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Illinois is way up from last year. Purdue, OTOH, looks BAD. Wisconsin is down as well.
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Yeah, Purdue sucks, Wisconsin will still be a bear at home.Comment
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Illini was 'suppose' to be really good last season, they are just playing what they are capable of.Comment
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UCLA and Texas draw fewer than 3,000 for a game at Reliant Stadium
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Yeah, I watched a good bit of that one. Felt dumber afterward. What a terrible, terrible game.Comment
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Some talk today that the Big East basketball-only schools (like Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, etc.) could dissolve the conf and merge with the A-10Comment
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Wouldn't be a terrible move. A-10 isn't bad and would be much better with those schools.Comment
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Some of the newer Big East football schools don't do a whole lot for basketball.Comment
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Looks like the Big East's death is almost official. The 7 Catholic schools have agreed to leave en masse. Just deciding over how to leave.
I'd guess this will make Boise State and SDSU and maybe even other schools seriously think about staying put where they are.Comment
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Marquette entering a whole new league
A look at the teams involved in a new conference, according to university sources:
Butler
DePaul
Georgetown
Marquette
Providence
St. John's
Seton Hall
Villanova
Xavier
Creighton, Virginia Commonwealth, Dayton or St. Louis could become the 10th team, or the conference could begin play with 12 teams
Marquette's new basketball-centric athletic conference will include 10 or 12 teams, have a reasonable television contract and rotating sites for its league tournament, according to university sources.
The Golden Eagles will join six other former members of the Big East: Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Seton Hall and Villanova. Butler and Xavier will leave the Atlantic 10 to join the new unnamed league.
Creighton, Virginia Commonwealth, Dayton or St. Louis could become the 10th team, or the conference could begin play with 12 teams if three schools vying for the 10th spot are all worthy candidates.
The decision to form the new league has already been made, according to MU sources. The only holdup is Georgetown President John J. DeGioia, who is struggling with the idea of his school leaving the Big East.
Once DeGioia signs on, an announcement on the formation of the new league, which would begin play next season, could come as early as Friday.
Marquette's share from a TV contract should be no less than the $1.5 million it currently receives from the Big East, a source said.
With the addition of Butler, which has made two of the last three Final Fours, there is a possibility that the first league tournament could be played at Indianapolis' Bankers Life Fieldhouse (old Conseco Fieldhouse). The site would then most likely rotate, with the possibility of Milwaukee playing host if a new arena is built.
The fact that the league is being formed to feature men's basketball thrills Marquette officials. Since joining the Big East in 2005, Marquette believes it has compromised on its lead sport to accommodate the football wishes of the Big East. But as the Big East struggled to survive by clinging to football, it alienated its seven remaining basketball-first members.
Athletic directors at Marquette and the six seceding schools were prepared to break away at least six months ago as the Big East continued to hemorrhage prestigious members. Recent defectors include Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia.
When Rutgers joined Maryland in the Big Ten Conference and Louisville left for the Atlantic Coast Conference within the last month, the push to leave the Big East gained momentum for Marquette.
Then, when the Big East announced that basketball lightweight Tulane would join the Big East, presidents at the seven schools, with the exception of DeGioia, joined their athletic directors in the movement.
The Marquette president, Rev. Scott Pilarz, joined MU vice president and director of athletics Larry Williams in New York earlier this week to inform the Big East of its plans to withdraw.
Neither Pilarz nor Williams were available for comment Thursday.
Marquette's other 11 sports - women's basketball, track and field, cross country, men's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball - will compete in the new league.
The Golden Eagles' nationally prominent soccer and volleyball teams will immediately become among the best in the new conference.
But men's basketball, the primary revenue producer for the athletic department, will seriously benefit from affiliation with the new league.
Although the conference cannot immediately compete with the heyday of the Big East, when Georgetown, Syracuse and Connecticut ruled the college basketball landscape, the Golden Eagles will be in a much better place than they were in a Big East that was crumbling while trying to maintain a football foothold.
