A Jersey Guy Update - BE & C7

[Pistol]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="cheeseman" data-cid="345230" data-time="1361551075"><p>

My head is spinning over this whole issue - I have no idea who is right or who is wrong anymore. Right now I just want to know the outcome. If VCU and Dayton stay in the A10 and we have to stay then I guess we could be OK - not great. Why would Memphis or Cincy join the A10 - they still have football to worry about.</p></blockquote>

There is zero chance cinci and Memphis would join the a-10.

+1. Football.

[JettFlight5]

Now they're arguing where St. Louis is on a map.

[UpperdeckKid]

I really hate the people over there. I hope we get in the conference but I am not excited to deal with the entitled folks over in DC or Milwaukee

[JettFlight5]

I really hate the people over there. I hope we get in the conference but I am not excited to deal with the entitled folks over in DC or Milwaukee

I guess it'll get worse when they get a few Billiken beatdowns.

[JettFlight5]

Well, they've hit a new low.

Look at the newest thread on csn site to see what a certain conference rival thinks.

[MB73]

Again, trying to figure out what seven Catholic University Presidents will decide is futile. Think about what you know about the idiosyncracies of the one that we know so well... times seven.

Sure, money will be the driving force... but what they decide may not necessarily be based on basketball success & tradition & current momentum, financials, TV exposure, geography, arena size & attractiveness, metropolitan area, etc, all the overall logic that most would come to a consensus upon.

Egos, politics, unknown other alliances, their perception of what public perception will be, who knows?

We are extremely well positioned, even superior in so many ways, but it is a crapshoot / clusterschtook IMO.

And I am not so sure our "people" are the best at closing the deal for SLU.

Gut it out, hope for the best.

[BLIKNS]

Hope this isn`t true, but let`s play along. I don`t think it was be all that bad, Already gone is Temple and Charlotte, but Butler basically only in A`10 for 1 year, X would be BIG loss, but have added VCU. Would still have "rival" in Dayton, and seem to be starting something good with VCU. If they take Creighton, nothing lost there.Still have Richmond. If they would take Richmond, would the A-10 try for Creighton? Would Creighton be interested? Would the A-10 then try to get George Mason?

[grunky]

Again, trying to figure out what seven Catholic University Presidents will decide is futile. Think about what you know about the idiosyncracies of the one that we know so well... times seven.

Sure, money will be the driving force... but what they decide may not necessarily be based on basketball success & tradition & current momentum, financials, TV exposure, geography, arena size & attractiveness, metropolitan area, etc, all the overall logic that most would come to a consensus upon.

Egos, politics, unknown other alliances, their perception of what public perception will be, who knows?

We are extremely well positioned, even superior in so many ways, but it is a crapshoot / clusterschtook IMO.

And I am not so sure our "people" are the best at closing the deal for SLU.

Gut it out, hope for the best.

i see what you're saying, but i disagree with that last statement. if our University is taking that approach, then we are in real trouble. I say that because the future of our program is directly tied to getting into this conference. everything we have done (arena, majerus, a-10) have been setting us up for this moment. it will be all for naught if we do not get an invitation.

[Adman]

Obviously because they want exposure in that basketball rich recruiting environment of....Omaha?

This really does not make sense unless one assumes that Marquette looks at SLU and says, "SLU is really coming on strong in terms of commitment to basketball, we don't want to have to compete with them, but Creighton, although a good program, doesn't have the high end potential that SLU has, at least on paper." That is the only thing that makes sense to me. Getting to Omaha is not easier than getting to St. Louis. There is no historic rivalry there to the extent that there is with SLU. Creighton will not be as big of a draw as SLU would be, especially in Milwaukee. And Marquette doesn't have nearly the focus on recruiting students from Omaha relative to St. Louis.

