It’s back.
/sigh
This article caught my attention last week. I was hoping to get more follow-up, but no. So it’s a bit of a connect the dots thing.
Villanova is buying up residential property in Delaware County and Montgomery County along County Line Road, adjacent to Villanova Stadium. The Wildcats’ coaching staff has shown increased interest in a number of major Division I recruits—the type of players Villanova may have not gone so strongly after in the past, thinking those players would commit to Division I schools.
The circumstantial signs are there, as Villanova follows a timeline, with further discussions with area residents throughout this month, followed by a meeting in February to update the Villanova Board of Trustees and in March a look at the school’s findings and how feasible a move to the Big East in football would be.
Villanova’s “official” announcement is scheduled for April, and by the way Villanova is moving forward, the school is building a crescendo drum roll to what looks like a decision that the Wildcats could be the 10th member of the Big East Conference for football, effective hopefully for the 2012 season.
The purchase of property has taken place over the past six months. And they have been talking to the local residents and Radnor Township officials about possible issues.
You can turn it the other way. That Villanova is doing its due diligence, looking at all aspects and doing what it can to be inclusive and appear to be respecting the locals.
The recruiting is as much a result of winning the 1-AA national championship last year.
The land stuff, well this is a land-locked university. You have a major economic downturn, with real property values in the toilet. One of the few times that Villanova has had a chance to get some land without having to overpay.
Still…
The decision will come in April. In what can charitably be called bullshit, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto talks a little about the Big East expansion plans.
“We’re not waiting for Villanova,” Marinatto said. “It’s their institutional decision to make, and they have a process set up to make it. They’ve got to determine what’s in their best interest, and we’ve got to determine what’s in our best interest.”
Marinatto said he didn’t have a good idea of which way Villanova was leaning right now and doesn’t know if the school even knows that yet.
“It is a complicated issue for any institution, and probably even more complicated for a small, private institution,” he said.
I asked Marinatto if the Big East could decide to add another team before Villanova finalizes its plans in April.
“If the right situation developed in between, we would move on it,” he said. “That’s a very real possibility. We’re not going to make a decision or not make a decision based on Villanova’s study.”
Well, yes, if ND, PSU or even Maryland showed up in the Providence offices and said they were all in, then that would be different. But no one believes that the Big East would move on UCF or possibly Houston before getting the Villanova decision. The school presidents who actually will make this decision would not even consider it.
Now, has the Big East been quietly talking to UCF or (possibly) Houston about the possibility if ‘Nova says no? I would hope so, and would not be surprised. That’s purely contingency.
As long as ‘Nova doesn’t drag on making it’s call, though, the Big East is certainly waiting on the Wildcats.
Graham’s hiring of former great Texas High School coach Todd Dodge could also be an indicator. All of this is alright with me, as the talent pool is certainly dwindling in PA. and the talent for the most part is better in Texas anyway. I’d much prefer another Texas school or two be added to the BigEast in addition to UCF to get to 12. (and a championship game)
You could then either break off from the BigEast or jettison DePaul, Seton Hall (regardless of tonight’s rout of Syracuse)& Providence (doubtful). Maybe Marquette too.
Thanks
link to m.bleacherreport.com
Sounds like even their abysmal crowd counts are inflated.
No, there should be absolutely no strings attached to any donation. Absolutely not. However, no matter what the situation, good business is good business.
This was not someone that was buying 4 or 8 seson tickets and paying the extra $20 for parking. This was 7 million dollars. Paying for summer football camps, and on and on I’m sure.
The guy sounds ok to me, he said he wanted no veto power or anything like that, just wanted to be “in the know”. Sounds like the first time round with Pederson not giving Bradley at least a phone call when the Rooneys asked him too.
Whether it’s pure pride, arrogance or whatever you want to call it, what it really is, is bad business.
I understand the UCONN’s fan’s ire at the donor, a defense mechanism we would all do, “screw him”, “eff him”. Very understandable.
But, if UCONN lost a 7 million dollar contributor, because the A.D. didn’t at least give him a call, and just b.s. with him for a little bit about what is going on, absolute malfeasance on the A.D.
**caveat** If the story would come out from the A.D. that, “hey, this guy was calling me 10 times a day”, “he was calling me at home”, “he demanded that I come down to his office”, “he demanded to have a say so in who the next coach is”……then, it’s a totally different story.
If he lost one of the biggest contributors to their business (that’s what it is, a business) over not making a couple phone calls, he should be fired on the spot.
Pitt………..Louisville
WVU…………Cincinnati
Syracuse…….South Florida
UCONN……….Central Florida
Villanova……TCU
Rutgers……..Houston
12 team, all sports, championship game, and finally a real conference, not a league, and we keep our 4 big hoop rivals!!
Ideally we could get to 10-12 FB schools (UCF, Houston) and still keep basketball at 16 by keeping a few select schools like Georgetown, St. Johns, ND, and Villanova
Much like the casino owner in Oceans 11, he not only kills people, but goes after their families as well.
