We need to go back to the big east

[Cusefan0307]

While I'll preface this by saying financially we cant go back, but moving to the ACC is the worst thing that could have happened to the bball program. We had an identity in the Big East, we had a rivalry that was the second biggest rivalry in the sport, we knew who we were. In the ACC we're just another middling-to-bad program that has no identity.

The identity was JB actually went out on the road to watch elite prospects. He stopped doing that and sent his 30 year old assistant to do all the hard work.

 

[Willy75]

UConn would pay SU $50mm to trade conference affiliations. And on a financial basis that would be a home run deal for them.

 

[syrBossHogg]

JB might try to coach again if we went back to the Big East lol (It's not happening)

 

[Orangefizz]

I don’t think it’s realistic to go back to the big east but here’s how I’d configure the conference if we did return after the ACC breaks up. Obviously Notre Dame would be all sports but football, and if Notre Dame joined another conference, the big east could backfill with Richmond

 

[tbonezone]

UConn would pay SU $50mm to trade conference affiliations.

well basketball school driven duke won the ACC football crown .

 

[phil77]

No thank you

 

[Newhouser]

Nice point that unfortunately will never happen.
Syracuse just doesn't fit in the ACC.

And one thing missing...we had one of the greatest rivalries in sports.
Last night they talked up Duke-UNC.
Syracuse-G-town was right there with them.
We may still play them...but it's not close to the same since we're in different conferences.

and since they stink too.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Nice point that unfortunately will never happen.
Syracuse just doesn't fit in the ACC.

And one thing missing...we had one of the greatest rivalries in sports.
Last night they talked up Duke-UNC.
Syracuse-G-town was right there with them.
We may still play them...but it's not close to the same since we're in different conferences.

Syracuse-Georgetown was relevant when it was JB vs Thompson.

You put anybody else in charge of those schools, and it's just another game.

 

[Lukeyloo]

The identity was JB actually went out on the road to watch elite prospects. He stopped doing that and sent his 30 year old assistant to do all the hard work.

While I agree that JB slacked off in recruiting, I believe, even with that, we still would've had an easier time bringing in good recruits by merely still having that perceived hierarchy in the BE and the all-time great rivalry with Georgetown. Recruits want to be part of something like that.

 

[Lukeyloo]

Syracuse-Georgetown was relevant when it was JB vs Thompson.

You put anybody else in charge of those schools, and it's just another game.

While the OG head coaches are what made the rivalry, if both teams continued to have success after those coaches left then it would still be viewed as a great rivalry. UNC Duke is still good because the programs are good. It's about the results on the court.

 

[Cusefan0307]

While I agree that JB slacked off in recruiting, I think, even with that, we still would've had an easier time bringing in good recruits by merely still having that perceived hierarchy in the BE and the all-time great rivalry with Georgetown. Recruits want to be part of something like that.

We still recruited well into the ACC with Lydon, Mali, Howard and Battle...It was after that the bottom fell out. Georgetown is still there and they suck. It hasn't helped them. While they are on the upswing this year the bottom fell out for Nova after Wright left. Winning is dependent on good coaching. We haven't had that in a decade. And no 17 year old prospect cares about the old Georgetown battles from 2013 when they were 4 years old let alone the battles from 1990.

 

[Eric15]

I dont know all the ins and outs, but i know the move was all about football and money. But leaving the acc destroyed syracuse basketball. We had a good regular season the first acc year, and a miracle final 4 run in 2016. But other than that just a complete and utter disaster.

We’re an east coast team. We have a huge alumni/fan base in the tri state area. What games can we go to??? Nova in philly? Nope. Seton hall in newark? Nope. St johns at the garden? Nope. Jimmy v classic at the garden? Nope. Big east tournament at the garden? Nope.

I cant help but think leaving the big east affected recruiting. We just dont belong in the acc. We had a legacy in the big east. We had TRADITION. That matters. Now we got nothing.

This really sux. Even if we stunk, if we were playing providence and villanova and st johns and uconn and seton hall in february id still watch. Big east tournament id still watch. But virginia? Cal? SMU???? Duke unc ohh great we’ll lose by 30. Wake forest lol. Wheres the acc tournament this year? Who knows and who cares

Im so disgusted. I loved syracuse basketball i loved the big east. And i miss both terribly. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

I agree that the Big East in terms of belonging and nostgalia felt much better. That is undeniable.

But we simply couldn't stay for as you implied, football and money. What happens to football if we stay in the Big East? Do we go independent and just play a random smorgasbord schedule?

I personally would love to play 2 or 3 out of UConn/Nova/Seton Hall/St Johns/Providence in the non-conference slate every single season. There should be no reason we can't do that.

 

[FasterCuse]

Anyone that thinks we should have stayed in the Big East can't see the forest through the trees.

 

[Eric15]

Causation, not coincidence.

Be honest, was the OP your favorite post in board history?

 

[sufan59]

Yeah I miss the Big East. In a perfect world, we can be Big East Basketball members and ACC Football members. That is not reality. Syracuse would've been beyond crazy not to take the ACC offer. Football matters and basketball matters too. Football gets priority, it's just the way it is. I've written about it before, smart business would be prioritizing women's basketball over men's lacrosse, there is more money to be made in women's basketball, but yeah men's lacrosse is a huge deal for Syracuse. We can't run the deficits UConn runs and even they are looking for lifelines to a power conference. I do believe it's a lot more likely we are closer to getting on the other side of this successfully than moving further down. The main problem today is coaching on game day, it's always been a problem from the day Autry took over, but there was things to kind of run cover for it, not this season. FWIW, Autry will leave Syracuse putting Syracuse in a better position to succeed than when he inherited the program as crazy as it sounds. Syracuse has come a long way in modernizing the program in the last 3 years. Unfortunately, modernizing the program only makes you more attractive to the next guy if you aren't producing successful gameday results.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The truth is we were better than UConn for almost the last decade of us being in the BE and the first year in the ACC. We just didn't take care of business late into March.