National Conference Realignments

[vu72]

It is pretty funny when UNO says their mission is similar to UD's.  Denver is a very high academic school with a big endowment.  It would be like Green Bay saying they had a similar mission to Valpo's.

[Valposter]

The Big East is on life-support.  In the last couple of years they have lost West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and now Louisville as of today.  Am I missing anybody?  UConn and Cincinnati are lobbying hard to get out (rightfully so.....).  The replacement schools the Big East has added make for a disjointed conference with a very weird mix.  No commonality of geography, school type, school size, school profile, school mission.....just a hodge podge.  The DePaul move to the Horizon League makes more and more sense for them and for us. 

Who is even remaining in the Big East as of now?  Villanova, Providence, UConn, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Gerogetown.

Of that list, I guess only DePaul would potentially be a mutual fit given geography and alternative viable options. IMO.  But it seems like DePaul could make some real sense.  (But they need to add baseball to make me happy)   
       

[Valposter]

The Big East is on life-support. In the last couple of years they have lost West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and now Louisville as of today. Am I missing anybody? UConn and Cincinnati are lobbying hard to get out (rightfully so.....). The replacement schools the Big East has added make for a disjointed conference with a very weird mix. No commonality of geography, school type, school size, school profile, school mission.....just a hodge podge. The DePaul move to the Horizon League makes more and more sense for them and for us. Who is even remaining in the Big East as of now? Villanova, Providence, UConn, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Gerogetown. Of that list, I guess only DePaul would potentially be a mutual fit given geography and alternative viable options. IMO. But it seems like DePaul could make some real sense. (But they need to add baseball to make me happy)

Let me clarify my last sentence.  What I mean is that Villanove, Providence, UConn, Seton Hall, St. Johns and Georgetown are too far east to fit the HL footprint.  And UC doesn't fit because of their football program.  And Marquette doesn't fit because I think they would look to the A10 first.  That leaves DePaul, which, as mentioned in previous posts here, really does seem to make sense mutually.

[valpo04]

The Big East is on life-support.  In the last couple of years they have lost West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and now Louisville as of today.  Am I missing anybody?

Go back a few more years and you can add BC, VT and Miami.

[agibson]

University of Denver will leave the WAC and join the Summit League:

They were in the WAC for... four months?  Weird.

I hadn't followed the WAC - I didn't realize they were imploding enough to allow a team like Denver on-board in the first place.

[milanmiracle]

The Big Ten has two years to win a National Championship in basketball before Maryland comes in and becomes the last Big Ten team to win one

Touché.  As far as fruit that was out there to be picked, I'm fine with Maryland and Rutgers as the best of a realistic post-Notre Dame lot.

My problem is that there was no need for picking.  To repeat myself yet again, though in a different vein:

why not a BCS version of the Pioneer League--where the FB and MBB (and WBB for IX' sake) form their own mega-conferences, but leave everyone else back where they started, so that Big Ten girls' golf teams need not fly from Lincoln NE to College Park MD.  Sigh.

As I am sure you are well aware, non revenue sports aren't factored into the conference realignments. It can be debated if they should be or not, but I don't think they are too concerned about it. 

[milanmiracle]

The Big East is on life-support.  In the last couple of years they have lost West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and now Louisville as of today.  Am I missing anybody?  UConn and Cincinnati are lobbying hard to get out (rightfully so.....).  The replacement schools the Big East has added make for a disjointed conference with a very weird mix.  No commonality of geography, school type, school size, school profile, school mission.....just a hodge podge.  The DePaul move to the Horizon League makes more and more sense for them and for us. 

Who is even remaining in the Big East as of now?  Villanova, Providence, UConn, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Gerogetown.

Of that list, I guess only DePaul would potentially be a mutual fit given geography and alternative viable options. IMO.  But it seems like DePaul could make some real sense.  (But they need to add baseball to make me happy)   
       

I think it makes more sense for DePaul to return to Conference USA than it does to join the Horizon League. Not sure if C-USA would allow them to return, but it's a pretty big fall from grace to go from the Big East to the Horizon League. Even if they're closer to the HL level than they think...I believe aspirations are higher at DePaul.

[valpo04]

@McMurphyESPN: Hooray more realignment! Chicago State leaving Great West for WAC in 2013, sources told @espn

[bbtds]

@McMurphyESPN: Hooray more realignment! Chicago State leaving Great West for WAC in 2013, sources told @espn

http://espn.go.com/chicago/college-sports/story/_/id/8713935/chicago-state-cougars-joining-western-athletic-conference-according-sources

Chicago State will be the second member to leave the Great West Conference for the WAC along with Utah Valley State. The addition of those two schools next season will give the WAC seven members: New Mexico State, Cal-Bakersfield, Idaho, Seattle and Grand Canyon University.

