Did the Big East make a mistake adding Butler?

[milksteak]

Having big-name teams in town will draw a lot of the Indianapolis bandwagon fans to Hinkle. You'll know who they are. They'll be the idiots wearing IU gear to Butler games.

[xbr1]

The Big East made the right choice with Butler. Dayton would have been a terrible choice. SLU deserves to be in at the next expansion.

[sciencejay]

Creighton homer here--two-time alum and season ticket holder for a number of years now.

To weigh in, I think Butler was an excellent choice. Like many/most teams, attendance waxes and wanes within a season depending on the quality of the opponent, the point in the season, the home team's season success, as well as any 'outside' competition. The Jays enjoy solid support in Omaha, but I'm always amazed that frequently with 10 minutes left in the first half, the stadium is ~half full. Of course, this is not the case when we play high profile opponents, but many nights during the season, it is so. And while we average 16-17,000 'fans' per game, that number is based upon tickets sold, not butts in seats. We sold nearly 17,000 season tickets for this upcoming season, so the 'attendance' number will never be less than that this year. We have all seen Tuesday or Wednesday night games in Omaha against Evansville or Southern Illinois (last few years anyway) in January/February where there were fewer than 50% of the seats full.

My point is attendance numbers are not always what they seem, and Butler has had an excellent run the past 10-15 years as others have noted. I'm thrilled CU was invited, and I'm thrilled that we get to play Butler (and everyone else) twice a year.

[Omaha1]

We sold nearly 17,000 season tickets for this upcoming season, so the 'attendance' number will never be less than that this year. We have all seen Tuesday or Wednesday night games in Omaha against Evansville or Southern Illinois (last few years anyway) in January/February where there were fewer than 50% of the seats full.

My point is attendance numbers are not always what they seem, and Butler has had an excellent run the past 10-15 years as others have noted. I'm thrilled CU was invited, and I'm thrilled that we get to play Butler (and everyone else) twice a year.

Huh? I think they capped season ticket sales around 13000 and the only game that I can remember 50% of the seats being full was the game against Drake (I think) where the city was shut down due to the blizzard and they asked people not to be on the streets. Creighton drew 17500 for Mississippi freaking Valley State so I have no concerns with our ability to sell out against real opponents.

[BillEsq]

As a fan of a team who potentially missed the BE boat due to the inclusion of Butler.... I feel this question is unfair for the Bulldogs at this time.

Obviously loosing a head coach that took you to two straight champ games is huge. However that is not the only thing. While you can argue that prior to the recent run that Butler was at best a high level Horizon team. All that is now in the past. They are now receiving a BE huge paycheck, have BE exposure and have the exposure of the recent final four runs. It is impossible to compare Butler 2013 on to Butler Pre-Stevens.

The only question is whether or not Butler plans on long term investing in a program that is able to compete year in year out and game to game at the competitive level of the BE. While simply being one of the best of the Horizon will not get you many wins in the BE. However Butler now has the name and the money to compete. They have always had the location. It is unfair to Butler to ask this question now as any answer will be completely subjective. Butler has the potential to survive the loss of Stevens and do very well in the BE. I suggest that you give Butler a few years to see if they are committed as a Athletic Department and have the institutional horses to run with the BE.

Its to late to worry about whether or not Butler can compete without Stevens. Now you can only hope they do. While I understand your concerns over Butler, at this juncture there is no reason to doubt their ability to compete. Lets let them at least get a season in before we start calling them a mistake.

[muskienick]

16. Indiana - 4

• Butler (4,667 students)
• Indiana (42,731 students)
• Notre Dame (11,733 students)
• Purdue (39,256 students)

20. Wisconsin - 1

• Wisconsin (42,595 students)

Seems somebody forgot a little Jesuit university located in Milwaukee, WI.

And I believe that Memphis would qualify as a high major out of Tennessee. Check out their average number of fannies in the stands for home games!

[Bulldog_Muskie]

If Stevens leaving is part of the reasoning behind this thought, I think the same could be said of Creighton and Doug McDermott. How do the jays handle some lean years without an all american on the court? The point is, both schools have established a track record of consistency over the past few years.
They along with XU were the best possible options. SLU and Dayton are not on their level. Are they good programs? Yes. Better than the 3? I don't think so.

[Omaha1]

If Stevens leaving is part of the reasoning behind this thought, I think the same could be said of Creighton and Doug McDermott. How do the jays handle some lean years without an all american on the court? The point is, both schools have established a track record of consistency over the past few years.
They along with XU were the best possible options. SLU and Dayton are not on their level. Are they good programs? Yes. Better than the 3? I don't think so.

Creighton had "lean years" prior to McDermott arriving and he wasn't a big recruit to start although he is certainly the face of the program now. Under Altman, we didn't make the NCAA tournament the last several years he was in Omaha before heading to Oregon and we were still near the Top 10 in national attendance playing a home schedule consisting of Valley schools like Drake and Missouri St. It was very rare to get a visit from a BCS team which I hope we can remedy now.

[Bulldog_Muskie]

Exactly, programs wax and wane but Creighton will be fine. The point is the 3 teams added were the most stable/consistent ones available. So butler is not in the top 10 for attendance, the program still has a track record of success as well as a very supportive athletic department just like CU.

[HoosierPal]

I have been following Bulldog Hoops since the days of Billy Shepherd. What you have seen over the last three years is likely what you will get for the next three. We sold out five weekend games last season, including Rhode Island which may surprise some. Weekday conference games averaged about 75% capacity. Likely that trend will continue this year. If a DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, etc. is scheduled for a weekday, it won't sell out. Put those games on a weekend and they will. If X or maybe Marquette or Georgetown is scheduled midweek, they have a chance to sell out. Creighton too, if the Bluejays travel well during the week.

The Big East brand, i.e., the name itself, carries little extra value in the Midwest. It's the schools involved, not the name of the conference, that is important. I predict their eventually will be a stronger rivalry with the Creighton, Marquette and Xavier than their will be with the eastern schools, simply due to location.

On TV, the Bulldogs will never outdraw IU in Indiana. If Butler is playing Georgetown, and Indiana is playing Nebraska at the same time, IU wins the ratings war every time. That is just the way it is.

This year will be a trying year for the Bulldogs. Loosing Smith and Clark as well as Coach Stevens will hurt the Dogs. The starting five will be okay, but the bench will be thin. I think most of us Butler fans would be satisfied with a .500 record.

All this being said, bring it on!