In all these alignment rumors, why is the Big East not mentioned?

[Johnny]

"The AAC's ceiling is much higher than that of the Big East's"

That can't be serious…right? What is the ceiling of Tulane, Tulsa, ECU, UCF, and Houston? Those are 5 god awful programs right away. Come on, you guys know they are bums…you just came from the best basketball conference ever. Just call a spade a spade.

I don't even need to argue which conference is better in basketball. If you want to talk ceilings, imagine Nova, G'Town, Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, St. John's, PC, SHU all running on all cylinders? 8 of those 9 schools have been in the top 25 within the past 5 years. Who has been ranked in that time in the AAC? UConn, Memphis, Cincy, and Temple? Not even sure if Temple has but they may have been. Even so, the Big East doubles that. If you want to get a laugh, add up all the tourney appearances between the Big East schools and the AAC schools. It will be a landslide.

And why are you guys so high on SMU? Yes they have been good under Brown, but you do realize he is at the age where you can die of old age right? They have no real future. They are just good now and only because of him. When he leaves, so does any chance of winning.

 

[Dooley]

@Fishy - I smell an okielite sighting. It's the classic "I'm just trying to start an innocent discussion, completely dismiss everything while backhanding UCONN at every opportunity, then play the 'personal attack' martyrdom at the first sign of controversy" okielite playbook.

Please keep an eye on this IP address. Thanks.

 

[CTGoonie]

"The AAC's ceiling is much higher than that of the Big East's"

That can't be serious…right? What is the ceiling of Tulane, Tulsa, ECU, UCF, and Houston? Those are 5 god awful programs right away. Come on, you guys know they are bums…you just came from the best basketball conference ever. Just call a spade a spade.

I don't even need to argue which conference is better in basketball. If you want to talk ceilings, imagine Nova, G'Town, Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, St. John's, PC, SHU all running on all cylinders? 8 of those 9 schools have been in the top 25 within the past 5 years. Who has been ranked in that time in the AAC? UConn, Memphis, Cincy, and Temple? Not even sure if Temple has but they may have been. Even so, the Big East doubles that. If you want to get a laugh, add up all the tourney appearances between the Big East schools and the AAC schools. It will be a landslide.

And why are you guys so high on SMU? Yes they have been good under Brown, but you do realize he is at the age where you can die of old age right? They have no real future. They are just good now and only because of him. When he leaves, so does any chance of winning.

Umm.. didn't Tulsa make the NCAA tourney last year? Did St. John's? If Tulsa is "God-Awful" what does that make the Johnnies?

 

[itgoeslike]

Well, first of all thanks for the honest answers and not personal attacks. It's an interesting discussion for sure. So far I've gathered:

1. That Seton Hall with a 5 star PG and the #9 recruiting class in 2014 and DePaul (31 NCAA appearances between both and 3 Final Fours) are the same as Tulane and Tulsa which have 18 NCAA appearances between both and 0 Final Fours and certainly terrible recruiting). That's quite the stance to take. It's no contest that SHU and DePaul are much better. SHU has been picked by some experts to make the tourney this year because they really lit up the recruiting trails lately. SHU was also ranked just a few years ago…when's the last time Tulsa/Tulane were ranked?

2. There is a total commitment to football, because UConn believes another lifeboat will come. This is just wishful thinking IMO. Maybe it does come, but there's every reason to believe it won't. UConn football can barely compete with the likes of SUNY Buffalo and Villanova. And that is not a slap, that is true. Plus, major college football will never catch on in the northeast. This is an NFL region and if anyone around here cares about college football they are Michigan, Notre Dame, or Penn State fans. I just can't see UConn ever making money on essentially a FCS level football program playing in the FBS. Eventually if they keep losing money I think they will be forced to pull the plug. UConn is taking a MAJOR risk by gambling on football. I don't think UConn fans realize how big it really is. If the P5 continues to leave you behind, those rings earned in your Big East era will fade away. UConn is in a major transition from Big East era (where literally all your success came) to the AAC era (where there is a lot of unknown and lots of potential for trouble).

