The observer really doesn’t get all the snarky comments being aimed at the Big East with the addition of the universities of Tulane and East Carolina to the conference Tuesday.
Just more evidence of the snootiness that was prevalent in collegiate sports long before the current rounds of conference realignment were launched. Unfortunately, it exists among UofL fans as well.
Tulane and East Carolina are perfectly acceptable, and the Big East is fortunate to get them, each with desirable qualities. Tulane has long been considered a good medical school and is located in New Orleans, a good media market. East Carolina has a good football tradition and has great attendance in a 50,000-plus seat stadium.
If East Carolina plays at Papa John’s, the visitors section will always be packed. Same can’t be said for Tulane but the trips to New Orleans will be fantastic.
If the University of Louisville were forced to remain in the Big East Conference for a while, Tulane and East Carolina would be good partners.
Am I correct that 9 of 13 Big East schools are former conference USA members?
I hope Louisville is lobby hard for the ACC. I’m worried about UConn AND Cincinnati too!!
For now let’s just beat Rutgers Thursday.
It is not good news, if we are really trying to win a National Championship/ It is what it is mid-major status for football!
Probably right, Wilkie, but you can’t blame the schools for trying to better themselves. Bring in BYU and prospects improve. Not too many other candidates out there.
I like East Carolina, Houston, Boise and Central Florid, they were all good adds for footbal, but the rest were not. Temple and memphis both help basketball, however. The rest are dogs.
I think you hit on the real complaint with our staying in the BE with these teams; the Natl Championship voters withhold their love for teams outside of the power conferences. It is reason some left, they want the cache of playing in the top conferences.
And, those that snark at the fine schools the BE added are doubtless unaware of how misplaced their derision really is. If they could pare down their disdain to its roots they would see that their real complaint is with the snobbery of the voters, not with these others schools. We will play anyone, some of our fans lash out wrongly when the big schools are too afraid to play us and we don’t get the opportunity to show our stuff in head to head competition with the so-called best.
I do not know if it is snootiness or a desire to have Louisville play in a nationally relevant football conference. Tulane does nothing to help do that. Tulane has no fan base, no football (or any sports tradition), no stadium and no relevance in the media market in which it exists and never will. Any list of the ten worst football programs will probably include Tulane (and Memphis for that matter). If Jurich cannot get Louisville out of the Big East, we will be right back to where we were seven years ago. Not a desirable outcome.
I agree totally TXCARD but the snootiness doesn’t help anybody. I have a lot of respect for the ECU, which up to now, has been in a similar position to us with TV markets more meaningful than anything else.