So the Big East athletic directors are having a regularly scheduled meeting in Philly tomorrow, and what do you know, time for the New York Post to leak an expansion rumor.
The regularly-scheduled meeting of the presidents and athletic directors figures to be intense as the BCS-football playing members of the league intend on pressing their agenda to add teams to the eight-team football conference.
“The goal is to get the presidents’ blessing to seriously pursue teams,” said one Big East athletic director. “I don’t think we’re going to get pushback on that.”
Several sources confirmed a Post report last month that TCU is a strong candidate. Houston, Central Florida, Temple and/or Villanova, which is in the midst of evaluating a move up from FCS, are other lead candidates.
Gee, was it was back in September that Villanova made it public that it was considering the move to 1-A at the request of the Big East. Since then, the NY Post has had it leaked a couple times regarding TCU.
Now there is a regular meeting, and another leak regarding Big East football ADs planning to push on football expansion. If you can’t see the pressure being applied to ‘Nova by leaking this and expanding it to suggest Temple — especially Temple — UCF and a couple schools in Texas then I don’t know what to say.
There might be some validity and interest by Big East football in those schools. Certainly UCF has been a long-rumored possibility and TCU has become increasingly attractive. Especially with the state of the Mountain West with Utah and BYU bailing. But more than anything else, this is about making Villanova know that they have to make a long-term call sooner rather than later. Do they throw in with the football schools or do they take a chance sticking with basketball only and risk being left behind in revenues and media exposure when the Big East has to split.
The last ten to fifteen years has seen b-ball only/primary conferences get picked apart and marginalized. C-USA and the A-10 had moments but now they are cute little upstart conferences that have one or two dominant program in each, little national relevance and small TV contracts with CBS College Sports that no one notices.
The only thing I know for certain. Nothing will actually come out of the meetings tomorrow. Just more spin and speculation.
Just don’t see that as a long term solution to the fact that football is still a second class citizen in the Big East, or in the long term interest of Pitt. Pitt is a quality school, on the field and off, and does not need to belong to a basketball school conference, where its coaches have coins thrown at their heads. Great as the basketball conference may be.
Pittsburgh would also be a positive upgrade for the ACC in terms of adding a decent sized TV market to the mix.
The Big East is an absolute mess with an unbalanced mix of basketball schools (with no football programs/Notre Dame as a stand alone basketball entity doing whatever it wants with football and a collection of football turkeys that have absolutely no national respect.
We should be in the ACC!!
2. Invite Navy is a football only program. I am biased but this is such a no-brainer. Its an immediate upgrade as we dont need to incorporate them into the too many bball teams issue, they remain Patriot League in all other sports, and they arent switching conferences (Currently an independent). Navy would prob be 2nd-4th in the Big East this year…
Sagarin Rankings:
37 – Pitt
44 – Cuse
52 – WVU
58 – ND
61 – Navy
They are a national team that travels well (something the big east struggles with) which gives them a bowl game guaranteed better than everything the BE has besides BCS/Champs. They have historic rivalries with Pitt/ND. They make sense regionally and will push the BE TV market south into DC/Annapolis/Baltimore metro area.
This really isnt that hard…
3. Tell Marquette/Depaul to hit the road… not adding enough value
4. Invite Kansas/Kansas St/Mizzou… the Big 12 is imploding and they will fit with the bball alignment
5. Invite UCF/TCU/Houston together and expand south
6. Invite some combo of KU/KSU/Mizzou/TCU/Houston and have a Western division with Louisville… the other 6 Big E teams form eastern division
7. Invite Miami/VT/BC back… ACC didnt really turn out how they expected
All of these are better than inviting a tiny 1AA team that isnt a big state school up to play football with the big boys… Nova isnt the answer
I wanted the Big East to aggressively go after Kansas when the Big 12 was near death. But what did the comish from Providence do? He sent flowers.
And I definitely agree adding Nova is a horrible idea. Big East has a huge image problem even when the football teams are good. How does adding a 1AA team help? It doesn’t. I can’t wait for the Pitt at Nova Tuesday night football game on ESPNU in 5 years. Because that’s where the Big East is headed. Never mind the fact that Nova if they upgrade will probably never be that good. How many schools with only 6,000 undergrads and no tradition have great football programs? UConn has over 3 times as many undergrads and still is mediocre at best.
Real conferences think about adding real programs to their conference when expanding.
I’d almost prefer Pitt go independent than to stay in a new Big LEast. Pitt is an elite academic institution and being associated with schools such as Houston, Memphis and UCF is a joke.
ACC/Big 10 or bust…
DeVanzo, interesting idea with Navy. Not sure that will happen, but it makes sense. I wouldn’t mind seeing Navy in the conference.
Of all the schools in the league, DePaul is the biggest head scratcher. I’m sure it was to capture some of the Chicago market, but nobody gives a crap about DePaul in Chicago. That schoo has no business being in this league.
