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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.
 
#581 ·
Yeah not sure I get the whole 'traitorous acts' thing. It's been Temple and Xavier carrying this league for the most part for a long, long time. Others have come and gone, but they've been the mainstays.

They've done more for the A-10 in basketball than any other programs.

Also, if any of our schools played football, they would be going after the football money as well. It's naive to think otherwise. This is a business and the almighty dollar rules all.
 
#583 ·


I am really just messing around. I do think it would be comical if Temple ended up getting shafted in basketball because of their football desires. Especially since they are only known for basketball.

And you probably blamed a bunch of your own mistakes on Kathy to get that promotion by the way. She was busy taking care of her disabled child.
 
#584 ·
The 21 team league isn't happening that is the only way Temple can be screwed. Otherwise we would have been in the same position of not being invited to the new league because of Villanova. Either the league stays together and we benefit, we get convinced to dismantle the league and with our vote get put into the new league or the catholic schools bolt with the top of the A-10 and we are in the same spot.I would have made the move 100/100 times even though I love the A-10.
 
#587 ·
The 21 team league isn't happening that is the only way Temple can be screwed.
You won't be screwed no matter what. Even if the strength of basketball leaves, the new Big East (CUSA 2.0) is going to have more revenue from TV than all but five conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC). You'll be fighting among the poorest of the rich rather than the richest of the poor. 20 years from now, you'll think "Thank God we didn't drop football when the Big East kicked us out!"

The 21-team Atlantic 10 is never happening. Let's look at the Big East schools options if they leave football:

#1 - "A21" - Atlantic 10 with 21-teams (St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul join A-10)
#2 - "14A" - St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul split and add Xavier, Dayton, Butler, Saint Louis and VCU/Richmond and Duquesne
#3 - "14B" - Same as 14A, only with one of VCU OR Richmond, and Creighton

Footprint: People living in the metro areas where there are teams in the conference:
A21 - 54,953,306 (TV contract split 21 ways)
14A - 54,587,930 (TV contract split 14 ways)
14B - 55,465,040 (TV contract split 14 ways)

If leaving was worth their while (guaranteed at least $2 million each from TV), that would make.
A21 - $42.0 million TV deal - $2.0 mil each.
14A - $41.5 million TV deal - $2.9 mil each.
14B - $42.5 million TV deal - $3.1 mil each.

You can argue the value of the TV deal, and assign any dollars you like. But the difference of the Amherst, Olean and Kingston markets are not worth splitting any TV deal an extra SEVEN WAYS. You have three tiny markets and five redundant markets; and that's why they'll never join the A-10.
 
#585 ·
To say the 21 team league isn't happening is a little misleading. Sure, I don't think a 21 team league is likely. I do however think it is 50-50 whether A10 absorbs those teams or gets poached and ESPN will have the final say.
 
#588 ·
Eh, having Umass and Rhode Island gives you a foot hold in New England, an area that prefers college basketball to college football from my experience. Lots of Umass and URI grads across that whole region. It is a fairly populated area. Springfield, Worcester, Providence, Hartford, etc probably have about 1.5-2.0 million people. A good portion of whom went to Umass or Rhode Island. They are pretty large public schools. But not worth splitting an extra 7 ways. Lots of overlap among philly and DC/virginia schools.
 
#590 ·
Eh, having Umass and Rhode Island give you a foot hold in New England. Lots of Umass and URI grads across that whole region. It is a fairly populated area. Springfield, Worcester, Providence, Hartford, etc probably have about 1.5-2.0 million people. A good portion of whom went to Umass or Rhode Island. They are pretty large public schools.
Yes, but:
-- odds are it would end up being a 7-for-1 trade, with the Big East inviting UMass to be their 10th all-sport member.
-- There's six other redundant markets, and Bona's insignificant market.

The pie isn't going to be big enough to slice 20 ways. They'd each get more money in a smaller conference because they'd be bringing the juice. Same reason Drexel, American, Wright State and Robert Morris aren't in the A-10.
 
#591 ·
ESPN had a 5-minute segment on the latest A-10 and Big East machinations at halftime of the SJU-Nova game.

Andy Katz said the Big East only basketball teams might leave because figuring out who owns the Big East brand in a breakup could be a long legal nightmare. He said the A-10 is monitoring the situation and is very open to inviting all seven BE basketball schools into the conference.

Sure sounds like the A-10 is being the aggressor and trying to put on a united front.

Either that, or the commish is putting on a great game face and making it sound like the league is united via well-placed leaks.

On the other hand, Dino Guadio (sp?) was the analyst. He said his sources say the A-10 would not expand to 21 teams. He said his sources told him that the A-10 would likely be a smaller conference, say 16 teams, and he implied that the Big East teams would not want to play in the small dumpy arenas of Fordham and LaSalle.

Having a lot of X connections, Dino's comments suggest he is reflecting the view of the Musketeer admin.

Very interesting stuff. I like that the A-10 is sounding like it's out in front. But who knows how it will all play out. My school, UMass, might not even be in the league's long-range plans.
 
#615 ·
Andy Katz said the Big East only basketball teams might leave because figuring out who owns the Big East brand in a breakup could be a long legal nightmare. He said the A-10 is monitoring the situation and is very open to inviting all seven BE basketball schools into the conference.

Sure sounds like the A-10 is being the aggressor and trying to put on a united front. Either that, or the commish is putting on a great game face and making it sound like the league is united via well-placed leaks.

