X-man47

IMHO, there is no "allure" to the BE7 if the A10 hangs together on this. The current A10 is a better league than the BE7 because the top programs in the A10 are both more numerous and arguably better than the top of the BE7, and quite frankly the bottom-feeders in both "leagues" are pretty comparable. That said, I would love the A10 to add Marquette and G'town even though I don't trust G'town longer than a NY minute if other options arise for them. I am OK with adding the whole bunch if that is the only way to incorporate the better teams in that group, but I would strongly prefer not adding Seton Hall, DePaul, and Providence.

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Xavier always goes to the NCAA tournament, and almost always makes some noise while there. Projecting anything less than that this season feels like folly.
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Quinn

Why leave? Because X, Butler, Dayton, SLU, etc would be cutting the fat. Plain and simple. You can be with GTown, Nova, Marquette, St. Johns and 2 "bottom feeders" with DePaul (Chicago), Seton Hall (NJ) or you can be with Fordham, St. Bonaventure, and the other 12 members of the A10. If the A10 were currently 8 members, maybe getting the BE7 to join could happen. Maybe even at 9. But 21 schools is too many...not enough TV money with a 21 team split. The A10 would need a TV contract double that of the #2 conference just to increase the per-school annual revenue at 21-22 schools.

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SingletofTruth

I think the general appeal is that the institutions are like minded and similar (at least for schools like UD/XU/SLU). I also think a big part of the appeal is that many of these schools have had historical rivalries. Is the BE7 better than the current A-10? If you look at the numbers, and there are people who are doing it over at UDPride (and these people are being mocked by certain camps (ahem, TMan)), the gap isn't all that big - especially given the recent success of XU, VCU and Butler. Nova, Georgetown and Marquette are all solid, but the others are pretty darn bad - owing much of their RPI to playing schools that are leaving the BE for green pastures. The BE7 need the top A-10 schools (at least XU and Butler) otherwise they are in trouble.

Personally, I hope the new league goes big and incorporates a significant portion of the A-10. I think there is a real opportunity to create a large, basketball centric league that could be very successful. VCU, Richmond, St Joes, SLU, Butler, Dayton and XU all seem like natural fits. The Dukes, GW, St Bonnies, RI all bring something to the table and have had recent success. It is going to be interesting. And the A-10 commissioner has a tough job because presumably she is tasked with safe guarding every schools' interest.

Chalmers0

Just a few things from my end:

The most common factor people bring up: trimming the fat. No more Fordham, URI, GW, LaSalle etc. While I will agree these programs are slowly rising (URI with Hurley etc) and I will agree that Depaul, Seton Hall and Providence are not exactly high level programs there is absolutely zero comparison here in my point of view and I don't think there is from a recruiting standpoint either. Of course you are also adding in Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova (admittedly on a bad run right now), and what in my opinion is a quietly rising St. Johns (which is HUGE for the conference). Steve Lavin has that program growing and if they get to where I think they will, in NYC of all places, that will be huge for this conference.

Second, general brand recognition. I just touched on the recruiting perspective, which is huge. Admittedly a lot of this comes down to the "Big East" name, which from what I am hearing is likely to be given to the basketball schools. Selling a recruit on playing St. Johns and Seton Hall and playing in the Big East tourney at MSG is much easier than selling trips to Olean or Rose Hill.

I think the biggest thing though is the TV contract. ESPN wants to keep the Big East and catholic schools and the schools obviously want ESPN. If this conference is playing games on "Big Monday" or "Super Tuesday" or prime time Saturday games that is HUGE for program and conference recognition. Recruits see that constantly and can see themselves playing on that stage. Think recruits are tuning in for Xavier's A10 games on FSO or CBSCS or Dayton's games on the local station? I'm doubting it. I understand the A10 just improved their TV deal but from what people are saying I highly doubt it will match what this new conference could bring in.

At the end of the day, I'm content in the A10 in its current state but this move is an absolute no brainer in my opinion

AdamtheFlyer

I think calling DePaul and Providence "bottom feeders" is a bit of a misnomer. Those teams became bottom feeders when football money took over the Big East, but before that they were quality programs. Providence was just fine in the original Big East, and DePaul was just fine in Conference USA. They won a lot of games, made final fours, and produced NCAA caliber teams on a regular basis. I think breaking away will help them. The number of programs who simply have more than them will decrease from 12 or so down to just a handful.