I believe you are right on. They like having the top-shelf Jesuit bball corner to themselves in this neck of woods. If you think about it, shouldn't be a surprise. Heck, when was the last time they were on our schedule? Unless I missed something, it was 2004-5 -- the last year we were in conference with them. (someone please correct if i'm mistaken.) So in the 9 or so years since, not once. And the last 6 of these years, the one guy with the juice, passion and deep Marquette connections to get them on the schedule wasn't able to: Rick Majerus. I don't know specifically about any conversations he had or didn't have with them. But the absence of the midwest's historically premier jebbie basketball power on our schedule, particularly with Rick at the helm, is telling. Not surprising they're working against us now. A shame nonetheless.

This is very similar to the reason Mizzou won't play us...of course, not jebbie-related. But same arrogance.

Will be interesting to see if this game is over or still being played.

Go Bills!

[MUfan1]

Hey Guys! Just an MU fan who is following conference re-alignment pretty closely so I have been checking out the various team boards to see what other teams fans are thinking and looking at. First of all great win tonight against Butler, I know a lot of folks including us MU fans are talking about your performance lately, you guys are going to be a scary team come March! I have secretly rooted for you guys since Rick was your coach, he is a popular guy among us MU fans and we were all heart broken about the news of his passing as I am sure many SLU fans were.

Now as for the new conference... from what I am hearing the "B7" as they are preferring to be called would like to keep the new conference at 10 teams so that they can play a nice 18 game schedule where everyone plays everyone else twice a year. FOX though is pushing for a 12 team league so they can have more content for their new network. As I am sure we all know FOX will likely win out here because they are footing the bill for a lot of this. As far as start times go I am hearing that they are finally beginning to give up on the idea of starting in 2013 and now are looking at a realistic start date of 2014 (not much news there). When it comes to teams here is what I have heard from various sources, most have been reported in the media, but some is through back channels at Marquette. The locks for the league are Xavier and Butler, those teams are locked in and there are no scenarios where those teams are not involved, however from there the idea is that the league would like to start with 10 teams and then down the road a year or two they want to add an additional two more, why in the world they want to do it this way I have no idea, however that is what we are hearing. This is all unless of course FOX forces the issue which is possible. As for the 10th team I am being told that the Jersey guy article is infact correct, Georgetown is pushing for Richmond and is trying to eliminate VCU and the reason for this is that they see VCU as a larger threat to compete with them in their market and they want to be the top dog. Marquette of course is pushing for Creighton, now I know some of you have speculated that it could be because MU doesn't want to have to compete with SLU, but if take a closer look you will see that Fr. Lannon the president of Creighton U is also on the Board of Trustee's for Marquette, so obviously that is a pretty close tie hence the push. As for the 11th and 12th teams I know that MU has also made a push to include SLU because we would like to see an even East/West Split to the league. The remaining candidates for the final two spots are Dayton, VCU, Creighton/Richmond (whichever isnt apart of the original 10), and SLU. Originally we were told that the battle was between SLU and VCU for the final spot and that Richmond wasn't even in the picture, however I am now hearing that Richmond has replaced VCU and its down to SLU, Richmond and Dayton for the final spots.

All of that being said this is all likely to change on a daily basis and of course when you have this many different opinions there will be a lot of stuff thrown on the table, it will be interesting to see where the dust settles, that being said my personal preference would be the B7, X, Butler, SLU, Creighton, and VCU. I doubt it goes down that way, but I know MU fans are pulling for SLU! I don't know if it is against the rules or not but you guys should definitely come visit our MU board and share your opinion, I know we love to chat with different fans and get perspective, I won't post a link because I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but if I get permission I will throw one out there for everyone!

[grunky]

Hey Guys! Just an MU fan who is following conference re-alignment pretty closely so I have been checking out the various team boards to see what other teams fans are thinking and looking at. First of all great win tonight against Butler, I know a lot of folks including us MU fans are talking about your performance lately, you guys are going to be a scary team come March! I have secretly rooted for you guys since Rick was your coach, he is a popular guy among us MU fans and we were all heart broken about the news of his passing as I am sure many SLU fans were.

