Nike Mega Tournament...Where is Marquette?

[GOMU1104]

Pretty surprised that we aren't one of the 16 teams involved...


http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8274359/nike-schools-commit-16-team-mega-event-honor-phil-knight

[CaribouJim]

No more than 2 from each conference and G-Town and CT are sexier programs than MU I guess. Seems like a long lead time though - 5 years??? Is that in case he drops dead before then so he knows it was at least being planned for him?

[2012Warrior]

Am I the only one surprised he is that close to 80? Hopefully we are one of the extra teams that will be involved in the campus games. Although, I don't know if the two per conference rule extends to those.

[milkbone]

No more than 2 from each conference and G-Town and CT are sexier programs than MU I guess. Seems like a long lead time though - 5 years??? Is that in case he drops dead before then so he knows it was at least being planned for him?
,
,Will UCONN still be in the Big East in 5 years????

[Goose85]

,
,Will UCONN still be in the Big East in 5 years????

I think if the new TV deal is done well (Big East new hires have me very positive this will happen), then I think in five years UConn / Louisville are still in the Big East.

By the time this tourney happens Calhoun will be gone, and who knows what type of NCAA violations he will have left behind. When Calhoun leaves there may be a dip in the program, which is almost expected.

If Buzz is still at MU (I sure hope he is) then it is possible that MU could very well be more a marquee Nike school than UConn. I'm sure this tourney will take on other changes between now and then.

[TheSultan]

,
,Will UCONN still be in the Big East in 5 years????


Yeah, where are they going to go? The ACC is certainly not going to add more teams, and in fact may regret adding Pitt and Syracuse anyway. The Big 12 is the only potential landing spot for Louisville, but I don't think they have a great deal of desire to add them. The only possible scenario I see is that the B12 snatches a couple schools from the ACC...but even then, does the ACC want to go back to 14? Not sure.

Another scenario...Notre Dame joins either the ACC or the B10 and the dominoes start falling again.

Another, even more far fetched scenario...Penn State reverses course...tries to fight the NCAA sanctions...loses...faces the death penalty...and is expelled by the B10.

[CaribouJim]

Yeah, where are they going to go? The ACC is certainly not going to add more teams, and in fact may regret adding Pitt and Syracuse anyway. The Big 12 is the only potential landing spot for Louisville, but I don't think they have a great deal of desire to add them. The only possible scenario I see is that the B12 snatches a couple schools from the ACC...but even then, does the ACC want to go back to 14? Not sure.

Another scenario...Notre Dame joins either the ACC or the B10 and the dominoes start falling again.

Another, even more far fetched scenario...Penn State reverses course...tries to fight the NCAA sanctions...loses...faces the death penalty...and is expelled by the B10.

I think PSU could have been a better fit for the Big East - at least geograhpically - the Big East could have been right at the SEC's doorstep if they joined when VaTech, Miami, BC, Florida St. stayed. No MU to the BE though.

[TheSultan]

The Big East was blindsided by the growth in popularity of college football. In retrospect they should have added Penn State as a full member and started up football in the mid 80s, but when the Big Ten swooped up Penn State, the die was cast. They lost the biggest, richest eastern football school to a midwestern conference.

[Warriors69]

and aren't we glad that the Sandusky problem was NOT ours ?

[Nukem2]

The Big East was blindsided by the growth in popularity of college football. In retrospect they should have added Penn State as a full member and started up football in the mid 80s, but when the Big Ten swooped up Penn State, the die was cast. They lost the biggest, richest eastern football school to a midwestern conference.Probably should have gone after PSU. OTOH, had the BE done so and had built FB to a higher level, MU would still be in the C-USA....??