ACC accepts Cuse and Pitt

Big East is dead. It's going to collapse and leave catholic schools by themselves. UConn will be the next to leave

If the BE does fall apart we would be in some real trouble. Sure we could stick with basketball schools and add some other programs but we won't have the money to compete with the BCS conferences and we will be in a conference closer to that of a mid major like the A-10. I think we can still be a team a Xavier or Memphis that dominates in a smaller conference but it will be a much tougher road.

Big East is dead. It's going to collapse and leave catholic schools by themselves.

That is pretty much how I view it.  It's time for the remaining schools to be proactive.  There is still time to put together a more than respectable conference.  But, they better not drag arse.

Add Kansas and we replace Cuse easily.  Add Memphis and we lose nothing bball-wise.  Several other teams would be great as well.  It will work itself out.  I just hope the big east adds two teams this week.  No more waiting around.

Big East Football is dead.  SEC and ACC will swallow up Uconn, WV, and Rutgers.  The remaining football schools will join with the Big 12 remnants.  Hopefully basketball schools keep the Big East name and we can get a solid group of basketball schools that will stick together.

Those two schools can be replaced by other basketball powers.  The only issue is whether we lose more teams and BE football collapses.  Then we have to wonder what the financial impact will be on the basketball-only schools.

The big question is:  how many teams make money from football and will all of this realignment make a big financial difference to those schools that are not make much, if any, money from football.

Finally,  any chance Texas wants to join the BE for basketball and other sports, while remaining a football independent, a la Notre Dame?  How do they reconcile their Longhorn Network with the tv contract than a league such as the ACC is bound to?

I think the Big East can be fine. Others have left and we have survived and I think we can do it again. We can add teams like Xavier, Memphis, Kansas, Texas etc... Just because we lost 2 schools doesn't mean the conference is dead and hopefully no one else bails. By the way, St. Johns will never be dead!

The BIG EAST better be meeting in the next 48 hours with a "state of the union" for the remaining teams. Do they up the Buy Out fee and get commitments from the remaining teams to stay? Bring in 2 to 4 themselves for football/basketball? Or the hoops only pull out and set up their BB only conference? Stop waiting around for the football teams to make their decisions and pull the rug on the remaining football teams? Could it be Syracuse & Pitt play 1 more hoop season, then are gone? Don't allow them in Big East Tourney for automatic birth and let them get their bids on their league records. Baylor threatened a law suit and things seem to stop with Texas A & M. Does the Big East go to court? Need some answers, sooner than later. The Big East is being left at the starting line.

If I were king there would be separate conferences for football.  Every other sport should be aligned regionally.  If only I were king?

Texas ain't coming to the Big East.  The Big East didn't have a chance after we added so many basketball only schools.


While there is a chance we scoop up Memphis and Big 12 remnants...I still think it is much more likely that the football teams make their own conference.  I would've preferred we kept things like they were but we can have a very good conference with Georgetown, Villanova...and others.

I think these moves are a result of information that is not public yet.  These schools know something that we don't, and they would rather act sooner than later. 

But until the information is released, this is my assessment for both football and basketball:

Syracuse football isn't really relevant, so that isn't even going to be discussed.  The move for Pitt football doesn't really make sense.  Yes, the BE is weak in football, and always was. However, I'm not sure if this is true anymore or not, but doesn't the BE gets an automatic BCS game every year? And Pitt has a legitimate shot at that every year. Now, Pitt is going to be competing with Va. Tech, Miami, Florida State, NC State, etc...   While the competition will be better, Pitt could very easily get buried in the mix. So it doesn't make much football sense.


As for basketball, personally, I think this move was all about basketball, and the fact that Pitt and Cuse didn't want to play in a 16 team conference anymore. The BE does have a lot of good teams, but does it really help if you play Depaul twice and Villanova only once? They could easily schedule Villanova for an out of conference game. Also, with the physical style of the BE, the wear and tear on the players really affects them. In late March, the players are tired and worn down. The move to the ACC allows them to play a "softer" form of basketball and will be better prepared to make a late run in March. And the ACC is just as good as the BE, if not better, so they don't lose any credibility in conferences.

Unless there is something we don't know, why would two immensly successful basketball programs leave the conference where that success was achieved, in order to start fresh in a different conference?

Rivalries are so important.  Syracuse, especially, has walked away from its greatest rivals.  Duke-Carolina will never be replaced by Duke-Syarcuse.  A Duke fan came to our game against them last year.  Her position was that a non-conference loss to us is totally irrelevant to a Duke fan.  All they care about are conference victories, especially against Carolina.  Syracuse and Pitt will be the equivalent of NC State and Wake Forest in that conference. 

Quote from: erickthered on September 18, 2011, 11:10:42 AM

Most recruits choose to play at pitt or cuse because they are and have been the top teams in the big east, and like the physical play in the conf. Now they are recruiting acc type players vs duke and nc, in my opinion a different type of player. And if your talented enough to play at duke or nc and are an acc type player why pick pitt or cuse? How many of our recent recruits had acc teams on their list? Look at kyle he came down to 3 big east teams (all with no football) a pac12 and sec school. In the long run it will hurt  these programs that they sacrificed top hoop programs for very mediocre football programs at best.

