UCONN POLL

[HoosierPal]

I really haven't seen a whole lot of Butler people on here screaming no to UConn. So I'm not sure where where you're getting the 3 new additions being opposed? I'd actually love to get to the point where there is no designation for the new and old BE teams.

Now, as a Butler fan - I will try to overcome my "insecurities about how the rest of the conference would prefer Uconn to them" - long enough to post my thoughts.
- First off, I love the BE as currently constructed. I'm really starting to both cheer for each team in the conference while simultaneously hating them. So that's what a good conference is all about, right?
- I LOVE round-robin scheduling, and wouldn't want to depart from it unless the teams the BE is gaining are completely worth it. UConn? Yes. Dayton & SLU? No.
- I'd be all for UConn joining the BE (obviously with the BE protecting itself by implementing massive exit fees)

Hey Connersville. This is OT, but wanted to let you know I watched several games in your Spartan Bowl. And I vaguely remember Phil Cox. Is he still around C'ville?

[Bill Marsh]

College football certainly isn't big in New York (result of not really having any relevant teams), but I'm willing to bet most of the bars have it on their TVs on Saturday afternoon. And the city is flooded with thousands of UConn fans/alumni. You could view it as a college football dead zone, or you could view it as an opportunity to penetrate a lucrative market that hasn't already been monopolized (unlike most southern and western cities).

My opinion is that the Northeast US will always be NFL > college. While I am sure that UConn fans will promote the "opportunity" it seems like a big stretch to me. The impending UConn-Texas Tech and UConn- Iowa State matchups are not exactly made for TV events and won't move the needle at the ticket office.

Perhaps. I agree adding UConn isn't going to put the Big XII anywhere close to taking over New York, but in such a big market all it needs to do is carve out a small niche to make it profitable. The "opportunity" of New York was enough for the B1G to reach out for Rutgers despite being awful (both on the field and in the stands) in both revenue sports. It's also the main reason the ACC wanted Syracuse (also terrible at their important sport, football). I wouldn't be shocked at all to see the Big XII do the same thing. Proximity to New York is the only reason UConn is even under consideration.

You're going to have to define "awful" for me.

In football, the sport that matters most in realignment by far, Rutgers went to 8 bowls in 9 years leading up to their B1G invite, tied for a Big East conference championship, and was runner up twice. That's hardly awful by my definition. I agree that before 2005 they were a joke.

[XtoDC]

Fan bases have basically no say in this, so I'm not sure why some of the old guard are upset with what a Creighton or Xavier fan have to say on a messageboard like they are blowing the conference's chance to add UCONN. I also don't believe we have any indication about how the "new" schools feel about the private school thing and whatever that is thing, or that the "new" schools even share a similar mindset. The "new" schools came from different conferences, it's not like the new institutions were already familiar with one another and constantly working together. The "new" schools also obviously had no say on who was getting invited to join the C7, and so the C7 are the ones that decided that privacy was important. So perhaps at this point it is actually the C7 who don't want to have to deal with UCONN anymore?

All that said I would add UCONN whenever they became available. At this point would it really embarrass the Big East all that much if they left? And I mean that in contrast to how embarrassingly often some Big East fans clamor for adding them to the conference.

[cu blujs]

I can't speak for Butler or Xavier, but I know that CU administration had relationships with other BE schools - particularly the Jesuit schools and certainly with Marquette - outside of athletics. For that reason, CU wasn't as much a stretch as it may have seemed to some. That is also why I tend to put more stock into institutional fit and relationships than others may on here. I do think the relationships among the presidents of the member universities are strong and have become even more tight-nit in the last couple of years. But, just my speculation.

[Xudash]

I can't speak for Butler or Xavier, but I know that CU administration had relationships with other BE schools - particularly the Jesuit schools and certainly with Marquette - outside of athletics. For that reason, CU wasn't as much a stretch as it may have seemed to some. That is also why I tend to put more stock into institutional fit and relationships than others may on here. I do think the relationships among the presidents of the member universities are strong and have become even more tight-nit in the last couple of years. But, just my speculation.

I can't see how it would be otherwise.

All the Jesuit schools are connected in one way or another - at the very least through the AJCU. Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, SJ, PhD (Creighton's President), serves on Xavier's BoT, as does a Marquette Jesuit, as does the Vice Provincial of the Society of Jesus for the Chicago-Detroit Province, and finally a Jesuit who was the former VP of Development for Loyola-Chicago.

Beyond that, I do believe they've become even more tight, given how successful this entire venture has been and is set up to continue to be.

The C7 + 3 stuff ended with me even before Nova nailed the NC last season, which means it's very, very much in the rear view mirror now. I love this conference and the schools that comprise it.

The criteria for being invited into this special gig have to be analogous to tasking a candidate to jump over a skyscraper in a single bound. There isn't a non-football candidate that comes remotely close to making the cut, given what this conference has established at this point. We don't need to make some program better. We only add, if we add at all, to make the Big East Conference stronger.

