The old Big East

[Townie72]

minus the money part that sounds like the Carolina mafia

Ha! Minus the Money? That's hilarious.

The money is the important part. A job "minus the money" isn't a job. It's a hobby.

No one in the ACC has suggested "Two for One" scheduling like Joe Pa wanted.

 

[Townie72]

The old Big What? Good riddance. We are soooooooooooooo much better off now. Don't recall ever selling out single game seats to Miami or VT in May prior to the start of the season. Sat night prime game? We are proving we have a legitimate place in the ACC. No reason to look back.

Yeah!

But at least twice a year some among us develop a critical case of "Big East Nostalgia". Those who suffer from this fill the board with longing for the Old Big East.

It generally happens at two times during the year. The first occurs every time they play the Big East Basketball Tournament in NYC. The second is when HBO shows "Requiem for The Big East".

It's like clockwork.

 

[Dino2112]

Yeah!

But at least twice a year some among us develop a critical case of "Big East Nostalgia". Those who suffer from this fill the board with longing for the Old Big East.

It generally happens at two times during the year. The first occurs every time they play the Big East Basketball Tournament in NYC. The second is when HBO shows "Requiem for The Big East".

It's like clockwork.

Its like a old girlfriend you think you miss

 

[KaiserUEO]

Of my 14,000 posts on this site and likely 20,000 more posts on our former sites, I’d guess 7,500 were made discussing this topic.

Somebody go find those threads and just bump them to the top here.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Bayside44]

Of my 14,000 posts on this site and likely 20,000 more posts on our former sites, I’d guess 7,500 were made discussing this topic.

Somebody go find those threads and just bump them to the top here.

Thanks in advance...

It’s Friday what did we learn this week...

 

[KaiserUEO]

It’s Friday what did we learn this week...

I’ll tell u what...this board is AGAIN the exception to the rule.

They say everything on the Internet lasts forever...apparently not here on Syracusefan.com

Coming tomorrow... was there an issue with Shump and DW??

 

[HtownOrange]

While I enjoy reminiscing about the old Big East days for hoops, too many fans get nostalgic over the greatness of the conference while forgetting the elite level of the coaching talent, which aside from JB, has moved on. Aside from Jay Wright at Nova, the current Big East coaching is not worth comparing to the legends of the 80's. Yes, Jim Calhoun was a great talent at UConn, but since then, UConn has mostly been UCAN'T!

That said, and in spite of my nephew's insistence that SU and UConn was the greatest hoops rivalry that ever existed, the ACC is where SU belongs. Like minded academic schools: yes, Louisville is stepping up - it will take decades - and UNC obviously has removed academics from the sports program; otherwise ACC schools actually care about the STUDENT athlete. The ACC emphasizes four major sports: Football, Hoops, Lacrosse, Baseball (If only we could figure a way around Title IX for baseball...). SU's alumni are spread throughout the ACC footprint. The ACC encompasses the east coast, the greatest population concentration in the country. The schools are reasonably accessible for away games. What more can a fan wish for?

As football fan, the ACC recruiting grounds are much better suited for SU football in the Dome than the B1G cornfields. As a hoops fan, the entire east coast is the recruiting ground for SU, which recruits from all over anyway. The B1G, not quite the same level, again. For lacrosse, do I need to repeat myself?

 

[nzm136]

The BIG EAST was an incredible story, and it was an incredible ride (sans the Grob football years). The personalities were larger than life, and the competition was bigger, badder, and better than it could have or should have been.

Whether or not anybody liked it, BE schools were supremely relevant in every sport that SU cares about, and I think that fact got under a lot of outsiders’ skins.

 

[Bayside44]

The BIG EAST was an incredible story, and it was an incredible ride (sans the Grob football years). The personalities were larger than life, and the competition was bigger, badder, and better than it could have or should have been.

Whether or not anybody liked it, BE schools were supremely relevant in every sport that SU cares about, and I think that fact got under a lot of outsiders’ skins.

Georgetown was relevant in football?

 

[nzm136]

Georgetown was relevant in football?

...no, but Miami was.

 

[Crusty]

The Southwest Conference had its day also, but nobody misses it. Once Arkansas left it was just a Texas League.

 

[Townie72]

The Southwest Conference had its day also, but nobody misses it. Once Arkansas left it was just a Texas League.

I lived in Texas in the mid to late 1970's and the SWC was a Texas league even with Arkansas in it.

 

[Crusty]

I lived in Texas in the mid to late 1970's and the SWC was a Texas league even with Arkansas in it.

Yeah I know. But Arkansas was the real competition for the Longhorns. Some big time games.

 

[longtimefan]

The four North Carolina schools make up just shy of 27% of the ACC and 28.6% of the football schools. I went to grad school at Duke and, from my experience, they seldom all agree on anything. Since it takes 75% to change the constitution or bylaws and to add or kick out a member, it doesn't sound like much of a Mafia to me.

And yet, the combination of Duke and UNC kept SU out of the ACC in 2003. The conventional wisdom is that Virginia politics put the kibosh on SU's entrance. But Virginia makes no difference if either Duke or UNC supplies the 7th yes vote.

 

[Townie72]

Yeah I know. But Arkansas was the real competition for the Longhorns. Some big time games.

I used to root for Arkansas when I lived there. I couldn't take the UT people and the ATM ones were even stranger. l left right before SMU got good with Craig James.

