Announcement Wednesday?

[MU/Panther]

Memphis Tigers might be overrated as a hoops team. Head Coach at the Tiger, Josh Pastner is 0-11 versus ranked teams.

[Phantom Warrior]

That comparison makes me wonder all the more why some Dayton fans are so frickin' arrogant. Pretty mediocre results for a conference generally ranked 7th, 8th, or 9th.

[ValiantSailor]

I agree, just saying that the hybrids are unstable because they get raided by the bigger conferences. No bigger conference is ever going to take Temple of Memphis.

'Nova plays FCS football. I wonder they make any money, and if Temple and Memphis would consider reclassifying to FCS.

VS

[TheSultan]

'Nova plays FCS football. I wonder they make any money, and if Temple and Memphis would consider reclassifying to FCS.

VS

I've wondered why most schools don't do that. However it always goes in the other direction. I mean even Idaho, who has been absolutely terrible as a FBS school, and who is going to be left out of a conference next year with the WACs dissolution as a football conference, is going to compete as an FBS independent rather than rejoin the Big Sky. (Which is where they are parking their non-football sports by the way.)

Is it money? Is it pride? I don't understand these decisions frankly.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

As I said guys, it's definitely a pipedream and by no means do I think there is really even a chance that it will happen. I think we will end up with a 12 team conference with xav, but, day, slu, Creighton/vcu. That being said, I do wonder if the decision makers did ever want to pursue my pipedream---we will probably never find out as they will obviously stick to the script that whatever teams join the new conference were their first choices (similar to a coaching search).

UJ--I hear you from the pr standpoint and that's what I was trying to say in my post----definiitley not good for a conference to get off to a start where teams are bailing in the first few years but I believe the pros outweigh this con (which would primarily be public relations based). However, please don't try and compare Dayton and Memphis....from a national bball perspective there is a distinct difference between the two and using one game in the tournament last year as your basis is just flawed logic.

[MU/Panther]

If the league can get more money by 10 schools, it will be 10. If the league can get more money with 12, it will be 12.

[unclejohn]

As I said guys, it's definitely a pipedream and by no means do I think there is really even a chance that it will happen. I think we will end up with a 12 team conference with xav, but, day, slu, Creighton/vcu. That being said, I do wonder if the decision makers did ever want to pursue my pipedream---we will probably never find out as they will obviously stick to the script that whatever teams join the new conference were their first choices (similar to a coaching search).

UJ--I hear you from the pr standpoint and that's what I was trying to say in my post----definiitley not good for a conference to get off to a start where teams are bailing in the first few years but I believe the pros outweigh this con (which would primarily be public relations based). However, please don't try and compare Dayton and Memphis....from a national bball perspective there is a distinct difference between the two and using one game in the tournament last year as your basis is just flawed logic.

I am not so sure. The fact is, SLU showed it could compete under Majerus. It took Rick several years to get there, and it is hard to say what will happen now that he is gone, but SLU can succeed. Keep in mind also that they were in the same conference with Memphis twice and held their own.

Regarding Temple, for which IWB takes me to task, it depends on who you are comparing them to. Yes, they have done better than SLU in the A-10. But I do not know that there is much difference between them finishing first and Dayton finishing second in a given year. And five years is not the long term. If you go back about twenty, Xavier and Dayton have been competitive with Temple, and SLU has had some quality seasons. You have to look that long-term in evaluating teams. Our brief sojourn in the Big East lasted seven years. The stop-gap C-USA lasted ten, I think.

Programs go up and down. Before Calipari got to Memphis, they were nothing special. They went through a dry spell. Over the long term, they have had a difficult time succeeding without cheating. They have made the Final Four three times, and had to give two of them back. I am not sure that they are a much stronger program than SLU.

Some years ago when we were still back in C-USA, there was some discussion of where we would go from there. Nobody was looking at the Big East at the time. I suggested on another board that if a new conference was formed, Xavier and Cincinnati were about a wash. Somebody responded that I was crazy. After all, Huggins was in his hey day at UC. Then he got fired, and Cinci stunk for several years. And Xavier was winning consistently and sometimes getting top four seeds in the Dance. Right now, I would argue that Xavier has the better basketball program. Over the long term, things go up and down.

Another factor that goes into this is the values and approaches of the schools involved. I think too much is made of the Catholic affiliation of the schools, as I doubt the players care that much, but the fact that they are all private religiously-based institutions makes a difference. It suggests that there can be some agreement about requiring players to get educated, which is not always the case in public universities, and has not proven to be the case at Memphis. This is why I have some reservations about including VCU. I think there are different forces influencing things at private and state universities. Larry made the point a couple of times in his press conference Saturday. The schools involved are all committed to playing basketball on a high level. Where they are right now is not necessarily the point. These are schools that are going to prioritize basketball. I do not know that any football school is going to do that.

[RudyFlyer]

If the league can get more money by 10 schools, it will be 10. If the league can get more money with 12, it will be 12.

Something the Dayton boards haven't touched upon that much is how the other sports factor in, ie - baseball, soccer, women's hoops and volleyball. If it's 10 teams, how would it work for the Papal X baseball league, will it be only 6-7 teams? Curious on everyone's thoughts here.

Many Dayton fans feel strongly it's not just about hoops here. While our performance has been underwhelming we continue to thrive in other sports (Women's Hoops and Volleyball both Top 25 programs).

[TheSultan]

Something the Dayton boards haven't touched upon that much is how the other sports factor in, ie - baseball, women's hoops and volleyball. If it's 10 teams, how would it work for the Papal X baseball league, will it be only 6-7 teams? Curious on everyone's thoughts here.

Many Dayton fans feel strongly it's not just about hoops here. While our performance has been underwhelming we continue to thrive in other sports (Women's Hoops and Volleyball both Top 25 programs).

It has to be primarily about men's basketball. All the other sports are nice, but they don't pay the bills.

[TedBaxter]

I do think the conference needs another solid volleyball program like Dayton's or MU will lose their coach.