Big East Foundation Crumbles … Any Other College Basketball Fans Crushed by This Development?
Let me preface this: I know college basketball doesn’t matter when it comes to realignment. It’s all about football. That’s been obvious for years.
The Big East has been the best conference in college basketball since I started following the sport in the mid-80s. My earliest memories of college hoops involve Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown teams and Sherman Douglas’s Syracuse teams. The league’s postseason tournament is by far one of the best spectacles in college sports. The 5-day orgy of hoops at Madison Square Garden is the ideal warm-up for the NCAA tournament. Big Monday warms my heart on cold January and February nights.
And now, because of greed, the conference is toast. Syracuse and Pittsburgh bolted over the weekend for the ACC, but how can you fault them? In conference realignment madness, it’s eat or be eaten or worst of all, get left out. The ACC needed to pilfer a couple teams in the event that the SEC – or someone else – attempted to steal from their conference.
So the ACC now has 14 teams, and in the event the SEC goes after Virginia Tech, the ACC has no worries because UConn wants out of the Big East, so the Huskies are an option (though not a good one for football). The Big East? Fucked. Big East hoops purists will find this line, from Dana O’Neill, tough to swallow:
Football is blown to smithereens and basketball, while surviving, loses two of its strongest members. The once-powerful Big East meekly goes down as just another casualty in the money-grubbing, protection-of-assets war that has overtaken college athletics.
Eventually, I’ll get over it, and I’ll grow to love the ACC tournament. But I’ll always long for the Bilas and Raftery going nuts at the Garden in early March:
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September 19th, 2011 at 2:04 PM
It’s amazing to watch football dump all over basketball as far as realignment goes. Apparently Rick Pitino was so upset he came down his leg.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:05 PM
Kudos to the ACC. That’s how you to destroy a conference, SEC and Pac-12. With speed, precision and none of this stalling not wanting to make the first move pansy crap.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:07 PM
Agree. This is the biggest college sports story of the year and I’m already bored to death by it. I just want it to end so we can go back to talking about college football on the field as opposed to off of it.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:07 PM
as a fan of both B1G and SEC basketball schools…I see nothing wrong with this.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:08 PM
In defense of the Pac-12, I can see why they are cautious to add a bunch of toothless meth heads from Oklahoma (Pacific?) to their conference.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:09 PM
Big East hoops purists will find this line, from Dana O’Neill, tough to swallow:
“The once-powerful Big East meekly goes down as just another casualty in the money-grubbing, protection-of-assets war that has overtaken college athletics.”
Does anyone else find it “tough to swallow” that ESPN (via O’Neill) is criticizing “greed and hypocrisy”? You know, the same ESPN that helped destroy the Big 12 via its Longhorn Network shenanigans? Which in turn led to the downfall of the Big East?
Pot, meet kettle.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:09 PM
Never thought the behemoth 16-team (17?) Big East was viable. It’s always made sense that the basketball schools would split, take a few members of the A-10 (Temple, Rhode Island, etc.) and go from there.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:09 PM
The Pac 12 would execute John Elway, Marcus Allen and Keith Jackson if it meant getting Oklahoma.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:09 PM
i’m stoked to the terps will get the cuse/pitt once a year now, but i’m equally disappointed that they will only get dook/unc once.
and i know that ACC hoops has been down overall the past couple years, but to call the big east the best conference cbb since the 80′s is absurd.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:10 PM
Again, fuck all of this. It’s really causing me to hate college sports. No thought to history or rivalries, which to me are the greatest part of college sports.
I’m not trying to sound like some naive fan, I get why it’s happening. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:10 PM
If Maryland stays in the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:11 PM
Actually, as far as basketball goes, I think this might be a little interesting. Basketball doesn’t need conference alignment the way football does. I’m really interested to see what happens with the A-10 and BEast basketball schools.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:11 PM
Sucks for NCAAB, but that’s what happens when no one cares about your regular season.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:11 PM
HAHAHAHAHA
September 19th, 2011 at 2:11 PM
You mean the new, completely fabricated “rivalry” between Nebrask and Penn State doesn’t get you excited?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
I guess the business equivalent of that is also agreeing to take Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
And only the first weekend of your post-season.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
Greed? Is that what you’re gonna call it when college football dumps tradition and goes to a playoff?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
If Maryland stays in the ACC.
they aren’t going anywhere.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
The Big East is fucked.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:12 PM
One would hope that Syracuse and Georgetown will still play once a year.
