nwflyer

I think people saying SMC and Gonzaga may join the BE7 are blowing smoke. The West Coast Conference would be a very competitive basketball conference for UD, great for UD's NCAA qualifying volleyball and soccer teams, but UD would never consider joining a conference that is 3000 miles from home. SMC and Gonzaga are smaller and have more budget limitations than UD.

A University wants to be in a conference where most of their students, propective students, and alumni are located. Unless the University is truly a National University(Notre Dame), being in a National Conference does not make sense.

brianstl1

The Hoyas will not be going to the ACC. The ACC is all about trying to remain viable as a football conference. They don't want to become the next Big East. UConn got passed over because FSU and Clemson would have bolted if they got the invite over Lousville. The ACC will not make any moves that appear to place a higher priority on basketball over football.

nwflyer

The AD may consider money to be a big driver, but I am not sure the President will have that viewpoint. UD's annual budget exceeds $400 million. This conference decision may be mouse nuts compared to all the other budget decisions a University President has to make.

I would think that connections to students, connections to alumni, and continued growth of all the conference sports to be primary concerns of a University President.

SingletofTruth

I was going to make a similar point. How does $1.5 million mean anything? Assuming $50k in tuition, which isn't far off the mark, that represents tuition from 30 students per year.

El Shaqtus

St. Louis cannot stay in the A-10 without X/Dayton/Butler. The closest school would be Duquense.

__________________
Mom, thanks for everything.

RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings

xudash

I like this response the most, because it's addressing the level at which the decision is being made. This is a BoT/President's decision focused on the strategic desires of the institution. Basketball happens to be a means to that end.

Beyond that, I'll offer my bulleted responses. First, why go to the BE7. Then, why leave the A10 (which truly has been very good to X and vice versa).

BE7:

1. I'm assuming that ESPN is going to take this thing back under its wings, so I'm assuming the television money and therefore the media exposure are going to be sufficiently greater than what will exist for the A10.
2. Alignment. These schools are braking away from their hybrid structure to focus on a basketball-centric conference. EVERY MEMBER WILL BE COMMITTED. Every member will understand the expectations - possible minimum contractual requirements - set for conference membership. To that end, Georgetown will not be going to the ACC, primarily because the ACC will not be inviting Georgetown to join it. On that note, once this thing is locked and loaded, I presume this group will put into contractual effect a long-term commitment for membership with an exit fee that will be legally defensible and one which will hurt any member who choses to leave after the minimum term.
3. If you are the company that you keep, then, from an institutional point of view, it has to be a positive that Georgetown, Villanova and Marquette, to name three, are in the mix.
4. There will be no market duplication.

The A10:

1. I've harped forever about alignment in the A10. It was never personal. Nonetheless, it's been the league's largest issue with respect to really fulfilling its potential. Now it has come home to roost. The Atlantic 10 should have addressed this issue years ago, and not necessarily by just voting schools off the island. It should have been about establishing standards so that certain schools would come to a choice: take advantage of the opportunity to fully get on board or see the value in leaving to another conference where it would be more feasible to compete.

spicebosh

It's simple, money, better recruits, tv, and more exposure. Any school from a10 that jumps will be able to get in the living rooms of recruits that they normally wouldn't go after. This is a no brainer, over analyzing it is not worth your time.

Flyer75

It's generally called a budget, I assume. I assume most schools budget X amount for the basketball program, the volleyball program, ect. If they didn't, they'd look like our federal gov't. 1.5 million more to dump into that budget.

I fully realize that 1.5 million is nothing to UD, X, Butler, SLU......but the budget says otherwise.

nwflyer

Similar thoughts. I am fine with UD staying in the A10 unless X/Butler/St Louis all leave.

nwflyer

For UD's President, money will not be the primary driver of the conference decision. I'd put money on it

LSF (GW Fan)

Ge**getown to the ACC is hardly far fetched. As someone who lives in the DC area, ACC basketball has a very large following. With Maryland now bolting, I would expect the ACC would be looking to fill the void. They took Notre Dame without football and I would expect them to do the same with Ge**getown. Should that occur, is it really worth blowing up an Atlantic 10, that is as good as it has ever been, because you think that Depaul and St. Johns are better than Fordham and Lasalle? Those of you who are so anxious to bolt need to face reality, namely the Big East that you are fantisizing over is dead. No Syracuse, no Cincinatti, no UConn, no Pitt, etc.

