The issue of conference expansion came up during a meeting of college presidents during the Big East basketball tournament in New York, according to University of Louisville President James Ramsey. This is the first public indication that the presidents have acknowledged a possible crisis for the conference.
Ramsey said something to the effect that it was time the presidents stopped ignoring the elephant in the room. “It’s an area of concern for all of us,” he said. “We need to be prepared.”
And they talked about the issue, in what had to be one of the most generic discussions in conference history. There’s no indication of a committee being formed or consultants being hired to consider the league’s options.
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Who would make up a Big East committee on expansion issues? The presidents of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, even Connecticut, are salivating about being included in a Big Ten expansion. How could any discussion involving them be productive?
Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida aren’t in any position to have much of an impact on discussions. The only leverage they have is the investment they’re making in their athletic facilities. U of L is among the most profitable basketball programs in the nation. Cincinnati has a great following when its teams are winning. South Florida, in Tampa, is in the 14th largest media market.
None of which is apparently a big deal when it comes to Big Ten versus non-Big Ten considerations.
Converging these interests into a common agenda would appear to be an insurmountable challenge. The Big East is locked into a position of having to respond to whatever the Big Ten decides what it’s going to do — and that won’t be known until summer.
Don’t expect the Big East college presidents to have serious discussions before then.
just make the big 10 the big 14. bring in louisville, pitt, and wvu. you would have two seven team strong divisions in all sports.
north south
1 mich 1 ohio st.
2 mich st 2 wvu
3 penn st 3 lou
4 pitt 4 iowa
5 wiscon 5 illin
6 minn 6 purdue
7 northwest 7 indiana
this would become the most prolific geographic conference in america. it would become the best bball leauge in the land along with imo all other sports.
im sick of the big east not being pro active first…it will be to late if you wait for others to take the likes of any school they want…not only would football be washed up but if a few other conferences get a wild hair and go to 14 bball could be done. syracuse and uconn could be acc bound then what?
one things for sure louisville itself needs to try and make there own wave…make a push for the big 10 or sec. the time is now.
Louisville does not have the high academic standing that the Big Ten desires.
As I understand it the deal that the Big East had with the Gator Bowl was because of ND’s bartering on our behalf because of their affiliation with the BE. The Gator Bowl never wanted the Big East but could not get a possible ND game without including us. So for those who continually and ignorantly bash ND without the fact, get a clue.
Good to get that insight about Notre Dame. Good for them. That’s news to a lot of people.
Thanks for the clarification on NCAA requirements for conference playoffs in football.
The Big East will never get there…
I thought it was an NCAA rule that you had to have 12 teams to have a playoff that doesn’t count against the maximum allowed nmber of regular season games. If we had 10 teams and a playoff game between division champions, all schools would have to have a TBD game as the last Saturday on their schedules. That means a lot of administrative overhead for no gain in revenue or exposure. Ain’t gonna happen.
Of course if I’m wrong about the NCAA rule, that logic is out the wndow.
17.9.5.2 Annual Exemptions. [FBS/FCS] The maximum number of football contests shall exclude the following:
– snip –
(c) Twelve-Member Conference Championship Game. [FBS/FCS] A conference championship game
between division champions of a member conference of 12 or more institutions that is divided into two
divisions (of six or more institutions each), each of which conducts round-robin, regular-season competition
among the members of that division;
Plug in East Carolina and Memphis, show Notre Dame the door and with 10 football playing schools you create (2) divisions and have a conference championship playoff at the end of the season. People claim that you need 12 schools to have a playoff and the PAC-10 doesn’t have one but where is it written in stone that you have to have 12 teams?
Basketball is considering going to a 16 team postseason playoff in the Big East where all 16 teams play in the 1st round. Makes sense. Adding 2 teams and dropping 1 kind of messes up that scenario but we should just go ahead and toss DePaul out of anything that is men’s basketball related and send them to the GLVC or Patriot league. (Just kidding)
The Irish have their own national television network contract (at least for now) and have always dictated the terms of what types and levels of Big East participation they wanted to be involved in. Let the Big 10 (or 11 or 12) deal with that nonsense.
One is required to have at least 12 schools to have a title game. That is why the Big 10, Pac-10, MWC, WAC and Big East don’t have title games. It is an actual requirement. So, when you ask “where is it written in stone” check the NCAA.
Greed and self-centered interests will spell the end of the Big East Conference as we know it. If these guys had any integrity or creativity, they would be working on solutions.
I wouldn’t mind Notre Dame leaving. They hurt the football schools in too many ways and their departure might mean one less tough opponent in basketball, especially on the South Bend court.
I would love to see Notre Dame leave. I can’t stand their just a little bit pregnant membership in the BE.