That being said, rivalries are for the most part fluid. What was a rivalry twenty years ago, no longer exists today in many cases.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Just playing devil’s advocate.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Past five to ten years I would agree that Big East has been better than the ACC or any other conference. But the past 25 years the ACC has been the best conference in college basketball.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Not me. NEB gets Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan now and UGA is still playing FLA, TENN, AUB and SC.
Hilarious. +1
September 19th, 2011 at 2:14 PM
They will stay in the ACC. Basketball is the sport that matters to the school and the alumni. ACC is a better place for them than joining the Big Ten.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:14 PM
The irony of TBL lamenting the “greed” of money grabs while he simultaneously bitches about not having a playoff (and then sites more money as a reason to go that route) is something to behold.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:15 PM
What is the “be eaten” option? Seems like it is eat or be left out.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:15 PM
Top of ACC has been better but from top to bottom, Big East has been better than ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:15 PM
I would hope they have a few of the best teams considering their conference is 50% larger than any other conference…was bigger…now I guess 16 teams is the standard.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:15 PM
cites, not sites
September 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
I mean, the on-field product may actually seem better. It’s just that Nebraska ought to be playing its former Big 8 brethren. Oklahoma, OK State, Colorado, etc.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
.
Maybe it’s just me, but this sentence reads strangely. When you say something is “one of the best”, I don’t think you say it’s “by far” one of the best.
You say something is by far the best. But that’s just one thing.
When you say something is one of the best, indicating there are others that are very good too, you typically say it’s easily one of the best. Thereby you indicate that the subject is easily in this best of the best class.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
I think the only way these super conferences pay off for fans is that for football if they add a semi final game to the conference championship, essentially creating a playoff.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
But you know what matters more? Money. And it’s not like Maryland couldn’t play Dook and NC basically every year anyway.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:16 PM
As a PC fan, I’m crushed. The much talked about “Catholic conference” is much closer to becoming a reality, I suppose.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:17 PM
Indeed. Might as well just create a new mid-tier conference for football by combining with C-USA and make a new Big East basketball by combining with select members of the A10.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:17 PM
I couldn’t give a shit about about CU, and when the B12 was formed they (stupidly) pissed away the OU rivalry.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:17 PM
i’m suprised Cuse jumped this time around after balking the last time the ACC expanded.
i’m also interested to see what kind of influence this has on the 2013-future basketball recruiting classes.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:17 PM
No Syracuse hoops in the Big East is hard to imagine. I’ll get over it, but I will miss the incessant debauchery that is Syracuse fans in NYC during that tournament.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:18 PM
We’ll see. I just think that when the big ten decides (is forced?) to go to 14, they’ll come poaching the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:18 PM
Uconn Syracuse and Pitt are going to be fun to watch during the ACC basketball season, but aside from Pitt, this really doesn’t help the conference in football.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:18 PM
Buddy Ackerman agrees.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:18 PM
I don’t think there is any chance VT leaves the ACC anytime soon, they have made to many statements to the effect they like the ACC&considering the legislative hustling the Virginia politicians to get into the ACC, I can’t blame them.FSU and Clemson though even with 20 million exit Fee are still fair game though.
Some how the ACC is coming out this whole conference realignment nicely.They moved fast on it& were able to do it without sacrificing academic quality, overall geography or competitive balance in all sports.I don’t know if the other conferences will be able to say they got all 3 in the end.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:19 PM
I wonder how long before Notre Dame jumps over to the Big 10 for everything other than football.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:19 PM
As a Georgetown fan who grew up with Ewing, Mullin, the Pearl and has loved the Big East ever since, I am crushed too. This absolutely sucks.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:19 PM
Those conference championship games will serve as the “national quarterfinals.”
September 19th, 2011 at 2:20 PM
So the Pac-12 needs 4 teams, 3 for the SEC, 4 for the B1G and 2 for the ACC for our superconferences. Who goes where?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
For now. The SEC and Big 10 are going to take some ACC teams. And then Rutgers, Uconn, and WVU can all go join the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
The conference is extremely mediocre in football. Horribly, horribly watered down. Worse if they add UConn to replace another.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
Will NEVER happen. The Big 10 has said they become a full member or not at all.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
basketball’s a revenue sport for exactly 3 weeks per year.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
interesting
September 19th, 2011 at 2:22 PM
Will NEVER happen. The Big 10 has said they become a full member or not at all.
