All Entries in the "Big East" Category
Big East Split Inevitable Over Football
No surprise the Big East is again in the unenviable position of having members targeted by other conferences. The Big East leadership has done nothing to resolve the major issues in football scheduling, forcing member schools to fend for themselves.
The inability to recognize that football is the key to securing the future probably stems from its founding as a basketball conference in 1979. The conference didn’t even include football competition until 1992 when Rutgers, Miami, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Temple joined Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. UConn was in the process of moving up to Division 1A.
The biggest mistake was probably the rejection of Penn State in the early eighties when the conference picked Pittsburgh instead. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno would lobby hard for an eastern conference with many of the same members but he was rebuffed, ultimately joining the Big Ten.
Because of the Big East's inertia, there is no move the conference could make that would prevent any other BCS league from taking its lunch money.
While the lack of vision may have been a good thing for Louisville, making it possible to join the Big East, the failure to be proactive in resolving the football scheduling issues is not. The potential for football revenue (and losses) is much greater than for basketball. The revenue produced by the cellar-dwelling football teams in the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference is comparable to the top Big East teams in both football and basketball.
Because of the Big East’s inertia, there is no move the conference could make that would prevent any other BCS league from taking its lunch money. It’s as if the university presidents, who really make the decisions, are unable to grasp the significance of the issue, or they are so helpless and inept that they prefer to wait until another conference forces them to do something.
As a result, a conference split between the basketball and football schools appears inevitable. However, the lineup of members of the new football conference may not faintly resemble the current one.
Louisville Football Needs Bigger Big East
By Paul Sykes
Watch your back.
The Big Ten Conference is officially looking to expand again, with the aim of increasing its ranks to 12 schools. The reasons are obvious: An annual conference football championship game and more green for its already bloated coffers.
Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers are the schools most often mentioned as possibilities. Louisville has been included in the field by the Chicago Tribune. Even Cincinnati, with the most fickle fans in the nation, has been floated as a candidate.
Notre Dame is not in the picture this time, having consistently resisted conference overtures. The superiority complex doesn’t help either, nor does the fact that the football program is losing its luster. The Knute Rockne tradition can only get you so far when losing has become a habit.
'The best argument for Louisville would be basketball where U of L is consistently ranked as the most profitable program in the nation.'
Great for Louisville to be mentioned among the possible candidates. But the odds of it happening are remote. U of L has it good right now in the strongest basketball conference in the country. On the football side, Big East teams have demonstrated they can hold their own and they have the poll recognition to prove it.
Can you imagine the good old boys at land grant schools like Michigan and Ohio State acknowledging U of L or Cincinnati as equals and welcoming a municipal university into their ranks? Without getting into the academic debate, the best argument for Louisville would be basketball where U of L is consistently ranked as the most profitable program in the nation. The expansion of Papa John’s would be a definite plus.
Perhaps the best thing about the Big Ten’s action is that it may force the Big East to finally become proactive in expanding the number of conference football teams in the conference. The scheduling issues have been ignored too long and are a threat to financial stability.
Schools like East Carolina, Memphis and Central Florida are viable candidates because they take their football seriously. Their fan bases are not insignificant and they would strongly support BCS-level football.
Cincinnati-Rutgers Will Open Big East Race
ESPN will telecast the 4 p.m. game at Rutgers’ newly-expanded stadium in Piscataway, N. J. where seating capacity has increased from 41,500 to 52,454.
Coaches know their teams better than anybody, but not that much in the first outing. A conference game to start the season? Rutgers has yet to even name a starting quarterback.
Louisville Gear Attracts Friends, Foes
By Paul Sykes
Wear the gear and people will comment. We recently went on a “mini-vacation” to Nashville and Gatlinburg…a chance to relax, get away from it all and enjoy the splendor of the Great Smokies. I packed several Cardinal hats and shirts and proudly wore the colors as we toured.
More than ever, total strangers were coming up to me out of the blue to discuss University of Louisville sports. I heard several positive comments about Lady Cards hoops, the baseball team and the prospects of Earl Clark and T-Will in the NBA draft. An Atlanta resident informed me she was so happy that Angel McCoughtry was playing for the Atlanta Dream.
One young man, wearing a questionable pink University of Kentucky baseball cap, assured me that UK would sweep football and basketball this year. I laughed good-naturedly and commented that he looked good in pink, which drew the laughter of his sidekicks and produced a scowl and verbal obscenity from him as he slinked off.
A young lady later that evening, sporting a John Calipari T-shirt, smugly informed me “those Cardinals weren’t no damn good.” I chuckled and offered her a couple of dollars to take off the Calipari shirt and let me use it to clean off the table where we were sitting.
Rejected.
We were in an English pub on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, sampling some very tasty porters and stouts, when the proprietor of the pub walked over to our table, grinning broadly and informed me he was a transplanted Cardinal and bought our next round. Discussion turned eventually to the prospects of the football team. “Joe” isn’t a candidate to start the Gatlinburg Steve Kragthorpe fan club, believe me. If you read this, Joe, remember Sonja’s motto: Love the players, love the game.
* * *
Minutes later, the news flashed about Michael Jackson. For the rest of the night, the sudden death of the “King of Pop” was the buzz of the city. The band playing in the bar even played a nicely done four or five-song tribute to the icon. Say what you will about the headline grabbing Mr. Jackson, “Rock With You” and “She’s Out of My Life” are two songs that will always bring back the memories of the beginnings of my life long love affair with the cagey lady who shyly agreed to go out on a date with me over 3o years ago.
The album “Off The Wall” was released in 1979 and several months later, UofL won its first National Championship in basketball. It’s the only Jackson recording I’ve ever bought. I’ve even owned it in eight-track, cassette and CD. Good times.
Mingo Signs With Giants
Chris Dominguez is a professional now. The popular former University of Louisville third baseball signed a contract Wednesday with the San Francisco Giants.
Chris Dominguez
A San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter indicates that Dominguez will probably be assigned to a rookie league this summer:
Dominguez was the one the Giants really needed to sign soonest because, being a college player, he is presumably closer to the bigs than the two picks ahead of him. Now, he will be able to get a lot of at-bats in the summer rookie leagues.
The Giants’ minor league system includes these franchises: Fresno Grizzlies (AAA), Pacific Coast League; Connecticut Defenders (AA), Eastern League; San Jose Giants (HiA), California League; Augusta Greenjackets (LoA), South Atlantic; Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (SS), Arizona Giants (Rookie League), Arizona League; DSL Giants (Rookie League), Dominican League.
Dominguez, his big bat and his million dollar smile, will be missed at Jim Patterson Field. The road to Major League baseball is a long and winding one, and the first stop is obscurity.
Make it Mingo. See you around in a couple of years if all goes well.
