Irrefutable, Undeniable ...

The new BE is an abomination. Too many are convincing themselves that the cr*p sandwich is roast beef on a roll. There are no natural regional rivalries to be built upon, and UConn is heads and shoulders above the glorified community colleges it is associating with. For all those praising Herbst, I find myself scratching my head. I don't see many recruits salivating to play mighty Memphis, UCF, Houston, etc..when the real action is in the big boy conferences. As a premier state university and one with an elite national basketball program, you'd think somebody could have levered UConn a whole lot more effectively.

I don't think that's true. In fact, whether by serendipity or actual planning (probably serendipity), it seems like the Big East has essentially paired everyone off. UConn will have Rutgers as their regional rival. USF gets UCF, Louisville and Cincy will continue their long standing rivalry, and SMU will battle Houston. The Big East wants the Boise / SDSU thing to become a rivalry (their western "travel partner") although that isn't really regional, and I guess Memphis and Navy are stuck with each other....until Temple or another branch of the Armed Forces joins up.

Some might not like the New Big East (clearly, it isn't ideal!), but I think it could develop into something pretty good. After all of the turmoil that's occurred over the last 5 months or so, it's a good place to end up in, even if it ends up being a temporary thing (like all of college realignment).

I tend to agree with you, Dan, that there actually is some potential for rivalries/bragging rights games in the new Big East. To a degree those games don't automatically become rivalries in the strictest sense, but they can and some have indicated that they have real long-term potential. Cincinatti-Louisville is probably the closest thign to a true rivalry we have. Long standing with a real trophy, not some made up thing liek BC-Clemson for example. I don't know enough about the game to really know if the hate factor is there, though. UCONN-Rutgers, given its limited history, is I think really heading down the path that could become one of the better rivalry games. The fans don't particularly like each other, there have been close games, huge upsets, crazy finishes, not sure there has been that controvertial finish yet, where the game changes on an official's call or non-call. But it seems to me that's the only thing missing other than length of the series.

I guess I wouldn't have a problem making UMass a regular non-conference game, either.

We get nothing out of playing UMass. Nothing.

On the one hand I agree with this. On the other, it presents the opportunity to establish absolute supremacy in New England over an opponent. As I posted before. Every opportunity to beat that program into submission should be taken.

I think the issue is not whether it makes sense if you assume we beat them into submission twenty straight games. The issue is whether if we win 9 of 10 do we do ourselves more harm than good.

Untrue. They replace an even worse-fitting MAC opponent (cough Buffalo cough), in hopefully all cases.

Just like BC does with us..............?

Play'em and crush'em. They are next door.

I think you can make reasonable arguments on both sides of the UMass question. On the one hand it is little different from Cincy-Miami, or LSU-Tulane...oh occassionally we'll lose and it will be horrible, but most of the time we'll win, and it would be a much more interesting game than Buffalo or Western Michigan or Temple or the other MACs. And it does revise on eof the longer running rivalries in New England at 70+ games. On the down side, there isn't anything huge to be gained by UCONN. A win is expected. A loss is a disaster.

Screw UMass. All we get from that clown college is the constant badmouth, going on 20 years now. Never one ounce of anything approaching respect. Who needs 'em? Why should we do them any favors, bad enough we are lowering ourselves once.

l guess I would favor it under the condition that we get it at the Rent most of the time, and that it gets scheduled when BC has a home game against one of its vaunted ACC opponents, maybe opposite the big Clemson-BC matchup.