12/22/24
November 04, 2003
Big East to add 5 teams today,: Cincinnati, Louisville, DePaul, South Florida and Marquette are all reported to be joining the conference in a move that seems to, in basketball terms, make up for their losses to the ACC
So when will CUSA's remaining team file a lawsuit against the Big East and the defecting members? And is the next move for CUSA to pull up a couple of teams from the MAC? 16 basketball teams.....didn't the WAC go that route before splitting up? I don't think this will be stable for very long. It looks like the Big East is getting back to its basketball roots - they lose football powers Va Tech and Miami to the ACC, while picking up basketball powers Louisville, Cincy, and to a lesser extent, DePaul and Marquette. I wouldn't be surprised to see them land 8 NCAA teams.
posted by mbd1 at 11:06 AM on November 04, 2003
I wish that they didn't have to destroy another conference and thus be as evil as the ACC, but this makes them a really damn good hoops conference. USF, Cincy, and Louisville have football programs too, right? But do they, combined with SU, Pitt, Rutgers, WV, UConn make a BCS-worthy football conference? I don't know. I prefer the league as a hoops conference too, but those BCS millions help all programs at the school...
posted by Bernreuther at 11:07 AM on November 04, 2003
Please note that the Big East and Conference USA (and I think the WAC--wherever Tulsa and Rice were) coordinated their realignments--this wasn't a backroom deal like the ACC's. Anyhow, this is sort of the best possible outcome of the whole Big East-ACC debacle as it leaves the Big East with the best basketball conference in the country and some slight level of football respectability--although it would look ridiculous to leave the Big East with their BCS berth at this point and leave the MAC out. Even if the 8 & 8 format is unstable, the Big East will go out in a blaze of hoops glory.
posted by Justin Slotman at 11:26 AM on November 04, 2003
Poor Temple. Big East loses three schools that they have to replace... and still kicks them out. Where are they going now?
posted by Smackfu at 11:54 AM on November 04, 2003
Obviously there are 3 schools there that will provide great competition along with 2 charismatic coaches (Huggins and Pitino). There are some who feel that South Florida was a replacement for Boston College, but wouldn't they have been a better (regional) fit in the "Atlantic Coast Conference"? Maybe it's just me that looks at the conference map and is bothered so much by the obvious geographic misalignment I'll miss BC in basketball and think they still made the wrong move. Interestingly enough Jim Calhoun was on Sportscenter last Thursday for an interview about UConn being preseason no.1. In that interview he stated rather emphatically that Uconn has no plans to schedule BC for basketball, despite being bitter rivals for the last 20 years. BC fans must be pissed about the move now though.... they finally would have been able to boo Pitino again
posted by YukonGold at 12:04 PM on November 04, 2003
BC fans are pretty much content with the ACC, the unloyal bastards. They seem content to lose more football games than they win and see the level of competition and dollars in the hoops program drop significantly.
posted by Bernreuther at 12:36 PM on November 04, 2003
The only thing I hate about this is I've always enjoyed the Cincinnatis, Marquettes and Louisvilles coming to St. Louis University and leaving with an "L" to show for it. Now who do we get to upset?
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:47 PM on November 04, 2003
I'm glad that the Big East remains a hoops powerhouse but I'm a little sad about it. I love Cincinnati but I just can't fit them into my image of the Big East ... a bit to sleazy in my mind. I know that 'Cuse and G-Town don't graduate their players but I feel like at least they might turn down some of the guys Huggins goes after. I mean Cincy is the school that produced Ruben Patterson. I just felt like the Big East had slightly higher standards.
posted by Mike McD at 05:40 PM on November 04, 2003
I love Boeheim's Quote from the article: We've been even with the ACC the last few years, Now we're adding three teams in the top 20 and they're adding three teams in the bottom of the top 100. Do the math.
posted by Mike McD at 05:59 PM on November 04, 2003
Wow.
posted by 8ighteenAcres at 12:16 AM on November 05, 2003
Hey! Super! If you add enough teams of course you can become the best basketball conference. If the Big 12 joined the Big 10 then they'd be the best basketball conference. But wait then the SEC could join with the new ACC and have the bestest conference ever! What's the point of even having conferences anyway if you have this many teams in one? The ACC should have capped it at 10 with Miami.
posted by pitchblende at 12:42 AM on November 05, 2003
no, the ACC should have left well enough alone. Things were better the way they were. But, in the face of the ACC raid, this is the best possible alternative.
posted by Bernreuther at 08:01 AM on November 05, 2003
But wait then the SEC could join with the new ACC and have the bestest conference ever! They certainly could although they'd be forfeiting additional BCS $$$ that everyone desires so much. Let's face it the Big East's bread and butter has always and will always be basketball. Miami, VT, Rutgers and West Virginia were originally pulled in to help football. With that they were forced to expand basketball to divisions with a more watered down product. Why does everyone think the ACC is so great? Not because it's a small conference with 9 teams, but rather because there's always great competition. Every year you have 5 or 6 top25 caliber teams and all of the games go down to the wire. If the Big East reconfigured today, they would have 7 preseason top 25 teams...add in the teams also receiving votes and you've got almost 50% of their teams at that level. That'll make for great competition.
posted by YukonGold at 09:38 AM on November 05, 2003
Dilution never helps.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:29 PM on November 05, 2003
So long Conference USA?