ESPN Article on Big East Catholic Schools

How much of the plan to break up the Big East was cooked up in an ESPN smoke filled room in Bristol? OK, perhaps it wasn't smoke filled. Lets see the discussion went something like this, "Those BE schools rejected our contract offer and think they have us over a barrel. They think we have to go into a bidding war with Fox, CBS and NBC. We'll pick off BE schools one by one. Who are the least ethical BE school president's? We can start there.":cool:

I'd still wait. I don't think the ACC will gain enough with adding UCONN, Cincy, USF and the others.

The onlly "old" ACC schools left would be Wake Forest and Duke. North Carolina is the key school, IMO. If they stay, the ACC can survive. If they leave, then bye-bye ACC.

I think we still need to be in a league with a dichotomy of schools. Being in all-Catholic league could result in decresed viewership, finger pointing and cries of prejudice by both Catholic and non-Catholics when NCAA bids, for example are handed out, rankings, invites to non-conference tournies, officiating, etc.. Use your own imagine. Perhaps adding some non-Catholic schools like Butler, UMASS, Richmond and Charlotte would ease that label. However, only Butler excites me from this group.

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Originally Posted by ge1974

Being in all-Catholic league could result in decresed viewership, finger pointing and cries of prejudice by both Catholic and non-Catholics when NCAA bids, for example are handed out, rankings, invites to non-conference tournies, officiating, etc.. Use your own imagine.

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Someone in one of the threads mentioned not liking the "basketball only" comment. I agree, while these schools do not have football, they are not "basketball only". In the same light, even though I was born and raised catholic, for some reason it bothers me when I see the headlines on ESPN "Catholic Schools may vote to..." Yes, the schools are Catholic, but this whole deal has nothing to do with religion, it is about conference realignment.

Another good article

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ege-basketball

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Originally Posted by Jim Ganzer, "IWB"

Someone in one of the threads mentioned not liking the "basketball only" comment. I agree, while these schools do not have football, they are not "basketball only". In the same light, even though I was born and raised catholic, for some reason it bothers me when I see the headlines on ESPN "Catholic Schools may vote to..." Yes, the schools are Catholic, but this whole deal has nothing to do with religion, it is about conference realignment.

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I think that is becaues most of the high major basketball schools that do not have football are Catholic institutions.

Add another option.. 21 team A-10

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ference-source

Seems like wishful thinking on the A-10 part. This only seems plausible if the Big East can't get the votes to dissolve. While there are some good teams, there is a lot to be desired at the bottom of this league.

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Originally Posted by Jim Ganzer, "IWB"

Someone in one of the threads mentioned not liking the "basketball only" comment. I agree, while these schools do not have football, they are not "basketball only". In the same light, even though I was born and raised catholic, for some reason it bothers me when I see the headlines on ESPN "Catholic Schools may vote to..." Yes, the schools are Catholic, but this whole deal has nothing to do with religion, it is about conference realignment.

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Yes, but all the schools involved are Catholic. It is part of their identity. And even from an athletic point of view, there is a tradition of Catholic universities, particularly urban ones, with good basketball teams. I do not have a problem with that being mentioned. Whether the eventual conference that is formed is made up of all Catholic schools or not does not seem to me to be all that important. Most of the schools in it are going to be Catholic, and that is going to be part of its identity. I do not think it has hurt the West Coast Conference all that much, and it did not keep BYU from fitting in, aside from the fact that they cannot schedule games on Sundays.

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Originally Posted by Markedman

Another good article

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ege-basketball

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I am not sure if this was a good article or not. Really rehashes a year long arugument and offers no solutions. Just because the Presidents and AD's of these 7 universities haven't been holding Press Conferences, it is assumed that they aren't doing anything.

As pointed out, non football playing schools are powerless right now and on the verge of being irrelevant. The only leverage the Big East has right now is some revenue sitting out there from exit fees and Tournament revenues. Because of these, it is prudent to wait and see what happens.

Even if the ACC expands and grabs UC and UConn, maybe Boise and SDSU back out and the other football teams bolt and voila, we have our basketball only conference, we keep the Big East name and the remaining basketball schools collect a TON of cash.

Guys - I know that all seven schools are Catholic, and I don't have any issues with that, but repeatedly saying it can paint those schools into a corner.

As GE said, "Being in all-Catholic league could result in decresed viewership, finger pointing and cries of prejudice by both Catholic and non-Catholics".

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Originally Posted by Jim Ganzer, "IWB"

Guys - I know that all seven schools are Catholic, and I don't have any issues with that, but repeatedly saying it can paint those schools into a corner.

As GE said, "Being in all-Catholic league could result in decresed viewership, finger pointing and cries of prejudice by both Catholic and non-Catholics".

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Sadly, in this day and age, this might be true.

Of course, you could go the other way. Have the Vatican sponsor the league, all teams have crosses on their uniforms, have team prayers before the game and refuse to ever hire Kevin O'Neill....