Hoops Weiss hopes SU reconsiders move

[longislandcuse]

From a purely basketball perspective, he's right.
We're heading to a situation where we will be outsiders in our own conference.
There will never be a cultural fit.
We're abandoning our long-standing traditions and Arch Rivalry (as well as a couple of other strong rivalries).

TV revenue there may be.
But we are embarking on a slide into second-tier status as a basketball program.
We will not have the same relevance in the ACC that we do in the BE.
And does anyone really think that ACC football is going to put us back on America's map?

Also...please...people should stop suggesting the ACC break into a "North-South" divide.
They'll never use those designations.

The unchangeable fact of our geographic location is the biggest reason
we will never "fit" in the ACC.
We pack the Garden and several other arenas with Orange because this is where our fans and
alumni are...it's a relatively easy trip for others...and tickets can be had.
All of those things typically will no longer be true in the ACC.

The bottom line here is the bottom line.
We are leaving our tradition and alumni behind for the scent of money .
(And money only guaranteed for a short term).
That's the lesson the university is teaching.

And, by the way, I agree that the BE never should have rejected the last TV deal.

This is an extrememly pessimistic look at the move. We may be outsiders but I dont mind being the Yankee invaders into the south, last time I checked the North won the war.
-ACC football will help us alot more than Big East football, thats for d**n sure.
-North/South divide wont happen but we do now have BC/Cuse/Pitt/Maryland.
-You do not take into account the fanbase we have up and down the east coast. We will have as much of a presence at the Tourneys that Duke and UNC have. If you dont think we have fans in Tampa/Atlanta/Greensboro you're crazy. Florida is NY south and has shown to be true when we've taken over gyms in Florida, ask USF amongst others. We will own Atlanta, watch what happens when we play Georgia Tech. Greensboro has a ton of NY transplants, ask NC State what happened this year.
-Our basketball will not fall off. We're smart enough to still play in MSG every year and keep a couple rivalry games in recruiting areas. The ACC wil rotate their tourney to NYC at some point, this seems inevitable. I would be more worried about recruiting in a conference that is disintegrating and being pecked at by vultures than in a stable now-basketball heavy league in the ACC.

 

[Symphony Steve]

There's a lot of bravado in this thread, and I'm not sure it's warranted. Regardless of whether we're in the ACC or the BE, who is to say that our football program will ever be relevant again?

It is also undeniable that SU and BE hoops have been great for each other. And the tourney and MSG have been front and center in selling the SU 'brand' to the country. That will be gone now, and scheduling a game or two in the Garden each year will not compensate for it.

Not to mention the centering of our alumni base in the NYC area. I'm sorry, but arguments that we have every bit as much a presence in areas of ACC country are not based in fact, and will not show up on your TV screens to the same extent.

Bottom line: It's possible that the move to the ACC will be a plus for our football program, but it is not certain. And it's not clear just how high that ceiling can be in any event. OTOH, it's unlikely that our basketball program will, or CAN, be better off in the ACC. Weiss is right: We had the ideal hoops situation in the Big East, and now we won't.

 

[longislandcuse]

There's a lot of bravado in this thread, and I'm not sure it's warranted. Regardless of whether we're in the ACC or the BE, who is to say that our football program will ever be relevant again?

It is also undeniable that SU and BE hoops have been great for each other. And the tourney and MSG have been front and center in selling the SU 'brand' to the country. That will be gone now, and scheduling a game or two in the Garden each year will not compensate for it.

Not to mention the centering of our alumni base in the NYC area. I'm sorry, but arguments that we have every bit as much a presence in areas of ACC country are not based in fact, and will not show up on your TV screens to the same extent.

Bottom line: It's possible that the move to the ACC will be a plus for our football program, but it is not certain. And it's not clear just how high that ceiling can be in any event. OTOH, it's unlikely that our basketball program will, or CAN, be better off in the ACC. Weiss is right: We had the ideal hoops situation in the Big East, and now we won't.

If UCONN and Ville leave the Big East, the Big East is finished. Ville is leaving and UCONN will either leave or fade back into obscurity. MSG will not hold a tourney there for Conf USA. I am very confident the ACC works there way into MSG, at the very least Barclay's. I do think we have a big fanbase down south, specifically Atlanta, Carolina and Florida. Thats not an assumption, thats fact and has been shown by our presence in arenas in those areas the past few years. One positive of NY being so expensive and losing jobs is that alot of us move down south. There's a very good chance I will be moving to Alpharetta within the year so ill be one of many Cuse fans down there.

 

[longislandcuse]

Bob Ryan on the Sports Reporters just spoke on conference defections and made specific mention of Syracuse and the demise of the best college basketball tournament in basketball. Teams leaving conferences, West Virginia going to the Big XII, but charter member Syracuse leaving the Big East, now that hurts. Talks about atmosphere of last nights game and what it will be like when were gone.

 

[Noexcuse]

There's a lot of bravado in this thread, and I'm not sure it's warranted. Regardless of whether we're in the ACC or the BE, who is to say that our football program will ever be relevant again?

It is also undeniable that SU and BE hoops have been great for each other. And the tourney and MSG have been front and center in selling the SU 'brand' to the country. That will be gone now, and scheduling a game or two in the Garden each year will not compensate for it.

