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Xavier fan here and my apologies for the intrusion.

I'm sure you've heard expansion rumors in regards to the Big East, and that St Louis is one of the potential candidates.  I think I speak for the majority (if not ALL X fans) that if expansion does indeed occur, we would prefer St Louis, especially in place of those delusional hilljacks just north of us (UD).  

The on court performance over these next few years could make or break a potential candidate.  How do you guys see your Billikens performing over the next few years (# of NCAA bids?)

Here's hoping you guys tear it up.

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6 hours ago, jaxalum said:

Xavier fan here and my apologies for the intrusion.

I'm sure you've heard expansion rumors in regards to the Big East, and that St Louis is one of the potential candidates.  I think I speak for the majority (if not ALL X fans) that if expansion does indeed occur, we would prefer St Louis, especially in place of those delusional hilljacks just north of us (UD).  

The on court performance over these next few years could make or break a potential candidate.  How do you guys see your Billikens performing over the next few years (# of NCAA bids?)

Here's hoping you guys tear it up.

Welcome X fan thank you for the kind thoughts.

I go back to the MCC conference when we played twice a year.  I was really excited when SLU joined the A10 and we were playing each other again.  At the very least I would love to play Xavier in non conference every year.  Xavier’s basketball program success is what I would like to see SLU have.

As long as Travis Ford is SLU’s Coach SLU will be successful.  Coach Ford is a good recruiter and will have good players every season.  The class of freshman and one Juco is a good class coming in this season.  I expect SLU to compete for the conference top position in the upcoming season.

All SLU fans want in the big east and will hope that we will be in the big east on the next expansion.  I believe SLU will compete in the big east because SLU was competitive in the great Midwest and conference USA so SLU has made it happen in a tough conference before.

My only concern is how long will coach Ford stick around after his kids graduate high school?  X fans understands how a loss of a good coach can hurt a team.

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Very good. Coach Ford has us going in the right direction.  Basically starting over next year with 2 Juniors (each has been a starter/leader since they arrived on campus) to lead the way along w some Sophomore talent... but we will heavily rely on this incoming class of  talented Frosh but also a good JUCO and a proven Senior transfer.

As much as I would like to blame our prior president and praise our current president or blame/praise prior coaches and say we will be seriously competitive going forward, (we have periods of success followed by embarrassment for years ), I do believe we will have more consistent success. We have now had Dr Chaifetz and his financial backing since 2006 or so.   Dr Chaifetz helped pay for our arena and for Majerus  he also helped pay for Ford when Majerus’s promoted assistant failed  And after Ford leaves, he will be there to help pay for our next coach  We finally have program stability  

Yes, we would like to rejoin X and Marquette and the rest of the Big East. I too go back to the days of the MCC, Pete Gillen , and unfortunately 1 bid each year. 

What are you hearing as to why the Big East is expanding and when?  Goals of expansion?  National footprint?  Expand TV revenue?  What is the conference like now as compared to before the football schools left?  Which schools are being considered?

 

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Thanks for your comments.  I have often said that schools like X, Nova and Gonzaga should be the models for SLU and given our resources we should be able to reach that level.

However, I do not expect us to reach the Tournament this coming year.  We lost too much and will be too inexperienced to contend for a berth in the NCAAs.  I do think we will be in the top third of the A-10 in 2019-20 and if we can retain our key players should be a Tournament team in 2020-21.  While others worry about losing Coach Ford, I think SLU in the Big East would be another reason for him to stay.  He and his family love St. Louis so I don't think he would leave for many other schools (except of course UK and I don't see that in the immediate future).

I think we offer some positives that other schools cannot match as for as the Big East would be concerned. Adding another Midwestern school to go along with Butler, X, DePaul, Marquette and Creighton seems to be a positive as does adding another strong sports media market.  Additionally, while I know MBB drives the Big East bus, SLU has strong academics and  overall strong non-MBB programs.  Our outstanding basketball facility is also a plus-thanks to Dr. C.

Again, thanks for your support and I hope we can get our rivalry going again, this time in the BE. 

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As for Ford leaving, he's got to have some sustained success to get interest from a P5 program. I think he's at least 2-3 years away from that. This year is almost a rebuild. Next season, depending on our FR, could produce a bid. When our FR, if they pan out, are JRs and SRs is when he could prove sustained success. 

If during or after this 3-4 yr period of success the Beast expands, and we get in, it may be hard to pull him away from SLU for a P5 job unless it was UK or some other top tier program. 

With the P5's going to 20 game conf scheds to increase their chances at gaining more bids, then the Beast will have to add at least 2 schools to play a 20 game in conf schedule, so they don't get left in the dust. Obviously they will be looking for the cream of the crop from the A10, but they will have to consider geography and TV market size as well. Both good factors for SLU. Still, we lag behind Dayton in terms of reputation and fan support. It would be great if X put the kibosh on Dayton if it comes down to them or us. 

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Four of the teams that finished ahead of us this year return practically everybody. A couple of the teams right behind us return practically everybody. It looks like a 6th or 7th place finish for us and a strong year for the conference.  That would still be an impressive result for the youngest team in the conference. The good news is we will return everybody the following year and should get some preseason media hype.