I guess that is no more travel than the Great West conference they were in.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

well, the UM fight song does refer to us as the "Champions of the West".

...

yowza.  There's the WAC trying to "capture" that "Chicagoland market"...

[wh]

No one wants to be the first tent to fold, so musical chairs continue.  Just a microcosm of the instability we live with everyday as members of a once proud society in severe decline.

[valpotx]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha...the WAC has gone from dying to laughable

[valporun]

Yup, can just see Comcast Chicago considering the need to show the top WAC battle of Chicago State and New Mexico State, with more empty seats in the Convocation Center than Valpo has chairback seats in the ARC. Dave Kaplan would have a field day with that, although lately Comcast has been showing local games with Jordan Bernfield and Jeff Dickerson, so who knows...

[vuweathernerd]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha...the WAC has gone from dying to laughable

meanwhile, the big east is slowly dying every day. say what you want about their additions from this past summer, but i'm not sure that's going to be enough to save them. if nothing else, maybe they'll relocate out west and become the big west....

[milanmiracle]

In the big picture though this is bad for all Mid Majors. The more teams the BCS conferences gobble up, the less interest and relevance the other teams have. Bigger conferences mean less out of conference opportunities for scheduling. Why play Valpo when you have a really tough conference season. Schedule more bottom feeder schools to pad the record and hope to be above .500 in conference. Notre Dame has been doing it for years anyway, and rightfully so. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting wider every day.

[Valposter]

In the big picture though this is bad for all Mid Majors. The more teams the BCS conferences gobble up, the less interest and relevance the other teams have. Bigger conferences mean less out of conference opportunities for scheduling. Why play Valpo when you have a really tough conference season. Schedule more bottom feeder schools to pad the record and hope to be above .500 in conference. Notre Dame has been doing it for years anyway, and rightfully so. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting wider every day.

Milanmiracle, if you want to take your concerns a step further.  Many in the national media are predicting that within 5-10 years that conference re-allignment will result in 4 Super Conferences, one each in the East, South, Midwest, and West.  You could imagine that being the ACC, SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10, repsectively.  With each conference having 16-20 teams.  And, at that point, those four Super Conferences would get together to broker a deal whereby they leave the NCAA, thereby cutting them out of the $3 billion dollars they are paid by member schools for administration and oversight of college athletics and the revenue they receive for television contracts for Bowl Games and March Madness.  So, the NCAA would be "left" with the remaining 200-250 mid-major programs, and NCAA March Madness has just turned into another NIT Tournament for also-rans.  In that scenario, the mid-majors would be completelly left out of the college football and college basketball post-season tournaments of relevance.

[crusaderjoe]

In the big picture though this is bad for all Mid Majors. The more teams the BCS conferences gobble up, the less interest and relevance the other teams have. Bigger conferences mean less out of conference opportunities for scheduling. Why play Valpo when you have a really tough conference season. Schedule more bottom feeder schools to pad the record and hope to be above .500 in conference. Notre Dame has been doing it for years anyway, and rightfully so. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting wider every day.

Milanmiracle, if you want to take your concerns a step further.  Many in the national media are predicting that within 5-10 years that conference re-allignment will result in 4 Super Conferences, one each in the East, South, Midwest, and West.  You could imagine that being the ACC, SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10, repsectively.  With each conference having 16-20 teams.  And, at that point, those four Super Conferences would get together to broker a deal whereby they leave the NCAA, thereby cutting them out of the $3 billion dollars they are paid by member schools for administration and oversight of college athletics and the revenue they receive for television contracts for Bowl Games and March Madness.  So, the NCAA would be "left" with the remaining 200-250 mid-major programs, and NCAA March Madness has just turned into another NIT Tournament for also-rans.  In that scenario, the mid-majors would be completelly left out of the college football and college basketball post-season tournaments of relevance.

Just curious, but where is the Big 12 in your analysis? IMO, the Big 12 is in a much more stable position than the ACC is right now and if I had money, I'd bet it on the Big 12 as being one of the top four conferences.  The Big 12's grant of rights should provide it with more stability as a conference than the ACC's exit fee will (see Maryland).  It is funny how conference realignment can change perceptions on a dime or over a period of time.  A year or so ago I would have said the ACC is more stable but I don't think that is true any longer, unless of course ND becomes a full member or Texas decides to move to the Big 10 anyway as team #15.  Doubtful either of those will ever happen though.

[StlVUFan]

If it kills the NCAA tournament, I'll spend March focusing on spring training and be just fine.

If it doesn't, I'll enjoy the NCAA tournament same as I always have and ignore the big boys as I have lately.  And be just fine.

