That "all sports" Eastern conference wasn't a fair deal at all. It would have been so Penn State slanted that it would have fallen apart. But nobody bought into it in the first place.
I slightly disagree Marquette and DePaul were brought in so the conference would be balanced at 8 football/8 basketball school. Providence College didn't want to be outnumbered at the President/Chancellor meetings and run the risk of a 10/6 split and leave all the votes up to a football school majority. The additions of Marquette and DePaul were a power play by the basketball schools when they had the leverage because the football schools needed 3 new members because if Va Tech, BC, and Miami remained the football schools would have probably been forced to split and the basketball onlies i.e. really only Providence College and Seton Hall realized they were the ugly ducklings and wanted protection when the football schools split. Remember in 2005 when this BMW as Kaiser calls became 16 teams the NCAA said you must remain together for 5 years to get your NCAA Tournament shares and keep your automatic bid to the NCAA that was all Providence cared about adding the Chicago market was helpful but Marquette and DePaul were just to warm bodies available from C-USA who were smartly becoming an all-sports conference.
You think Providence College will let go of the money train they can get from Pitt and Syracuse for 2 more years or UConn, Louisville, West Virginia, and Cincinnati. I agree with your point, but these schools with nothing to gain like Seton Hall, Providence, DePaul will hold on the welfare they gotten till its taken from them. Tranghese said as much in his interview on the Mike'd Up he is going to protect Providence basketball and he will do everything he can keep it in a relevant conference or hello Patriot League for the Friars.
It's amazing that Notre Dame got to vote, but Pitt was leading the negotiating crew, so they got the brunt of the backlash.
The idea that the basketball only schools should remain 50/50 partners with an equal say is what doomed the conference. If there had been a football majority, the remaining basketball onlies would have been brought along for the ride and continued to fare well. But Providence was MORE concerned about the basketball schools than the football schools, and THAT is what has doomed the conference - or what will be left of it - to eventual Atlantic 10 status.
"If there had been a football majority" is the operative phrase. There never was a football majority, and the basketball schools used all of their energy to assure that they would never be in the minority. SU, Pitt, BC were about to leave right after Penn St went off to the Big 10. But the BE made a quick move to form a football conference, adding Miami (the real prize) in all sports, and VT, WVa, Temple, Rutgers as football-playing members. Then, when they
Football did have a majority till 2003 when Va Tech, BC, and Miami left. It was 8 football and 6 basketball schools. Then those 3 left and were replaced by Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida for all sports, and Marquette and DePaul as basketball onlies. This made it 8 vs. 8 and gave Providence College more security which is all the BE Commish whether it be Tranghese or Marinatto care about.
DePaul and Marquette are in the Big East???
Not correct. When the 2003-04 raid occurred, 11 schools were left behind to pick up the pieces--SU, Pitt, WVa, Rutgers and UConn on the football side; and PC, GTown, SHall, StJ's and Nova, plus ND (who voted with the BB's) on the basketball side. All 5 new schools--USF, Louisville, Cincy (football) and Marq, DePaul (BB) came in at the same time. The six BB voters would only allow the FB's to have 3 more FB's (and thus, a league) if they could have 2 more BB's, thus maintaining the FB-BB balance.
The point is--the BB's would not allow themselves to be in a minority position, either in 1995 or 2004. So both FB and BB schools were invited at the same time, and the FB's never had a voting majority. The FB's only option was to break away, and doing so would have cost them their NCAA "points"--lotsa $$$$.
The FB schools had a majority till BC, Va Tech, and Miami left. (SU,RU,Pitt,WVU,UConn transitioning up to D-1A football vs. ND, Nova, Gtown, St. John's, Seton Hall, and PC.) That was a 14 team Big East with 8 football schools not including Temple who didn't have voting rights versus 6 basketball only members. Before Miami and co. left they proposed forming an all sports conference and were going to approach Florida State, Louisville, Cincinnati, and any 12th team but from my understanding the football schools didn't want to break away and so Miami left. If the football schools did break away you are talking a stronger league than the current ACC.
Doesn't answer the question about the lost revenues. As there were 6 BB's, they had a league, and for the others to break away, they would have had to forfeit the NCAA tourney shares, which was big money for SU, UConn and lesser amounts for BC and WVa.