3. The assumption that hoops will be fine…because…the past? UConn was sitting pretty in the old Big East. Last year, the first year in the AAC, you do realize that you still had one last gasp from the old Big East right? You had a HOF coach's recruits still (Calhoun) and had that battle tested team from the old Big East. But it's over now. UConn won a championship with old Big East recruits and no doubt the championship will help their recruiting for a few years alone. But I'm talking about LONG term. Are you really going to convince major recruits to play in a conference that plays a few major schools and mostly mid major to low major schools? That will definitely hurt at some point when the Big East mystique wears off and the AAC becomes more the norm. The Big East is recruiting extremely well despite losing the football schools. It seems many people just blindly believe that because UConn has rings, it will always be successful which is not true. Your current conference affiliation has you on the outside looking in and your hoops will suffer because of it. UConn downgraded in basketball to a mid major conference (save for 2 other schools) to go all in for football. No way around it.

4. Football schools make the tournament the most and go deep the most. Well, where does it all start? Recruiting. As long as the recruiting is there, it doesn't matter if you have football. And the new Big East has not skipped a beat recruiting. Once you make the tourney, anything can happen. UConn themselves were major underdogs in the past two championship runs. They got hot at the right time. So I'm not worried about how far Big East teams can go. Nova is primed to always make runs, G'Town is bouncing back after a down year, Marquette is reloading after Buzz, Butler is reloading after Stevens, and Creighton is reloading after McDermott. Give it some time. The Big East was nowhere close to its potential last year and we had 4 teams in. By the way, there are always cinderella runs and major upsets. That's why it's called March Madness. All you need is some good recruits, a ticket, and a little luck.

5. The Big East is on a bad network (FS1). Really? First of all, how can you judge a network that literally just started last year? It has had almost no time to get its name out there. They have been picking up big time college football and other events building their brand. It's still FOX SPORTS at the end of the day…it's not like some obscure name. People will find the games if they are good enough. The fan bases of the teams playing on the channel will always find it. At least we have every game nationally televised which is another big recruiting ploy. By the way, St. John's will be on CBS and ESPN this season when facing Duke and Cuse. So it's not like we are only on FS1. The schools here also make double what the AAC schools make in their TV deal. It's not a bad gig at all.

It really just pains me to see UConn putting its life on the line for a sport they are terrible in. You can blame the C-7 schools for your position but at the end of the day UConn shot itself in the foot by making an awful decision to prioritize football instead of the 1 sport they are known nationally for and excel greatly in. What will really be interesting is if the P5 takes Cincy, UCF, ECU and leaves out Memphis and UConn. What would happen then? The pressure for UConn to leave the AAC is only going to mount, and the Big East would be the only chance for them to stay in a good conference that isn't P5. I'm so glad we don't play football…I wouldn't want to be a part of this mess constantly losing sleep at night wondering if we will play in a mid major or major conference. All can be solved by waving the white flag on the football program.

It's amusing how you make excuses for recent dismal NBE play yet turn a blind eye to a decade of UConn football success that is really unparalleled for a new FBS program. Success that outpaced a big chunk of the current P5. Seriously, if we join the NBE it means all hope is lost with regard to joining a P5 conference. I hope that day never comes. . .

 

[OkaForPrez]

Well, first of all thanks for the honest answers and not personal attacks. It's an interesting discussion for sure. So far I've gathered:

1. That Seton Hall with a 5 star PG and the #9 recruiting class in 2014 and DePaul (31 NCAA appearances between both and 3 Final Fours) are the same as Tulane and Tulsa which have 18 NCAA appearances between both and 0 Final Fours and certainly terrible recruiting). That's quite the stance to take. It's no contest that SHU and DePaul are much better. SHU has been picked by some experts to make the tourney this year because they really lit up the recruiting trails lately. SHU was also ranked just a few years ago…when's the last time Tulsa/Tulane were ranked?