How much longer do they have that NBC football contract?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:22 PM
.
Money does matter but the alumni who give a ton to the school are not going to be happy if they move to another conference. They are a basketball school first and the ACC is just a better option than anything else available.
Maybe they play UNC and Duke every year if they are in the Big Ten or SEC but probably not. UMD and Georgetown are next door neighbors and they never play in the regular season.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:22 PM
Basketball has always been the alternative for schools who didn’t want to spend (or have) the money on football. The ACC is chock full of those schools. I think they are perfectly happy being the premiere basketball conference while being pretty mediocre at football.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:23 PM
I assume you typed this while rubbing a football in a suggestive manner.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:23 PM
So without Pitt and Syracuse, will the Big East tournament no longer be the best event in the history of events, or does the fact that it’s still being played in the purported Mecca Of Basketball (c) supersede that?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:23 PM
I don’t see VT leaving the ACC. The Hokies are in a dominant position in football in a BCS conference. As the big fish in the that pond, they aren’t looking to jump into the piranha-infested waters of the SEC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:23 PM
Just looked it up. 2015 for NBC contract.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:23 PM
Becoming a full member, thus leaving the struggling Big East, doesn’t seem like that big an obstacle.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:24 PM
RIP Big East. That was such a great move for TCU. How soon does the BCS drop the Big East from its automatic qualifier formula?
Conference realignment eats hairy balls.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:24 PM
I like VT in the ACC. It just seems like a good fit for them.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:24 PM
No clue. But with the movement toward super conferences, will being an independent still be a viable option? (Serious question) Teams are going to have 9 conference games, and that means they’d be less likely to schedule a challenging out of conference game. Then you have to think about the inevitable collapse of the Big East. Who knows what happens with ND.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:25 PM
Again, not every school is Ohio State and can fill 100k for 7 games a year. A lot of schools make jack shit off of football, yet fill 10k plus for basketball.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:25 PM
My very uneducated guess:
Pac-12 Sooners, Cowboys, Texas Tech and Longhorns
B1G: Kansas, K State, ND, Iowa St
ACC: WVU, Uconn
SEC: TCU, Mizz, Louisville
September 19th, 2011 at 2:25 PM
Through 2015. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they bring cash to NBC. Contract will be renewed again well before then.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:25 PM
but aside from Pitt, this really doesn’t help the conference in football.
FSU has come out and said that, while they support the expansion to 16, they do not want to drop ACC football standards. Cuse and Pitt were cbb moves, any 15 or 16 teams will be football.
that’s why i don’t see Uconn or Rutgers getting in. Texas becomes a legit possibility now.
i also don’t see any schools leaving the ACC. it looks too valuable now.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:26 PM
good. good.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:26 PM
Don’t worry, they still have DePaul and their three conference wins a year.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:26 PM
That’s exactly why they would schedule Notre Dame.
/zings own team
September 19th, 2011 at 2:26 PM
Honestly, I don’t think think Big 10 really going to come after any ACC schools.Only school they really care about at this point for expansion is ND and they will prob take Mizzou to pair up with them to keep everything even if Big East Folds.
As for SEC,I’ve thought all along that it was WV that would be most likely to go to them then VT or FSU since it seems VT doesn’t want to leave the ACC,WV would bring in a new television market and I don’t think there is anyway that Florida allows FSU to join.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:27 PM
No way the Big 10 ever takes K State or Iowa St. If they move to 14 or 16, they’re going to take a school or two from the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:27 PM
I actually like the “Super Conference” mentality. As unrealistic as it is, I would love to see Kansas, Missouri, and Notre Dame in the Big 10.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:27 PM
Definitely. I think their ratings are a bit better when they lose too, because the nation smiles when ND falls on their face.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:28 PM
No fucking way does WVU go to the ACC. SEC seems like a much better bet.
For the ACC, if it’s going to add two more, I see UConn and someone like Rutgers.
BC has to like all the new northern teams in the ACC for travel purposes. The ACC might try to realign more geographically with all of this.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:28 PM
I wish I could laugh at this but I’m still having nightmares from Saturday’s game.
/runs away crying
September 19th, 2011 at 2:28 PM
Pac-12 is obvious. I don’t see the Big 10 adding the Kansas schools or ISU unless absolutely forced to. Maybe Kansas, but I don’t see it.
