Article Links: The New Big East

[DanMcQ]

*** Links only please - articles are getting lost quickly in the main discussion thread - feel free to post links in both ***

www.georgetown.edu/Big-East-Realignment/index.html

www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/121512aac.html

marquettetribune.org/2012/12/15/sports/marquette-leaves-big-east-with-rest-of-catholic-7/

washingtonexaminer.com/big-east-breaks-apart/article/2516057

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gEYsHiUAlcYGt9THBUpwZ772SrWA?docId=613784dbf75e4cc1b6be560c0553d7e7

www.nj.com/college-basketball/index.ssf/2012/12/big_easts_basketball-only_schools_defect_from_conference_citing_a_return_to_their_roots.html

espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8749700/seven-schools-decide-leave-big-east-pursue-new-basketball-framework

espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/70110/big-questions-on-exits-from-big-east

Wash Post - Liz Clarke: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/georgetown-six-other-big-east-basketball-schools-to-form-a-league-of-their-own/2012/12/15/dc9672b6-46fc-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html

[ktjhoya]

Vox coverage: blog.georgetownvoice.com/2012/12/15/georgetown-officially-announces-departure-from-big-east/

[sead43]

GU press conf video (covers western carolina game and conference realignment):

[DanMcQ]

www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2012/12/16/a-look-at-the-potential-candidates-to-join-catholic-7/1772723/

www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1772529?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Michigan%20State%20Spartans|p

news.providencejournal.com/sports/college/2012/12/pcs-fr-shanley-says-its-time-to-move-on-from-big-east.html

www.thetowntalk.com/article/20121216/SPORTS/121216005/Lopresti-New-Big-East-must-look-Butler

www.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/slu-rolls-as-fans-have-eyes-on-a-bigger-prize/article_58b96994-d3cd-5b39-8628-79854c264c07.html

[glidehoyas (Inactive)]

espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/70110/big-questions-on-exits-from-big-east

[DanMcQ]

blog.pennlive.com/davidjones/2012/12/villanova_whew_can_now_revert.html

www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-matt-murschel-college-insider-1217-20121216,0,7695254.column

www.freep.com/usatoday/article/1772723?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Michigan%20Wolverines|s

washingtonexaminer.com/big-east-departures-now-all-about-timing/article/2516117

www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/16/georgetown-views-leaving-big-east-as-practical/

[idhoya]

I was at the presser; III was asked if he were sad about the move. He emphatically said "No".

[DanMcQ]

www.freep.com/article/20121217/SPORTS03/312170041/Detroit-Pistons-Greg-Monroe-Georgetown-saddened-by-Big-East-basketball-break-up?odyssey=nav|head

msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/georgetown-villanova-st-johns-depaul-marquette-providence-seton-hall-face-life-after-big-east-121612

ajerseyguy.com/?p=4380

Now it is official. The Catholic 7 as they are becoming known officially told the Big East they were leaving the conference on Saturday.

But the move won’t be made soon. Too much money is still on the table. It probably won’t be as long as June 30th, 2015, which is the first time DePaul, Georgetown, St. John’s, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette, Villanova can leave without paying any kind of exit fee.

A good guess would be June 30th, 2014, with some kind of financial payoff for leaving early.

The question that must be asked now is what next, how does this Catholic 7 group move back into the flow of college athletics as a basketball, but no FBS football, conference? And who will lead the way?

As Hal Holbrook, playing the role of “Deep Throat” in the movie All the Presidents Men told Robert Redford, playing the role of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

“It was a Haldeman operation. The whole business was run by Haldeman.”

In the case of the Catholic 7 Georgetown is playing the role of Bob Haldeman (Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff).

The move to exit the Big East was not totally orchestrated by Georgetown. But it was triggered by the Hoyas.

More rumbling. But no one had the gumption to take control and lead the group out the door.

In the last few weeks that changed and when the Catholic schools met in New York with Big East commissioner Mike Aresco last Sunday, Georgetown was not only there, but they were asking questions. Lots of questions.

This was a key. Of the group of 7, Georgetown had the most impressive credentials. The others talked a good game, but they were all wannabees.

Georgetown, coached by John Thompson III, still had game.

Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall. All had been in the also ran category in terms of achievement for years. Villanova was a player, but had lost its fast ball the past few years. Marquette was a newcomer. DePaul was like a pilot fish, feeding off everyone, but contributing almost nothing.

Georgetown was the leader. Georgetown’s voice was heard when the Big East turned down the billion dollar television deal offered by ESPN a few years ago. Georgetown was the one who was preaching patience when the Big East was morphing into a Conference USA type of league.

But suddenly it was different. Georgetown was leading the pack and last Sunday did a symbolic “walking out the door” move. The other Catholic schools couldn’t get to their feet fast enough and follow.

By Wednesday it was unofficially done. By Saturday it was official–although following the horrific news out of Newtown, Ct., they should have waited a few more days to make that announcement.

Now it is time to move on and again Georgetown will lead the way. If you want a clue as to the direction the Catholic 7 or 10 or 12 will go, look out for white smoke coming in the D.C. area.

