Although I might be counting chickens, the Billkens are certainly welcome on the East Coast. Personally, going to SLU from the Washington, DC area was quite a shock with regard to the heavy emphasis on the regional nature of college sports (I hated that I learned the teams of the MVC). While one might argue--and I'm sure you will--that the three large East Coast conferences: ACC, Big East, and especially Atlantic-10 might be considered regional conferences as well, the reality is that they are indeed national conferences. I don't have to make an argument for the ACC or BE, but even the A-10 with teams like Temple and UMass gets consistent national coverage. I guess, one could make the same contention about the (former) C-USA with Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis, and Louisville, but until the last few years the last three were barely blips on the national radar screen (don't lecture me about Hardaway and the early 1980s...and I know UMAss fell off the map).
The real boon for the Billikens (as well as SLU as an University) is the exposure the A-10 will grant. Despite any Midwest bias I might have, playing in a conference that features Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston more than outweighs the loss of the Chicago market (also, losing small markets New Orleans, Birmingham, Louisville, Milwaukee, and Memphis is made up by geting other small markets Pittsburgh, Richmond, Providence, and Dayton---Cincinatti is shared by both old CUSA and A-10). The exposure from these large East Coast markets should light a fire under SLU's ass to raise expectations of both athletics and academics (Gordon's acticle was crap). After all, isn't the mission of SLU to become the best Catholic university in the country? It still has some ground to cover with Georgetown, Boston College, Fordham, Notre Dame, and others more in the national (read: largely East Coast) spotlight, but joining the A-10 is an excellent step in the right direction.