STLfan

I think DePaul would be a positive for SLU as well. Rejoining them and Marquette again would be fun. A conference with Creighton, Marquette, DePaul, Dayton, Butler, and Xavier would be great for Saint Louis. That is pretty much all of the big name hoops only schools close by.

I never thought I would defend DePaul but I do think some on here are being a bit hard on them. DePaul has 18 tournament appearances, two final fours, and despite falling on hard times still averaged over 7K. That is a little more impressive than the teams at the bottom of the A10. Their biggest problem is they play in an arena that is far from campus and not easy to get to, but from what I understand they are looking into building an on campus arena. They have the history, the resources, location, and the commitment (I'm sure they paid some money to hire Purnell from Clemson) but they are really lacking in facilities. With the right coach and better facilities I'm sure DePaul can be turned back around.


For your main question I really like the current A10 but I do think the potential new BE7 league could be a better fit for SLU with more teams close by, a higher profile, and more teams committed to their hoops programs. A nightmare scenario for SLU fans would be getting passed over and the BE7 taking X, Butler, Dayton, and Creighton. If that were to happen I'm not sure where we would end up.

Medford

As a UD fan...

If the A-10 were to stick together, in whole, I'd be happy as a peach. In fact, if the BE7 came calling and wanted UD, and only UD and the other option on the table was for them to pick up George Mason and go at as an 8 team conference, I'd want UD to stay in the A-10. However, that doesn't seem all that likely from any angle (the A-10 staying completely in tact, nor UD being the sole invitee). As far as the A-10 goes, I love the regional rivalries w/ X & SLU. I assume there is potential there w/ Butler considering the distances. Welder gate aside, I've always respected and admired the passion of SBU's fan base and the administrations desire to put their all into the product, enjoyed the matchups w/ Saint Joes, can't say enough about Temple (who is parting ways regardless), etc...

The appeal of joining the BE7 along w/ a handful of key A-10 rivalies would be too much to pass on. G'town, Marquette & Nova have all had national appeal recently and well into the past. Saint John's isn't what it used to be, may never get there again, but is a huge step up in NYC presence over Fordham. Providence & Seton Hall are pretty much meh, Depaul, while poor in bball, is a spot where UD recruits a lot of their general student population from, so an expanded presence there wouldn't hurt.

The fear is watching UD's key rivalries jump ship and UD left behind in the A-10. Nothing against SBU, Saint Joes, GW, etc... schools I like playing, but the areana has a completely different feel when SLU & X are in the house. I suspect Butler will have a similar feel. I know Marquette would give a similar excitement as well as G'town. The extra money would be nice as well.

As a fan who has no say in such a move, it would be exciting to join forces w/ the BE7, plus X and others. It would be a bummer to watch them move on and UD stay in the A-10, however I'll still follow and root for the flyers just as much and life will march on.

brianstl1

They didn't take Notre Dame without the football. They got five games a year with ND and Notre Dame as part of the teams they can offer to bowl games. Both help the football side of the ACC. Without that Notre Dame would not be in the ACC.

jpschmack

I think it's simple: The BE7 and Xavier, Dayton, Saint Louis are peers when it comes to athletics spending.

The BE7 has teams in six Top 40 markets.
They're targeting our teams in markets #19, #27, and #35; considering #44, #58 and #62.

And here's MBB OOC success over the last five years (which is the true measure of what each team brings a conference on the court):
.893* G-Town
.839* NOVA
.810* DAY
.810* Marq
.758* PROV
.750* HALL
.729 VCU
.719 Temple
.719* Butler
.696* Xavier
.650 RICH
.642 DUQ
.641* StJohns
.623* SLU
.621 LaSalle
.614 URI
.608 Bona
.582 CHAR
.574* DEP
.556 UMAss
.528 GW
.517 StJoes
.347 FOR