Now as for the new conference... from what I am hearing the "B7" as they are preferring to be called would like to keep the new conference at 10 teams so that they can play a nice 18 game schedule where everyone plays everyone else twice a year. FOX though is pushing for a 12 team league so they can have more content for their new network. As I am sure we all know FOX will likely win out here because they are footing the bill for a lot of this. As far as start times go I am hearing that they are finally beginning to give up on the idea of starting in 2013 and now are looking at a realistic start date of 2014 (not much news there). When it comes to teams here is what I have heard from various sources, most have been reported in the media, but some is through back channels at Marquette. The locks for the league are Xavier and Butler, those teams are locked in and there are no scenarios where those teams are not involved, however from there the idea is that the league would like to start with 10 teams and then down the road a year or two they want to add an additional two more, why in the world they want to do it this way I have no idea, however that is what we are hearing. This is all unless of course FOX forces the issue which is possible. As for the 10th team I am being told that the Jersey guy article is infact correct, Georgetown is pushing for Richmond and is trying to eliminate VCU and the reason for this is that they see VCU as a larger threat to compete with them in their market and they want to be the top dog. Marquette of course is pushing for Creighton, now I know some of you have speculated that it could be because MU doesn't want to have to compete with SLU, but if take a closer look you will see that Fr. Lannon the president of Creighton U is also on the Board of Trustee's for Marquette, so obviously that is a pretty close tie hence the push. As for the 11th and 12th teams I know that MU has also made a push to include SLU because we would like to see an even East/West Split to the league. The remaining candidates for the final two spots are Dayton, VCU, Creighton/Richmond (whichever isnt apart of the original 10), and SLU. Originally we were told that the battle was between SLU and VCU for the final spot and that Richmond wasn't even in the picture, however I am now hearing that Richmond has replaced VCU and its down to SLU, Richmond and Dayton for the final spots.

All of that being said this is all likely to change on a daily basis and of course when you have this many different opinions there will be a lot of stuff thrown on the table, it will be interesting to see where the dust settles, that being said my personal preference would be the B7, X, Butler, SLU, Creighton, and VCU. I doubt it goes down that way, but I know MU fans are pulling for SLU! I don't know if it is against the rules or not but you guys should definitely come visit our MU board and share your opinion, I know we love to chat with different fans and get perspective, I won't post a link because I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but if I get permission I will throw one out there for everyone!

1) Fox will win out. Networks always do. St. Louis = Big Big TV Market.

2) I do not see any scenario where Creighton is invited, but SLU is not. It's illogical to have that massive gap in the map (Missouri) when teams are traveling to Nebraska, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

[MUfan1]

I agree on the comment about FOX, like I said money talks, they are footing the bill for this (although now that NBC missed out on the Big East rights I could see them coming in and bidding also). As for the geographically illogical part while I agree it's illogical I also have learned that when you look at conference realignment logic seems to be ignored in most cases, I mean heck you have a Big 10 with 14 teams, a Big 12 with 10 teams, a Big East that at one time included San Diego St, and now has two Texas teams, and then a Southeastern Conference that includes a team from Missouri... I agree with all the points above and fully agree that SLU should be included, that said I know better than to assume logic will win the day.

[GOSLU68]

If we start winning the A10 we should be happy to stay as it is a hell of a lot better than the MVC

If Creighton goes out of MVC Wichita may bolt to the WAC

[MUfan1]

Frankly you guys are better than the A10, you deserve to be a part of the new league if you keep playing at this level you will be competing with MU, Butler, and Georgetown on an annual basis to win the conference. They would be foolish to pass up a program that is coming around...