Tulsa went to the big dance last year Johnny. You know that lofty goal that SHU might obtain for the first time since '06 if their recruiting class pans out. Depaul hasn't been to the dance since '04. SHU hasnt been relevant since PJ carlisimo but you want to throw out their historical numbers in your first point and then say in point 3 that the past doesn't matter? Bottom line here though is who cares? Dregs of the league are dregs of the league.

2. There is a total commitment to football, because UConn believes another lifeboat will come. This is just wishful thinking IMO. Maybe it does come, but there's every reason to believe it won't. UConn football can barely compete with the likes of SUNY Buffalo and Villanova. And that is not a slap, that is true. Plus, major college football will never catch on in the northeast. This is an NFL region and if anyone around here cares about college football they are Michigan, Notre Dame, or Penn State fans. I just can't see UConn ever making money on essentially a FCS level football program playing in the FBS. Eventually if they keep losing money I think they will be forced to pull the plug. UConn is taking a MAJOR risk by gambling on football. I don't think UConn fans realize how big it really is. If the P5 continues to leave you behind, those rings earned in your Big East era will fade away. UConn is in a major transition from Big East era (where literally all your success came) to the AAC era (where there is a lot of unknown and lots of potential for trouble).

Thanks your opinion. Irregardless of your biased and superficial assessment of UConn football, the investment is a sunk cost. The money is on the table. The surest way to close up shop on that investment is to join the B1g East. You don't take insurance just because the dealer is showing an ace. Nobody is saying UConn has to be Penn State, we just have to be good enough to allow our market and basketball content to carry the day for a Power 5 invite.

3. The assumption that hoops will be fine…because…the past? UConn was sitting pretty in the old Big East. Last year, the first year in the AAC, you do realize that you still had one last gasp from the old Big East right? You had a HOF coach's recruits still (Calhoun) and had that battle tested team from the old Big East. But it's over now. UConn won a championship with old Big East recruits and no doubt the championship will help their recruiting for a few years alone. But I'm talking about LONG term. Are you really going to convince major recruits to play in a conference that plays a few major schools and mostly mid major to low major schools? That will definitely hurt at some point when the Big East mystique wears off and the AAC becomes more the norm. The Big East is recruiting extremely well despite losing the football schools. It seems many people just blindly believe that because UConn has rings, it will always be successful which is not true. Your current conference affiliation has you on the outside looking in and your hoops will suffer because of it. UConn downgraded in basketball to a mid major conference (save for 2 other schools) to go all in for football. No way around it.

The new Big East is not the Old Big East either. You are on the outside looking in too. This is clearly the biggest gap in your understanding. The NBE like the American is a mid major conference by any definition. The mystique for the nBE is on the clock too. What makes you think you aren't the A10?

4. Football schools make the tournament the most and go deep the most. Well, where does it all start? Recruiting. As long as the recruiting is there, it doesn't matter if you have football. And the new Big East has not skipped a beat recruiting. Once you make the tourney, anything can happen. UConn themselves were major underdogs in the past two championship runs. They got hot at the right time. So I'm not worried about how far Big East teams can go. Nova is primed to always make runs, G'Town is bouncing back after a down year, Marquette is reloading after Buzz, Butler is reloading after Stevens, and Creighton is reloading after McDermott. Give it some time. The Big East was nowhere close to its potential last year and we had 4 teams in. By the way, there are always cinderella runs and major upsets. That's why it's called March Madness. All you need is some good recruits, a ticket, and a little luck.

Speculation and conjecture.

5. The Big East is on a bad network (FS1). Really? First of all, how can you judge a network that literally just started last year? It has had almost no time to get its name out there. They have been picking up big time college football and other events building their brand. It's still FOX SPORTS at the end of the day…it's not like some obscure name. People will find the games if they are good enough. The fan bases of the teams playing on the channel will always find it. At least we have every game nationally televised which is another big recruiting ploy. By the way, St. John's will be on CBS and ESPN this season when facing Duke and Cuse. So it's not like we are only on FS1. The schools here also make double what the AAC schools make in their TV deal. It's not a bad gig at all.

