As we wrap up another year we should reflect on what was and then plan what will be. Last year at this time, SJU played in the Big East, the best college basketball conference in the world. Sure, there were occasional rumblings about the football schools wanting more. Then seemingly in the blink of an eye, it is gone. You’d think after 30 years +/-there would be some bonds that would be unbreakable. Nope. Football money wins!
So now a new Big East was created, focused on basketball, decidedly anti football. Can a one-sport conference survive? Can it survive as a basketball power? As we begin 2014, how does one make the new Big East something as endearing as the old Big East?
Here are some ideas:
1) A conference is all about sports. What does the educational institution get from participating in a conference? The member institutions basically get advertising. The institution has its name broadcast for all to hear and read creating public awareness which should lead to name recognition and to more applicants. Success on the field can imply institutional competency which I suppose might encourage better applicants, better job placement rates, institutional pride and more alumni donations etc. While a slick TV commercial, brochure or letter can accomplish some of the above, I have yet to see/hear any material as compelling as a win over a conference opponent.
The Big East has positioned itself as a basketball only conference. No football - ever. Unfortunately, the basketball season occupies only three months of the media year. Football occupies another three months and then the spring sports add another three months and then there are three months of summer where there is little in the way of collegiate sports. That schedule implies the Big East schools are giving away six consecutive months (summer and football) of advertising opportunity, while many other institutions are ‘scoring’. The fall is when high most high school seniors are applying to universities, and selecting their university.
In order to maintain the university and conference name awareness throughout the year, it seems logical to promote sports that would fill in the six non-basketball months. In the fall, the easy answer is soccer. Fortunately almost all of the current Big East schools have soccer teams. Of course promoting soccer instead of football is going to be a tough sell to our media partners.
In the spring, it seems like baseball has been around for years and really not taken off as a big-time collegiate sport. There is almost a sports vacuum in collegiate sports during the spring. Lacrosse has exploded in recent years and is rapidly filling this vacuum. Unfortunately, half of the current Big East schools don’t currently offer lacrosse. The Conference should encourage and assist the inactive schools to develop lacrosse programs. It takes a while to develop competitive programs and now is the time to get started. As a temporary measure, the Conference should solicit ‘Lacrosse Only’ members. Maybe a Hopkins, Stoneybrook, LaSalle, Denver. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the ACC currently dominates this sport.
2) The Big East conference should support the primary purpose of the member institutions, which is to educate. Education includes not only, calculus and literature, it’s about new experiences. New experiences include interacting with people from different backgrounds, trying new environments. The member schools should develop an exchange program where students spend a semester at another in- conference institution. Ride the subway, see the nation’s capital, see the ocean, and attend a county fair. Every city in the conference has something unique to offer…capitalize on it.
The member institutions should reach out to conference members to build relationships while sharing resources, professors, programs etc. Encourage and facilitate students from others schools to take courses not offered at their University. Build a conference of universities where the focus is directed not only at competing on the field but also towards supporting the member’s educational effort. Start building ties between the various alumni, administrations that hopefully will mean more than money.
3) Adding schools to the conference could enhance the conference’s media appeal. I would admit new schools only if they fit the conference profile: No football, private institution (sorry Uconn), national basketball program, competitive soccer, developing lacrosse program and geographically practical.