Seton Hall – bye bye
Providence – nice knowing you
Notre Dame – screw you
Now we have room to add 4 schools. I absolutely agree with BlackMagic regarding adding Nova. As it stands, the Big East needs an image consultant to stand by our commissioner, so adding a small, FCS (or whatever it is now) school does nothing for the Big East. Plus, adding Nova will not open up the Philly tv market. Why? Because no one cares about Nova football. Those in Philly watch, and will continue to watch, Penn State.
TCU brings instant credibility. I know the geographical argument. However, I think the Big East needs to be proactive and geographical boundries are slowly falling as they pertain to college athletics.
Navy is an interesting suggestion, however, I doubt they would have much interest in joining.
Memphis is horrible. They simply stink. Please not Memphis.
Houston to go hand-in-hand with TCU…maybe
UCF is interesting. The Orlando market (not huge) is decent. Obviously an instant rival with USF, although USF certainly does not want UCF due to recruiting battles.
What about East Carolina?
Could we bring BC back??
Lastly, does academics have anything to do with this? I’m asking that in all seriousness. As a Pitt grad, I think we have a tremendous school with fabulous academics. However, are Pitt’s academics affected by the schools who join our conference? Not saying they don’t…just curious. Do high school seniors looking at potential colleges think that Pitt is less of a school because it plays football in the same conference as Houston?
1.) Pitt -PA
2.) Villanova -PA
3.) Temple -PA
4.) West Virginia-WV
5.) Cincinatti -OH
6.) Lousiville -KY
7.) Rutgers -NY market
8.) Syracuse -NY
9.) UConn -Conn (Boston market)
10.) TCU -TX
11.) Houston -TX
12.) USF -FL
13.) UCF -FL
14.) Navy -entire U.S. of A.
pick two more if you want!
Not a bad league for football or basketball…
ok….ok…..the mushrooms are wearing off…no more mushrooms….I’m starting to see more clearly…. Some 20 team megalithic Big East hoops with 12 playing football, some hodge podge of vegetable soup will be the answer………….
Now, if this is the case, I’m sure, then, here are my picks for the conference. I know this won’t happen, just my hopes. TCU and Houston, can deal with them, quite happy with TCU (yes, they can falter down the road, and you’re right, “why are they in there?”) what are you gonna do?? This is my other crazy two, (yes, I know there is no way) I’m having fun, and these two would be on my wish list…….Army and Navy. So, those are my four TCU, Houston, Army and Navy. I would almost stick up for BE football with that group. Something tells me TCU (which is nice), but, I also smell a combo of Villanova, Temple, E.Car. UCF (none of which add any credibility to football whatsoever, other than getting to twelve.) Maybe they’ll do something crazy or innovative. Maybe Steve, Mark and the AD’s from Uconn, Syracuse, WVU and the ACC commish have had secret phone calls……ah, these mushrooms are delicious!!!
If the 8 football schools know what’s best for them they’ll split and find someone who doesn’t attend star wars conventions and send roses to other commissioners to run the show. I can’t see Nova deciding to make the jump; they just don’t have the resources to do it.
Add UCF, TCU, Houston and Temple. Rename it “The Conference of Relocated Athletic Programs (aka the CRAP)”…then bolt for the ACC or Big 10 within 30 seconds of receiving an invite.
Since the BE is based in Providence and always has been,(not to mention founder Dave Gavitt was a PC guy) somehow I don’t see them dropping PC off at the curb and saying “it’s been nice to know ya”.
A far better idea for Pitt, IMHO (in lieu of an invite to the Big 10 or ACC) is for Pitt and the other BE football schools to form a new league and add 4 more schools to get to 12 and a conf. championship game. Who would be the 4, they would have to add something to the footprint of the league, both geographically and more important financially(in terms of more TV sets)
I don’t see Maryland or BC leaving the stable ACC for a less stable conference. Not going to happen. BC would be admitting they made a mistake. Fat chance that would happen.
I don’t think Navy would want to be in a conference with such academic stalwarts as WVU, L’Ville and Cincinnati, do you? Temple is only 1 coach from taking his gig somewhere else and of going back to the Temple we all know and love.
TCU and Houston would make sense, they increase the geographic footprint of this new conf. and add the huge financial markets of both Dallas and Houston. And if you’re going to take 2 schools from Texas, why not make it 3. Add SMU to the mix, also a Dallas school and is on the rise under June Jones(currently tied with Houston for 1rst place) and also has had a good basketball program in the past and a great football tradition. The 4rth school would be another up & comer, Central Florida. Which has a higher enrollment than Florida State and Miami and provides a nice rival for USF. These 4 schools meet the criteria of what a conf. needs if they’re going to expand. And they help out enormously with recruiting in 2 of the 3 most fertile recruiting states in America, those of course being Texas & Florida. Also by adding the enormous TV markets of Houston and Dallas and to a lesser extent, central Florida, when it comes time to negotiate a TV contract, that is better than any other combination of schools available sans ND. Yes, I’m available to be the Commissioner of this new conference, Chancellor Nordenberg. (hey we’re both NA grads as well)
The Big 10-11-12 is done expanding (for now). They won’t expand further unless they can get Texas and/or Notre Dame. If/when Notre Dame decides it wants to join a conference, then the Big 10-11-12 will talk to whomever about rounding out the field. If the Big East were to ‘kick out’ Notre Dame, it would be signing it’s own death warrent. The Big 10-11-12 will take Syracuse or Pitt or Rutgers or whomever to make 16…leaving Cincy, Louisville, USF, and the rest to the scrap heap.. Do you think think those schools are going to vote for that?
