Who Will Be the 12th Big East Team?

[ucp990411]

I hate the idea of adding another team. Sort of like the AAC adding East Carolina, Navy, Tulane and whatever other lower tier teams they did.

were you so stoned the last 8 years you didnt realize navy bball wasnt even good enough for the aac?

Please. Talking about the BS additions they made to other sports as well..If they left it alone as an 8.team conference it would have.

 

[Psolo12]

VCU or Richmond. The Big East should be in Virginia. Or Liberty Liberty Liberty.

You actually believe any of these schools should be in the Big East? I live in Richmond and attend VCU and Richmond games pretty regularly and they're not on the same level as anyone in the conference except maybe DePaul.

 

[Psolo12]

richmond has a law school, where my cuz now attends, so ......... no.
vcu apparently does not have a law school, so .......... yes.
i mean, who wants to further screw up these fine, entertaining, and enjoyable big east threads even more? not me. and, ur right. the big east should be in virginia if possible.

Small world, I attend Richmond law too.

 

[Kolumbo]

You actually believe any of these schools should be in the Big East? I live in Richmond and attend VCU and Richmond games pretty regularly and they're not on the same level as anyone in the conference except maybe DePaul.

A rising tide or something like that. But I catch your drift.

 

[FairView]

You get Fordham and Manhattan to field combined teams – like some high schools do in sports that don't have the necessary participation. They're not that far apart. A couple of nice Catholic schools with two fan bases. Fordham grad Andrew Cuomo could broker the deal. Now, let's see .... what's the combined mascot of a Ram and a Jasper? The Raspers? The Jams? This is growing on me.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Notre Dame. Other than that, no reason to expand unless the major conferences start getting shaken up. Then Syracuse, Pittsburgh, or Louisville. Maybe Virginia Tech. No idea what they do with football though. That's why Notre Dame works, though they've got a good thing going with the ACC.

 

[Griggs]

I like 11. If going to 12, I would say Sister Jean and the boys from Loyola. Don't know if 2 teams in Chicago would work.

 

[gtcam]

Notre Dame. Other than that, no reason to expand unless the major conferences start getting shaken up. Then Syracuse, Pittsburgh, or Louisville. Maybe Virginia Tech. No idea what they do with football though. That's why Notre Dame works, though they've got a good thing going with the ACC.

Notre Dame are prima donnas who think they have the right to call their own shots, they played a big part in killing the OBE. Screw them

 

[Big East Fa]

Marquette joined the Big East from CUSA in 2005. Before that they were members of the Horizon league and the Great Midwest league for basically the entirety of their athletics program's history

You need to learn Marquette history. MU has been playing basketball for over 100 years. Many schools were independents. Marquette was a super power under some guy named Al McGuire.

Marquette joined the MCC in the very late 80's. That is not anything close to "basically the entirety of their athletics program's history".

 

[BigFanCT]

Gonzaga was actually suggested here???? As a serious answer????!!!

 

[gampelcrazies]

Gonzaga was actually suggested here???? As a serious answer????!!!

They have had meetings in the past with the Big East.

 

[Kolumbo]

You get Fordham and Manhattan to field combined teams – like some high schools do in sports that don't have the necessary participation. They're not that far apart. A couple of nice Catholic schools with two fan bases. Fordham grad Andrew Cuomo could broker the deal. Now, let's see .... what's the combined mascot of a Ram and a Jasper? The Raspers? The Jams? This is growing on me.

Throw in the Maccabees from Manhattan for diversity.

Why hasn't NYU returned to Division I.

"Before it was scrapped at the height of a budget crisis in 1971, NYU's men's basketball program was a national power whose teams played for sellout crowds at Madison Square Garden. NYU still boasts winning records against several top schools like Connecticut, Georgetown and North Carolina and on May 8, the school will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1959-60 season when the Violets reached the NCAA tournament's Final Four.

Although it was reinstated in 1983, NYU's men's team is no longer a candidate March Madness. It now plays in Division III against the likes of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Lebanon Valley College. And the wounds from the 1971 death sentence still linger. "It came as a total shock," says Stan McKenzie, a former NYU star who was playing in the NBA when he heard the news. "It happened in some smoke-filled room where someone just said, 'This is over.' Bam! And that was it.""
Why Isn't NYU a Sports Power? - WSJ

 

[Dogman69]

For fun. My top realistic choices:

• Wichita
• Dayton
• VCU

also relegate PC to the A10. That too

 

[Kolumbo]

1960 NCAA Tournament
NYU 78, Connecticut 59. Learn something new every day.

 

[TheChamps990411]

The old Big East East - UConn, SJU, Prov, Nova, Georgetown, SHU

The new Big East West - DePaul, Marq, Creighton, X, Butler, Dayton

I think itd be cool if they named it Big East Dave East and Big East Kanye West

 

[Kolumbo]

I think itd be cool if they named it Big East Dave East and Big East Kanye West

We'll add UMass and they can add VCU/St. Louis/Liberty. two divisions of 7. 7's the key number here.

 

[Huskymagic]

It's 2700 miles from Storrs to Gonzaga's campus in Spokane. Using the travel math site to calculate flight times its a hair under 5 hours each way from BDL-GEG. I agree travel has become easier and conferences a more national but this would just be insane.

Travel cost reduction was a big factor in return to the BE. The AAC travel expenses were insane.

Distance not an issue? You think DH was good with traveling to Houston, Dallas, Wichita, Tulsa plus two trips to Florida? I have news for you, traveling that much sucks.

Gonzaga checks every box. You welcome them with open arms.

