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More BCS realignment

143K views 1K replies 144 participants last post by  Medford 
#1 ·
It's being reported all over that the Big Ten is in the process of inviting Rutgers and the University of Maryland into the conference.

The invites could take place as early as Monday.

Speculation from there includes the idea that the ACC would invite UConn to take the place of UM.

Needless to say, that may be all she wrote for the Big East.
 
#1,201 ·
You people are all f-ing crazy. Nobody is dissolving anything. The minute you start a "brand new conference" you are waiting three years for the auto bid to be in effect. Even this Catholic conferene is not giving that up. More than likely there will be some shifting between A-10 and the BE and there will probably be a school three that end up shifting elsewhere in the process.

The Holy Schools still have enough cache` that they will be able to demand that some of the low hanging fruit be dropped before they grace the A-10 (or whatever they change the confernece name to) with their presence. The bottom line is there is too much $$ at stake for a 3 year NCAA waiting period.
 
#1,202 ·
Confused by your response, Knobby--the BE7 have announced they are leaving. Under the rules, though, they will get an auto-bid right away because they are seven schools who have been together in a conference for at least five years. I expect they will negotiate with the FB schools to take the Big East name and the MSG tournament rights.

I've seen internet discussion of whether the remaining BE members would need to get a waiver to have an auto-bid, because only three of them (UConn, UC, USF) have been in a conference together for any length of time. Not sure how that works.
 
#1,204 · (Edited)
You know, I had a bit of an epiphany over the weekend. I want Dayton to get invited to this new league, but deep down, I truly don't care if they are. It's not going to change my life, nor will it effect my love of UD or college basketball as a whole.

This whole discussion has become comical. Argue about the latest report, take shots at everyone, then do it all again when a report comes out that refutes or amends the previous report. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Following every detail like that is insane.

Wake me when the invites go out. If Dayton gets in, great. If not, well, it's not like UD will close up shop.
 
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#1,213 · (Edited)
jpschmack furthers illustrates why I do not fear Dayton getting left behind. Make no mistake, I want Dayton in. It would be really fun to see Georgetown, Villanova, and Marquette on the schedule every year, and it would be quite the adjustment not to see Xavier twice.

But even if they are left behind, Dayton's destiny is still controlled by the same people who always controlled it...Dayton. NCAA bids aren't disappearing, they are only going to be added over time. Dayton's path to an at-large will still be based on the games Dayton wins or loses.

The Xavier rivalry would shift to OOC or go away, and anyone who has read my posts knows I have no issue with that. College basketball rivalries are never permanent, it's the nature of the game itself. There are no college basketball rivalries that match Ohio State/Michigan, Army/Navy, USC/Notre Dame, or Florida State/Florida. None. Not even Duke/UNC. Football games make or break a season, basketball rivalries make or break an evening. And hell, even iconic football rivalries disappear from time to time. Ask Texas and Texas A&M fans.

Notre Dame, Marquette, and DePaul used to be the biggest nights at UD Arena well before it was Xavier. Without Xavier, it would be someone new. VCU, Richmond, St Joes, George Mason...someone would emerge as a "circle the date" rival, probably sooner than most people think.

As a fan, I fear Dayton moving to the new league far more than I fear being left behind. It's a good fear, similar to proposing marriage, but a legit fear. Every program in the discussion has visions of going to the new league and leaping right to the top, but no one ever mentions the pit. It's possible Dayton isn't good enough, that they'd be the DePaul of that league. At least one of the A10 teams who leave will be, it's just common sense. Look at every mass realignment we have ever seen in college sports. There are always winners, and there are always losers. And then look at what becomes of the leagues that teams leave behind, rarely do they just crumble into dust. Dayton, or anyone, being forced to stay in the A10 is not a punishment.

Dayton was that loser once already in their 25 or so years as members of a conference. As much as I want Dayton in the new league, it is because of the Great Midwest failure that I don't fear the alternative. Dayton, and whoever else doesn't get the call, still control their destiny. Things will always work out over time if you go about the process in the right way. I think that's from Boy Meets World. The process trumps everything. New league or A10, my only concern is what Dayton is doing to improve every year.
 
#1,221 ·
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Dayton has a chance to improve the program by leaps and bounds. This would be the biggest thing to hit Dayton since the Arena was built. College Basketball will be reduced to five or six power conferences and everyone else will be considered an after thought.

Yet here we are. UD fans unable to understand whats about to happen to college sports.
Forget records and RPI,,, BE vs A-10 ,this move is all about POTENTIAL.

And this new league has the POTENTIAL to be great. And possibly catapult Dayton Basketball to a level never seen in more than forty years.

The inability to comprehend what is at stake here is mind boggling.
This new conference has been on the minds and wishes for over forty years by Dayton fans.

Let me say the vast majority of Dayton fans understand whats at stake and they are crossing their fingers that Dayton will be included.

All others IMHO don't and never will have high expectations for the program.
 
#1,215 ·
If the reports out of Wisconsin are true, and it's UD, X, and Butler, great, but I'd still prefer a 12 team format (not that I get a say in that)

At any rate, the UD of today is vastly different than the UD of the great Midwest. Their athletic program was in terrible shape, outsid of D3 football and 10,000 + fans a night. The support facilities are great, and they put a tof money into the behind the scenes stuff where UD was well behind in the 90s. Frankly given fan support, local talent, facilities, and financial backing, UD, x, slu, etc... are in better shape than many of the be7.
 
#1,219 ·
I certainly think VCU could make the dance fairly regularly, especially in the new A-10, but I don't think it would change anything for VCU. If these decisions were solely about quality basketball, VCU would be in the conversation with some of the teams being rumored.