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I don't know this Xavier alum but there is NO real talk of Big East expansion but any post like this will get a whole bunch of panties in a wad of excitement.  If expansion were based on NCAA appearances, DePaul (4 in last 30 years) would be booted out of the Big East in a heartbeat.  St. John's is a reoccurring nightmare.  But no.  Why?  Chicagoland and the Big Apple!  TV market.  Recruiting.  Midwest hub far above Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and, blech, Omaha.  Broadway!  Expansion will happen anywhere for two reasons ..... money and competition/domination.  St. Louis is by far the prettier TV option than most.  Competition/domination is what you see the P5 doing with 20-league conferences and schedule lockdowns. 

If the Big East wants us, they know where we are.

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8 hours ago, jaxalum said:

Xavier fan here and my apologies for the intrusion.

I'm sure you've heard expansion rumors in regards to the Big East, and that St Louis is one of the potential candidates.  I think I speak for the majority (if not ALL X fans) that if expansion does indeed occur, we would prefer St Louis, especially in place of those delusional hilljacks just north of us (UD).  

The on court performance over these next few years could make or break a potential candidate.  How do you guys see your Billikens performing over the next few years (# of NCAA bids?)

Here's hoping you guys tear it up.

you big east programs need to treat us like an equal member if you want us to be a member of the big east.   none of this junior member stuff.  

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8 hours ago, jaxalum said:

Xavier fan here and my apologies for the intrusion.

I'm sure you've heard expansion rumors in regards to the Big East, and that St Louis is one of the potential candidates.  I think I speak for the majority (if not ALL X fans) that if expansion does indeed occur, we would prefer St Louis, especially in place of those delusional hilljacks just north of us (UD).  

The on court performance over these next few years could make or break a potential candidate.  How do you guys see your Billikens performing over the next few years (# of NCAA bids?)

Here's hoping you guys tear it up.

Thanks for the positive post, but all that is currently 'out there' on Big East expansion is message board rumor.  The Big East probably will look to expand when it makes sense to increase league games to 20, such as the P5 is doing.  I know the Big East faithful believe their round robin schedule is sacred, but a round robin isn't going to increase NCAA bids.  No other power leagues think that a round robin is important.

While court performance is important, it is not the make or break item.  The Big East isn't that naive.  Flavor of the Month will get you burned.  First criteria likely will be Institutional Fit.  Example, Wichita State doesn't fit.  They have a long performance storied history and have an avid fan base, but they don't match with the other schools.  Murray State is coming off of two straight league crowns and NCAA appearances.  Court performance is off the charts, but do they fit?  Second will be market share, whatever that may mean 2 to 5 years from now.  With streaming taking over cable, I'm not sure how to even talk about market share.  Certainly a loyal fan base that travels will be a positive.

If court performance was #1, DePaul would be evicted. You know their court performance for the past decade isn't good at all.   But they 'bring' Chicago, with their 1,500 turnstile attendance, and are an institutional fit.  I seriously doubt if DePaul is even a blip on Chicago TV.  Will DePaul get tossed out; you know the answer is No.

Not trying to get ugly here, but don't put all your eggs into court performance. And no apologizes needed for your intrusion.  Glad you stopped by.

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We have to improve performance in our non-rev sports. I know quite a few people disagree with me but it takes more than basketball to impress the big easy. Volleyball is a dumpster fire, softball is mediocre to bad every year. Baseball, Soccer M/W are really the only sports we can hang our hat on and baseball is going to have a MASSIVE rebuild challenge. 

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31 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

We have to improve performance in our non-rev sports. I know quite a few people disagree with me but it takes more than basketball to impress the big easy. Volleyball is a dumpster fire, softball is mediocre to bad every year. Baseball, Soccer M/W are really the only sports we can hang our hat on and baseball is going to have a MASSIVE rebuild challenge. 

If that was true Xavier and Butler never would have gotten in the conference.

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1 hour ago, FatherB said:

If we don't make the Big East anytime soon, I'd rather see us in the American (AAC).

I agree, with the AAC as it is today. The AAC will be poached by the P5 whenever a conference thinks expansion. The AAC without Cincy or Memphis or UConn or Houston isn’t quite as attractive. 

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Big East expansion will happen under one or both of the following conditions;  When the Big East renegotiates its TV contract with FOX (2023 I believe), if they demand more content, expansion will happen.  

Most power conferences are turning to 20 game conference schedules so as to guarantee "x" amount of quad 1,2 etc. type contests in order to boost their own conference teams NCAA Tournament resumes.  Believe me when I tell you that the Big East coaches LOVE the round robin format, and said format would still be viable if a single team was added to the conference, resulting in a 20 game round robin.  Currently, the Big East essentially has a 20 game P5 round robin with their current 18 game conf schedule along with the Gavitt games (Big 10) and the Big East/BIg 12 Challenge.

As the TV renegotions are set to happen in the the next few years for the Big East, a flavor of the month (2-3 year run) could indeed ****** that coveted expansion spot, if expansion is indeed on the docket.

SLU easily possesses the academic pedigree, the Chaifetz Arena is one of the best facilities in D1, St Louis is a MAJOR/bad ass city (no one would care if they utilized Dayton as a tactical nuke testing site)

NCAA tourney bids, and possibly a run in the the next few years, would make all the difference.  SLU checks all the boxes except consistent performance on the court(AND THAT MATTERS).  I, and many other BIg East fans, would love nothing more than if expansion were to occur, that SLU would be the CHOICE.  These next 3 years are CRITICAL.

 

PS I played college tennis, and we were in St Louis during Mardi Gras week.  HOLY SH$T, in my opinion that "Party" should allow SLU'S  immediate entry into the Big East.

 

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