Gotta wonder how the West Virginia football players have enjoyed those 1,100-mile-plus flights between Morgantown and Austin and Lubboch, Texas on successive weekends.
Anybody still want to trade places with West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference? How many road games would you be attending?
An unmistakeable confidence exudes from people like Tom Jurich, of the University of Louisville, and Mike Aresco, the new Commissioner, when they talk about the future of Big East Conference. No problems with basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer, all well in hand.
Jurich has said in effect that if UofL were invited to another conference, UofL would move only for the right reasons. He says the Big East has been very good for Louisville and he’s absolutely right about that. He seems genuine and optimistic about the future of the Big East.
Jurich and Aresco are Type A personalities who thrive on developing solutions, making things work, exceeding expectations more often than not. The more we listen to them, the more optimistic they sound, the more we want to believe them, the more likely we more confident we are that they will get it done.
What they need to get done is to ensure that the Big East remains a major player in college football. They are mission-focused, highly motivated, with the kind of energy that drives highly successful people. The kind you want in your corner.
Jurich, Aresco and Jim Ramsey, another UofL mover and shaker, also happen to be members of the BCS Governing Board. They are eager for deliberations to begin.
Meanwhile, catch some of those positive vibes from Aresco’s recent visit to Boise State:
UL needs too be a good conference member right now, but secretly explore every avenue they can too get out of the Big East. The last time I checked SMU, SDSU, and Boise are further away than Lubbock and Austin.
True, but in a pod conference setup, they wouldn’t be traveling that far often during a football season.
Times are a changing, Txcard. We have to change with them or get thrown to the wolves. We don’t have an invitation. Jurich, Aresco and Ramsey are pursuing the best possible opportunities for the Big East and U of L as well they should. We can stand around and cry or we can go create new vistas.
You are right. Who in their right mind would want to watch their team play away games in a big time college football environment? What player would want to do that? An extra hour on a plane, way to much to ask. Louisville’s future road games to Temple, SMU, Houston, SD St., and Memphis are going to be epic. I hear SMU is confident that they can build on the 6,000 that attended their last home game. Temple is working to hopefully someday being able to routinely squeeze 30,000 a game into Lincoln Financial Field. Cannot think of a more rabid fan base then Memphis. Cannot wait!
I do not know if Jurich is good at math, but here is a simple equation: Stay in the Big East = Lose Charlie Strong as your coach.