[Valposter]

Big East just signed a $60 million TV contract for football.  Very small contract for college football.  The non-football basketball schools were not happy with the contract and rumor is they are looking to break away from Big East to form a new basketball conference.  Big East schools include St Johns, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquett,  Depaul, Providence, and Seton Hall.  They would look to recruit similar profile basketball schools from other conferences (A 10, MVC, etc.).  Heard Xavier, Dayton, VCU, Creighton mentioned.  Valpo...............?

[crusaderjoe]

Big East Basketball schools discuss breaking off on their own:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-12-10/big-east-conference-expansion-dissolve-georgetown-marquette-villanova#comments

Some of us here were talking about the potential of a Big East split awhile back.  I guess we'll see in the next six months whether this happens per the article.  If the breakup does in fact happen, I hope VU changes its five year athletic plan to a two-three year immediate athletic plan with a heavy emphasis on the flagship. 

[vuweathernerd]

Big East just signed a $60 million TV contract for football.  Very small contract for college football.  The non-football basketball schools were not happy with the contract and rumor is they are looking to break away from Big East to form a new basketball conference.  Big East schools include St Johns, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquett,  Depaul, Providence, and Seton Hall.  They would look to recruit similar profile basketball schools from other conferences (A 10, MVC, etc.).  Heard Xavier, Dayton, VCU, Creighton mentioned.  Valpo...............?

big east football. that's all you need to know as to why the contract is the size it is.

Big East Basketball schools discuss breaking off on their own:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-12-10/big-east-conference-expansion-dissolve-georgetown-marquette-villanova#comments

Some of us here were talking about the potential of a Big East split awhile back.  I guess we'll see in the next six months whether this happens per the article.  If the breakup does in fact happen, I hope VU changes its five year athletic plan to a two-three year immediate athletic plan with a heavy emphasis on the flagship. 

i saw something earlier (though i didn't read it too much) that involved some sort of absorption by the a-10. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8736716/atlantic-10-open-adding-big-east-basketball-schools-creating-21-team-conference-source

[covufan]

In the big picture though this is bad for all Mid Majors. The more teams the BCS conferences gobble up, the less interest and relevance the other teams have. Bigger conferences mean less out of conference opportunities for scheduling. Why play Valpo when you have a really tough conference season. Schedule more bottom feeder schools to pad the record and hope to be above .500 in conference. Notre Dame has been doing it for years anyway, and rightfully so. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting wider every day.

Milanmiracle, if you want to take your concerns a step further.  Many in the national media are predicting that within 5-10 years that conference re-allignment will result in 4 Super Conferences, one each in the East, South, Midwest, and West.  You could imagine that being the ACC, SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10, repsectively.  With each conference having 16-20 teams.  And, at that point, those four Super Conferences would get together to broker a deal whereby they leave the NCAA, thereby cutting them out of the $3 billion dollars they are paid by member schools for administration and oversight of college athletics and the revenue they receive for television contracts for Bowl Games and March Madness.  So, the NCAA would be "left" with the remaining 200-250 mid-major programs, and NCAA March Madness has just turned into another NIT Tournament for also-rans.  In that scenario, the mid-majors would be completelly left out of the college football and college basketball post-season tournaments of relevance.

Just curious, but where is the Big 12 in your analysis? IMO, the Big 12 is in a much more stable position than the ACC is right now and if I had money, I'd bet it on the Big 12 as being one of the top four conferences.  The Big 12's grant of rights should provide it with more stability as a conference than the ACC's exit fee will (see Maryland).  It is funny how conference realignment can change perceptions on a dime or over a period of time.  A year or so ago I would have said the ACC is more stable but I don't think that is true any longer, unless of course ND becomes a full member or Texas decides to move to the Big 10 anyway as team #15.  Doubtful either of those will ever happen though.

Football-wise, the Big 12 may be more attractive, but not necessarily more stable.  The ACC was stable until Maryland left for the Big Ten.  Texas (UT) is the problem in the Big 12, and the previous SouthWestern Conf.  The reason that the Big Ten works is that all teams have bought into the pitch that they are better together and share equally.  When Texas was wanting a bigger piece of the pie of Big 12 a few years ago, Nebraska and Colorado saw the writing on the wall and were able to land favorably.  Texas A&M and Missouri were tiring of the UT syndrome and bolted when an opportunity became available.  I don't see how ND or Texas land in the Big Ten.  ND has had Midwest exposure for decades, and covets the opportunities with their ACC arrangement - east coast prescence and built in football schedule for the ND Broadcasting Co. on Saturdays.  Texas wants their own network, so that they don't have to share the revenue with the Big 12, and unless they change, I don't see the Big Ten calling.  As for the Big Ten, they are all about getting a bigger footprint for the BTN.  A year and a half ago I would have guessed Missouri, but now would look towards Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia Tech - populated areas in states that border the Big Ten currently.   

