Big East realizing bigger not better

[davidlee]

FWIW

I found this on the Marquette board. Some may find it interesting:

http://www.projo.com/college/content/sp_bk...OF.35ef9bd.html

[Four Seventeen]

Looks like The Hall is going to be having a similar problem to what SLU had, unless they hire a guy like Tommy Amaker or something:

-----------------------------

Seton Hall’s days at the Meadowlands are over. The Pirates are moving to the Prudential Center, the new, 18,500-seat arena in downtown Newark that opens this fall. The building features 76 luxury suites, 2,330 club seats, 750 television monitors and many more bells and whistles. The move makes sense for The Hall because its games will now be played much closer to its campus in South Orange but 18,000 seats remains much too large an arena for a program that doesn’t regularly live in the top 20.

[RF1]

>Looks like The Hall is going to be having a similar problem

>to what SLU had, unless they hire a guy like Tommy Amaker or

>something:

>-----------------------------

>

>Seton Hall’s days at the Meadowlands are over. The Pirates

>are moving to the Prudential Center, the new, 18,500-seat

>arena in downtown Newark that opens this fall. The building

>features 76 luxury suites, 2,330 club seats, 750 television

>monitors and many more bells and whistles. The move makes

>sense for The Hall because its games will now be played much

>closer to its campus in South Orange but 18,000 seats

>remains much too large an arena for a program that doesn’t

>regularly live in the top 20.

Seton Hall is not paying for the new arena. It is being built by a governmental entity and it is primarily for the New Jersey Devils hockey team. The new arena in not on the Seton Hall campus but it is located much closer to the school than the CAA.

[slu72]

If I'm not mistaken, RM, at his press conf, hinted at something awry in the BE. Given his many contacts at ESPN and from his coaching days, he may have been hearing these rumblings so maybe there's more here than meets the eye.

[Billiken Law]

maybe that was his way of saying "lets get into the MVC asap." IF something happened to cause the Big East to crumble (it would have to wait until the monster TV deal just signed is finished, way, way too much money for any school to leave on the table) then there is no guarantee SLU is asked to join up with the remaining programs. If you had the hoops only (and ND) schools stick together (Marq., DePaul, Prov. SH, SJU, ND, Gtown, Nova) the ideal conference would only add 1 more team to make it 9, the perfect size for a conference (play everyone twice, 16 conference games). Xavier and Dayton from the A-10 are much more attractive to the majority East Coast schools that would remain as a part of the conference. It has already been agreed upon that should the Big East split the hoops school keep the Big East name and they get Madison Square Garden for the tourney, it's the football schools who must start anew.

BTW, SH hit a home run hiring Bobby Gonzalez last year from Manhattan. The guy knows NYC area recruiting and will be very successful at The Hall thanks to that. SH (just 1 year removed from going to the tourney) is primed to make a jump this coming season.

[davidnark]

>If you had

>the hoops only (and ND) schools stick together (Marq.,

>DePaul, Prov. SH, SJU, ND, Gtown, Nova) the ideal conference

>would only add 1 more team to make it 9, the perfect size

>for a conference (play everyone twice, 16 conference games).

> Xavier and Dayton from the A-10 are much more attractive to

>the majority East Coast schools that would remain as a part

>of the conference.

If 9 is the perfect size, why are they zero major conferences with 9 schools? Also, why would Xavier (which shares a much smaller market with Cincy) or Dayton (which is in a much smaller market than both SLU and Xavier) be more attractive than SLU. SLU will easily have the biggest college basketball spend in the A-10 going forward and is in biggest untapped market in the midwest/northeat? The Big East has made it clear that it is an airline conference. St. Louis is no different than Chicago/Milwaukee/Cincy from an air travel perspective.

[SluSignGuy]

To answer the 9 question...Football...BCS needs 12 for the Championship Game.

[bauman]

Bil. Law, I think most posters on this Board have come to believe that RM has NO desire to get into a regional mid-major conf. whose biggest media market is either Wichita or Omaha. The only positive for us getting into the Valley is that we would clearly be the best team (after 1 or 2 yrs. w/ RM) and therefore get a NCAA bid every year, much like Memp. in CUSA. Although Rick is a midwestern guy, his time in the spotlight has certainly made him appreciate the value of being associated with big name and/or Eastern schools.

I like and appreciate all that the MVC does for St. Louis, but it's not for SLU-it's a fine Conf for small-market midwestern schools in towns like Peoria/Carb/Ter. Haute/DesM/Ced. Rap/ and Normal.

[billiken_roy]

nm

[Billiken Law]

>To answer the 9 question...Football...BCS needs 12 for the

>Championship Game.

SignGuy has it. ACC had an ideal situation with 9 but expanded for football. Of course, one could go 10 but that means 18 conference games and therefore a loss of 2 non-conference games.

[Billiken Law]

>If 9 is the perfect size, why are they zero major

>conferences with 9 schools? Also, why would Xavier (which

>shares a much smaller market with Cincy) or Dayton (which is

>in a much smaller market than both SLU and Xavier) be more

>attractive than SLU. SLU will easily have the biggest

>college basketball spend in the A-10 going forward and is in

>biggest untapped market in the midwest/northeat? The Big

>East has made it clear that it is an airline conference.

>St. Louis is no different than Chicago/Milwaukee/Cincy from

>an air travel perspective.

see post below as to conference size.

market size doesn't matter THAT much with major conferences. The Big Ten seems to do fine in majority small markets, same with the SEC, Big 12 and ACC. If market size were important than Charlotte would have been a serious candidate for the Big East. Markets matter in pro sports, not as much in college sports. Who knows, it could be someone else, like Rhode Island or UMass who is brought in should the Big East split. Remember too, its about more than just basketball which is taken into account.

[davidnark]

>market size doesn't matter THAT much with major conferences.

> The Big Ten seems to do fine in majority small markets,

>same with the SEC, Big 12 and ACC. If market size were

>important than Charlotte would have been a serious candidate

>for the Big East. Markets matter in pro sports, not as much

>in college sports. Who knows, it could be someone else,

>like Rhode Island or UMass who is brought in should the Big

>East split. Remember too, its about more than just

>basketball which is taken into account.

Market size may not matter for very large flagship state schools, but it means everything for small to medium size private schools. If DePaul wasn't in Chicago or your beloved Marquette wasn't a short drive from Chicago in Milwaukee, the Big East wouldn't have given either the time of day.

[TheA_Bomb]

Don't be fools and respond to b-law's muck-raking. The guy is suffering from Majerus envy. I could see X being more attractive than SLU but not Dayton what a stupid statement. This is an obvious sad attempt by someone who is not a SLU fan to take a shot at the school. He should have thrown in a jab at Biondo for not having enough Black's Law Dictionaries at the Library. I often wonder why this guy even chose to come to SLU Law school. He is a tool.

[NashvilleBilliken]

Couldn't have said it better.

[slu72]

I don't know why they can't have a conference of 12 hoops schools. Just add SLU, X, and Dayton.