I think if the SEC wants to go to 16, it’s adding from the ACC thus causing some cannibalization with the “Big 4″.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Sad but true. The “Charlie Weis Will Be Fired” game, which were the final three games of 2009, were all huge.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
I think the SEC will add WVU along with A&M and stay at 14. I think going to 16 teams would be stupid for the B10 or the SEC. They have enough big dogs to carry the conference without going to 16.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
When Syracuse was first reported to leave the Big East with Miami in 2004 I was vehemently against it, this time I’m for it. Syracuse IS the flagship school of the Big East considering they were the only school to play every sport in the league. Why the Big East added schools like Depaul and Marquette is beyond me when they don’t contribute to the football side and it screwed them when this whole realignment thing got going. I’m sad Syracuse is leaving the Big East for the G-town rivalry, but I’m happy to get a shot at ACC hoops.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Still not as valuable as the SEC or Big Ten.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:29 PM
SEC: TCU, Mizz, Louisville
jesus… vandy would sweep those schools in footbaw.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:30 PM
I watched for the comedy factor of seeing ND lose to Syracuse, Navy and whomever else Chunky Charlie succumbed to.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:31 PM
I’ll miss you too.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:31 PM
Still not as valuable as the SEC or Big Ten.
true… but it now has a similar ceiling as both those conferences.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:31 PM
RIP Big East. That was such a great move for TCU.
Much better odds of getting into a BCS game now. Assuming The Used to Be Big East still gets an auto bid.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:31 PM
TCU would take Vandy’s weak ass to the woodshed
September 19th, 2011 at 2:32 PM
Speaking of which, this would be biggest issue with having 4 super conferences. It seems silly to have schools that don’t even try to compete in football be involved with one of those conferences(Duke, Vandy, Indiana, etc.).
September 19th, 2011 at 2:32 PM
I enjoyed this little thing from Twitter yesterday regarding realignment:
September 19th, 2011 at 2:32 PM
We really need a sarcasm font. I know I’m terrible picking it up.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:33 PM
I think you mean the Used to Be Big 12. I’m not sure Big East football is around much longer.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:33 PM
Because it added Pitt and ‘Cuse? I don’t agree with that.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:34 PM
F that noise, we already have those pig fuckers Iowa, no way I’m putting up with their even uglier little brother. Same goes for K State.
ND and Texas or bust.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:35 PM
I think you mean the Used to Be Big 12. I’m not sure Big East football is around much longer.
You think TCU would get into a very weakened Big 12?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:35 PM
I agree, coop. Keep K-State and Iowa State away.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:36 PM
Pig-Fuckers 8 – Team Coached by Pants Pooper 1
/last nine years of B1G football
September 19th, 2011 at 2:36 PM
Texas isn’t going to the B10. They can bully the Pac12 a bit, but they can’t do that shit with the B10, and they won’t want to be in a league where $$ is equally distributed*.
*because they’re assholes
September 19th, 2011 at 2:37 PM
Hell, if Vandy doesn’t try, where does that put ole piss after this past saturday’s skull fucking they took from Vandy?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:37 PM
Easily. Otherwise they lose the Dallas, not to mention Texas, market for TV and recruiting.
The conference would look like this:
Kansas
K St.
ISU
Mizzou
Baylor
Louisville
Cincinnati
BYU
TCU
Boise St.
I believe in the case of conference realignment, if you have five teams that have been together for at least five years, you get to hold onto the auto-bid.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:38 PM
If they won’t let ND in because of 1 football tv contract, no way do they let Texas in with a fucking network contract.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:38 PM
Because it added Pitt and ‘Cuse? I don’t agree with that.
for starters, sure. if they go to 16, a minimum of 1 of the 2 would be a “football first” school at FSU’s request. and if the ACC wants to do this thing the right way, they’ll listen to FSU’s request.
that gives them the best basketball conference and now a serviceable football conference.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:38 PM
They would be part of the etc.
Of course, there would be an uprising in the South if they were somehow excluded.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:39 PM
Easily. Otherwise they lose the Dallas, not to mention Texas, market for TV and recruiting.
Ok, I see what you meant. You had taken the situation several steps further than I’m willing to accept now.
