Aquinas Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 I wonder what you all think about the possibility of forming a basketball only conference? Assuming The Beast doesn't expand. It would allow for a large national footprint. Gonzaga would be a must, with a core of SLU, Dayton, VCU and Loyola Chicago. Maybe St Mary's and St Joes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 i think gonzaga is a stretch unless you are going to promise them a larger portion of the pie. it seems to me they have become a legitimate program on the same footing with traditional national powers. a better chance is to field an 8-12 program conference with the absolutely best basketball centered programs and try to insure they raise through the ranks of conferences and if they surpass the likes of the big east then they become attractive to the likes of Gonzaga and maybe even some of the Big East programs. will that be easy, nope. its been a dream of many for 20+ years and nothing even close has ever been proposed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 Is Larry Albus still alive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeniceMenace Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 46 minutes ago, willie said: Is Larry Albus still alive? Great question....listed as a 2024 instructor at Maryville U: https://www.maryville.edu/rawlings-sport-business-management-summer-institute/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 3 hours ago, billiken_roy said: i think gonzaga is a stretch unless you are going to promise them a larger portion of the pie. it seems to me they have become a legitimate program on the same footing with traditional national powers. a better chance is to field an 8-12 program conference with the absolutely best basketball centered programs and try to insure they raise through the ranks of conferences and if they surpass the likes of the big east then they become attractive to the likes of Gonzaga and maybe even some of the Big East programs. will that be easy, nope. its been a dream of many for 20+ years and nothing even close has ever been proposed. 12 minutes ago, VeniceMenace said: Great question....listed as a 2024 instructor at Maryville U: https://www.maryville.edu/rawlings-sport-business-management-summer-institute/ Looks like he is still active. There is your man AGB91 and VeniceMenace like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlebill Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 On 8/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, Aquinas said: I wonder what you all think about the possibility of forming a basketball only conference? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_10_Conference billikenfan05, Bills By 40 and thetorch like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CenHudDude Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 6 hours ago, Littlebill said: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_10_Conference When UMASS departs, Duquesne and George Washington will be the only two members left of the original 8 members prior to the conference expanding, and being Re-named the A-10. HoosierPal likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 On 8/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, Aquinas said: I wonder what you all think about the possibility of forming a basketball only conference? Assuming The Beast doesn't expand. It would allow for a large national footprint. Gonzaga would be a must, with a core of SLU, Dayton, VCU and Loyola Chicago. Maybe St Mary's and St Joes. I've been saying this for years. It solves the problem of schools that want to be in a certain league for purposes of football or all other non-revenue sports. I would try to get Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Wichita State, Memphis, Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, Umass and then maybe St. Joe's, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Drake. There are probably several others I'm not thinking of that would thrive outside of the football conference they are forced into. billiken_roy likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 22 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said: I've been saying this for years. It solves the problem of schools that want to be in a certain league for purposes of football or all other non-revenue sports. I would try to get Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Wichita State, Memphis, Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, Umass and then maybe St. Joe's, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Drake. There are probably several others I'm not thinking of that would thrive outside of the football conference they are forced into. you're missing the flagship of this new conference, university of Toronto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 31 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said: I've been saying this for years. It solves the problem of schools that want to be in a certain league for purposes of football or all other non-revenue sports. I would try to get Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Wichita State, Memphis, Dayton, VCU, Loyola Chicago, Umass and then maybe St. Joe's, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Drake. There are probably several others I'm not thinking of that would thrive outside of the football conference they are forced into. Memphis, UMass and New Mexico all play football... not very good football, but they do play games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLIKNS Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I know they don't have alot a history, but always thought UMKC ( guess they go by Kansas City now) could be a sleeper, and good geological fit... If only they were better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Of course it would be great if the A-10 were better, but last year the highest rated non-football conference not named the Big East was none other than: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2024/net-conference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 23 hours ago, ACE said: Memphis, UMass and New Mexico all play football... not very good football, but they do play games. Exactly, which means they may be forced into a conference that is not ideal for basketball, because they are