That said I don't follow recruiting too closely, what does the future look like for you guys? I know you had a solid group last year and you have a few Milwaukee kids in your program now, but being that I'm from Whitefish Bay I know Mitchell is leaving after this year. Do you guys have more solid prospects coming in to keep the momentum going? I'm sure the loss of Rick kind of put things in a bind for a bit, however hopefully what Crews has shown can convince folks your for real.

[grunky]

I agree on the comment about FOX, like I said money talks, they are footing the bill for this (although now that NBC missed out on the Big East rights I could see them coming in and bidding also). As for the geographically illogical part while I agree it's illogical I also have learned that when you look at conference realignment logic seems to be ignored in most cases, I mean heck you have a Big 10 with 14 teams, a Big 12 with 10 teams, a Big East that at one time included San Diego St, and now has two Texas teams, and then a Southeastern Conference that includes a team from Missouri... I agree with all the points above and fully agree that SLU should be included, that said I know better than to assume logic will win the day.

Well... the C7 needs to find a geographical compromise so they can bus non basketball teams to and from league play. That's why the whole "East" and "West" divisions make so much sense. Clearly East teams will have to fly to West, and vice versa... But, no reason SLU's womens soccer team per say can't bus it to MU, Butler, Depaul and X.

[grunky]

Frankly you guys are better than the A10, you deserve to be a part of the new league if you keep playing at this level you will be competing with MU, Butler, and Georgetown on an annual basis to win the conference. They would be foolish to pass up a program that is coming around...

That said I don't follow recruiting too closely, what does the future look like for you guys? I know you had a solid group last year and you have a few Milwaukee kids in your program now, but being that I'm from Whitefish Bay I know Mitchell is leaving after this year. Do you guys have more solid prospects coming in to keep the momentum going? I'm sure the loss of Rick kind of put things in a bind for a bit, however hopefully what Crews has shown can convince folks your for real.

Our team is full of juniors and a few sophomores & freshman (they don't play though). Recruiting has been bleak this season because of the uncertainty of our HC. I imagine Jim Crews will be offered the job after season's end, but he is not a recruiter. In fact, he is on record saying he does not like recruiting. Thus, why I am nervous about this all but certain hire.

[Bobby Metzinger]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="AlumniFan" data-cid="345074" data-time="1361488076"><p>

<br />

Obviously because they want exposure in that basketball rich recruiting environment of....Omaha? <br />

<br />

This really does not make sense <strong class='bbc'>unless</strong> one assumes that Marquette looks at SLU and says, "SLU is really coming on strong in terms of commitment to basketball, we don't want to have to compete with them, but Creighton, although a good program, doesn't have the high end potential that SLU has, at least on paper." That is the <strong class='bbc'><em class='bbc'>only </em></strong> thing that makes sense to me. Getting to Omaha is not easier than getting to St. Louis. There is no historic rivalry there to the extent that there is with SLU. Creighton will not be as big of a draw as SLU would be, especially in Milwaukee. And Marquette doesn't have nearly the focus on recruiting students from Omaha relative to St. Louis.</p></blockquote>

I've said this since the first day I stepped foot on the campus of Saint Louis U and that's " Marquette." If Tom crean coached the USA basketball team against Iran, I'd root for Iran. That one year with wade propelled them into the big east. They are the most arrogant fan base in the country and the most undeserving of praise.

[TaLBErt]

I've said this since the first day I stepped foot on the campus of Saint Louis U and that's " Marquette." If Tom crean coached the USA basketball team against Iran, I'd root for Iran. That one year with wade propelled them into the big east. They are the most arrogant fan base in the country and the most undeserving of praise.

I couldn't agree more. Being a Billiken fan in Milwaukee is tough. Marquette fans are just so arrogant! I could accept it if they were Duke or Kentucky, but they're just... Marquette. I had to listen to my boss tell me how much SLU's program sucks yesterday. If I ever bring up this conference realignment with a Marquette fan all I ever is hear is, "This is such a downgrade for us". The worst part about it is I know I'm just jealous. However it looks like SLU is a program on the rise, a following is absolutely growing.