We judge the network BECAUSE it just started last year and the ratings support the opinion that nobody is watching. Its better for UConn to maintain our exposure on ESPN even for the whopping difference of a couple million a year in TV revenue (which, again, we more than subsidize with your exit fee money).

It really just pains me to see UConn putting its life on the line for a sport they are terrible in. You can blame the C-7 schools for your position but at the end of the day UConn shot itself in the foot by making an awful decision to prioritize football instead of the 1 sport they are known nationally for and excel greatly in. What will really be interesting is if the P5 takes Cincy, UCF, ECU and leaves out Memphis and UConn. What would happen then? The pressure for UConn to leave the AAC is only going to mount, and the Big East would be the only chance for them to stay in a good conference that isn't P5. I'm so glad we don't play football…I wouldn't want to be a part of this mess constantly losing sleep at night wondering if we will play in a mid major or major conference. All can be solved by waving the white flag on the football program.

You do play in a mid major conference. You just have no chance of getting out.

 

[Johnny]

Just did the calculations…

AAC Total NCAA Appearances: 171 for an average of 17.1 per team

Big East Total NCAA Appearances: 224 for an average of 22.4 per team

The Big East schools have 53 more NCAA appearances.

 

[Johnny]

You are trying to say that the only way you are considered "major" anymore is if you play FBS football. I call BS. The new Big East is clearly major hoops, it's just that no one cares about football. That doesn't change the quality of the programs. See, we have this crazy notion that we don't need to prioritize a sport that we suck in. We made the logical choice of banding our basketball programs together and putting basketball first. And once UConn does the same, the door will be left open for them. The new Big East is unique…it's the only major conference that specializes in basketball. It's a trailblazing conference. That's probably why you don't consider it major, because you aren't used to this setup yet. Yes we lost a lot of blue blood schools, but we still have some left. That's a testament to how good the old Big East was.

The new Big East allows us to securely focus on basketball. We don't have to worry about raids or defections. And if the AAC/ACC get raided and some decent programs like Purdue, Memphis, Temple, etc. get left behind by the P5 we can always scoop them up. Yes they play football, but after the P5 leaves you behind you don't have a choice. At that point it's Big East or bust if their athletic programs want to remain relevant.

 

[itgoeslike]

". . .imagine Nova, G'Town, Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, St. John's, PC, SHU all running on all cylinders?

We can imagine anything I suppose. The reality is that the NBE is running on one cylinder. Also, go do your math over the last decade, only Marquette and Villanova have avoided being total under-performers. Aside from a couple of exceptions, it was the FBS schools: UConn, Louisville, Syracuse, PITT and Cincinnati (I could even throw in WVU and ND) that carried the C7. You're welcome.

 

[Dooley]

Ever since UCONN has tried playing that ol' pesky D-1 level foosball, I'd say UCONN hoops has treaded water fairly well.

 

[Husky25]

I was going to break your 5 point post down, Dr. Jack style, since you quote me directly (The wrong way by the way) I'll do it here.

"The AAC's ceiling is much higher than that of the Big East's"

That can't be serious…right? What is the ceiling of Tulane, Tulsa, ECU, UCF, and Houston? Those are 5 god awful programs right away. Come on, you guys know they are bums…you just came from the best basketball conference ever. Just call a spade a spade.

Do you make it a habit of not reading entire posts before you respond. Go back and re-read, then comprehend, then respond. Tulane, Tulsa (2014 NCAA Tourney bid 20 win season in 5 of 8 seasons since 2006, with 2 19 and 1 17 win seasons otherwise), ECU, UCF, and Houston ALL SPONSOR FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't even need to argue which conference is better in basketball. If you want to talk ceilings, imagine Nova, G'Town, Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, St. John's, PC, SHU all running on all cylinders? 8 of those 9 schools have been in the top 25 within the past 5 years. Who has been ranked in that time in the AAC? UConn, Memphis, Cincy, and Temple? Not even sure if Temple has but they may have been. Even so, the Big East doubles that. If you want to get a laugh, add up all the tourney appearances between the Big East schools and the AAC schools. It will be a landslide.

