Abe's Official Dream Big East

[Abe Sargent]

Since realignment is the talk du jour, as a fan of the Big East in its various in carnations, I wanted to give you what I thought my personal Big East would look like. If I could, by fiat, move teams around, here is what I would make my Big East, and why. This is a new Big east without all of the jank of football and non-football members and market size and all of that junk. I am also not wedded to just 8 teams.



Pitt and WVU, WVU and Pitt - Selected as the 15th biggest rivalry in college sports, which is certainly solid, these two teams are like peas in a pod. The schools are virtually identical in many ways, and they are the core of the modern Big East. It's more a gentleman's rivalry than U of M/OSU or others I've seen, that are downright nasty and vile. These two teams are easily in.


Virginia Tech. Miami is a merc, they only used the Big East for large winning records and respect, they were never really a Big East school, so good riddance to them. Boston College was always the odd man out of the Big East - its school radically different in character, culture, and nature. It's no loss. However, when Va Tech left, that was a heavy hit. Tech grew into a power school during its time in the Big East, and it was truly a BE school. That was a big blow to me and others. Bringing it back is paramount to establishing a good Big East.


That gives me three core schools - WVU, Pitt and V Tech, all very good. All that are regularly top 25 material, but can have off seasons where they miss it.

Now, let's build around them.



Cincinnati, Louisville have proven themselves worthy members of the conference. Even though they are new, they are geographically and culturally a nice fit. Kentucky and Ohio slide in very nicely along PA, WV and VA.


Maryland, pack your bags, you are leaving behind a conference that you never fit in. The Terrapins are a lot more like the Panthers and the Hokies than the Gators and Tigers.



Okay, that gives me 6. Who is not making the cut for sure:

Temple. I'm not bringing you back. You suck.

Marshall - You suck now. Go away.




Who am I looking at?

UVA - Bringing in a rival game for Tech would be hot.

U of Kentucky - Ditto for Louisville

Penn State - Ditto for both WVU and Pitt who had long standing rivalries a while ago vs PSU

Notre Dame - Already a member of the Big East except for football, I could add it all the way

U Conn - They really added something to their football program these last few years

South Florida - Everybody loves their "no one" to riches story

Rutgers - Was once the doormat of the conference like Temple, but has slowly and steadily increased it's cache.

Syracuse - Long a member of the conference and used to be a strong team in it.

East Carolina - Established rivalries against WVU and V Tech out of conference.



Who makes it in? Penn State, congratulations, leave that stupid Big Ten which liked you so much they didn't even change their name, and rejoin us. Both Pitt and WVU for decades had long standing rivalries with PSU, and by fiat, it is reinstituted.

Who is out for sure - Notre Dame, the Big Ten is calling you. The Big East trades ND to the Big Ten for PSU.

South Florida. I love ya, but Florida has never been in the Big East area except for media markets and recruiting, but this is not about that, it is about teams I think make a lot of sense duking it out. You were traded to the ACC for Maryland, which you might like since now you can duel Miami and Florida.

U of Kentucky - I'd like to bring you in, but you stink too much of the SEC. Sorry.

UVA - The same but for the ACC. If you were more similar to the Big East teams already in, then I'd bring you in no question, but you have more in common with UNC and Duke than you do with Va Tech and Pitt and PSU and Maryland.

Rutgers - I don;t want doormats in the conference, and you are one Schiano coaching change or heart attack away from it again. Sorry, I appreciate the work and all, and you do fit in in many ways like geography and such, but your quality is not high enough for a long term stay. You can dominate the Conference USA or something. You were the hardest one to say no too.

That leaves ECU, Syracuse, UConn as the teams I am looking at.

Pros and Cons -

ECU - Despite the fact that you are in Carolina and thus the "South" you really seem more like a Big East sort of school. This is a serious promotion to the big leagues. However, there is a fear that you would become the conference whipping boy.

Syracuse - Ten years ago, you would make this no question, but recently you have turned into Temple. I wish you had left instead of Va Tech like the plan was originally. I don;t like that you are a private school and feel different, but you aren't auto-disinvited

Uconn - You really put the time and money into your football team and I like that. You have had success, and I like that too. My only issue is that you don;t automatically think Connecticut when you think the Big Est, and your school has a mroe New England feel.