He has ruined over 32 companies buying them and taking their assets (boosting his own stock) and then bleeding them to death before they close. He is an ex football player who was not very good and has surrounded hiimself with other ex football players as ego compensation.
There is no suprise to me that when he did not get his personal choice as coach for UConn, he threw his usual tantrum. UConn is much better off without him!
Is it really that important even to the BE basketball only schools?
I mean why not purge and bring in a football/basketball school in it’s place
Is there a big b-ball rivalry that I am missing?
DaveD
Maybe the hoop schools trying to get more hoop only members???
Everyone has their own angle and opinion and that is good. Everything I come at this discussion is based on wanting to get to be a 12 team all sports conference. Like a real conference.
As I posted above, if you got those teams, in hoops, you could even do divisions, and play home and home against Villanova, UCONN, WVU and Syracuse.
If the Big Ten and ACC are done expanding, then, the next best thing, IMHO, is breaking the hoops and football apart.
Nice thought above with ND, especially with their team getting better each year, but, still, I think they would go with the hoops teams and form a Catholic Schools League. Probably invite St.Joe’s, Dayton. They would have a nice league too.
Hopefully this is on the way!!!
Basketball schedules in the Big East, and I am assuming all other sports other than football, play teams multiple times.
If you had say 20 teams in the Big East in all sports other than football and you played everyone once would you not have a 19 game schedule? What would be the difference… So you wouldnt play a team twice in the same year but you would play everyone once.
In regards to the Big East Hoops tournament. They use to leave out a team or two in the past anyways. So that means the teams that finish 17 thru 20 would not make the tournament……. Big deal they would not have a chance anyway.
I say go out and get a couple quality Football programs and have a 12 Team Football Conference. And dont just go out and get anyone just to make 12 like Temple or Villanova.
This would be my 12….
1. Pitt
2. WVU
3. South Fla
4. TCU
5. Rutgers
6. Uconn
7. Syracuse
8. Louisville
9. Cincy
10.UCF
11.Houston
12.Notre Dame (shit or get off) if the get off find another team that would be honored to be in the conference for all sports.
Hey, we need something to chat about on cold, dreary February nights!!!
Why the ultimatum for ND? ND in both FB and BB is great. ND in BB only is better than no ND in BB.
I thought it significant that his son played for Pasquiloni. (sp?) Maybe Dad didn’t think he played his son enough?
A donor has every right in the world to say no more, but once you sign up to give something, you keep your word.
I think the idea of playing a team only once in the season would work. And I agree, it is time to hold ND’s feet to the fire. What do they bring to the league in the other sports, except more travel?
VU fans I know feel that VU has to go up in football, or the big east will ditch the basketball only schools, even though there is no other good reason to move up. FBS is a good fit for their academic standards, and it is a small student body. They are also competing with big city sports, just like Pitt, for the finite fan base.
link to collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com
Check out Texas’ t.v. deal. Wow, not just the money, the contract has them televising high school sports. Some great quotes by some other coaches, “what if they are recruiting a top player, are they going to go televise all of his/her games?”. Just heatin’ up in the ol’ Big 12!!!!!!!!
Hard to do, but, imagine Penn State and Pitt in the same conference. Penn St. signs on to do ESPNPSU, their own network. Well, take any sport, but, football and hoops, we’re not the wealth of talent we used to be, but, play along. Penn State is after say, 15 of the top 20 players, and guess what, we’ve decided to cover this game and that game, then this one, and that one.
Suprise, most of their high school tv games involve most of their recruits???? The ESPNPENNSTATE trucks roll in. They work for PSU. The broadcasters, they work for PSU, the camera operators, yep, PSU. Everyone has blue and white on, talking about PENN STATE constantly etc. etc. etc.
More than the money, I cannot believe, as bad of a position as they are in, I still cannot believe Kansas, KSU, MISSOURI, TAM, Tech are all gonna sit around and go with this????
Even if you said, Texas will throw them some money bones, coaches in every sport, men and women are gonna have to be up in arms.
I have to believe the NCAA is gonna have a say in this, no????
Also ND does guarantee Pitt a sellout for football whenever they come to Pitt, so I’m sure Pitt would not be behind giving them the ultimatum and the relationship the two have being football rivals for so long.
@KeithS, you might note I said “might” and “could”
when referring to Pitt administrators thinking process when hiring Coach Graham. He did after all coach high school football in Texas for years, was born in Texas and hired a high school legend in coaching in Texas, Todd Dodge. If you don’t think this will lead to Pitt recruiting HS players from Texas, I will assume you never played ‘connect the dots’ much as a kid.
On the head coaching hiring front, it would appear there are upset people all around with who their colleges hired as HC’s. From UConn to Maryland to Pittsburgh to Miami & Michigan, alumni felt their colleges deserved better. Maybe it’s just a sign of the times. Here’s how the new hires were ranked by Yahoo/rivals:
It’s the old adage the rich get richer and the poor get…….the shaft.
By the way, Nova came in to Pitt Stadium in late 90s with Brian Westbrook and gave Pitt a good battle for much of the game — can’t remember the score but it was anything but meaningless.
We, of course, ignore that logic.