If Dayton were left out and then pulled off a dominant stretch like that, I could see them getting an invite.
 
#1,220 ·
I mean no disrespect to VCU, because you've been good for a decade. But the consistent presence is why VCU and UD are the "second cut list." Obviously, the Duke win, then the Final Four those put you guys on the map, moved you up from CAA to A10. But it's 5 bids in the last 15 years? Dayton is at 4 in the last 15 years, too.

Xavier's made 9 of the last 10 NCAAs and like 14 of the last 17 or something. Gonzaga hasn't missed one since 1998, I think.

They're looking for that "every year, there's Gonzaga, Xavier and VCU" status. UD and VCU don't have that, or else it's a 12-team league.

Or you could just move the campus to Boston, then you'd only need one NCAA bid and a 16-14 average record in the last decade to be a lock!
 
#1,224 ·
I'm curious what kind of role womens athletics plays into the decision. Dayton's women programs have slowly made their way to the forefront these past few years. Volleyball goes to the national tourney, I believe soccer is strong and the Lady Flyers are the only ranked team from the A10 and the BE7. Obviously there is no money in womens sports for the most part, but I'm sure the ADs would like to build on their programs and keep or create rivalries in their respective sports also. Thoughts?
 
#1,232 ·
You know, I probably come at this from a different angle. X, Dayton, SLU, Butler etc. have done nothing for VCU's success. We have garnered all of those accomplishments on our own apart from them.

For that reason, I'm not all that worried regardless of what happens. We made the jump because we wanted to be associated with schools that have similar or better commitment to basketball in order to make ourselves better. We were quite successful without those schools before, and I'm confident we'll be just fine without them as well.

The appeal of a multi-bid league was the big draw, and while I think that takes a hit, I think we're in a better situation than the CAA regardless. I also happen to think that in the interim, VCU, Richmond, St. Joe's, UMass, La Salle, would all make this league a multi-bid this year without UD, X, or Butler, and likely would in the future as well. I also think VCU has as good a chance if not the best chance to headline those schools in this conference going forward. The A-10 has more historical cache and respect and making that jump is still well-worth the risk regardless of what X, BU, SLU or Dayton do.

We haven't even played a conference game against any of these teams yet, so I don't have the same attachment or dependency on their successes to pump up my school or perceptions about VCU. We have built a national brand with our style of play and success without any of those schools, and I believe we will continue to build on that regardless of who our league mates are.
 
#1,235 ·
There is no football situation at VCU. There are alums that want it, but it is far too cost-prohibitive with no land to build a stadium near campus.

If football happens at VCU, it would be decades away most likely. We'd also have to start at the FCS level, something most of our fans don't care at all for. There is no guarantee that we'd be successful or that we'd get a FBS invite. That's a lot of money and resources to spend on peewee football.

I get why many love college football and the potential benefits to a university. I don't think it's something that will realistically happen for VCU anytime soon however. There are those among our fan base who would vehemently disagree with me however.
 
#1,237 ·
That's a real shame. I was aware that VCU wasn't playing football, but I was unsure if a plan of some sort was even in its infancy. I mean look at Charlotte's football program -- talk about building a product fast. I'd like to see VCU follow in their footsteps, albeit selfishly, as I feel they represent an appreciable east coast asset. Regrettably, your program was added after Temple announced an imminent departure. I was really excited to develop a basketball rivalry with your program.
 
#1,240 ·
This is from the Bleacher Report today. It would be kind of interesting if the B.E. football schools formed this 16 team nationwide football conference with two 8-team divisions. If this happened would the 8 teams in the east take on a few regional non-football teams to fill out a 12-14 team conference for sports other than football? Or would they take on the travel budget of heading out west for some of their games? It seems like a tough call - UConn to San Diego State isn't exactly a short flight for your softball team.

From Bleacher Report:

"First, let's say the west included Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, UNLV, BYU, Houston, SMU and Memphis. Think about the kind of basketball that division could play. Baseball and softball would be very competitive as well.

The eastern division would include Cincinnati, Connecticut, Temple, Navy, East Carolina, Tulane, South Florida and Central Florida. It would also have its fair share of intriguing and competitive match-ups.

This would allow the new "All-American" conference to play its own regional regular season and play occasional cross-division foes, or only play the other division in playoffs or conference tournaments.

It seems like it would be a very good way to build a quality conference."
 
#1,242 ·
The latest from Andy Katz:

1. The presidents and athletic directors of the seven Catholic Big East schools (Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence, Marquette, DePaul) will meet in early January to start extracting the schools, according to a source. The plan for the seven would be to get out for next season, but that's unlikely. A more realistic scenario is to cut out on July 1, 2014, a year before the 27-month exit of July 1, 2015. The lack of a television deal for the 2013-14 men's basketball season is a major concern for the seven. The seven are expected to come together after the holidays to pick a legislative team to orchestrate an exit.
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/70952/3-point-shot-big-east-exit-strategy
 
#1,246 ·
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/coll...name_in_big_east_split_Z8tWWS17CNrVQYweK2jPQK

One league will comprise the seven Catholic schools — DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova — plus five schools from the following group: Butler, Creighton, Dayton, Duquesne, George Mason, St. Louis and Xavier.

A Post source said though St. Mary’s and Gonzaga are attractive candidates, the travel costs to fly non-revenue teams cross-country will almost surely make adding them prohibitive. The source said Butler, Dayton, George Mason, St. Louis and Xavier are the top five options as the league seeks to transform into an elite, 12-team, hoops conference.
The New York Post's Lenn Robbins doesn't have a stellar record with stuff like this, but hey, it's news.
 
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