Guess wha? You are all in! Syracuse, get better. ECU, rise to the occasion.


Ten teams


East Carolina
Syracuse
U of Connecticut
Louisville
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Maryland
WVU


States represented are contiguous:

PA, OH, KY, WV, VA, NC, MD, NY, CT

[Young Drachma]

That Big East is too damn Southern. The Big East is a Yankee league dominated by Catholic basketball schools. The football league should at least maintain some of those Yankee roots and Syracuse and Penn State isn't enough.

[Abe Sargent]

I jettisoned the Florida anchor weighing it down though, making it even more south, so if you feel that way, then you should respect that at least.

[Lathum]

You leave out Rutgers but take ECU who is nowhere near as good, UConn who's football program was 1AA ten years ago, Cinci who has has a shorter run of success then Rutgers, 'Cuse who's football program is a joke ( Greg Paulus anyone?), and Louisville and Maryland whose football programs have been on a downward trend. Nice.

[Young Drachma]

There just aren't enough northeastern schools in big time college football, so I feel like the more expand south, the more diluted it gets and you're just damaging your brand with all of these second-rate southern schools that'll never reach the peak of the big programs in that region.

I wish there was a better way to get more northern schools in the league or blow the top off the whole thing and just recruit big city schools into the league and try to make it a TV market league like upstarts. I think the regional football league is an anachronism to the days when you couldn't get around the country quickly and that's no longer the case.

If the UAA can work in D3, I think a national-ish league of big city schools all looking to get a piece of the pie would work better. It'd never realistically work, but from a fantasy perspective, bringing big market schools into a separate football-only arrangement with a better brand name could be interesting.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

I jettisoned the Florida anchor weighing it down though, making it even more south, so if you feel that way, then you should respect that at least.

Meh. I always kick USF out too in my scenarios, but not for ECU for goodness sakes.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Lathum

You leave out Rutgers but take ECU who is nowhere near as good, UConn who's football program was 1AA ten years ago, Cinci who has has a shorter run of success then Rutgers, 'Cuse who's football program is a joke ( Greg Paulus anyone?), and Louisville and Maryland whose football programs have been on a downward trend. Nice.

Yeah, Rutgers has to be a bedrock of any Big East. Their placement within the NYC DMA just makes them impossible to leave out.

[Swaggs]

If we are dreaming here and teams from the ACC or B10 are considering it, I'd leave the BE as it is and just add Penn State and Virginia Tech. If we want to go to twelve, bring in Maryland and Boston College or Memphis.

That gives you:
UConn
Syracuse
WVU
Pitt
Rutgers
Cincinatti
Louisville
USF
Penn State
Virginia Tech
Maryland
Boston College

That gives you 12 solid to excellent football programs and leaves you an excellent basketball conference (really, only Rutgers, USF, and Penn State could be considered average to below average in hoops) as well. It gives you a toe into Florida/Kentucky/Ohio, and allows you to dominate the markets from the D.C. area through PA and New England.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I need a diagram. Who's roommate is what?

[lynchjm24]

You don't think Big East when you think UConn? Umm... UConn and Syracuse are the ONLY CHARTER MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE THAT PLAY IN THE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE.

[lynchjm24]

Why would any Big East fan want to kick USF out of the league? The Northern Schools need the Bulls to recruit Florida.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by lynchjm24

Why would any Big East fan want to kick USF out of the league? The Northern Schools need the Bulls to recruit Florida.

No they don't. USF actually hinders that to some degree. The Florida pipeline that people like Schiano have, is due to their own marketing and connections, not having a rival there.

I'm fine with them since they play in an NFL stadium, they're just a lonely duck there is all. But bringing UCF in probably isn't the answer because it'd make it harder for those northern schools to recruit, though all I care about is Rutgers and I don't think it'd hinder their ability to get the kids they get.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

No they don't.

Well, THEY think they do - when looking to add schools in the wake of the Miami/VPI/BC exodus, getting a Florida school that played football was first on the list of priorities. USF had only played football for a few years, all it had going for it was its location in Florida.

[General Mike]

GTFO Abe with Louisville and Cincinnati BS.

The Big East should be:

BC
Connecticut
Pitt
Penn State
Rutgers
WVU
Maryland
Syracuse