1) Pitt 1) TCU
2) Syracuse 2) SMU
3) WVU 3) Houston
4) Uconn 4) Louisville
5) Rutgers 5) Cincinnati
6) USF 6) UCF
The new BigAmerica Conference with championship games alternating between the new Texas Stadium and the new Giants stadium.
The only thing more depressing than hashing out these options is knowing that we had 5 solid years to prepare ourselves for the conference shuffle and here we sit. We could have been laughing at all this, knowing a handful of conferences would jump at the opportunity for our addition. Instead, we’re left watching up-and-coming and revitatlized programs run laps around us, wondering how our conference will shake out.
Pitt will be fine no matter what with basketball, but football is in an utter tailspin. Standford is probably the most direct example of where we should be as a football program right now. They’ve even one upped us on all counts! They’ve had bigger pieces to pick up after Walt, they have tougher admissions, and they’ve been making huge waves in a tough conference that’s aggressive with its future!
The Big East has made some pisspoor decisions before and after the ACC raid and it doesn’t stand to get any better if any of these ‘leaks’ are true. You can’t keep patching things up with the bare minimum and expect to come out ahead. Be aggressive! Have a vision! Have some foresight! Get on the offense!
Otherwise, our best chance is to pray that someone overlooks how inept we’ve been in football over the past decade and invites us into a decent conference based on outlying circumstances.
HTscriptP
However it doesn’t sound like they’re going to take my advice on what teams should be added.
You need 12 for a conf. championship game. Oh I forgot, the basketball only schools. My bad.
Maybe they can get St. John’s to start a FBS football program. lol
To be realistic here…no team is leaving one of the other AQ’s to come to the Big East.
Getting a TCU/Houston/UCF/Memphis…is as good as it gets.
People think lofty thoughts of get BC or how about BC & Maryland…and even Notre Dame
honestly I think a Houston/TCU addition would be very interesting
Wanny would hate trying to play his Base 4-3 against Houston. 🙂
Hey I have to give the Big East some props here…they are at least attempting somewhat of a proactive approach this time around.
the guy covering on ESPN is right though…the BE cannot stop any of the other conferences from stealing away a team if they want them.
But it is at least movement which is something the basketball only schools have been able to stop in the past.
DaveD
Two sources said if the presidents give their blessing to explore expansion, invitations could be issued before the end of the college football season. TCU is said to be very interested, as is Central Florida.
Well we’ve got the so-called blessing now. Let’s get this thing done. Once we get to 10 we can then push for 12. With SMU & Houston. We can always use the same game plan as is what’s mentioned in paragraph one. Threaten to break-away, football is the revenue king.
He like’s TCU as well.
Assuming Villanova does not move up to FBS, it would seem like an 18 team basketball conference is on the horizon. Is that really workable?
Personally, I think if they go after TCU, they should also go after Houston. Not only would it add teams in two of the larger TV markets in the country, it would give me an excuse to go get real BBQ and TexMex on an annual basis.
Let’s do BigEast expansion BIG….Let’s go into TEXAS…..yeehawwwwwww
I’m sorry to sound like such a pessimistic a$$, but I just can’t get behind the thought of anything shy of a miracle is going to change this league.
The Big East is what it is and ain’t what it ain’t. The ONLY chance Pitt has at survival is to run for the cover of another conference.
HTscriptP
E. Carolina, Memphis, Temple, Villanova and UCF are more UCONN, S. Florida’s and Rutgers. That’s just the way it is, outside the Big East, that is how it would be looked at. TCU and Houston would be looked at more like Pitt, WVU and Syracuse, yes, TCU certainly more than Houston, but still. I am not bashing the Big East, as many know, I can’t stand it for football, but, TCU, Houston, and, like the fella said above, get SMU too, I could almost hold the Big East schedule down after dinner. E.Car, Memphis, Vill, Temp, UCF, just more garbage teams. (No disrespect to the universites, just talking football).
Second point, obvious, props for expansion, but, so obvious, why not 12 and get a championship game?? Many people smarter than I, just can’t figure that one out.
So, Steve, yes, TCU, Houston, or Pitt UCONN Syracuse and WVU to the ACC, those are the only two upgrades. Or Big Ten down the road of course, but, that’s it. If I was Pitt, I would be careful of signing any new “exit fee-up the ante crap”, surely, that are not that blind.
