference affiliation is no longer a hindrance.
Definite no on UMass Or Rhody. But if it happens I'd pick UMass
I think the best choice would be Dayton. Catholic school. Would be able to develop a rivalry with Xavier an hour away and Butler two hours away. They have a bball tradition and a dedicated alumni base. Very similar to Marquette in both those categories. Marquette lite in a way. I know it's not a school in the east but it's not in Fort Worth either.

Seems like the Zags conference affiliation is going to be a problem soon

 

[freescooter]

The problem, of course, is you can’t bring in too many mid-majors and still be considered a Major. The NOOB has already brought in Xavier, Butler, Creighton in recent years, plus it has Providence and Seton Hall who basically scream mid-major, and DePaul who screams low D1. At some point you are what your membership says you are. Does anybody actually believe that Providence world win the A10 on a regular basis? Of course not.

Gonzaga makes zero sense. Great team but be reasonable. Temple has tradition, it’s in the footprint, it’s in a major recruiting area. And honestly, Temple has a very different fan base from Nova. VU is white suburban upper middle class. Temple fans are more urban, African-American and working class. More John Chaney while Villanova’s coach is a perfect representative of their fans.

 

[willie99]

This is the only answer that makes sense. Plus it gives UCONN another big conference rivalry that will sell tickets.

This idea gets rejected by this board because there are too many chicken littles afraid UMASS might become too successful. PC fans hate it even more for the same reason. Too many cowards who don't understand rivalries should be nurtured not shunned.

What money does UMASS bring to the table? There is no reason to add them, IMO

If a program, any program, doesn't increase the TV contracts, they're not getting an invite

The Zags would be huge, maybe Memphis is the only other program that would. I don't see either coming

 

[WillB4]

Notre Dame. It won't happen but that's who I'd add.

According to Geno, getting ND into the BE before led to it's break up. "Big mistake"

 

[Dogdeacon]

Understand what we’re talking about…

Men’s sports…soccer is on a plane two or three times a year. Track is going to meets locally and maybe gets on a plane once depending on where the Big East championship is. Golf is always on a plane because it’s cold in Connecticut in the winter - has nothing to do with their conference. Football, basketball and baseball are what they are.

Women’s sports…Track mostly does local meets, but will fly once or twice, depending on where the championship is. Field hockey…there’s a bunch of associate members in the Big East and most are relatively close by, but the program plays a national schedule because they’re good and that’s how it goes. Lacrosse…no home and homes, so you might fly twice to some of the midwest Big East schools and play two games against Butler or whoever. (Or Denver, which I think is an associate member.) Rowing is never on a plane. Soccer is on a plane two or three times a year, depending on where the championship is. Softball, like baseball, travels a lot because you can’t play outdoors here for part of the season. Swimming will always have a local schedule - they’re never on a plane. Tennis will always be local. Volleyball will fly to the midwest once or twice a season.

Basically, adding UMass to the conference does nothing for UConn’s travel budget. They’re already on the schedule of some of the Olympic sports and they’re not going to save us a road trip in some of the others.

It’s like adding Gonzaga would not really affect the travel for UConn that much either. (The travel for Gonzaga, on the other hand, would be disastrous.)

Ok, yeah I do not know or understand it at all. To me it should be the old model where we have a 8-12 team conference and schools play each other in EVERYTHING. Naturally this precludes football. Probably it doesn't include big time basketball. Sounds like the other sports do piece this together in some artificial schedule which hopefully is consistent, practical & produces some good rivalries.

The travel budget is an ancillary concern. What I'm mostly lamenting is the loss of a conference where every sport plays the same opponents, so that students, athletes and coaches all go to 3-4 campuses once a year to foster all encompassing regional rivalries. You need the biggest sports to truly make this work & matter. I guess the other sports have figured out a way to formulate a schedule or quasi-conferences based on logistics. Yet it seems a loss if every sport doesn't play Providence, BC and UMass every year and use those rivalries to rise all boats. Kumbaya

 

[ucp990411]

Out there thought... BU..

Check marks for hockey, lax, soccer, baseball. Bring in a real HC and shoves it to BC. Gotta commit big to hoops though. At least Pee C big.

Good academics, right in footprint. Cannabalizes no other BU sport. FB goes great with 'Nova in FCS.

Win/win?

edit: plus, great Catholic school too

You mean BU as in Boston University? For real? Also, not a Catholic school.

 

[Ha Who]

Ok, yeah I do not know or understand it at all. To me it should be the old model where we have a 8-12 team conference and schools play each other in EVERYTHING. Naturally this precludes football. Probably it doesn't include big time basketball. Sounds like the other sports do piece this together in some artificial schedule which hopefully is consistent, practical & produces some good rivalries.