1. What was the outcome of the 'Nova game from March 22, 2014 (I forget I was buying tickets for the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden).
2. Buzz Williams left Marquette for Virginia Freaking Tech after a season in which he lost just about ever other game.
3. You cannot take credit for what Butler did in a different conference...same with Xavier, and Creighton (Who lost their best player). Brad Stevens is in the 617 and Butler was 4-14 in league play in 2014. Now their head coach is on a leave of absence.
4. Save for a 1 year blip, St. Johns has been a Flintstones car in the Indy 500 since the Mike Jarvis error...err...era.
5. PC? They count regular season victories vs. UConn among their program milestones (UConn tracks National Championships.).

None of these schools sponsor a FBS football program. It may not mean a ton, but you may find it interesting that no school who does not sponsor Div 1A/FBS football has won the basketball national title 15 years (UConn). More interesting still is that no school belonging to a conference that does not sponsor Div. 1A/FBS football has won a basketball national title (Men or women) in 29 years (M-Villanova; W-ODU).

And why are you guys so high on SMU? Yes they have been good under Brown, but you do realize he is at the age where you can die of old age right? They have no real future. They are just good now and only because of him. When he leaves, so does any chance of winning.

That is true of any number of non-blue blood schools. Interestingly enough that's what the pundits thought about UConn and Coach Calhoun. Kevin Ollie is 52-18 and has one national title in 2 years. SMU is located in a major metropolitan market where a lot of good basketball is played. Oh yeah, they play Div. 1/FBS football too.

 

[Johnny]

You keep saying how well your hoops have done but what you don't seem to realize is that you are now in a major transition from major to mid major basketball (by in large). The future is not guaranteed because you have 4 rings or were really good in the Big East. Everything you have is BECAUSE of the Big East and basketball. Now you are putting football before it. Get it? So everything that happened in the past is now moot, because you are in a totally new era in the AAC with far worse competition. Do I believe UConn will continue to be good in hoops even in the AAC? Yeah, probably at the very least for the next 3-4 years or so. But what happens 10 years down the road? 20 years? UConn may not be known as that powerhouse that has 4 recent rings. It may be known as the team left behind and forgotten about by the P5, slowly rotting in the AAC. The point is UConn is not in control. The P5 are. That's why UConn should join the Big East. You gain control of a crazy situation. You are putting all your eggs in one basket waiting for the ACC to call you with the odds pretty slim. There seems to be no plan B. It's essentially all or nothing. What do you guys think the alternative is assuming the P5 does not want UConn and assuming the Big East does not want your football? Staying in the AAC for the next 25-30 years will absolutely kill UConn basketball.

 

[Husky25]

You are trying to say that the only way you are considered "major" anymore is if you play FBS football. I call BS. The new Big East is clearly major hoops, it's just that no one cares about football. That doesn't change the quality of the programs. See, we have this crazy notion that we don't need to prioritize a sport that we suck in. We made the logical choice of banding our basketball programs together and putting basketball first. And once UConn does the same, the door will be left open for them. The new Big East is unique…it's the only major conference that specializes in basketball. It's a trailblazing conference. That's probably why you don't consider it major, because you aren't used to this setup yet. Yes we lost a lot of blue blood schools, but we still have some left. That's a testament to how good the old Big East was.

The new Big East allows us to securely focus on basketball. We don't have to worry about raids or defections. And if the AAC/ACC get raided and some decent programs like Purdue, Memphis, Temple, etc. get left behind by the P5 we can always scoop them up. Yes they play football, but after the P5 leaves you behind you don't have a choice. At that point it's Big East or bust if their athletic programs want to remain relevant.

No, I am saying that schools in football conference will have a better shot at paying FCoA.

 

[Johnny]

"Interestingly enough that's what the pundits thought about UConn and Coach Calhoun. Kevin Ollie is 52-18 and has one national title in 2 years."