/stubborn’d
September 19th, 2011 at 2:41 PM
And who would that “football” school be?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:41 PM
You’re still holding out hope that Texas, A&M, OU, and OSU don’t leave? Uhhh…I don’t know what to tell you.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:42 PM
Alabama
September 19th, 2011 at 2:42 PM
Two conferences died with this move. The Big East, and the artist formerly known as the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:43 PM
The first part doesn’t mean shit whereas the second part is why I think you’re wrong here.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:43 PM
Oh come on. The ACC just got better.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Just think how different the ACC is gonna look when they lose 3 or 4 teams.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Texas should just go independent and be done with it. They could totally pull it off and ND has done so for years. Texas probably has just as large a national fan base. Just do it and join the Pac-12 for basketball or something.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:44 PM
You’re still holding out hope that Texas, A&M, OU, and OSU don’t leave? Uhhh…I don’t know what to tell you.
aTm is gone. OU’s regents have scheduled a second meeting for Wednesday and Texas meets today at 3:00. The level of my acceptance hinges on what comes out of those.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:44 PM
And who would that “football” school be?
i don’t know. WVU would probably be an option (i think Mizzu is the 14th SEC school), but their academics will horrify Dook and UVA.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:45 PM
Pitt can’t win shit in basketball or football. Should be renamed University of Chokesburgh.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:45 PM
Mizzu’s academics is probably the only reason they get excluded from the Big10
September 19th, 2011 at 2:46 PM
Sorry, I meant Texas Tech.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:46 PM
Yea, I think what people are missing is that yes,Football is driving this whole thing but isn’t in control of all aspects of it.The SEC&Big 10 are the big dogs in Football,everyone knows that but it seems like the ACC has decided this:
Hey,we are not going to be as strong as those two in football but let’s keep our football reputation up to at least BCS standards, add some schools that boost all our other sports and academic reputation and set ourselves up nicely so we are secure when everything falls down. When you add in all those other factors, then yes.. the ACC ceiling as a conference is up their with Big 10&SEC&PAC..Basically there are 4 stable conferences right now and every one else is positioning to be a part of them of them or set something up so they aren’t free falling.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:46 PM
But who wants all of the Texas sports outside of football? You can be independent in football, but you have to have a conference for the other sports.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:46 PM
If that’s the main option, I’m sure FSU won’t mind jumping to the SEC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:47 PM
The first part doesn’t mean shit whereas the second part is why I think you’re wrong here.
why?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:47 PM
The thought of Mizzou in the SEC makes me laugh. I can just imagine Pinkel bringing his soft-ass spread passing game into Tuscaloosa. High comedy would ensue.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:47 PM
This. Fuck Pitt.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:47 PM
The Mountain West would probably take them.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:48 PM
When is that going to happen? The ACC has already raised the exit fee and will probably do so again. Notice also that the decision was unanimous to do so.
I imagine that the SEC won’t be in a position to steal from the ACC because Florida will not want Florida State and Virginia Tech is not leaving for the aforementioned big fish in the pond reason. On the other side, is the Big Ten going to make a call to Pitt and Syracuse to come to the Big Ten three or four years after they jumped ship to the ACC? I don’t see it.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Because no one gives a shit about basketball. Football is where the cash is, and the ACC would have FSU, VT and who else? Miami is about to get its shit pushed in by the NCAA, so they won’t be worth a damn for some time.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Mizzou is a shitty school? Don’t let Lisk hear you talk like that.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:49 PM
what does this mean??
September 19th, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Good point, actually.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Better in Basketball, but they didn’t make the move for Basketball. They didn’t get better in Football, and when they lose Tech to the SEC they would have become officially meh.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:51 PM
Mizzou is a shitty school? Don’t let Lisk hear you talk like that.
It is a fine school. Brad Pitt went there for a semester.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:51 PM
They aren’t losing Tech, though. The VA Legislature made that move almost impossible after VT joined the ACC a few years back.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Why does everyone think Tech goes to the SEC? They are doing well in the ACC and are quietly becoming one of the Elites. They go to the SEC, they have to travel farther, face stiffer competition, and don’t have as much local media hype.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:52 PM
The Big Ten wants nothing to do with either of those schools. That’s why they reached out to the ACC.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:53 PM
Which would be kind of cool. Already have eight legacy BE schools and could probably snag a few more.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:53 PM
They didn’t really balk..they wanted in…badly. Only thing that kept them out was the Virginia legislature’s strong-arm tactics vis a vis Virginia Tech.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Pitt absolutely makes them better at football
September 19th, 2011 at 2:54 PM
Yes.
Yes again.
