UofL07 Wrote:

panite Wrote:L'ville and Cinn were brought into the league because of their BB first

Incorrect. The BE BCS bit was in jeopardy due to the departure of Miami, VT, and BC. Louisville and Cincinnati were added because the league needed solid football programs to boost the leagues image (i.e. not a Temple or a newly upgrading UMass), not because they were basketball first schools. Simply put, they were the best available football choices for the Big East at the time. Basketball had little to nothing to do with them being added to the conference.

If ECU had the BB history that Cinn had they would have had just as much of a chance as Cinn. If Memphis was further insde the footprint with great BB and the Liberty bowl they would have been in.

cuseroc Wrote:

UofL07 Wrote:

panite Wrote:L'ville and Cinn were brought into the league because of their BB first

Incorrect. The BE BCS bit was in jeopardy due to the departure of Miami, VT, and BC. Louisville and Cincinnati were added because the league needed solid football programs to boost the leagues image (i.e. not a Temple or a newly upgrading UMass), not because they were basketball first schools. Simply put, they were the best available football choices for the Big East at the time. Basketball had little to nothing to do with them being added to the conference.

True, and dont forget about USF. They were brought in strictly for their fb potential.

USF lucked out or in when BC decided to leave. If BC would have stayed UCF would be in the BE right now for FB only instead of USF for all sports. They would have won out as the Florida representive in the BE and the pipe line to rich fertile Florida recruiting ground. The BE schools would only have to go to Florida for FB and would not have to incur the cost of sending Olympic teams and BB teams to Florida if UCF had been picked for FB only with BC still in the conference.

UofL07 Wrote:

panite Wrote:L'ville and Cinn were brought into the league because of their BB first

Incorrect. The BE BCS bit was in jeopardy due to the departure of Miami, VT, and BC. Louisville and Cincinnati were added because the league needed solid football programs to boost the leagues image (i.e. not a Temple or a newly upgrading UMass), not because they were basketball first schools. Simply put, they were the best available football choices for the Big East at the time. Basketball had little to nothing to do with them being added to the conference.

The fact that they had good basketball programs certainly helped. Made the addition more palatable to the Big East, which was and still is controlled by basketball interests.

panite Wrote:If ECU had the BB history that Cinn had they would have had just as much of a chance as Cinn. If Memphis was further insde the footprint with great BB and the Liberty bowl they would have been in.

ECU is located in a state with 4 other BCS schools already (UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest) and does not offer a major television market. If their basketball had been equal to UC's at the time the Big East came knocking, they still would not have been picked over UC. UC had a solid football team, offered a major media market, and has a lot more potential to grow as a program as it is only the 2nd BCS program in the state of Ohio.

If geography was an issue, DePaul, Marquette, and USF wouldn't have been added to the conference (Milwaukee and Tampa aren't exactly close to Providence, RI). While it might have been a convenient excuse, geography isn't what kept Memphis out of the 2003 Big East expansion. There were two things kept Memphis out of the Big East:

1) They weren't the best athletic program in C-USA at the time. The Big East was looking at football first and foremost but also wanted athletic programs that would enhance the prestige of the conference. While they were good in basketball, Memphis' overall athletics (football, minor sports, etc) were below Louisville and UC. Both UofL and UC were growing as athletic programs and had recently built new facilities and/or completed major rennovations. From what I've read, plans for the on-campus stadium at Memphis have been scrapped and they aren't planning to renovate Liberty Bowl stadium (it could really use it).

2) Florida talent pool > Tennessee talent pool. USF got in because of their market (Tampa is top 20) and because it kept a pipeline to Florida open for the Big East.

Memphis would not have bumped UC, Louisville, or USF from getting Big East invites and because the league was only going to be 8 teams strong under the hybrid, they weren't going to get invited unless the league split. Expansion had very little to do with who had good basketball because in reality, the conference required solid football and good athletic programs to keep the BCS bid and remain in tact as a conference. USF got in despite barely knowing what a basketball is because of their potential in football.

Now you might have a point if you are talking about Marqueete or Depaul. But L'ville, UC, and USF were choosen because of their football first and foremost. That they were good at hoops came in a distant second.