Very interesting stuff. I like that the A-10 is sounding like it's out in front. But who knows how it will all play out. My school, UMass, might not even be in the league's long-range plans.
Great game face:
-- We get the A-10 name in the press: SportsCenter, ESPN.com, etc, etc.
-- We show strength: We're stable, you're not.
-- The top half shows loyalty to the league publicly (while privately the whole league is probably calling those seven to check in and lobby for a spot if they split)
-- The bottom half shows how ridiculous a 21-team league sounds, and hopes the BE7 says "No way, let's stick with football.
 
#592 ·
Yeah I saw that as well. That's certainly interesting. Tense times for many of us in the A-10. Either way someone is likely getting shafted. I don't see how a 21-member conference would be feasible or why the Big East bball school would agree to split what is very likely a smaller pie than what they would be getting in the new Big East 21 ways.

Them joining our conference would also mean that they were not able to dissolve the conference and keep their NCAA revenue shares. They would be taking a massive pay cut to make such a league possible.
 
#595 ·
Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, DePaul.

I'll take Marquette and Georgetown. I'll take St. John's next if UMass decides to leave. The others can figure out their own problems. They weren't here for us when the Big East was formed so now that the A-10 is in a position of power I see no reason to look out for them.
 
#594 ·
Dino Gaudio said that Georgetown and St. John's aren't going from playing at the Carrier Dome and the Petersen Events Center at Pitt to playing at 'Rose Hill Gym at Fordham and the 3rd level of that gym at La Salle' when he said that his sources told him that the Big East 7 wouldn't be joining an A-10 with a 21-team arrangement.

Ouch.
 
#609 ·
Is there some kind of requirement that you have to be catholic to play basketball?

No?

Then play ball as far as I'm concerned.

I never got the idea that the Big East basketball schools would suddenly sacrifice basketball quality to align themselves with schools that fit their exact profile when that is something they have never done in the first place. They'll do what gets them the most money and if the networks tell them they will get more TV money if Butler and VCU are in the league as opposed to whatever private/catholic/jesuit school, they won't hesitate.

This isn't about theology. This is all about money and quality basketball that people will turn on their TV to watch. I'm confident Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart will help both schools in any scenario that has them being considered.
 
#613 ·
Here's what Marquette's AD Larry Williams had to say about the whole 'catholic' issue:

On the prospect of the “Catholic Seven” conference:

“On the Catholic concept… Now I’m a Catholic. I’m really comfortable in that environment, but I would be careful to define something so narrowly as to someone’s religious tradition. There’s some really good basketball played at VCU. There’s this place down in Indiana that has made a couple appearances in the final game.”
Some really good thoughts from Williams all throughout this piece: http://espnwisconsin.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=16611
 
#619 ·
You'd have to think that if the ACC does that, they take Nova and St. John's, too.
However, that would be a major tipping point for ACC football, and probably drive UNC, Va Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Florida State into the arms of the Big Ten and SEC.

It's concievable that the Big Ten/SEC going to 16, or the Big XII adding from the ACC could lead to an 18-team A-10 with Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette and DePaul (and if UMass joins an FBS conference for all sports, Creighton)
 
#620 ·
How about they merge and go to 21 teams, keep both names and split into three 7 team divisions under one new banner? Call it the REAL Conference.

REAL - A10:

UMass
URI
St. Joe's
La Salle
St. Bonaventure
Temple (comes back and replaces Fordham)
GW

REAL - Heartland:

Xavier
Dayton
Butler
St. Louis
Marquette
Depaul
Duquesne

REAL - Big East:

Providence
St. John's
Seton Hall
Villanova
Georgetown
Richmond
VCU

Play everyone once for a 20 game schedule or play everyone in your division once and 5 or 6 teams from the other two divisions each year for a 16 or 18 game schedule. It's unbalanced but so what - all conference play already is. The top 5 teams in each division qualify for the tournament plus one wildcard to make 16.

All the original Big East teams stay in the "REAL - Big East" division. Most of the longest tenured A10 teams stay in the "REAL - A10" division. All the Midwest teams get grouped together into a new "REAL - Heartland" division.

You put it all under one new umbrella conference but you keep the Big East and A10 brands prominent by emphasizing the division names in marketing, branding, uniforms, logos, etc. You leverage the two brands, maintain traditional rivalries, and take the initiative.

Make all major conference decisions dependent on a 15 vote super-majority so no two divisions could jettison the third.

We'd be in the weakest group but it might be the best chance some of those schools, including us, have of getting to the table.
 
#621 · (Edited)
The way I see it----these seven BE schools seperate, keeping the name and rights to the Big East, keeping the money, and inviting several other programs to join in.
No way a 21 team conference can work.

Who gets invited?
Who knows?

The part the scares me as a UD fan is that the administration @ UD is not the smartest group in the world.. And that goes for some supporters here as well.

I think some supporters fail to realize whats going on here. The life of our program is at stake. Yet, there doesn't seem to be great joy in the possibility of raising the profile of our program. Too many people are scared that the Great Mid-West conference feel will return. Some wonder if we can compete. Some UD fans are happy where we're at and are pleased with NIT appearances.

These sentiments are echoed in todays Dayton Daily News.
This from Doug Harris UD writer DDN

Quote:
But what I’ve heard from fans is that the Flyers may not be ready for that kind of jump.
End Quote

I have zero faith that the Dayton Administration can and will do the right thing.
This is a program that continues to do less with more--than any other program in the country---.
This is not by accident.
We will be in the Horizon league or the equivalent in two years.
 
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