VT is in the ACC to stay. It’s actually been kind of nice having the Hokies in the ACC because now we play them twice every year in most sports instead of just once like before. It’s been good for the UVA-VT rivalry.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:54 PM
You think TCU would get into a very weakened Big 12?
Easily. Otherwise they lose the Dallas, not to mention Texas, market for TV and recruiting.
The conference would look like this:
Kansas
K St.
ISU
Mizzou
Baylor
Louisville
Cincinnati
BYU
TCU
Boise St.
I believe in the case of conference realignment, if you have five teams that have been together for at least five years, you get to hold onto the auto-bid.
Mizzou is the straw here. If they go B1G or SEC this option is screwed. As possibly the only UofL fan on here, I am hoping that B1G takes Rutgers (as the B1G is the one that can immediately profit from the added households) and that Louisville can end up in the ACC. There is no way that UK would let Louisville in the SEC. UofL’s undergrad academics are not great but their grad programs are very good (medicine, law, engineering).
September 19th, 2011 at 2:54 PM
I’m sure FSU won’t mind jumping to the SEC.
bullshit. FSU doesn’t want the task of getting a BCS game in the SEC. they’ll coast thru the ACC every year.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:55 PM
Debatable.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:56 PM
Virginia Tech isn’t going anywhere. The ACC is going to add two more teams and renegotiate their TV deal. Right now teams in the SEC are making roughly 14 million a year while the ACC teams are clearing $10 mil. So VT is going to take a $20 million bath for one year to leave the ACC for a $4 mil difference? Doubtful. I’m pretty sure universities aren’t in the business of losing money for a year.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:57 PM
They’ll always local media hype. Blacksburg is closer to Knoxville than it is to College Park. It’s also closer to all of the SEC schools than it is to Syracuse or Boston College. In this new alignment thing, travel isn’t relevant.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Exactly. The SEC doesn’t want FSU and FSU doesn’t want to be in the SEC. They are about to own the ACC again.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:57 PM
I can’t wait for Pitt to lose to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC tournament!
September 19th, 2011 at 2:58 PM
They didn’t really balk..they wanted in…badly. Only thing that kept them out was the Virginia legislature’s strong-arm tactics vis a vis Virginia Tech.
i thought that was only after Cuse hesitated on their move…? anyways, it’s still surprising to see Cuse make the move now given Boeheim’s apparent displeasure in the move.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:58 PM
How soon can TCU get out of the Big East?
September 19th, 2011 at 2:58 PM
For the millionth time it’s been said.. VT is not going to the SEC.Florida State maybe, Clemson if all their dreams come true but VT is staying in the ACC. People are forgetting how much back room dealing their was for them to get into the ACC in the rest place,it was supposed to be ‘Cuse from the start.
VT in regards to academics (NCSU,Georgia Tech,Maryland&Clemson basically all run similar engineering programs) and other sports couldn’t be better fit.As for the all mighty football,VT is such an attractive option cause of how they get to beat down on the lower ACC football schools&raise their national profile so why would they go to the SEC where they would be around the 3rd-6th best teams on average.
September 19th, 2011 at 2:59 PM
Swofford said he would prefer to stay at 14, but he isn’t opposed to going to 16. I would think the odds are more likely they stay at 14, but I guess it depends on what the SEC does.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:00 PM
They aren’t a powerhouse by any means, but they’ll end up in teh top half of the league. And the new staff they have in place seems poised to do good things. Finally getting rid of Wannstedt was great, hiring Graham was even better.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:00 PM
The one refreshing thing about conference alignment is that everyone has the same exact opinion.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Uh, Tech is 2 hours from Charlottesville, 2:15 fromp Winston-Salem, 3:30 from Chapel Hill and Durham, and 4 hours from Raleigh. The Hokies aren’t going anywhere.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:00 PM
well seems while i was writing that post everyone else all ready said that.. carry on now Lol
/knew I should of refreshed before sending
September 19th, 2011 at 3:01 PM
That says more about the league than it says about Pitt.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Agree. This is the biggest college sports story of the year and I’m already bored to death by it. I just want it to end so we can go back to talking about college football on the field as opposed to off of it.
Lot of comments in this thread by the due who wrote this.
