Folks, let's keep two things in mind

[Quality Is Job 1]

The tone of posts that say, "It's a done deal, Marquette and DePaul are going to the Big East with Cincinnati and Louisville," may be premature.

1. It was a lock that the ACC was going to invite and get Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse to join them from the Big East. (We know that's not what happened.)

2. The Big East's decision to invite Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, and DePaul isn't equal to those four schools' agreeing to accept the invitation (and neither the invitations nor the acceptances have happened, YET). (There may be some changes between now and mid-November.)

My opinion is that Marquette and DePaul should accept the invitations, if ultimately given. That's what's best for their programs and their fans. (If Saint Louis were in that position, it should do the same thing.) If the unwieldy conference splits along the seams piecing the non-football schools with the football schools, as it undoubtedly will, they can then deal with the ramifications, but in the meantime they will have improved the stature and exposure of their programs immensely and will be the better for the move.

I wish SLU were able to join with Marquette, DePaul, Xavier, Dayton, and others (from the pool of Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Creighton, Temple, St. Josephs, etc.) in a nationally formidable power basketball conference with ESPN headliner exposure and an automatic bid, but I will accept rooting for SLU in the Atlantic 10. I feel it could be a very good conference and will afford SLU every opportunity to bring attractive opponents to St. Louis, make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, and attract talented student-athletes to the program. What more could a fan ask for?

[Mobile-iken]

Thicks said, "I feel it could be a very good conference and will afford SLU every opportunity to bring attractive opponents to St. Louis, make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, and attract talented student-athletes to the program."

An at large-team? Shouldn't we aspire to win the A10???

[Quality Is Job 1]

Most definitely! But I want SLU to be in a conference that will go four or five deep, meaning that three or four teams get an at-large bid to the Tournament. That doesn't stop the team from trying to win the conference, but what it means is that falling short of winning the conference doesn't preclude going to the NCAA Tournament.