The big problem with Paterno's proposed Eastern Conference was the revenue sharing. Paterno wanted to share all revenue except for football. So he protected Penn State's cash cow, and wanted the other members to subsidized PSU's basketball program which couldn't draw flies if you had dropped a dung heap at center court. Pitt, Syracuse, and BC all saw this for what it was and said, "Thanks, no thanks". Not surprisingly, all of those schools turned a profit on their basketball programs. PSU's basketball program is way better now than it was then. But you still see bigger crowds for wrestling matches than basketball games.