[MUfan1]

I guess you guys don't know the Marquette fans that I know, or maybe I don't know the ones you know. Lots of folks are saying really good things about SLU on our message board and truly hoping they are apart of the new league. I would encourage you not to generalize an entire fan base, but if those are your feelings then I guess you are entitled to that. As for Marquette being scared of SLU I'm not going to justify those comments, my only rebuttal is that I know for a fact that MU is working behind the scenes to have SLU included in a 12 team league, so we are so scared that we are helping you join up if we can. I know I likely won't change your opinions but I know this to be happening.

[davidnark]

I don't believe anyone posted this article about Georgetown's President: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-21/sports/37222107_1_georgetown-basketball-basketball-program-hoyas/3 Note the following:

DeGioia is tight-lipped about the contours of the conference that’s taking shape, acknowledging that it likely will consist of 12 members though may expand to 10 initially. According to others close to the process, the three to five new members need not be Catholic schools. And though its boundaries may extend west of the Mississippi, some “geographical coherence” is expected.

As for the essential criteria of the schools that will be added, DeGioia, a member of the reform-minded Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, cites three: Schools that put the student-athletes’ interests first, both in the classroom and on the playing fields; school whose athletic departments are conducted with integrity; and schools that play exceptional basketball.

They will also have to agree to surrender their media rights to the conference for a significant number of years — possibly the life of the league’s first TV contract, whether that’s five, seven or 10 years.

This is positive for SLU IMO.

[AlumniFan]

I don't believe anyone posted this article about Georgetown's President: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-21/sports/37222107_1_georgetown-basketball-basketball-program-hoyas/3 Note the following:

This is positive for SLU IMO.

Over on the C7 board, a lot of people are interpreting this bad for SLU and good for Creighton. Personally, I think they are nuts, but supposedly Marquette is 100% behind Creighton and has some special relationship with them because they are Jesuit (apparently the geniuses on the C7 board are not aware of that other Jesuit school west of the Mississippi...). More entertaining is that some of the brilliant C7 posters were debating whether or not SLU is west of the Mississippi...I told them that I wasn't sure, but was fairly certain that it was at least east of the Pacific Ocean.

[MUfan1]

I spoke to the special connection before, their President sits on Marquette's board of directors. There is no more or less to the MU/Creighton connection.

[White Pelican]

I spoke to the special connection before, their President sits on Marquette's board of directors. There is no more or less to the MU/Creighton connection.

I'm sure glad Larry B sits on Rockhurst's board.

[slu72]

I'm sure glad Larry B sits on Rockhurst's board.

Oh please no, Rockhurst gets the 12th spot before SLU. But in all seriousness, the fact that CU's guy sits on the MU board is probably good for them. Not so much for us. And really who gives a damn anymore. I'm just praying the Bills go far in the NCAA.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Does Marquette get more than one vote?

Also, I read somewhere — not sure if it was this thread — where the teams want to maintain "geographic coherence," or something like that. "Cohere": to stick together. When I read that, I thought it was a suggestion that SLU would be more likely than Creighton. Nebraska can't connect to the conference without Missouri.

That said, while I understand the cost for the non-revenue sports, if SLU can be three (now two) states away from its closest fellow member in the A-10, why can't the new conference deal with jumping over Iowa or Missouri to get to Omaha, Neb.? (I'm not saying I want Creighton in and SLU out, but I'm just reasoning in print.) Is it because it's an extra state (what, about 250 miles?) compared to what the A-10 has? And yet there was talk about adding Gonzaga?!

And as for going to 10 and then 12, I've been wondering if Butler might be one of the schools to wait and then join later because of their being the most recent addition to the Atlantic 10 Conference. Is there any chance Butler (and maybe also VCU, if they're in the picture) may be saying, "We want to join, but let us complete one two-year cycle in the conference we just joined for the sake of balance"?