BE Commissioner: Expansion Possible Before 2024

[UCONNJACK]

Article posted this afternoon on The Athletic webpage. UConn and Gonzaga only schools mentioned.

Big East commissioner talks potential expansion

 

[huskymedic]

As expected - it seems like Dana is overplaying it and Ackerman underplaying it. Thread/

 

[freescooter]

Not anybody out there that makes any sense. Gonzaga would be a nightmare. I’d think that would be a basketball only membership. But what if they fall off?

 

[shizzle787]

Gonzaga would be great. They only have three men’s and women’s teams that would need to travel a few times a year east. The rest of the their teams might need to make one trip a year. If the Pac-12 gets back to 12, it is imperative that the BE is not the small P6 basketball league.

 

[buddy]

Hopefully they the BE will be expanding because UConn will be leaving for a P5 Conference.

 

[alphasigko]

Gonzaga would be great. They only have three men’s and women’s teams that would need to travel a few times a year east. The rest of the their teams might need to make one trip a year. If the Pac-12 gets back to 12, it is imperative that the BE is not the small P6 basketball league.

Not sure I buy the travel east "a few times" and "one trip a year". Please explain how you come to this conclusion if there are in conference home/away games per sport.

 

[Ricker]

Having Home/Away with every school in the conference is what I don't want to lose. So much better than skewed schedules of opponents.

 

[shizzle787]

Not sure I buy the travel east "a few times" and "one trip a year". Please explain how you come to this conclusion if there are in conference home/away games per sport.

Sports like tennis, golf, track and field, cross country and rowing have conference championship meets at the end of the year. You don't even have to play your conference mates during the regular season. They could have all their meets for those five sports on the West Coast. The only sports that travel east a few times a year are m/w basketball (5 trips x 2 schools a trip for each m/w), m/w soccer (same spiel), baseball (4 trips east a year), and volleyball (5 trips east a year x 2 schools a trip). It is very doable.

 

[shizzle787]

Having Home/Away with every school in the conference is what I don't want to lose. So much better than skewed schedules of opponents.

With the SEC and B1G going to 16 teams and likely getting 8+ bids a year going forward, even if we get 6/11 teams in the field every year, we are disadvantaged perception-wise nationally by only getting six teams in even if our league may actually be better. That is why at a minimum you need to add Gonzaga so that we can get 7 bids a year consistently.

 

[superjohn]

Having Home/Away with every school in the conference is what I don't want to lose. So much better than skewed schedules of opponents.

Do you want to fall behind other conferences competitively and perception wise because you want a balanced schedule? The Big East should've added the Zags already as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Storrs South]

It's amazing the PAC12 didn't bother to add Gonzaga while on solid footing. Outside of a great tournament performance in 2021, the conference has continually gotten worse in basketball. Easily the worst of the major 6 conferences in hoops.

Gonzaga would have completely shifted that perception. Now they probably wouldn't join a conference that is being picked apart like a carcass.

 

[shizzle787]

It's amazing the PAC12 didn't bother to add Gonzaga while on solid footing. Outside of a great tournament performance in 2021, the conference has continually gotten worse in basketball. Easily the worst of the major 6 conferences in hoops.

Gonzaga would have completely shifted that perception. Now they probably wouldn't join a conference that is being picked apart like a carcass.

I wouldn't be stunned if the Pac-12 stuck together and added Gonzaga as a non-football member to get 11 in basketball and a 20-game double round robin. Unlikely but not stunning.

 

[Storrs South]

I wouldn't be stunned if the Pac-12 stuck together and added Gonzaga as a non-football member to get 11 in basketball and a 20-game double round robin. Unlikely but not stunning.

Would they join with OR and WA looking for the exit? Even the four corners may run to the Big 12. They'd be left with Oregon State, WSU, Stanford and Cal. Seems pretty risky compared to BE where only UConn could theoretically jump.

I would almost think MW would be more appealing than PAC at this point considering only Boise State could feasibly make a P5 jump in the next 10 years and it's a definite jump up from WCC. Not Big East of course but a step up from today.

 

[shizzle787]

Would they join with OR and WA looking for the exit? Even the four corners may run to the Big 12. They'd be left with Oregon State, WSU, Stanford and Cal. Seems pretty risky compared to BE where only UConn could theoretically jump.

They could just jump to the BE if the Pac-12 falls apart. They won't lose out either way.

 

[Ricker]

Do you want to fall behind other conferences competitively and perception wise because you want a balanced schedule? The Big East should've added the Zags already as far as I'm concerned.