As for why Dayton would want to join, it's the same reason why everyone in this league would want to "move up". More money, more exposure, easier to recruit top level talent. Xavier, Temple, Butler, and Gonzaga have proven you CAN do great things over an extended period of time in a league with less than great resources, but it's that much easier to do great things with the power of a truly great league behind you.

I understand why some question how good this new league would be, but I don't. These 7 programs want to be great every year, and they have the commitment and resources to make it happen. Like I have said, I trust them to do it more than I trust a good portion of the A10. That new league is going to be very strong.

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Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.

MudFlap

Scary. I'm going to have to agree with ATF. Historic.

rogabee

If the A10 plays hardball, say the C7 go to 10 and add Gonzaga, Creighton, and St. Mary's (all of whom would likely take invites). I'm sure Xavier would see that as a better league than the A10 currently is and would accept an 11th invite if they were to then be offered again and just forget about the A10. If they're not offered again, quite a few folks would be extremely ticked off to say the least to not be in a conference that would regularly get 5+ bids out of 10 teams.

That's why the A10 likely won't stick together.

Bill Russell

If there is one thing I've learned from reading this board for the last week, it's that each program is absolutely on its own. There is no longer a sense of community within most conferences. Dog eat dog. Conference affiliation no longer means a thing unless you're talking about TV money. It's an unfortunate reality, but considering the climate of college athletics, one can't blame a soul. Good luck to those who move "up".

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Title_BU

Depaul is seen as a positive from Butler's perspective. When the administration was deciding to move to the A10, not having a program in Chicago was seen as a problem with such a large portion of the alumni base there. That's why the Northwestern series started this year.

About the main question, its really the same reason everyone wants to be friends with the pretty girl in 5th grade --- you are cooler by extension.

Chetburger

But Creighton is going nowhere unless the A10 is involved. You are dreaming up scenarios that are not even on the table. The Missouri Valley is not much worse of a league than the C7. The top 3-4 in the Valley are as good or better than the top 3-4 in the C7 (ask VCU how good Wichita is). The geography issue just compounds it. You do not choose to fly across the country for a marginal conference improvement.

SMC and Gonzaga are an even less likely grab without the A10 getting involved. Gonzaga is doing just fine out west. They dont need the help. Again, the C7 simply isnt strong enough to command the type of respect some of you are giving them.

The Big East name is dead. Its a boat anchor. Its a synonym for dysfunctional idiots! It harbors more negative reactions now than it does positive. Outside the fog of the east coast, nobody cares about the Big East anymore. Its one big joke/laughingstock in college athletics. The Big East brand is nothing more than New Coke now.

But, if the A10 plays hardball, SMC, Gonzaga, Creighton, arent going anywhere. Guaranteed. Nobody is jumping 2-3 time zones for every road game for the privilege of playing 3 decent teams and 4 mediocre ones. Creighton is a longshot as it is an I dont even see SMC and Gonzaga in play w/o A10 involvement. This national coast to coast conference thing is never happening. The WAC has proven that geography causes problems. The Big East is finding that out as well.

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Flyer75

For me, it would be a missed opportunity for UD. Money and as stated by some X fans, brand name. UD probably won't go in and run this conference right away, hell, we havent done it in the A10. But if the rumors are true about the ESPN deal and money to each school, you can't pass this up. I like the trajectory Archie has us going forward. 9-7 last year with a very very average team talent wise and I think this year's team competes for Top 5-6 which should be good enough for an NCAA appearance.

So, in a nutshell, money, and a higher ceiling down the road.

Flyer75

I pretty much agree with this. My previous post was on the premise that X and Butler have one and a half feet out the door already.

xu95

We can talk about whom is better than whom until we are blue in the face. Bottom line is the A10 just signed their best TV deal EVER and each team will get approximately 350k. I have heard on the low end, the new TV contract will be 900k per team and will probably be closer to 1.5 to 1.6 million per team.

Flyer75

I guess for UD, it's a no lose situation. I doubt UD becomes the Fordham of this new conference. I'd still say we have been better the last ten years over 3-4 of these BE7 teams. We can be avg in the A10 (maybe finally takeover the A10 if Xavier and Butler leave) or be average in the new BE7 and make a lot more money for the school....that's at least how the AD will probably look at it.

MudFlap

Biggest games in A-10 could be VCU-Richmond, VCU-Dayton or Richmond - Dayton.