Ollie won with Calhoun recruits. You know that's a big no-no when discussing coaches. Ollie needs to recruit his own kids and win big with his own kids to prove himself. That's like me having Coach K recruit for St. John's then credit Lavin for the success.

 

[itgoeslike]

Since UConn committed to FBS it has won Four National Championships. Clearly there's a correlation. . .

 

[itgoeslike]

"Interestingly enough that's what the pundits thought about UConn and Coach Calhoun. Kevin Ollie is 52-18 and has one national title in 2 years."

Ollie won with Calhoun recruits. You know that's a big no-no when discussing coaches. Ollie needs to recruit his own kids and win big with his own kids to prove himself. That's like me having Coach K recruit for St. John's then credit Lavin for the success.

? Ollie was heavily involved in the recruiting before he took over the reigns. You're nuts if you don't think any coach in the NBE would not cut off their right arm to have HCKO's recruiting "issues".

 

[Husky25]

"Interestingly enough that's what the pundits thought about UConn and Coach Calhoun. Kevin Ollie is 52-18 and has one national title in 2 years."

Ollie won with Calhoun recruits. You know that's a big no-no when discussing coaches. Ollie needs to recruit his own kids and win big with his own kids to prove himself. That's like me having Coach K recruit for St. John's then credit Lavin for the success.

PLEASE LEARN HOW TO QUOTE IN THE PROPER MANNER!!!!

Ollie was the lead recruiter for half the contributors on the 2013-2014 team, IIRC, including Daniels, Facey, Boatright, and Samuel.

At the very least I am keeping it within the same program. You are giving the New Big East credit for Butler's 2009 -2011 success under Brad Stevens (5 years, 2 conferences, 1 full time, and 1 interim coach removed).

 

[Dooley]

Since UConn committed to FBS it has won Four National Championships. Clearly there's a correlation. . .

Shhhh...this sh-- for brains is on a roll. Logic, facts and historical evidence will scare him/her away!

 

[uconnell]

Shhhh...this sh-- for brains is on a roll. Logic, facts and historical evidence will scare him/her away!

One could only hope!

 

[Fishy]

We carried the Big East like a motherf---ing Sherpa.

In its present form, it needs us a hell of a lot more than we need it.

That conference is almost completely devoid of home run hitters. Georgetown and Nova have some pop but the rest are either bench warmers or singles hitters.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

We never actually left the Big East
Same headquarters ,all the NCAA money , the NBE east is about as Eastern as the AAC.
We're the only orginal left.
Everyone else left us.
My recollections is as a public flag ship we don't fit the NBE model ,which actually is understandable.

 

[Husky25]

You keep saying how well your hoops have done but what you don't seem to realize is that you are now in a major transition from major to mid major basketball (by in large). The future is not guaranteed because you have 4 rings or were really good in the Big East. Everything you have is BECAUSE of the Big East and basketball. Now you are putting football before it. Get it? So everything that happened in the past is now moot, because you are in a totally new era in the AAC with far worse competition. Do I believe UConn will continue to be good in hoops even in the AAC? Yeah, probably at the very least for the next 3-4 years or so. But what happens 10 years down the road? 20 years? UConn may not be known as that powerhouse that has 4 recent rings. It may be known as the team left behind and forgotten about by the P5, slowly rotting in the AAC. The point is UConn is not in control. The P5 are. That's why UConn should join the Big East. You gain control of a crazy situation. You are putting all your eggs in one basket waiting for the ACC to call you with the odds pretty slim. There seems to be no plan B. It's essentially all or nothing. What do you guys think the alternative is assuming the P5 does not want UConn and assuming the Big East does not want your football? Staying in the AAC for the next 25-30 years will absolutely kill UConn basketball.

I don't know. What happens in 10 or 20 years? Anything you say (and have said) is just as much speculation as anything said here by (mostly) sane individuals.

 

[Husky25]

Hey guys, St. John's fan coming in peace. Really not here to troll or start anything and have always respected UConn.