Boeheim is going to retire soon, and they will have to try to claim ACC success with Mike Hopkins at the helm.  Good luck.  I can see Jamie Dixon leaving Pitt actually and eventually heading back West for a job like Cal, USC or Stanford.  I don't think the move to the ACC will bring such great success as they think it will. 

I wouldn't count on it. That's what they've been saying about Joe Paterno for 137 years. It is very difficult to retire from the limelight and Boeheim takes on a whole new life in the ACC.

we have to look to make a move.  we can't sit around waiting to see what happens.  if i were sju i'd push to get us into the acc too.  uconn and rutgers are next to leave. i would think acc would rather have us, the media, msg, etc. than rutgers.

Time to say screw it all.  The Big East was founded as a basketball conference and that should be the basis of the conference, first and foremost.  If schools have visions of football grandeur that I say let them go (two private schools think they can complete with with deep pocketed state schools).  they will always be doormats in that sport where ever they play. 

Notre Dame is the interesting focus of a basketball centered "New" Big East.  As long as they stay independent in football, they will want in for the other sports that concern us.

The "New" Big East should aggressively recruit using the the idea that BB players are the campus Main men not the second team behind football.  why did schools leave the Big East, the best BB conference?  they left because they feel football is more important.  Time to stand up for BB first schools and not football factories.  time for taxpayers to tell their legislators to lower taxes/lower deficits not pay outrageous amounts for football teams and stadiums that are used 6 to 7 times a year.

Real New Yorkers do not root for the ACC. When Syracuse plays NCState.Clemson,and GT ,while SJU plays UCONN, Rutgers and Villinova well see who the real NY team is. I now live in S.FL ,but consider my self a New Yorker. When Miami was in the BE I used to root for them. but when they left the BE, I considered them traitors. I will root for USF over Miami. Iroronically when Miami was in the BE they were national contenders every year in football and had a ranked BB program, not anymore.

Dave: Now that you think the BE is dead, what do you think is the solution for SJU? A BB only conference, joining the ACC?

Real New Yorkers do not root for the ACC. When Syracuse plays NCState.Clemson,and GT ,while SJU plays UCONN, Rutgers and Villinova well see who the real NY team is. I now live in S.FL ,but consider my self a New Yorker. When Miami was in the BE I used to root for them. but when they left the BE, I considered them traitors. I will root for USF over Miami. Iroronically when Miami was in the BE they were national contenders every year in football and had a ranked BB program, not anymore.

Good news is Cuse in the ACC totally kills their presence in NYC.  SJ's always owned NYC, but now delusional Cuse AD, fans, alumni, etc., can permanently shut their traps.

Quote from: Dave on September 18, 2011, 12:22:48 PM

Big East is dead. It's going to collapse and leave catholic schools by themselves.

That is pretty much how I view it.  It's time for the remaining schools to be proactive.  There is still time to put together a more than respectable conference.  But, they better not drag arse.

UCONN and RU will be next.  They have no choice.  And their is a lot of hypocrisy to go around.  Pitt was very out-spoken when BC, Miami and Va Tech bolted the BE.  Now they follow suit.  As someone else pointed out earlier, Jim Calhoun said he would never schedule BC again especially being a fellow New Englander.  Let me tell you something, UCONN is probably going to be in the same position very soon.

The plane is going down and everyone is looking for a parachute.


Again Tranghese did his best to hold off the imminent collapse about 20 years ago but it was just a matter of time.  Again if he had not invited Miami, Va Tech and Rutgers into the newly formed BE football conference we would have had this 20 years ago.  Ironically enough it was Pitt and Syracuse, who both were football independents at the time but were prime candidates to join the Big Ten, who led to that move in the early 90's by Tranghese who are now the two programs about to blow up the BE.

It is a shame but anyone who was not asleep could see this coming.

Big East is dead. It's going to collapse and leave catholic schools by themselves. UConn will be the next to leave

If you're referring to the current format and the long time rivalries then yes. But if we add school like Kansas, (who has a better basketball tradition then Pit, SU, or even Uconn) Kansas St, and Memphis, why would the Big East be dead? The Big East just walked away from a 1 billion dollar TV deal (I guess they wish they hadn't now) but it shows you there is still value in the Big East even though we are a weak football conference. We didn't lose any powerhouse football schools, and we can replace their basketball value.

So, what do we have left as far as a Catholic League is concerned?

St Johns, Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, DePaul. Thrown in a Xaxier or Dayton. Do we dig a little deeper for Siena?Fairfield? Niagra? St Joe's from the A-10 w/ Villanova's blessing?

it was bound to happen. i though it would happen in a couple of years, not now.

I agree that the BE is dead
We need to lookout for our well being