 

[nzm136]

Yeah I know. But Arkansas was the real competition for the Longhorns. Some big time games.

Isn’t it weird? I feel like theirkansas just disappeared when they jumped to the SEC.

I wonder how they would have done in the Big XII (I assume replacing Baylor).

 

[Hoo's That]

Isn’t it weird? I feel like theirkansas just disappeared when they jumped to the SEC.

I wonder how they would have done in the Big XII (I assume replacing Baylor).

That was not a choice. Baylor had to be in the Big XII. Both the governor (Ann Richards) and a very important personage in the Texas legislature went to Baylor and made it plain to the organizers that if the Bears weren't in the Big XII, Texas and aTm wouldn't be in the Big XII. The organizers' preference was TCU over Baylor.

My understanding of the situation is that Arkansas wanted no part of any conference that had the Longhorns.

 

[Crusty]

That was not a choice. Baylor had to be in the Big XII. Both the governor (Ann Richards) and a very important personage in the Texas legislature went to Baylor and made it plain to the organizers that if the Bears weren't in the Big XII, Texas and aTm wouldn't be in the Big XII. The organizers' preference was TCU over Baylor.

My understanding of the situation is that Arkansas wanted no part of any conference that had the Longhorns.

That's what I was told as well.

 

[nzm136]

That was not a choice. Baylor had to be in the Big XII. Both the governor (Ann Richards) and a very important personage in the Texas legislature went to Baylor and made it plain to the organizers that if the Bears weren't in the Big XII, Texas and aTm wouldn't be in the Big XII. The organizers' preference was TCU over Baylor.

My understanding of the situation is that Arkansas wanted no part of any conference that had the Longhorns.

We’re talking about 2 different things.

Neither TCU nor Baylor would have been an option had theotherkansas not jumped to the SEC in ‘91(ish).

 

[Hoo's That]

We’re talking about 2 different things.

Neither TCU nor Baylor would have been an option had theotherkansas not jumped to the SEC in ‘91(ish).

Arkansas no longer wanted to be a part of any conference that had Texas. That's why they jumped to the SEC. Going to the Big XII would mean they would still be with Texas and that's what they were trying to escape. Regardless of how good, bad, or indifferent the Big XII would have been by having Arkansas as a member, Arkansas would have never joined a Big XII that had Texas as a member.

It's kinda like this: They not only didn't like the house they lived in, they didn't like any of the housemates as well. So, they switched to a completely new house where their old housemates were not welcome.

 

[Scooch]

One could argue that Arkansas leaving the SWC had the biggest, broadest impact in the past three decades of college sports. Why could one argue that? Well, because it was the SEC luring Arkansas (and South Carolina) that got them to 12 members, which enabled the SEC to invoke a rule the NCAA had originally made for Division 3, and allowed them to stage a conference football championship game.

From there on out 12 became the magic, if totally arbitrary, number for conferences to reach. And that led to the Big 12 being 12, the Big Ten adding Nebraska, the ACC adding Miami, BC and VaTech, and so on. All the dominoes that fell in terms of conference realignment for years were predicated on reaching a 12 member threshold. And it was Arkansas's move to the SEC (and the NCAA's insistence on upholding the 12 member minimum, rather than some other arbitrary number) that triggered it all.

 

[nzm136]

Arkansas no longer wanted to be a part of any conference that had Texas. That's why they jumped to the SEC. Going to the Big XII would mean they would still be with Texas and that's what they were trying to escape. Regardless of how good, bad, or indifferent the Big XII would have been by having Arkansas as a member, Arkansas would have never joined a Big XII that had Texas as a member.

It's kinda like this: They not only didn't like the house they lived in, they didn't like any of the housemates as well. So, they switched to a completely new house where their old housemates were not welcome.

I don’t think you understand how hypotheticals work.

 

[OrangeDW]

I’ll tell u what...this board is AGAIN the exception to the rule.

They say everything on the Internet lasts forever...apparently not here on Syracusefan.com

Coming tomorrow... was there an issue with Shump and DW??

What channel is the game on?

 

[KaiserUEO]

What channel is the game on?

I’ll tell you what, that was probably the most oft-asked ridiculous question that the admins here found a way to squash and turn it into a very worthwhile weekly tacked post to read.

For those of us who don’t pirate our cable by tinfoil hat, a coat hanger and an empty soup can with string...it’s nice to quickly find out which of the 3000 channels I have will be airing the game a few days in advance.

Sorry if that drove down posts and traffic...

 

[HtownOrange]

Arkansas no longer wanted to be a part of any conference that had Texas. That's why they jumped to the SEC. Going to the Big XII would mean they would still be with Texas and that's what they were trying to escape. Regardless of how good, bad, or indifferent the Big XII would have been by having Arkansas as a member, Arkansas would have never joined a Big XII that had Texas as a member.

It's kinda like this: They not only didn't like the house they lived in, they didn't like any of the housemates as well. So, they switched to a completely new house where their old housemates were not welcome.

TAMU intended to go to the SEC with Arkansas. UT played politics and forced them to stay with UT, going into the Big 12. I'm sure that all played into Gov. Richards' hand in getting Baylor into the Big 12. Most TAMU fans I know waited a long time for the SEC and are very happy to finally be there.