I hate it when people sign up under false pretenses.

 

[HuskyHawk]

People realize it's possible to:

1) Say the big east is a very good basketball league.
2) Realize it's a perfect fit for its members.
3) Admit the AAC is worse, but due to our ambitions it's where we need to be?

The Big East isn't as great as it's made ti be, but it's still significantly better than the AAC. however, that doesn't really change anything about our positron.

Also, the guy posing the question deserved to take some heat due to the condescending nature of his post re: our football program and where we stand.

^^^This. We don't have to tear the Big East down to say we are better off in the AAC, with a chance at a P5 slot, then joining it. It's a good basketball league, and a better on than the AAC I'll wager, most years. But that isn't enough.

 

[HuskyHawk]

"Interestingly enough that's what the pundits thought about UConn and Coach Calhoun. Kevin Ollie is 52-18 and has one national title in 2 years."

Ollie won with Calhoun recruits. You know that's a big no-no when discussing coaches. Ollie needs to recruit his own kids and win big with his own kids to prove himself. That's like me having Coach K recruit for St. John's then credit Lavin for the success.

I know you don't pay attention, but from what I can see, Kevin Ollie is a better recruiter than Jim Calhoun was. Recruiting is not a problem.

I also think you may be young if you label Houston as an awful program and then heap praise on programs like Seton Hall, Providence and DePaul. Even St. Johns has been bad just as long as Houston has. Houston had a very good run for quite a while with Guy Lewis. SMU was even decent for a spell (remember Jon Koncak), about as long as Seton Hall ever was actually. Memphis has been and continues to be good. Temple has more wins all time than any team in the current Big East, #6 all time. Tulsa has fielded competitive teams for many years.

SMU, CFU, ECU...that's where the AAC falls down, our dregs are worse than you dregs.

 

[freescooter]

"The AAC's ceiling is much higher than that of the Big East's"

That can't be serious…right? What is the ceiling of Tulane, Tulsa, ECU, UCF, and Houston? Those are 5 god awful programs right away. Come on, you guys know they are bums…you just came from the best basketball conference ever. Just call a spade a spade.

I don't even need to argue which conference is better in basketball. If you want to talk ceilings, imagine Nova, G'Town, Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, St. John's, PC, SHU all running on all cylinders? 8 of those 9 schools have been in the top 25 within the past 5 years. Who has been ranked in that time in the AAC? UConn, Memphis, Cincy, and Temple? Not even sure if Temple has but they may have been. Even so, the Big East doubles that. If you want to get a laugh, add up all the tourney appearances between the Big East schools and the AAC schools. It will be a landslide.

And why are you guys so high on SMU? Yes they have been good under Brown, but you do realize he is at the age where you can die of old age right? They have no real future. They are just good now and only because of him. When he leaves, so does any chance of winning.

Wake me when St Johns, Seton Hall, PC and DePaul do something in this Century, ok? You want to see what the New Big East is? PC won the tournament after the football schools left. You really think they win it with UConn, Louisville,Cincy, Syracuse and so forth. Please. I've been saying for several years that the old Big East Catholics would really be better off in their own league, because now they can actually compete for NCAA slots, championships and the like. Except for Georgetown and Marquette, nobody else from that collection really can. Give it a rest. UConn has surpassed anything St Johns, and frankly any of the New Big East has accomplished . We are in a league which is not great, but has some very good teams. Is the chaff at the bottom going to hurt our seeding? Yeah, it is, but UConn has won titles from lower seeds and from higher seeds.

I get you want UConn back in the Big East. If I were the Johnnies or DePaul or Seton Hall I owuld too. The Huskies are a good bet to make the tourney every year and they are usually good for a very deep run at least every few years. That benefits the League, and benefits the likes of the Sadsack programs like PC, St Johns, Seton Hall, and DePaul who rarely make the Dance and are easy outs when they do. After 25 years of being carried by the Huskies and the other football schools, it must be scary to have to make it on your own.