Big East could vote to dissolve

Pointed article why UConn should sit tight and wait for ACC. In meantime they suffer. Too bad!

“@jacobscourant: Unstoppable Team, But Conference Realignment Is Worse Than Any Storm http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-men/hc-jacobs-column-0211-20130210,0,4644902.column”

Pointed article why UConn should sit tight and wait for ACC. In meantime they suffer. Too bad!

“@jacobscourant: Unstoppable Team, But Conference Realignment Is Worse Than Any Storm http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-men/hc-jacobs-column-0211-20130210,0,4644902.column”

loved quote "fall down freakin hilarious" which he used to describe as the difference between the C7 contract and what the new BE would get.  I personnaly think the quote is more appropriate when applied to Ucon FB which is why they are in the state they are in.  He complains about the greed in not accepting the original ESPN offer--that was FB schools who won the day in that rejection. 

the bottom line is the C7 better bring in better than the rabidly incompetent leadership that destroyed the original big east.

Quote from: paultzman on February 11, 2013, 10:00:55 AM

Pointed article why UConn should sit tight and wait for ACC. In meantime they suffer. Too bad!

“@jacobscourant: Unstoppable Team, But Conference Realignment Is Worse Than Any Storm http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-men/hc-jacobs-column-0211-20130210,0,4644902.column”

loved quote "fall down freakin hilarious" which he used to describe as the difference between the C7 contract and what the new BE would get.  I personnaly think the quote is more appropriate when applied to Ucon FB which is why they are in the state they are in.  He complains about the greed in not accepting the original ESPN offer--that was FB schools who won the day in that rejection.

Uconn football sucks.  Jim Calhoun is gone.  When I watched SJU beat them at the Garden this year they brought maybe 1500 fans, not 12k fans like they used to bring to the Garden.  I have news for you, Dayton could match the 1500 that Uconn brought in. They are a far, far cry from what they used to be and their program lost what might be the best coach in the history of college ball.  "sitting tight" and waiting for the ACC might seem like a good idea. 

Truth is though, that if the ACC doesn't get raided any time soon, they chance obsolescence at every month that goes by.  Their basketball program isn't bringing in the big recruits and isn't bringing fans to games.  maybe it is me, but some of those football programs at USF and UCF become better looking options than Uconn and their nonexistent football market.  ACC already owns Boston with BC, and BC wild fight tooth and nail to keep UConn out of the ACC anyway.  Seems to me like chips might be stacked against them, with their product degrading as we speak.

I'll add that the reason our new league with the C7 teams is getting decent money thrown our way is because we are offering a specific product that doesn't really exist.  We aren't asking for football money.  We are a basketball conference and are going to provide that as well as our other sports for a fraction of the cost that networks have to pay for football and basketball product.  We are going to being in teams that are known for good basketball, good fan bases and good markets.  It will be a deep bbal league.

Take a look at the ACC's basketball product.  Most of the schools are terrible this year and Miami owns the league.  Nothing hilarious about marketing our original product and hopefully keeping the name that has some cache' for the bball schools.  I think the others will give up the name to the C7, even if at a premium because it means little to them and has a rep of "shitty football but good basketball" tied to it.  Not sure they even want that with only 2 eastern schools. 

Quote from: gman on February 09, 2013, 09:28:08 PM

Quote from: paultzman on February 09, 2013, 09:25:03 PM

“@McMurphyESPN: Big East gets $20M-$23M/year offer from NBC; Catholic 7 close to deal w/Fox, sources tell @ESPN http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8932681/big-east-catholic-7-close-reaching-media-rights-deals”

That is terrible. Less than 2mil a team.

Fox deal for Cath.basketball League 30-40M depending on # of teams.

Funny that the football schools basically treated the c7 like shit but we were really the reason the money was still out there.

Surprised Fox isn't in on the UCONN led conference but I guess they don't like the product.

They need to get all new programming for their network.   

Quote from: paultzman on February 09, 2013, 09:36:00 PM

Quote from: gman on February 09, 2013, 09:28:08 PM

Quote from: paultzman on February 09, 2013, 09:25:03 PM

“@McMurphyESPN: Big East gets $20M-$23M/year offer from NBC; Catholic 7 close to deal w/Fox, sources tell @ESPN http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8932681/big-east-catholic-7-close-reaching-media-rights-deals”

That is terrible. Less than 2mil a team.

Fox deal for Cath.basketball League 30-40M depending on # of teams.

Funny that the football schools basically treated the c7 like shit but we were really the reason the money was still out there.

Surprised Fox isn't in on the UCONN led conference but I guess they don't like the product.

They need to get all new programming for their network.   

Fox wouldn't want the FB product that would feature Ucon and Temple and SMU and Houston.  They would spend money on something that can give a return.  At least our C7+ will be a good product in big markets.

When considering additional candidates for the Catholic 7 athletic conference, it would seem prudent to first identify the commonalities of the Catholic 7.  By only adding schools with similar characteristics, there is a chance that the schools would come to view each others as resources for solving common problems and therefore less likely to move to another conference. Some commonalities of the Catholic 7 are:  1) Catholic Universities, 2) Located north of the Mason Dixon line and east of the Mississippi, 3) Located in cites or within 20 miles of a city with populations in excess of 1 million inhabitants, 4) Universities have between 3,500 (Providence) and 14,000 (DePaul) undergraduates, 5) Currently participate in Division 1 basketball and compete in at least 3 of: baseball/(softball), lacrosse, soccer, track and field and/or cross country as well as some other sports such as tennis, golf, volleyball, fencing, swimming etc.  Universities with football (Villanova and Georgetown) and hockey (Providence) programs arrange their own games

