TulsaWarrior
04-29-2014, 05:48 PM
While we all wait for new developments with the Wojo Era I thought I’d offer this discussion and review.
I finally got around to watching ESPN’s documentary on the demise of the old Big East, ”Requiem for the Big East.” There was the painful feeling of attending a moving tribute funeral paid for by the people who hired a hit man to kill the honoree.
For younger fans this program had to be an eye opener. The late Dave Gavitt was the P.T. Barnum of college basketball. Like all successful innovators he was the right man, at the right time, at the right place. What did he have to work with? He had undervalued assets – there were some private university sports teams playing in major metropolitan areas and some major public universities looking for a place in the sports world, a blossoming cable industry hungry for inexpensive product and a group of intriguingly colorful coaches. Within five years of its inception the Big East had three teams in the Final Four and virtually every league game available on cable.
Watching the facts roll out during the documentary I found myself wishing that Marquette had been part of this from the get go but Marquette’s administration in 1979 didn’t understand the paradigm shift that was underway. They should have by just looking down the highway to Chicago and seeing DePaul, a fellow independent raising through the exposure of having games aired nationally on cable superstation WGN.
Beside the entertainment value of watching the Big East story unfold I felt I was seeing an important blueprint for the New Big East. In 1979 ESPN was located in a trailer in Bristol, Connecticut. Even the name didn’t really clearly foreshadow what it could become. For those who don’t know ESPN was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. HBO at that time was airing almost as many college basketball games as ESPN. The new cable networks were trying to figure out an identity. Gavitt, the genius behind the Big East gave them an easy answer.
Today there’s another paradigm shift underway in college sports. An essential partner this time around for Marquette and the New Big East is Fox Sports One. Is there a Dave Gavitt or P.T. Barnum ready to make a difference? Back in the days of the old BE there were coaches who became national celebrities – Big John Thompson and colorful guys with interesting ethic names. It was a stable group that produced a distinct quality product on the basketball court. The defection of some coaches from the NBE has set back the latest branding efforts. It will take winning, stability and marketing to make the difference this time around.
I finally got around to watching ESPN’s documentary on the demise of the old Big East, ”Requiem for the Big East.” There was the painful feeling of attending a moving tribute funeral paid for by the people who hired a hit man to kill the honoree.
For younger fans this program had to be an eye opener. The late Dave Gavitt was the P.T. Barnum of college basketball. Like all successful innovators he was the right man, at the right time, at the right place. What did he have to work with? He had undervalued assets – there were some private university sports teams playing in major metropolitan areas and some major public universities looking for a place in the sports world, a blossoming cable industry hungry for inexpensive product and a group of intriguingly colorful coaches. Within five years of its inception the Big East had three teams in the Final Four and virtually every league game available on cable.
Watching the facts roll out during the documentary I found myself wishing that Marquette had been part of this from the get go but Marquette’s administration in 1979 didn’t understand the paradigm shift that was underway. They should have by just looking down the highway to Chicago and seeing DePaul, a fellow independent raising through the exposure of having games aired nationally on cable superstation WGN.
Beside the entertainment value of watching the Big East story unfold I felt I was seeing an important blueprint for the New Big East. In 1979 ESPN was located in a trailer in Bristol, Connecticut. Even the name didn’t really clearly foreshadow what it could become. For those who don’t know ESPN was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. HBO at that time was airing almost as many college basketball games as ESPN. The new cable networks were trying to figure out an identity. Gavitt, the genius behind the Big East gave them an easy answer.
Today there’s another paradigm shift underway in college sports. An essential partner this time around for Marquette and the New Big East is Fox Sports One. Is there a Dave Gavitt or P.T. Barnum ready to make a difference? Back in the days of the old BE there were coaches who became national celebrities – Big John Thompson and colorful guys with interesting ethic names. It was a stable group that produced a distinct quality product on the basketball court. The defection of some coaches from the NBE has set back the latest branding efforts. It will take winning, stability and marketing to make the difference this time around.