trying to accommodate football. These are programs that may appreciate putting their basketball team in a better basketball only conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenfan05 Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 On 8/19/2024 at 1:27 PM, Littlebill said: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_10_Conference Just in case everyone missed it, we're currently in a basketball only conference. Please see above and advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 5 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said: Exactly, which means they may be forced into a conference that is not ideal for basketball, because they are trying to accommodate football. These are programs that may appreciate putting their basketball team in a better basketball only conference. I'm not sure I follow - UMass just left the A-10 for a much worse basketball conference because of football. New Mexico is in the MWC a league that plays football and has also been a good bball league. Every school that has a D1 football team, even if they have crappy teams, are chasing football first and everything else including basketball is secondary. As a hoops fan, I hate it, but this is the current college sports landscape unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Elrond Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 What I would recommend is that schools join different conferences for different sports. If you have a D1 football team, join a conference based on that, same for basketball, join the conference that makes sense for you BB team. For every other sport, join a conference that minimizes expenses. One of the problems in college sports is that you are forced to be in the same conference for all sports. That’s what needs to be broken up. There is a ton of money to be saved on expenses that would not change how much money that comes in if you did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 2 minutes ago, ACE said: I'm not sure I follow - UMass just left the A-10 for a much worse basketball conference because of football. New Mexico is in the MWC a league that plays football and has also been a good bball league. Every school that has a D1 football team, even if they have crappy teams, are chasing football first and everything else including basketball is secondary. As a hoops fan, I hate it, but this is the current college sports landscape unfortunately. I'm saying that some schools' sports teams are forced into a conference that isn't ideal based solely on football considerations. What was proposed above by Aquinas, which is something I have proposed as well, is creating a conference just for basketball teams, meaning each of the schools would leave their other sports in the conference they are currently in, but their basketball programs would leave for the newly created basketball only conference. This happens much more than you would think for other sports. For instance, Fordham has a water polo team that competes in completely different conference since the A-10 doesn't have water polo. Davidson and George Mason have men's wrestling teams. Several A-10 schools have women's gymnastics teams. None of these are A-10 sports, meaning those teams all have to join and compete in different conferences. The point being that it is not unprecedented to have one of your teams in a conference that is different that the conference you are in for all of your other sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 20 hours ago, BLIKNS said: I know they don't have alot a history, but always thought UMKC ( guess they go by Kansas City now) could be a sleeper, and good geological fit... If only they were better Just what we need another nobody team to be in our conference. By the way what rock do they have that is a good geological fit with us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACE Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 13 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said: What I would recommend is that schools join different conferences for different sports. If you have a D1 football team, join a conference based on that, same for basketball, join the conference that makes sense for you BB team. For every other sport, join a conference that minimizes expenses. One of the problems in college sports is that you are forced to be in the same conference for all sports. That’s what needs to be broken up. There is a ton of money to be saved on expenses that would not change how much money that comes in if you did this. I am a 100% in agreement and have also mentioned this previously. I think most importantly, football conference affiliations should break away from the rest of the sports. It would solve a lot of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLIKNS Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 Guess I should have said , geographical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 12 minutes ago, BLIKNS said: Guess I should have said , geographical Good sport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 5 hours ago, billikenfan05 said: Just in case everyone missed it, we're currently in a basketball only conference. Please see above and advise. By basketball ball only, I mean the teams in the conference only play each other in basketball. Other sports are played in a different conference. SLU could for instance consider the Valley for other sports. In my view Gonzaga is the key. Revenue sharing that heavily rewards performance or maybe an initial bigger share might be required. Without them I don't think you have the TV revenue interest or buzz to make it fly. I think a big reason Gonzaga hasn't joined a bigger conferences is their location makes all sports travel impractical and expensive. I would hate to see all Billiken sports travel there, but would love to see men's basketball make that trip every year. cgeldmacher likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 The A10 should just merge with the Big East and agree to a relegation system. The Valley Sucks and JMM28 like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicCityBilliken Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 3 hours ago, MusicCityBilliken said: We can dream. MusicCityBilliken likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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