Criteria for admittance:
1)   Catholic Universities – The conference should be open to all academic institutions who meet the below criteria.  To exclude a university based on a religious affiliation or lack there of, seems like an invitation for litigation.
2)   Geographic Area - Located north of the Mason Dixon line and east of the Mississippi -  The precise geographic boundaries, but these sports are played by students, the conference should attempt to minimize travel to away events, simply so the students can study. Depending on the number of schools in the conference, East and West divisions would be recommended.  The proposed geographic area of the conference (roughly a quarter of the US land mass) would make the conference one of the largest in the nation (both in landmass and population).
3)   Located in or near cities with populations greater than 1 million.  In order to secure a maximum TV contract, the league should be represented in most major cities within the geographic area.
4)   Undergraduate enrolment between 3,500 and 14,000 students.  This is a huge disparity (4 times) between schools, but it is what the Catholic 7 currently has.
5)   There should be a core group of sports (basketball, soccer, track and field) that every institution competes in, along with optional sports (baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming, tennis, golf, field hockey) and then independent sports that are not supported by the conference (football, hockey).  Competing in multiple sports will increase the sense of fellowship between schools and build rivalries.

The following candidates would meet the criteria:  Butler, Xavier, St Louis, and Northeastern and Dayton.  Universities that miss some of criteria and are therefore backups include:  Cleveland State, Temple, Detroit Mercy, and Creighton.  The name of the league would be the ‘Metro East’.

I truly believe we are looking at the C7 plus Butler, Xavier, Dayton, St. Louis, and either Creighton or VCU

I don't think anyone ever suggested teh schools must have a catholic or even christian affiliation. The media coined the Catholic 7 term.

I am also told that they is a possibility some associate members could be joined for non basketball sports.   

I'll add that the reason our new league with the C7 teams is getting decent money thrown our way is because we are offering a specific product that doesn't really exist.  We aren't asking for football money.  We are a basketball conference and are going to provide that as well as our other sports for a fraction of the cost that networks have to pay for football and basketball product.  We are going to being in teams that are known for good basketball, good fan bases and good markets.  It will be a deep bbal league.

Take a look at the ACC's basketball product.  Most of the schools are terrible this year and Miami owns the league.  Nothing hilarious about marketing our original product and hopefully keeping the name that has some cache' for the bball schools.  I think the others will give up the name to the C7, even if at a premium because it means little to them and has a rep of "shitty football but good basketball" tied to it.  Not sure they even want that with only 2 eastern schools. 

Original and sensible points.

VCU has an undergraduate enrolment of almost 20,000 students.  It is a public institution which has an entirely different set of issues.  VCU is somewhat similar to Uconn, a public institution with an undergraduate enrolment of 17,000 students.  We all know how Uconn worked out.  I do like the TV market, though Richmond may be too close to Washington/Georgetown.

1] I can understand Fox Sports not wanting UConn. Storrs is a short ride from Bristol and ESPN, Fox' top rival in sports television. And, UConn also has a regional relationship with SNY. UConn made its bed, let them lay in it.

2] The Catholic 7 + Butler is almost a given at this point. Add in Xavier, Creighton, VCU, Northeastern or Dayton and Fox will have a nice conference to sell to advertisers.

3] So far, the University presidents are showing good leadership. I believe its been stated that Father Harrington and his Georgetown counterpart are the pointmen for our new league. If they can nail down a Fox Sports contract with the numbers that are being published, thats a heck of alot better than we were doing with the previous BE commissioners

St. louis, xavier, butler and call it a day.

Northeastern brings a huge market (Boston) creates a geographic rival for Providence.  Without a Boston school, Providence is all alone in New England and too small an institution to carry the region, no matter how well their sports teams do.  I am not a hockey fan, but both Providence and Northeastern offer hockey which might add some regional interest.  All that being said, the conference would still be great without Northeastern.

I  dont think the new league should be all catholic or all private. Including schools w major FB programs and West coast schools are problematic. I think VCU would be a good addition.

Northeastern brings a huge market (Boston) creates a geographic rival for Providence.  Without a Boston school, Providence is all alone in New England and too small an institution to carry the region, no matter how well their sports teams do.  I am not a hockey fan, but both Providence and Northeastern offer hockey which might add some regional interest.  All that being said, the conference would still be great without Northeastern.

Yes but no one in Boston cares about Northeastern basketball.  It's the same leap the new Big East made with Tulane and New Orleans.  I'd be disappointed if NE was in the new league

If we took another team from new England, it should be UMass.  The problem is that they seem bent on keeping their horrid D1 football program with 11k fans per game. I'd much prefer a UMAss than northeastern, as it has better name value and more nice sports like lacrosse, hockey etc.  if they decided to drop D1 football, I'd probably be in favor of adding them to the league.  Good value down the road if they commit to their program and hire a top notch coach.

Northeastern brings a huge market (Boston) creates a geographic rival for Providence.  Without a Boston school, Providence is all alone in New England and too small an institution to carry the region, no matter how well their sports teams do.  I am not a hockey fan, but both Providence and Northeastern offer hockey which might add some regional interest.  All that being said, the conference would still be great without Northeastern.

no.

How about we add one team? The other teams that would like to join may go F themselves. More than 8 teams is completely pointless, and would prove to be a horrible example of a lesson well learned.

How about we add one team? The other teams that would like to join may go F themselves. More than 8 teams is completely pointless, and would prove to be a horrible example of a lesson well learned.

At 10, you would still be able to have Home and Home which I believe is key to developing rivalries and it would allow for a 4 night conference tournament.  with 8 it would be a 3 day event.  Also 10 would be better for other sports where there is no home and home such as soccer and baseball.  There are some schools that could add to prestige in the one of the other sports but not all.