I find this interesting coming from Charlie Springer. since he is the first lots of time with Louisville insider info. Enjoy.

Jurich Fogs Big East Expansion Picture

This article left out a very important part of the Tom Jurich quote. He likes Vilanova but went on to state their issues are logistical. I don't think he is ready for them to join the conference until they have things squared away. I think he supports them because he knows they are already part of the Big East and he understands the value of being in the BCS from an outsiders point of view. My take is he wants Nova in for BEast football, but only if they have gotten their house in order.

I agree on that.

Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

(06-02-2011 11:56 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

Poor choice of words by Jurich, IMHO. The main point is that Villanova IS a member of the Big East (and has been for longer than any other football schools other than Syracuse and UConn). Whether people on the outside believe it's fair or not, that distinction makes ALL of the difference in the world.

(06-02-2011 12:43 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 11:56 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

Poor choice of words by Jurich, IMHO. The main point is that Villanova IS a member of the Big East (and has been for longer than any other football schools other than Syracuse and UConn). Whether people on the outside believe it's fair or not, that distinction makes ALL of the difference in the world.

Frank (off-topic) -- did you get my PM...?

Back on-topic -- Villanova makes the most sense as a FB member if they can figure out all of the logistics.

(06-02-2011 01:09 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 12:43 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 11:56 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

Poor choice of words by Jurich, IMHO. The main point is that Villanova IS a member of the Big East (and has been for longer than any other football schools other than Syracuse and UConn). Whether people on the outside believe it's fair or not, that distinction makes ALL of the difference in the world.

Frank (off-topic) -- did you get my PM...?

Back on-topic -- Villanova makes the most sense as a FB member if they can figure out all of the logistics.

Logistics is just one problem. There's the problem of having a fan base that meets the NCAA minimum of 15,000 and of course the BE would hope the school can exceed that minimum. If Nova entered the league and they are not automatically winning how will they draw another 7,000 fans in a college FB cool market like Philly. The reason NOVA didn't seek out 40,000 seat stadium is because they already know they can't fill it. They are not willing to invest, say, $80 million to build the facilities they need because they have no faith in their program but they wouldn't mind collecting the $11 million check the FB schools will be getting.

Not saying NOva can't be successful but it certainly seems that Nova's administration is not willing to take the risks and make the invetments to be attractive and show they are serious about moving up. If they are not serious, why should the BE be serious about them.

Nova BB attendance is below the league average. They have less than 7,000 undergrads I believe.

Well, Jurich is playing with words here. He is saying all the politically correct things.

I think Jurich worded it just fine. Do you consider the ACC an Atlantic Coast conference or a Northeast conference? Just because you go outside of the box doesn't change anything. And the comment that adding USF changes the footprint is silly. Last I checked Miami used to be in this conference and it was still considered a Northeast conference. The Big Ten almost added Texas, I'm guessing that people would have continued considering them a Midwest conference.

(06-02-2011 03:51 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  I think Jurich worded it just fine. Do you consider the ACC an Atlantic Coast conference or a Northeast conference?

Well, technically the Atlantic Coast stretches from Florida to Maine, right...?

(06-02-2011 02:53 PM)frogman Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 01:09 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 12:43 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 11:56 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

Poor choice of words by Jurich, IMHO. The main point is that Villanova IS a member of the Big East (and has been for longer than any other football schools other than Syracuse and UConn). Whether people on the outside believe it's fair or not, that distinction makes ALL of the difference in the world.

Frank (off-topic) -- did you get my PM...?

Back on-topic -- Villanova makes the most sense as a FB member if they can figure out all of the logistics.

Logistics is just one problem. There's the problem of having a fan base that meets the NCAA minimum of 15,000 and of course the BE would hope the school can exceed that minimum. If Nova entered the league and they are not automatically winning how will they draw another 7,000 fans in a college FB cool market like Philly. The reason NOVA didn't seek out 40,000 seat stadium is because they already know they can't fill it. They are not willing to invest, say, $80 million to build the facilities they need because they have no faith in their program but they wouldn't mind collecting the $11 million check the FB schools will be getting.

Not saying NOva can't be successful but it certainly seems that Nova's administration is not willing to take the risks and make the invetments to be attractive and show they are serious about moving up. If they are not serious, why should the BE be serious about them.

Nova BB attendance is below the league average. They have less than 7,000 undergrads I believe.

We can speculate what Nova's fb attendance will be, but no one will know for sure until they upgrade.

But in terms of bb attendance it appears you aren't aware that Nova has averaged just over 10K in bb attendance the last 6 years. One of the reasons why is that they upped the number of games that they play at Wells Fargo arena, where they can get 19K+ on a Saturday afternoon against the likes of Syracuse, Louisville, Connecticut, Georgetown, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Maryland, 18K plus against Providence, and get 12K plus against a team like Delaware.

Their 6-year average would place them 8th behind Syracuse, Louisville, Marquette, UConn, Georgetown, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh.

They also sell out the Pavilion on-campus just about each and every game there at 6500 which means they could safely start to consider expansion there to at least 8000 in the future. Had they already done this, they would have passed Pittsburgh.

Cheers,
Neil

Nice analysis, Neil. Could they build an all purpose building lika a mini-dome that seats up to 40K? They could play basketball and lacrosse inside, too. I know that have limited space due to the township disallowing expansion, but there must be some way they can work around this if they are serious about stepping up.

(06-02-2011 04:51 PM)HtownOrange Wrote:  Nice analysis, Neil. Could they build an all purpose building lika a mini-dome that seats up to 40K? They could play basketball and lacrosse inside, too. I know that have limited space due to the township disallowing expansion, but there must be some way they can work around this if they are serious about stepping up.

My understanding is that land is not an issue for Villanova like it is for Georgetown. It's the Radnor Township that doesn't want the traffic that keeps hindering their growth on campus.

Cheers,
Neil

If Nova would have finished in the middle of the Big East as a I-AA team with 63 scholarships...then the Big East has a very sad state of football affairs.

(06-02-2011 01:09 PM)ecuacc4ever Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 12:43 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-02-2011 11:56 AM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  Since the additions of USF and TCU, LOTS of schools are "in the footprint" of the league.

Poor choice of words by Jurich, IMHO. The main point is that Villanova IS a member of the Big East (and has been for longer than any other football schools other than Syracuse and UConn). Whether people on the outside believe it's fair or not, that distinction makes ALL of the difference in the world.

Frank (off-topic) -- did you get my PM...?

Back on-topic -- Villanova makes the most sense as a FB member if they can figure out all of the logistics.

Give it up, Croney. You ain't no Pirate. You're a UNC fan.
I remember you saying ECU would never fill an upper deck.
Now they've filled that and an additional 7,000 seats.
And that 7,000 is twice what Villanova draws in football currently.
Makes the most sense?
You think Louisville, West Virginia, USF, Connecticut, Cincinnati and
Syracuse want to play in that kind of environment?
Dream a little dream, baby....

(06-02-2011 05:56 PM)Jugnaut Wrote:  If Nova would have finished in the middle of the Big East as a I-AA team with 63 scholarships...then the Big East has a very sad state of football affairs.

Did you watch BE football last year?

Cheers,
Neil

(06-02-2011 11:25 AM)army56mike Wrote:  This article left out a very important part of the Tom Jurich quote. He likes Vilanova but went on to state their issues are logistical. I don't think he is ready for them to join the conference until they have things squared away. I think he supports them because he knows they are already part of the Big East and he understands the value of being in the BCS from an outsiders point of view. My take is he wants Nova in for BEast football, but only if they have gotten their house in order.

The part about logistics is in the quote which is in the article.