Watch the movements of former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who served as a consultant on the Big East expansion. Does anyone really think that expanding to Dallas, Houston and the West Coast was a (former Big East commissioner) John Marinatto decision?

Tagliabue will have his finger prints all over the final formation of the Catholic 7. And it will be primarily a Georgetown led operation.

The best guess is that it will be limited to the Midwest and East. The Gonzaga-St Mary’s Catholic USA thing doesn’t make sense. Think Xavier, St. Louis, Creighton, Dayton and Butler. Think George Mason. Of that group pick 3 or pick 5 and you will probably be pretty close to getting it.

[DanMcQ]

espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8756116/butler-bulldogs-president-catholic-7-rumor-says-school-do-right

[SirSaxa]

Tranghese weigh in:

espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/8756418/former-big-east-commissioner-says-big-east-defections-were-inevitable

Excerpts
When Syracuse announced last year it was leaving the Big East for the ACC, former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said it "ripped out the heart" of the league's seven Catholic basketball schools.

Even before Syracuse's decision, Tranghese knew that eventually those seven basketball schools would split away from the Big East's football programs.

Tranghese, who was the league's commissioner from 1990-2009, said Saturday's official announcement that DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova were leaving the conference to pursue a new basketball framework was inevitable.

[DanMcQ]

ajerseyguy.com/?p=4420

ajerseyguy.com/?p=4420#comment-10279

Mark

very little chance that MSG is interested in Big East without all the catholic schools.

[calhoya]

Please delete if posted somewhere else already. Good read though.

www.nj.com/college-basketball/index.ssf/2012/12/how_big_easts_basketball_schools_decided_to_finally_break_off_to_form_their_own_conference.html

[MCIGuy]

espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/40718/plenty-of-blame-for-all-in-big-east-breakup


I think it is safer to say that the Big East failed to embrace the growing power of football and the corresponding growth in television dollars because of its split interests. This league put basketball first at just about every step. Football was never made a priority, and Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech made the first move to get out.


Really? That's news to me.

Maybe I'm wrong but that sounds very revisionist to me. I'm going to brush it off as the uninformed view of a college football flunky.

[thebin]

www.nj.com/college-basketball/index.ssf/2012/12/how_big_easts_basketball_schools_decided_to_finally_break_off_to_form_their_own_conference.html

"The Big East conference, consistently at the center of expansion talks -- from other conferences -- had decided to make a big gamble. It's current television rights holder at the time, ESPN, had knocked on the door and offered up a nine-year deal worth a reported $1.4 billion -- or nearly $11 million per school, annually.

The Big East said, "No thanks."

Seeing how much other conferences were making in their television deals -- shortly before ESPNs offer, the Pac-12 announced its deal, worth $21 million per year per school -- and the Big East decided to hit with 19 on the showing on the table."



All things considered, without hindsight, I'd say the Big East hit with more like a 14 showing on the table and knowing the deck was loaded with low cards.

[boxout05]

insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/ncbexperts/id/8758285/bracket-concerns-former-big-east-schools-college-basketball
Lunardi with some stats and commentary on why we should aim for at least 12 teams.

[DanMcQ]

www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/bigeast/2012/12/17/mike-tranghese-big-east-catholic-schools-realignment/1775475/

www.ocala.com/article/20121219/COLUMNISTS/121219678/-1/news?Title=Finally-a-conference-move-that-makes-perfect-sense

www.philly.com/philly/columnists/dick_jerardi/20121219_Dick_Jerardi__Catholic_Seven_won_t_be_re-creating_Big_East_in_its_prime.html

[SDHoya]

espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8761988/geno-auriemma-connecticut-huskies-catholic-7-made-their-money-ran

Love hearing anyone from UConn complain about others chasing money. Enjoy your 3rd rate sport Geno.

[DanMcQ]

ajerseyguy.com/?p=4451

According to a Big East source, the same by-law which allowed a group of schools to leave the conference without penalty, also stipulates that the assets of the league will also be divided.

Using that figure of $60 plus million as a base, the Catholic 7 will have in excess of $42 million to form what is expected to be a 10-team league at the start, with the possibility of quickly growing to 12 teams.

Even using the premise of the Catholic 7 taking the exit fee money and dividing it among themselves immediately, that still leaves more than $20 million as a start-up fund to cover operating expenses for a new conference. Add the extra money that will come from a television contract which has yet to be signed, but will be coming, and the prospects for initial financial stability appear to be great.

According to Big East sources familiar with the process, an agreement is in place which states in the event of a group departure in the conference such as occurred on Saturday, also states the assets and liabilities would immediately be divided among the conference with voting rights.

With Big East schools such as West Virginia, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville and Rutgers all having departed or have announced they are leaving, the Catholic 7 and the Football 3 are eligible to divide the assets.

[DanMcQ]

MOD NOTE: In case people are wondering, I moved about 5 comment posts out of this thread into the discussion thread. I added a link to the article you were commenting on to your posts.

[Big Dog]

www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-big-east-1221-20121220,0,168875.story