While the new league will not have a traditional brand name like North Carolina and Duke in the ACC or Indiana in the Big Ten, it will feature new-blood programs such as Butler, Xavier and the Golden Eagles, who have made the Sweet 16 in each of the last two seasons.
Georgetown also will give clout to a league that will have an automatic NCAA berth and should provide a number of at-large teams to the tournament.
The new league will be the fifth since 1988 for Marquette, which had been an independent before joining the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. While the Golden Eagles are accustomed to conference jumping and excited about the move, traditional Big East schools like Georgetown are having trouble leaving.
Terms of a buyout have not been determined for the departing schools.
What happens to the Big East is anyone's guess. It could fold or try to hang on with Connecticut and Cincinnati, Temple and Memphis, as well as Southern Methodist, Houston, Tulane and Central Florida. East Carolina, Navy, San Diego State and Boise State are football-only members.
Meanwhile, there will be many details to sort out before the new league can begin play. As one source noted, no one among the seven breakaway schools has experience in beginning a new league. But that challenge paled in comparison to Marquette's wish to no longer be a part of what the Big East had become.Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.Comment
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Could the Jays leave the MVC?
Matt Perrault
TheBluejayCafe.com Publisher
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After years of hoping, some might say praying, for a legitimate opportunity to join a basketball-only conference consisting of like-minded Catholic universities, that time may have finally come for Creighton.
TheBluejaycafe.com
Could the Jays leave the MVC?
According to multiple media reports, 7 Big East schools are leaving to form their own conference. The pending move is being reported by SI.com as "inevitable", that Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Marquette, Seton Hall, Depaul and Villanova will break away from their football playing brothers and start a search for 5 new additions in order to form a 12-team league. The new formation would maintain an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and become one of the strongest basketball conferences in the country.
Going to St. Louis for Arch Madness is amazing, but what about playing the conference tournament in New York, at Madison Square Garden? Sure makes Sundeckers look like a pretty average bar huh?
With all due respect, I am not Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com, but I feel like I have uncovered information involving Creighton and expansion that is worthy of sharing with Bluejay fans. Tonight, I have multiple sources telling me that Creighton is very much in the conversation for this new league and thus, I believe we need to take a look at the potential for this move.
For the record, I contacted Creighton for comment for this story and was directed to Father Lannon's office, which issued a "no comment". I was also told that all public comments on the subject will be made by Father in the near future, yet nothing is planned at the moment.
Here's what I know tonight:
Would Creighton leave the MVC for the new Catholic league?
Yes.
However, that's not to say that CU is unhappy in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Jays are happy in the MVC and would not look to jump to just any league. But, the opportunity to play in a higher profile basketball conference with a better television deal would be too good to pass up.
This is a move for all sports - not just basketball. Matching up with like-minded schools with similar commitments to academics and athletics is exactly what CU officials have talked about publicly for years now. It's the dream situation to get into if given the chance.
I have been told Creighton is prepared to act if given an invitation from the new league.
Is Creighton a realistic option for the new league?
Of course.
Creighton has strong academics in the Jesuit tradition and is led by Father Tim Lannon, who is close to the leaders at Marquette and other members of the new league. It's a perfect fit from a philosophical standpoint.
With TV money being important to the 7 Catholic schools, Omaha being in the Top 75 for television markets is attractive plus, CU is a top 10 program for basketball attendance. The Century Link Center will rival any venue in the new league and CU's fan base has a great reputation across the country.
The Bluejays may not have had the NCAA Tournament success as some other non-BCS schools, but this move is about the long term. You cannot debate the history of Creighton basketball as not worthy of this opportunity to move up.
Associated Press
CU has done well against power conference schools recently
I was told "Creighton is very much in the conversation" from a source covering the story and they are being talked about as a realistic option to be given an invitation once the 7 Catholic schools finally separate.
Who else is being considered?
What I have been told is that Xavier and Butler are wanted in the new league by the 7 Catholic schools. So, if that proves to be accurate, then there are 3 spots lefts to be decided.
