Thamel Chimes In On Big East Demise

[MaxwellCuse]

Lots of interesting nuggets in here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/co...3/big-east-basketball/?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

I get the feeling that Mike Aresco won't be asked to stick around as the commissioner of the new reconstituted Basketball Big East.

 

[KaiserUEO]

everytime i read this stuff and they say tulane was the straw that broke the camels back, all i can think of is tulane going 'HELLO!! im standing right here!!! i can hear you!!'

 

[Noexcuse]

everytime i read this stuff and they say tulane was the straw that broke the camels back, all i can think of is tulane going 'HELLO!! im standing right here!!! i can hear you!!'

SDSU, ok. Houston, ok. SMU, ok. Memphis, ok. UCF, ok. ECU, ok. Tulane, that's it, I'm out of here.

 

[44PRIDE]

Greatest line in that whole article is when Thamel speaks on the NCAA units for SU, Pitt, LVille, ND and WVU still going into the Big East coffers......and then follows it up with this nugget.

"Rutgers never reached an NCAA tournament in its entire Big East tenure."

Yeah....the Big 10 sure got a bargain with this one.

 

[Orangello]

Mike Aresco has a future as a Hair Club for Men sales representative

 

[mountaincuse]

Mike Aresco has a future as a Hair Club for Men sales representative

Hair Club for Men is supposed to help you grow hair not make it all fall off.

 

[buffalorange]

Lots of interesting nuggets in here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/co...3/big-east-basketball/?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

I get the feeling that Mike Aresco won't be asked to stick around as the commissioner of the new reconstituted Basketball Big East.

________________________________________________________________________________

Not much sympathy here for BE basketball. I loved it in the 80's, but the BB-only schools sowed the seeds of BE destruction when they rejected Penn State (aka: State Pen/Ped State) for BE membership. I'll miss SU-Georgetown and SU-UConn, but other than that, where are the original BE basketball powers? St. John's, Villanova, and others have lost their larger than life coaches and too much of their luster.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I think the bball onlies need to go. They are worth more on their own, that fact looks pretty clear. Plus, they might actually end up with a better basketball conference at the end of the day. Losing games against teams like UConn and Cinci will hurt in the short term, but if they form a 12 team league with Butler, et al, then their RPI's will be better overall than having to play Houston, SMU, Tulane, etc.

I bet any UConn fan would rather stick with the bball schools for all sports, but you just can't bring UConn and Cinci along. They want into a big boy conference and would leave eventually. Why bring someone to your small family party who will leave for your rich neighbor's full out celebrity extravaganza on a driveway invite?

I think Thamel's article puts to bed any chance of this transition happening quickly, though. Sounds like there is a lot of red tape involved. Question is, if it's easier for them to get out by dissolving the conference, then why not do that? If the BE is going to fight this tooth and nail, why not just end the BE? This is going to be an interesting situation regardless of which way it goes down.

 

[longtimefan]

I think the bball onlies need to go. They are worth more on their own, that fact looks pretty clear. Plus, they might actually end up with a better basketball conference at the end of the day. Losing games against teams like UConn and Cinci will hurt in the short term, but if they form a 12 team league with Butler, et al, then their RPI's will be better overall than having to play Houston, SMU, Tulane, etc.

I bet any UConn fan would rather stick with the bball schools for all sports, but you just can't bring UConn and Cinci along. They want into a big boy conference and would leave eventually. Why bring someone to your small family party who will leave for your rich neighbor's full out celebrity extravaganza on a driveway invite?

I think Thamel's article puts to bed any chance of this transition happening quickly, though. Sounds like there is a lot of red tape involved. Question is, if it's easier for them to get out by dissolving the conference, then why not do that? If the BE is going to fight this tooth and nail, why not just end the BE? This is going to be an interesting situation regardless of which way it goes down.

I wonder--just conjecture on my part. But if, under the law, the BE continues to exist through 6/30/13, could the newbies, upon officially joining on July 1, walk into a big payday of exit fees and NCAA BB units?

It's all crazy, but I would guess that the Catholic 7 will do their homework on all this (as will the BE, no doubt). Maybe the BB's haven't yet decided which strategy they will employ; just that they are not sticking around any longer.

And Tulane was the proverbial straw? I don't buy that. They are a much better academic institution than most of the new members that have been invited within the past year. And, I doubt their BB RPI would do more damage than UCF's or Houston's. Plus, NOLA is a nice road trip.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I wonder--just conjecture on my part. But if, under the law, the BE continues to exist through 6/30/13, could the newbies, upon officially joining on July 1, walk into a big payday of exit fees and NCAA BB units?

It's all crazy, but I would guess that the Catholic 7 will do their homework on all this (as will the BE, no doubt). Maybe the BB's haven't yet decided which strategy they will employ; just that they are not sticking around any longer.

And Tulane was the proverbial straw? I don't buy that. They are a much better academic institution than most of the new members that have been invited within the past year. And, I doubt their BB RPI would do more damage than UCF's or Houston's. Plus, NOLA is a nice road trip.

It wasn't Tulane, per se. It was the fact that Aresco made the decision to add Tulane in a vacuum. The bball onlies are angry about the lack of communication on the part of "their" commissioner, and his utter disregard for their thoughts on the addition of Tulane is what threw them over the edge. Can't really blame them. They should have had some say since the school coming in was going to be all sports. That affects their strength of schedules and travel budgets.

 

[Chris02M]

i think the straw was actually not getting the expected $$ in tv deal