Yes. I prefer the balanced schedule to the exclusion of expansion, and, I don't accept that the number of schools puts us behind competitively as a basketball conference with any certainty. In fact I think home and home rivalries is an advantage. Ackerman stressed today the Big East is, and will be, a basketball centric conference. Football will drive money and the perception of conferences, not adding a basketball school 3000 miles away that might not successfully transition when Mark Few is no longer coach. Focus on lining up significant NIL money in Big East cities like NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc and basketball talent will be at our schools. Talent and rivalries will equal a great league. In my view, NIL success should be the focus over expansion to keep the league strong. When the league is strong the media money and perception will follow.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Having Home/Away with every school in the conference is what I don't want to lose. So much better than skewed schedules of opponents.

1. Add Gonzaga
2. Drop Depaul
3. ???
4. Profit

 

[superjohn]

Yes. I prefer the balanced schedule to the exclusion of expansion, and, I don't accept that the number of schools puts us behind competitively as a basketball conference with any certainty. In fact I think home and home rivalries is an advantage. Ackerman stressed today the Big East is, and will be, a basketball centric conference. Football will drive money and the perception of conferences, not adding a basketball school 3000 miles away that might not successfully transition when Mark Few is no longer coach. Focus on lining up significant NIL money in Big East cities like NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc and basketball talent will be at our schools. Talent and rivalries will equal a great league. In my view, NIL success should be the focus over expansion to keep the league strong. When the league is strong the media money and perception will follow.

We all know The Big East is a basketball conference and will remain a basketball conference, we don't need Val Ackerman to convince us. Adding one of the best basketball programs to your basketball conference makes your basketball conference significantly stronger.

The Big East doesn't move the needle at all in Chicago, not sure what kind of NIL money you think will be flowing from there. They got Zion Cruz from Donda Academy? Are we going to get Kanye money? Gonzaga is a national brand, DePaul isn't even a brand in the city of Chicago.

"When the league is strong the media money and perception will follow."

The league would be stronger with Gonzaga in it which would bring more media money and a higher national perception of the league.

 

[NJHusky]

We all know The Big East is a basketball conference and will remain a basketball conference, we don't need Val Ackerman to convince us. Adding one of the best basketball programs to your basketball conference makes your basketball conference significantly stronger.

The Big East doesn't move the needle at all in Chicago, not sure what kind of NIL money you think will be flowing from there. They got Zion Cruz from Donda Academy? Are we going to get Kanye money? Gonzaga is a national brand, DePaul isn't even a brand in the city of Chicago.

"When the league is strong the media money and perception will follow."

The league would be stronger with Gonzaga in it which would bring more media money and a higher national perception of the league.

Good points. But what happens when Few retires? I don’t recall anyone talking about them 15 years ago. Remember when DePaul was a better bball school than Gonzaga?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Not anybody out there that makes any sense. Gonzaga would be a nightmare. I’d think that would be a basketball only membership. But what if they fall off?

Why is Gonzaga a nightmare? I think you can work it in sports, leagues are national. UCLA is in the Big Ten and plays Penn State. Geography is no longer an issue anymore, it is are the institutions of like minds? A West Coast Catholic school is perfect.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Would they join with OR and WA looking for the exit? Even the four corners may run to the Big 12. They'd be left with Oregon State, WSU, Stanford and Cal. Seems pretty risky compared to BE where only UConn could theoretically jump.

I would almost think MW would be more appealing than PAC at this point considering only Boise State could feasibly make a P5 jump in the next 10 years and it's a definite jump up from WCC. Not Big East of course but a step up from today.

BTW. Stanford and Gonzaga all sports and Stanford goes indy in football. If there is no USC, UCLA< Oregon and Washington, what does Stanford stay in a western conference? Their peer institutions have gone east.

 

[superjohn]

Good points. But what happens when Few retires? I don’t recall anyone talking about them 15 years ago. Remember when DePaul was a better bball school than Gonzaga?

What happens to UConn when Calhoun retires, Duke when K retires, Nova when Wright retires?

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Sports like tennis, golf, track and field, cross country and rowing have conference championship meets at the end of the year. You don't even have to play your conference mates during the regular season. They could have all their meets for those five sports on the West Coast. The only sports that travel east a few times a year are m/w basketball (5 trips x 2 schools a trip for each m/w), m/w soccer (same spiel), baseball (4 trips east a year), and volleyball (5 trips east a year x 2 schools a trip). It is very doable.

The other option is just to add other schools on top of Gonzaga. I don't have a list of schools out in the West, but there are other options. This will make traveling easier for all the schools going out West. If there is value for the TV networks, why not create a nationwide conference like everyone else is doing?

 

[NJHusky]

Why is Gonzaga a nightmare? I think you can work it in sports, leagues are national. UCLA is in the Big Ten and plays Penn State. Geography is no longer an issue anymore, it is are the institutions of like minds? A West Coast Catholic school is perfect.

If Gonzaga comes with a 100 million yearly per team payday it makes great sense.

 

[JohnFSilver]

If Gonzaga comes with a 100 million yearly per team payday it makes great sense.

if the cash isnt there, then no. But if it is immediately accretive to the television deal? who cares about geography and logistics?