The other names I have heard today along with Creighton being floated for the new league are: St. Louis, Dayton, Gonzaga, San Diego State, George Mason, Temple, Rhode Island and VCU.
What about those schools listed?
St. Louis: A Jesuit school in a large television market and with an extremely well respected leader in Father Lawrence Biondi. Very real possibility for the new league, in my opinion.
Dayton: Catholic school that does not play football and features a great basketball tradition. One of the best fan bases in the Midwest. As Xavier's big rival, that should help to get them into the league.
Gonzaga: A geographic mismatch for the new league, but could provide the opportunity for a more national league, which is better for television. A Jesuit school that has had tremendous success on the basketball floor over the past decade and brings a great brand to the table. The Zags want in to this new league, I was told.
San Diego State: I don't really get why they are in the picture other than a chance to break-up the Mountain West Conference and have a West Coast travel partner for Gonzaga. Not a real threat in my opinion. Plus, they play football.
George Mason: If you have DC with Georgetown, why do you need George Mason? Sure, they are decent basketball program but I don't see the attraction other than where the school is located. GMU is a long shot in my opinion.
Temple: They play football and want to make football money. As others have written, Villanova probably ends this option.
Rhode Island: To me, all URI brings is a geographic fit. I don't think they are a serious option at this point.
VCU: Is VCU a long-term power in college basketball? That's a major question being asked by the new league, I was told. They do bring a nice TV market with them and a great head coach but how long will Coach Smart stay with the Rams? I think, in the end, the new league passes on VCU.
Why not Creighton?
It's the same reason why St. Louis may be left out - geography. Do the new schools want to travel to Omaha in the winter to play volleyball? I was told today that many of the 7 Catholic schools favor a more eastern geographical make-up to the new league.
However, I was told by a different source, that the new members will be selected based on tradition, program success, and untapped media market size. That criteria favors Creighton and St. Louis being added over programs like Temple and George Mason, whose media markets have already been secured.
The good news is that when it comes to the criteria being reported for the new league, Creighton has far more positives than negatives right now.
What if the Jays don't get picked?
The opportunity for expansion for the Missouri Valley Conference is also a major factor to consider here. If SLU and Dayton do not get picked too, it would be wise for the MVC to quickly offer them inclusion into the league. The A-10 is going to struggle to stay together if Butler and Xavier and other schools jump ship. It would be the perfect time to finally get SLU into the Valley.
Associated Press
What about SLU in the new league?
As a 12-team league, scheduling changes but it's not impossible at all.
What's the best option for Creighton
If the 7 Catholic schools want to divide the league into 2 6-team divisions, Creighton could get in.
For the sake of argument - a western division could be made up of Creighton, St. Louis, Marquette, Depaul, Dayton, and Butler. The travel miles here would be very similar to what the Jays are currently doing in the Valley.
The east would be Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, and Xavier. This is the easiest to sell because of the travel.
Big East 2.0 could play a 18-game league schedule and only have to play the other division 8 times. That would mean an East Divison team would only have to travel to the Midwest four times a year. That would save a lot of money on travel costs and alleviate some of the concerns over geography.
Other sticking points?
If the league will keep the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, earned shares from the old Big East become a major issue. Also, who gets the money from exit fees being paid out from programs like Syracuse and Pittsburgh?
There is still a lot to be determined before Bluejay fans will know if their favorite team is leaving for a new opportunity.Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.Comment
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Hoosiers fall to Butler in OT. UM should move up to #2 with a win against WVU.What's the difference between an OSU grad and a park bench? A park bench can support a family of four.Comment
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It's a rare occasion that I'll find something that the green and gold did that I think is cool but I have to give props for them having a real basketball game in Jenison Field House. I didn't even know that place was still around.
They should do that every so often.Comment
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I remember when the HS basketball finals were held in Jenison. Good times."What you're doing, speaks so loudly, that I can't hear what you are saying"Comment
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Got a link for that real game? Last I heard something about a group of pilots in town for a scrimmage.Originally posted by *JD* View PostComment
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