[crusaderjoe]

I guess it's "See ya, Big East, at least as how we've known ya":

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-13/big-east-s-non-football-schools-to-depart-league-n-y-post-says.html


SO, HOW'S OUR NEW BASKETBALL ARENA COMING ALONG???

[crusaderjoe]

In the big picture though this is bad for all Mid Majors. The more teams the BCS conferences gobble up, the less interest and relevance the other teams have. Bigger conferences mean less out of conference opportunities for scheduling. Why play Valpo when you have a really tough conference season. Schedule more bottom feeder schools to pad the record and hope to be above .500 in conference. Notre Dame has been doing it for years anyway, and rightfully so. The gap between the haves and the have nots is getting wider every day.

Milanmiracle, if you want to take your concerns a step further.  Many in the national media are predicting that within 5-10 years that conference re-allignment will result in 4 Super Conferences, one each in the East, South, Midwest, and West.  You could imagine that being the ACC, SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10, repsectively.  With each conference having 16-20 teams.  And, at that point, those four Super Conferences would get together to broker a deal whereby they leave the NCAA, thereby cutting them out of the $3 billion dollars they are paid by member schools for administration and oversight of college athletics and the revenue they receive for television contracts for Bowl Games and March Madness.  So, the NCAA would be "left" with the remaining 200-250 mid-major programs, and NCAA March Madness has just turned into another NIT Tournament for also-rans.  In that scenario, the mid-majors would be completelly left out of the college football and college basketball post-season tournaments of relevance.

Just curious, but where is the Big 12 in your analysis? IMO, the Big 12 is in a much more stable position than the ACC is right now and if I had money, I'd bet it on the Big 12 as being one of the top four conferences.  The Big 12's grant of rights should provide it with more stability as a conference than the ACC's exit fee will (see Maryland).  It is funny how conference realignment can change perceptions on a dime or over a period of time.  A year or so ago I would have said the ACC is more stable but I don't think that is true any longer, unless of course ND becomes a full member or Texas decides to move to the Big 10 anyway as team #15.  Doubtful either of those will ever happen though.

Football-wise, the Big 12 may be more attractive, but not necessarily more stable.  The ACC was stable until Maryland left for the Big Ten.  Texas (UT) is the problem in the Big 12, and the previous SouthWestern Conf.  The reason that the Big Ten works is that all teams have bought into the pitch that they are better together and share equally.  When Texas was wanting a bigger piece of the pie of Big 12 a few years ago, Nebraska and Colorado saw the writing on the wall and were able to land favorably.  Texas A&M and Missouri were tiring of the UT syndrome and bolted when an opportunity became available.  I don't see how ND or Texas land in the Big Ten.  ND has had Midwest exposure for decades, and covets the opportunities with their ACC arrangement - east coast prescence and built in football schedule for the ND Broadcasting Co. on Saturdays.  Texas wants their own network, so that they don't have to share the revenue with the Big 12, and unless they change, I don't see the Big Ten calling.  As for the Big Ten, they are all about getting a bigger footprint for the BTN.  A year and a half ago I would have guessed Missouri, but now would look towards Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia Tech - populated areas in states that border the Big Ten currently.   

You might be right about whether the Big 12 or ACC is more stable.  Even though Texas and the LHN are in play with the Big 12, they do at least have a GOR that is in place.  The same cannot be said for the ACC.  Who knows anymore though with this conference realignment stuff.  I've heard a rumor down here that if FSU goes to the Big 12 as some think, their taking Miami with them.  If this happens, or if FSU/Clemson/VT/GT etc. make a move anywhere, be it the Big 10, SEC or Big 12, that will mark the end of the ACC as being one of the top four athletic conferences IMO.  I would imagine speculation is really going to start running wild now with the pending break up of the Big East.  Should be interesting on a number of fronts, including HL expansion and whether VU has any contingency back up plans in place should the dominoes start to negatively effect the HL.

[EddieCabot]

Big East just signed a $60 million TV contract for football.  Very small contract for college football.  The non-football basketball schools were not happy with the contract and rumor is they are looking to break away from Big East to form a new basketball conference.  Big East schools include St Johns, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquett,  Depaul, Providence, and Seton Hall.  They would look to recruit similar profile basketball schools from other conferences (A 10, MVC, etc.).  Heard Xavier, Dayton, VCU, Creighton mentioned.  Valpo...............?

Lots of rumors out there, including this from a guy in Milwaukee.  http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/bigeast14-d7815om-183439151.html  No mention of Valpo, but depending on who else is involved, this could create an opportunity for Valpo if they're interested in moving.  The MVC (Creighton) or A-10 (Xavier, SLU, Dayton, Butler) could be looking to replace teams.  At this point, I have no idea what could happen ... I just know that nothing will surprise me.