Basketball Only Conference

[Old guy]

On 8/24/2024 at 1:25 PM, thetorch said:

The A10 should just merge with the Big East and agree to a relegation system.

Do you think it is likely that A10's Bernadette Mc Glade will accept a secondary position to Big East's Val Ackerman or vice versa in a new merged conference? This is not likely to happen in my opinion.

@slu72 & @MusicCityBilliken, hope you enjoy the dreams.

[MusicCityBilliken]

2 hours ago, Old guy said:

Do you think it is likely that A10's Bernadette Mc Glade will accept a secondary position to Big East's Val Ackerman or vice versa in a new merged conference? This is not likely to happen in my opinion.

@slu72 & @MusicCityBilliken, hope you enjoy the dreams.

It's what is now floating around on X. It would be nice.

I am of the opinion that we need to improve the A10. Poach the better MO Valley & WCC teams w/ Wichita and provide financial incentives for some of the A10 bottom feeders to leave. You ask where we going to get the $, same way we can buy out a coach for $10mil. Should not be that much for a Lasalle. 

[Brighton]

Until proven otherwise, SLU’s a bottom feeder with a BE arena and facilities.

[gobillsgo]

would a move to the Big East affect our ability to play in Maui in a few years?  Not sure if there have been any leaks on other participants, but they usually don’t let two teams from the same conference play.  I think obviously you trade Maui for admission to the Big East, but hopefully we’d get another crack at Maui down the road

[cgeldmacher]

2 hours ago, gobillsgo said:

would a move to the Big East affect our ability to play in Maui in a few years?  Not sure if there have been any leaks on other participants, but they usually don’t let two teams from the same conference play.  I think obviously you trade Maui for admission to the Big East, but hopefully we’d get another crack at Maui down the road

Playing in Maui once compared it playing a Big East schedule every year is not even close.  I would take terrible non-conference schedules and no non-conference tournaments every year if it meant being in the Big East.

[billikenfan05]

The good news is this conversation would be irrelevant regardless of future conference. 

2 hours ago, gobillsgo said:

would a move to the Big East affect our ability to play in Maui in a few years?  Not sure if there have been any leaks on other participants, but they usually don’t let two teams from the same conference play.  I think obviously you trade Maui for admission to the Big East, but hopefully we’d get another crack at Maui down the road

 

41 minutes ago, cgeldmacher said:

Playing in Maui once compared it playing a Big East schedule every year is not even close.  I would take terrible non-conference schedules and no non-conference tournaments every year if it meant being in the Big East.

 

[White Pelican]

17 hours ago, Old guy said:

Do you think it is likely that A10's Bernadette Mc Glade will accept a secondary position to Big East's Val Ackerman or vice versa in a new merged conference? This is not likely to happen in my opinion.

@slu72 & @MusicCityBilliken, hope you enjoy the dreams.

Who cares what Bernadette McGlade will accept? I mean, I don't think this merger will ever happen, at least in my lifetime, but her future employment would be way down on the list of things to sort out. Does she have a lifetime contract or something? I would imagine she'd be given a golden parachute and shown the door.

[slu72]

I think our best bet at being in a stronger conference is the formation of a super mid major national conf made up of the best mids east and west of the Mississippi. Such a conference could be competitive with the Beast if it was able to bring in schools like Zaga, St Mary’s, WSU and other traditional strong mids. Keep in mind that all the Beast schools are de facto mids, albeit with a tradition of quality hoops. Their latest 3 additions all came from mid major leagues. Prior to that Marquette and DePaul came from a mid major conf. The Beast built its rep on hoops from a combo of FB schools and Catholic schools that had strong hoops traditions. When the FB schools departed it was left with basically 5 mid majors hailing from major metro areas.  To rebuild their strong brand they cherry picked the best mids available from large metro areas. I don’t see why another conf couldn’t be built from the ground up by cherry picking the best mids currently available. They’re out there. It’s a matter of selling them on the idea. 

[Old guy]

@White Pelican I fully agree with you. I do not expect to see a merger of A10 and Big East in my lifetime. I also could not care less about McGlade or Ackerman's jobs.

[Taj79]

Pipe dreams.

[willie]

I certainly don’t think a Big East A-10:merger will ever happen but if everything blows up I do think a new basketball centric conference is possible. Catholic schools that don’t play football. Throw in Butler. Why not Creighton-Dayton- Xavier- Marquette-Villanova-SLU -Zags-St. Mary’s. Maybe VCU. Why not?  

[kshoe]

1 hour ago, willie said:

I certainly don’t think a Big East A-10:merger will ever happen but if everything blows up I do think a new basketball centric conference is possible. Catholic schools that don’t play football. Throw in Butler. Why not Creighton-Dayton- Xavier- Marquette-Villanova-SLU -Zags-St. Mary’s. Maybe VCU. Why not?  