The only program that can make this conference stronger is UCONN. And UCONN is in the conversation now because of present developments in football realignment. There are very clear BUSINESS REASONS for bringing UCONN into the conference, but only if they can be brought in on acceptable terms. The definition of that for me is basically, "very rich exit fee if you come in and then want to leave (it can be amortizing, but on a shallow scale for a long period of time), and reporting requirements be damned."

Stay at 10, or bring UCONN in under acceptable terms and then lock in at 11.

[paulxu]

I believe the ACC is going to a 20 game conference schedule in a couple years.
That would work out OK for our round robin if we stopped at 11.

[gtmoBlue]

I'm merely a fan/homer and only speak for my contrarian viewpoint. I can't speak for CU, even though I am the "black eye, _sshole, and pretentious prick" of Bluejay fandom ( titles bestowed by illustrious fellow Jays fans of note ). So let me just say that as a "concerned BE wonk" let UConn sleep in the bed they pissed in. The bulk of their fans don't want to regress to the BE. I don't care if they bounce back or wither away. The BE should stay private. I'll wait for some football five private schools to either get shitcanned or break away of their own volition.

I'd rather have 1 or 2 of Gonzaga, BYU, Vandy, Duke, or other F5 private school(s). Some will say "pipe dreams", "never happen in a Million years", etc. I say the same with UConn. Just my lonely humble opinion.

gtmo

[whiteandblue77]

I'd rather have ... BYU, Vandy, ....
gtmo

[DudeAnon]

I'm merely a fan/homer and only speak for my contrarian viewpoint. I can't speak for CU, even though I am the "black eye, _sshole, and pretentious prick" of Bluejay fandom ( titles bestowed by illustrious fellow Jays fans of note ). So let me just say that as a "concerned BE wonk" let UConn sleep in the bed they pissed in. The bulk of their fans don't want to regress to the BE. I don't care if they bounce back or wither away. The BE should stay private. I'll wait for some football five private schools to either get shitcanned or break away of their own volition.

I'd rather have 1 or 2 of Gonzaga, BYU, Vandy, Duke, or other F5 private school(s). Some will say "pipe dreams", "never happen in a Million years", etc. I say the same with UConn. Just my lonely humble opinion.

gtmo

I actually think there is some validity to gtmoBlue's thinking. If the Power 5 becomes the power 4 there is a very real chance some of traditional basketball powerhouses could be left in the wind. UCONN averaged 28,224 fans a game and is the reason they are stuck out of the P5.

Lets look at some other schools in the P5's attendance: (http://www.cbssports.com/college-footba ... ower-rate/)
Vandy 32,134
Cuse 32,102
Kansas 27,282
Wake 26,674
Duke 26,427

I remember a year ago everyone here scoffed at the idea of UCONN rejoining the Big East but now it seems like it is a very real possibility. UCONN averages better attendance than Kansas & Duke and that is without the comfort and aid of a P5 conference affiliation. With football driving the bus there is a very real chance some conference stalwarts become available. This is all years away and only theoretical, but you have to remember that football makes the P5 decisions, nothing else.

[_lh]

I'm merely a fan/homer and only speak for my contrarian viewpoint. I can't speak for CU, even though I am the "black eye, _sshole, and pretentious prick" of Bluejay fandom ( titles bestowed by illustrious fellow Jays fans of note ). So let me just say that as a "concerned BE wonk" let UConn sleep in the bed they pissed in. The bulk of their fans don't want to regress to the BE. I don't care if they bounce back or wither away. The BE should stay private. I'll wait for some football five private schools to either get shitcanned or break away of their own volition.

I'd rather have 1 or 2 of Gonzaga, BYU, Vandy, Duke, or other F5 private school(s). Some will say "pipe dreams", "never happen in a Million years", etc. I say the same with UConn. Just my lonely humble opinion.

gtmo

I actually think there is some validity to gtmoBlue's thinking. If the Power 5 becomes the power 4 there is a very real chance some of traditional basketball powerhouses could be left in the wind. UCONN averaged 28,224 fans a game and is the reason they are stuck out of the P5.

Lets look at some other schools in the P5's attendance: (http://www.cbssports.com/college-footba ... ower-rate/)
Vandy 32,134
Cuse 32,102
Kansas 27,282
Wake 26,674
Duke 26,427

I remember a year ago everyone here scoffed at the idea of UCONN rejoining the Big East but now it seems like it is a very real possibility. UCONN averages better attendance than Kansas & Duke and that is without the comfort and aid of a P5 conference affiliation. With football driving the bus there is a very real chance some conference stalwarts become available. This is all years away and only theoretical, but you have to remember that football makes the P5 decisions, nothing else.

I get that this is all speculation and whatnot and that's fine but I don't really see a realistic scenario in the next 25 years where the ACC, SEC, B10 or PAC 12 kicks anyone out. Gonzaga and BYU make no sense for Big East invites due to BYU playing football and being really far away. Gonzaga would be awesome if they relocated to St. Louis but not if they remain way out west.

We are speculating about UCONN because UCONN has a shot (it might be only a small one) to actually rejoin the BE if they are left out of the B12 expansion. Now, if the B12 falls apart in 10 years, Kansas might need a home and I would welcome them to the BE just like I would welcome UCONN. The others are not going to ever be available or are just too far away to make sense.