The travel budget is an ancillary concern. What I'm mostly lamenting is the loss of a conference where every sport plays the same opponents, so that students, athletes and coaches all go to 3-4 campuses once a year to foster all encompassing regional rivalries. You need the biggest sports to truly make this work & matter. I guess the other sports have figured out a way to formulate a schedule or quasi-conferences based on logistics. Yet it seems a loss if every sport doesn't play Providence, BC and UMass every year and use those rivalries to rise all boats. Kumbaya

Ok Ward

 

[Dogdeacon]

Ok Ward

nm

 

[Kolumbo]

Wishful thinking.

A school that cannot compete on a consistent basis in the A10 is suddenly going to be competitive in the Big East.

It’s idiocy.

You could say the same thing about UCONN Football being in the AAC vs. the ACC. It's the chicken and the egg.

How about one of the largest, if not the largest, public universities in Virginia. I hate to mention the name due to past history oh say around 2006 but I think it would be a good addition to the Big East. Large public, good hoops. The A-10 has 3 programs in Virginia and 1 in North Carolina while Georgetown has been a dog.

 

[Kolumbo]

The problem, of course, is you can’t bring in too many mid-majors and still be considered a Major. The NOOB has already brought in Xavier, Butler, Creighton in recent years, plus it has Providence and Seton Hall who basically scream mid-major, and DePaul who screams low D1. At some point you are what your membership says you are. Does anybody actually believe that Providence world win the A10 on a regular basis? Of course not.

Gonzaga makes zero sense. Great team but be reasonable. Temple has tradition, it’s in the footprint, it’s in a major recruiting area. And honestly, Temple has a very different fan base from Nova. VU is white suburban upper middle class. Temple fans are more urban, African-American and working class. More John Chaney while Villanova’s coach is a perfect representative of their fans.

Yes and no. I think the Nova fan base is probably more national and Temple is local. I don't think race has anything to do with it and I think both programs could live in the Big East.

 

[Kolumbo]

All colleges were doing remote learning for an extended period of time so it's really no big deal. Gonzaga could schedule more than half (6 of 11) of their Big East away games during a 3 week East Coast trip and get tons of exposure from New England to Virginia. They fly out, take buses over the 3 weeks, fly home. No biggie. They could do the trip in January and miss very little school. The West Coast is losing BYU so it might make a lot of sense for them.

 

[Dove]

The answer is Colgate

 

[whosurdaddy2720]

Saint Bonaventure to the Big East…

(ducks and covers to avoid incoming rotten tomatoes)

 

[metsfan2323]

Saint Bonaventure to the Big East…

(ducks and covers to avoid incoming rotten tomatoes)

No need to duck or cover. Most here seem incapable of thinking beyond current rankings when pondering additions.

You will likely get support.

 

[RedDog]

I have a few points.
1. People have mentioned that Gonzaga will only be good with Mark Few. Well, Butler was added to the NBE based on Brad Stevens' success. They have not had a final 4 team but have had reasonably good teams.
2. Schools should be considered, even if they are not currently top 25, if they have fan support and resources. That's why I like SMU. They were hugely popular with Larry Brown.
3. Memphis continues to have basketball recruiting success. I think they would be a great addition.
4. Not to rehash previous discussions, but people have mentioned the "KO days" in such negative light. The guy won a national championship!! I know folks will say "he won with Calhoun's players". Well, he also defeated (and I would say out-coached in the 2014 NCAA tourney) Martelli, Wright, Hoiberg, Izzo, Donovan, and Calapari. That's a pretty impressive run!
KO had the tough luck of UCONN failing in re-alignment and getting stuck in an inferior conference.

 

[DrZzzz]

I would have to go with Syracuse. As much as we hate nose picker and fans, those conference rivalry games were awesome.

Unfortunately the whole football thing gets in the way. IMO UConn’s main BE rival(see 90s-00s BE BB). Otherwise my 1st choice.

 

[Colin G]

What about Cincy?

 

[huskiesNhoos]

What about Cincy?

Can't tell if this is sarcasm...this thread has me questioning everybody's sanity

 

[Colin G]

Can't tell if this is sarcasm...this thread has me questioning everybody's sanity

why is cincy so wild...good bball apparently, decent rivalry, football would have more flexibility to play better competition as an independent. Don't like 'em but why not?

 

[navery12]

why is cincy so wild...good bball apparently, decent rivalry, football would have more flexibility to play better competition as an independent. Don't like 'em but why not?

They just got a Big 12 invite, they're not going backwards to the Big East