/Hook’em (=asshole, apparently)
September 19th, 2011 at 3:02 PM
The big12 is in such a mess, they might even take SMU.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:02 PM
Yup, Syracuse was going to go, Virginia Tech slid in there because of Virginia politics and then the Cuse was left out. That’s when they went crazy and those rat finks from BC went behind everyone’s back and took the ACC deal after all.
Boeheim is distraught about this. I wonder how much longer he coaches or even coaches one ACC game if Cuse can’t get out of the 27 month wait.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:03 PM
This is wrong
September 19th, 2011 at 3:05 PM
Map fight! Map fight!
September 19th, 2011 at 3:05 PM
Boeheim is distraught about this. I wonder how much longer he coaches or even coaches one ACC game if Cuse can’t get out of the 27 month wait.
i’ve read where the ACC may offer to pay the Big East to shortent he waiting period, but i’m not aware of the detail/process.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:06 PM
This assumes ND doesnt jump. They should take a look at Xavier. I dont think anyone else would be enticing, except maybe Gonzaga and they’re too far away.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:06 PM
The only thing the Legislature did was pressure UVA to advocate for Tech. If Tech wants to leave, and with everything being done on a Football basis, I don’t see UVA begging Tech to stay with the way they’ve been dominated on and off the field throughout the years.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:06 PM
Poor guy
September 19th, 2011 at 3:07 PM
They didn’t get better in Football
/ Pitt absolutely makes them better at football
Pshaw. Pitt can’t even make Pitt better at football.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:08 PM
I hate conference expansion talk. all this buildup with no denouement. I like my conference just the way it is, thankyouverymuch.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:10 PM
I don’t even think Xavier plays in I-A, pretty sure they’re in I-AA for football.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:11 PM
I agree. I think the SEC should stand pat.
/not going to happen
September 19th, 2011 at 3:12 PM
A couple things to remember TBL
- aside from Duke-UNC, traditional rivalries dont really matter in college hoops. The “rivalries” are between the top teams in the league. Cuse-Georgetown was great in the 80′s but that was only because both teams were great. They’re not similar schools and they’re not geographically close. Cuse-UConn has actually been a bigger rivalry over the past decade. Cuse-UNC and Cuse-Duke will be great rivalries as long as Cuse is good.
- Conference affiliation doesnt matter as much. Hasnt affected Butler, Memphis, Gonzaga, etc.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:13 PM
I was talking about the proposed “Catholic” league where most of the members dont play football.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:15 PM
As a Cuse alum I despise Georgetown and am eh towards UConn. I’ll put it this way, I’ve never rooted for Georgetown in any game ever, while I’ve rooted for UConn in 2 of their 3 title games.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:18 PM
“Send it in, Jerome!”
Big East, RIP. I’ll miss ya, from a basketball perspective.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:20 PM
They don’t have a football team, period.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:22 PM
“- Conference affiliation doesnt matter as much. Hasnt affected Butler, Memphis, Gonzaga, etc.”
Those programs may soon become the new D-1 underclass (for those who aren’t already), since they won’t bring to the party the high-caliber football so attractive to the Big 64.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:26 PM
saying that to say what? Tech played in the Big East, so I don’t think the allure of playing against North Carolina schools would be enough solely to keep them in the ACC. You can get to Knoxville, TN and Columbia, SC in the time it takes you to get to College Park. You get to Georgia and Gainesville before you get to Miami. Distance isn’t much of an issue.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:33 PM
My buddy the Cuse fan is excited about the move to the ACC. I asked him “What about Cuse-Georgetown?” He said, “Forget Cuse-Georgetown, what about Cuse-Duke!” He’s not an alum though so who knows if he represents your average Cuse fan.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Well at least you changed from this wrong statement
to cherry picking certain cities
September 19th, 2011 at 3:37 PM
eh, I didn’t look it up. Why don’t you give me the sabremetrics on the schools that are further away. I know you’re eager to.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:40 PM
Nah, I’ll just, once again, stick to logic, common sense, and basic understanding
September 19th, 2011 at 3:41 PM
I can’t believe nobody is talking about the monumental effect this will have on college Lacrosse (sp). Syracuse in the ACC against all their top dogs. (unless there already is a special lacrosse league they are already in with Johns Hopkins (sp).
September 19th, 2011 at 3:42 PM
No, go ahead. Let me see your stats.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:48 PM
We’ll just stick to your eyeball test b/c that’s never wrong
September 20th, 2011 at 10:18 AM
if football dictates everything in college sports why do they leave billions on the table by not having a 16 team playoff?