Not to mention the centering of our alumni base in the NYC area. I'm sorry, but arguments that we have every bit as much a presence in areas of ACC country are not based in fact, and will not show up on your TV screens to the same extent.

Bottom line: It's possible that the move to the ACC will be a plus for our football program, but it is not certain. And it's not clear just how high that ceiling can be in any event. OTOH, it's unlikely that our basketball program will, or CAN, be better off in the ACC. Weiss is right: We had the ideal hoops situation in the Big East, and now we won't.

Besides the Big East Tournament, our games in NYC include the Pre-season NIT, the Jimmy V Classic and Coaches v Cancer Tourney (and there is no reason to think we will not still participate in those from year to year) and an every other year trip to play St. Johns. If we continue to play St. Johns every year, or perhaps another round robin tournament with St. Johns, Georgetown, Villanova or Connecticut (maybe during the holidays) are we really losing that much presence in the NYC area? True, we will no longer have the Big East Tournament, but don't you really think it's become more hype than substance over the years?

 

[Symphony Steve]

Maybe it's my advancing age, but I think a lot has become more hype than substance over the years.

And the 6-OT game was a lot more substance than hype. A game that defines the tournament (and SU) for years and years.

 

[SouthCampusHero]

Bob Ryan on the Sports Reporters just spoke on conference defections and made specific mention of Syracuse and the demise of the best college basketball tournament in basketball. Teams leaving conferences, West Virginia going to the Big XII, but charter member Syracuse leaving the Big East, now that hurts. Talks about atmosphere of last nights game and what it will be like when were gone.

I didnt watch the game last night. What was the atmosphere like?

 

[Moontan]

Not to mention the centering of our alumni base in the NYC area. I'm sorry, but arguments that we have every bit as much a presence in areas of ACC country are not based in fact, and will not show up on your TV screens to the same extent.

You make a bold assumption wrt to alumni that, while possibly for the past, may not be true for the future..
Student demographics (along with the general population) are changing*. In the long run, the future alumni bases will adjust accordingly. Many current alumni have already made that move.

Will there always be alumni in the northeast? Of course there will be.
Will the NYC area be the largest alumni area? Sure. Will they represent the majority of alumni? (Do they today?)
Will Syracuse athletics play games near those alumni? Of course they will.

(getting back to sports)
Will there be a major football conference based mostly on schools from the northeast? No.
Should Syracuse play football in a lower level conference to preserve some northeast ties? The administration has spoken clearly on this matter.

* - for details, contact Dr. Maurice Harris - dean of undergraduate admissions.
Hint: there's a reason Syracuse University opened an admissions office in Atlanta.

 

[Noexcuse]

Maybe it's my advancing age, but I think a lot has become more hype than substance over the years.

And the 6-OT game was a lot more substance than hype. A game that defines the tournament (and SU) for years and years.

Yes, that game and Gerry's run were exciting moments in Big East history. Maybe it's the down years that Villanova and Pitt experienced this season or the fact that there are just too many uninteresting match-ups in the early stages of the tournament due to the non-rivalries that exist between members it just isn't the same anymore. Syracuse leaving diminishes it further. But that isn't reason enough to stay.

 

[Townie72]

Dickie Weiss is fos.

Dick Weiss is a New York City guy, not a Syracuse guy.

He wants what is best for NYC and basketball in NYC.

At any rate, its a moot point. SU is going to the ACC. No one is stopping this train.

And the BET at MSG is going to deteriorate. It'll deteriorate at even a faster rate if Cincinnati, Lousiville and Marquette start to dominate the conference.

 

[longislandcuse]

I didnt watch the game last night. What was the atmosphere like?

Hard to tell but seemed pretty dead. I wasnt sure if it was just because of the telecast but numerous editorials and reports from the Garden substantiate that it was, in fact, dead.

 

[NKR1978]

The bottom line here is the bottom line.
We are leaving our tradition and alumni behind for the scent of money .
\

No. We're leaving because if we don't UConn and Rutgers will, and then we'll be stuck in a and dying slightly better than mid-major conference with schools like Temple, Memphis, UCF, USF, Houston, Boise, SDSU, etc. We're leaving because changing demographics requires SU to open up new markets - as someone mentioned the new admissions office in Atlanta.

If it were up to some of our alumni/traditionalists, our biggest rivalries would be St. Bonaventure and Colgate and we'd be in a one bid conference watching our conference tournament on ESPNU. But at least we would have our rivals.

Our future is secure. I'll sleep soundly knowing that even if it means never playing UConn or Georgetown again, or even playing in MSG.

 

[All4SU]

The Big East Conference is no longer a conference...it is a debris field. (Especially the football side.) And the very fact that we differentiate between the football "side" and the basketball "side" should be enough for anyone to understand why staying is a bad idea.

 

[baggerbob]

I'm 65 and not the old man on the porch when you reach the point in life where you're afraid of a new challenge you've lost your zest for life. To me i want to be around for the next 30 years to see Syracuse become one of the leaders in the greatest conference ever imagined. Every day in life should be new and fresh with the chance for a different imprint.