Because that basketball only conference comprised of catholic schools and Butler already exists and is called the Big East. If UConn leaves the Big East they are basically back to where they were a handful of years ago when they didn't have UConn. Their TV partners may ask for some money back given their premier team left, but I don't think that opens the floodgates to them bringing in a bunch of other teams. Don't forget these schools are all greedy and for more than a decade now have been unwilling to share their wealth with anyone else. Not sure why UConn leaving changes that at all.

It feels like this thread has been on repeat for like 10 years now...

[wgstl]

If slus dreams of the BE ever gets permanently shut down, it’s bc of a few current acc teams are headed that way. I think this is more likely to happen than slu or Dayton making it up there 

[willie]

34 minutes ago, kshoe said:

Because that basketball only conference comprised of catholic schools and Butler already exists and is called the Big East. If UConn leaves the Big East they are basically back to where they were a handful of years ago when they didn't have UConn. Their TV partners may ask for some money back given their premier team left, but I don't think that opens the floodgates to them bringing in a bunch of other teams. Don't forget these schools are all greedy and for more than a decade now have been unwilling to share their wealth with anyone else. Not sure why UConn leaving changes that at all.

It feels like this thread has been on repeat for like 10 years now...

More teams. Greater geographic exposure. Steaming. League’s are expanding not contracting. Better divisional opportunities. 

[slu72]

9 hours ago, wgstl said:

If slus dreams of the BE ever get permanently shut down, it’s bc of a few current acc teams headed that way. I think this is more likely to happen than slu or Dayton making it up there 

This. If the ACC implodes then the Beast will scoop up some of the remnants. Big If though. I think the ACC will somehow survive. I still think our best option is the formation of a new national mid conference that can come with the Beast. 

[Cowboy II]

13 hours ago, kshoe said:

 

It feels like this thread has been on repeat for like 10 years now...

-Amen

[MusicCityBilliken]

Back around 1990 we were in a one bid conference, the Midwestern Collegiate Conf (now the Horizon). We had a very dynamic AD named Yow. She probably saw this as unacceptable. 

3 schools in the old MCC (us, Dayton & Marquette) got together with 3 other schools (Cincy, Memphis & Depaul) and formed the Great Midwest. Best conference SLU ever. was in, loved that conference. It was a shame it morphed into something unrecognizable 15 years later that lead to its almost demise.  

If we had some leadership, maybe something like that can be done.

[Old guy]

21 minutes ago, MusicCityBilliken said:

Back around 1990 we were in a one bid conference, the Midwestern Collegiate Conf (now the Horizon). We had a very dynamic AD named Yow. She probably saw this as unacceptable. 

3 schools in the old MCC (us, Dayton & Marquette) got together with 3 other schools (Cincy, Memphis & Depaul) and formed the Great Midwest. Best conference SLU ever. was in, loved that conference. It was a shame it morphed into something unrecognizable 15 years later that lead to its almost demise.  

If we had some leadership, maybe something like that can be done.

@MusicCityBilliken The secret factor underlying the kind of morphing you describe is money, not money to be distributed to the member schools but money which in one way or the other go to those running the conference. Look at A10 and how it has gone from a multi bid conference to a single or occasionally two bid league.

[slu72]

1 hour ago, MusicCityBilliken said:

Back around 1990 we were in a one bid conference, the Midwestern Collegiate Conf (now the Horizon). We had a very dynamic AD named Yow. She probably saw this as unacceptable. 

3 schools in the old MCC (us, Dayton & Marquette) got together with 3 other schools (Cincy, Memphis & Depaul) and formed the Great Midwest. Best conference SLU ever. was in, loved that conference. It was a shame it morphed into something unrecognizable 15 years later that lead to its almost demise.  

If we had some leadership, maybe something like that can be done.

The 70’s MVC was a good conference. I think CUSA was the best from top to bottom. What gets my dander up is we were always included in the moves to top leagues: Great MW and CUSA while schools like X, Butler, WSU, and Creighton were stuck in backwater conferences. I always assumed we’d be included in Beast expansion but we got passed over twice. Go figure. Losing Yow was a big gut punch as she was making the right moves. 

[Bay Area Billiken]

https://x.com/mhver3/status/1828414431425921526?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw

UConn appears to be in demand at the commissioners’ level, Big XII vs. ACC. 

[slu72]

1 hour ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

https://x.com/mhver3/status/1828414431425921526?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw

UConn appears to be in demand at the commissioners’ level, Big XII vs. ACC. 

It would make sense for them to go ACC. They could renew old Beast rivalries and FB’s not so dominant. In fact a case could be made it’s more BB centric. Don’t know what the $ difference is but wouldn’t think it would be that great. 

[Adman]

On 8/27/2024 at 11:07 AM, Brighton said:

Until proven otherwise, SLU’s a bottom feeder with a BE arena and facilities.

Agree and disagree.

Yes in post-season success/NCAA units.

But in terms of basketball budgets and now in NIL budgets, they’re right in the middle - not the bottom.

They just need to win.