The travel concerns would really apply only to Gonzaga as they would be the one traveling East against every conference opponent. A once a year trip to play them is no big deal travel wise.

This is the only non P5 team I would want to see added.

#GonzagaToBigEast
#ReturnOfPolley

 

[TheChamps990411]

We'll add UMass and they can add VCU/St. Louis/Liberty. two divisions of 7. 7's the key number here.

?Classic

 

[NowInStorrs]

Gonzaga checks every box. You welcome them with open arms.

The travel concerns would really apply only to Gonzaga as they would be the one traveling East against every conference opponent. A once a year trip to play them is no big deal travel wise.

This is the only non P5 team I would want to see added.

#GonzagaToBigEast
#ReturnOfPolley

Could they add Gonzaga as a basketball only member and let Gonzaga keep any other sports in the WCC/whoever will take them? It's a little crazy but it would certainly be a huge move.

 

[Martin]

What does double round robin mean? I pay zero attention to scheduling.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I vote for Brown. Would give me an excuse to get back to campus more often and it sets up a nice little cross-town rivalry with Providence. And it makes no less sense than Gonzaga. Who says no?

 

[Tiamat7]

Small world, I attend Richmond law too.

Small world--I graduated from Richmond before attending UConn. UR is a wonderful school but not suitable for the Big East. Only 3500 students, and unfortunately the administration seems satisfied with Coach Mooney even though he's been unable to get them back to the tournament in recent years. In a rarity for modern college basketball, they had basically five 1000 point scorers (before one was lost for the season, but replaced by a talented sophomore in Tyler Burton), beat Kentucky, but ultimately failed to make the tournament. Lots of boosters are getting antsy. A few have even speculated that migrating to a lower ranked conference such as the Colonial or Patriot would afford the team better odds of making the tourney ("just get the automatic bid"). VCU has had more success, but I'm not sure I see a fit in the BE either. In terms of talent and results, however, they've certainly outperformed the bottom of the Big East.

 

[QDOG5]

BE won't take Dayton because of Xavier. No way on UMass. SLU maybe. Zags pipe dream. VCU c'mon man. Rhody no way. Gosh, our Tourney fog is bad. Let's leave well enough alone for now. Brown is not leaving the Ivy's. @BigErnMcCracken how did you end up at the most liberal of the Ivy league schools?

 

[BPT2Storrs]

Serious question, if Loyola Chicago stays on the current trajectory could they be considered in the future? I don’t know much about the school but they are a catholic school in an urban setting similar to Providence, Nova, Marquette, etc.

 

[Travelman6]

I don't think the BE should expand BUT in a perfect world, we could give Depaul the boot and add just about anyone to replace them.

It is important to avoid a one, or even two-trick pony like Loyola, whose long-term success is not guaranteed. They seem attractive because of their last 4 years but will we say the same in even 5 years' time?

Dayton, St. Louis, VCU are the closest to fitting the bill if we could give DePaul the boot, but I know that won't happen. So strictly hypothetical.

Serious question, if Loyola Chicago stays on the current trajectory could they be considered in the future? I don’t know much about the school but they are a catholic school in an urban setting similar to Providence, Nova, Marquette, etc.

Before the 2018 FF run, they really didn't do much, since 1985 when they were a one-trick pony S16 team. Maybe if in ten years, Loyola is known as the Gonzaga of the Midwest they would be good to scoop up but that would require consistent tourney appearances for the next decade, like 9 out of 10 times, and at least a few more E8/S16 trips. Seems unlikely, and their past 2 runs in the last 3 tourneys have been fun to watch, but can it be sustained?

St. Louis - 5 tourney appearances since 2000 - 3 total wins. 6 seasons below .500, 15 seasons above .500. 7 seasons with 20+ wins (3 25+ win seasons).
Dayton - 8 tourney appearances since 2000, one elite 8 run - 6 total wins. 2 seasons below .500, 19 seasons above .500. 15 seasons with 20+ wins (6 25+ win seasons).
VCU - 12 tourney appearances since 2000 (actually 2004), one FF - 9 total wins. 21 seasons above .500. 14 seasons with 20+ wins (and 10 25+ win seasons).

vs
Depaul - 2 tourney appearances since 2000, one win. 15 seasons below .500, 1 at .500, 5 above .500. 3 seasons with 20+ wins, ZERO 25+ win seasons.

All three of those schools would be a better replacement, VCU being the top. Dayton a close second. Ditch Depaul!

VCU or Richmond. The Big East should be in Virginia. Or Liberty Liberty Liberty.

Liberty does not move the needle too much, not even close to St. Louis, team 3 of 3 above.
Liberty - 4 tourney appearances, 1 win, 12 seasons below .500, 1 at .500, 8 seasons above .500, 5 seasons with 20+ wins (3 25+ win seasons).

Liberty is closer to DePaul over the past 20 years than VCU or Dayton or even St. Louis. Hard pass unless they can maintain a solid decade of success. 2016-2021 is a very good start.

Some people mentioned Buffalo. They have had a very solid 6 years, making the tourney 4 times since 2016 and winning twice and, generally, being competitive, even scoring a 6 seed in 2019. Similar to Liberty and Loyola, let's see if they can have another decade of prolonged success. Can they become the 'Zags of the East"? They made the NIT this year so maybe they are slipping?

Buffalo - 4 tourney appearances, 2 wins, 6 seasons below .500, 15 seasons above .500, 9 seasons with 20+ wins (2 25+ win seasons).

Still, I have more faith in Loyola, Buffalo, and Liberty to be more consistently good than UMass or Rhode Island.