Reconstructed Big East Is Finding Itself Again
By PETE THAMEL

Published: May 1, 2005


PHOENIX, April 28 - Fountains bubbled softly behind him, and a desert breeze rippled through palm trees overhead. The scene at the Bowl Championship Series meetings Wednesday was a stark contrast to the tumultuous past year for Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese.

Tranghese and the conference were pummeled by the public and the news media because Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College - the Big East's top football members - defected to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But things have settled down considerably. Five universities are prepared to join the Big East for the coming academic year. And Tranghese has fired back at the critics and expressed confidence about his league's future.

"The problem that we had last year was as we were getting bashed, no one had any clue who we were," Tranghese said.

When the Big East sent a mediocre Pittsburgh team to the Fiesta Bowl last season, some doubted the conference's ability to retain its automatic qualification status in the B.C.S. But Louisville - which finished last season No. 10 in the B.C.S. rankings while playing in Conference USA - will help the Big East forge a new football identity. Tranghese knew that Louisville - as well as Cincinnati and South Florida - would count toward the Big East when the B.C.S. re-evaluated its automatic qualifiers after the 2007 season.

"If you take a step back, and all of a sudden Louisville actually counted for us last year," Tranghese said, "I don't know how much yelling and screaming there would have been. It was a year of bashing, and we were trapped."

Six conferences - the Big East, the A.C.C., the Big Ten, the Pac-10, the Southeastern and the Big 12 - qualify automatically for a B.C.S. bowl game. A B.C.S. bid brings in more than $14 million annually and can make or break a conference.

Automatic qualification is essential for recruiting: teams in leagues that are not guaranteed a bid cannot in good conscience tell potential players that they can compete for a national title. The standard until last season was that conference champions had to have an average B.C.S. rank of at least No. 12 to retain that league's automatic bid.

At the B.C.S. meetings, more complicated standards for automatic qualification were revealed., and the new process should help the Big East.

Conferences will be judged over a four-year span beginning with the 2004 season and running through the 2007 regular season. The criteria will be the average B.C.S. rank of their champions and of every other member, and the number of its top-25 teams in the B.C.S rankings.

Five to seven of the 11 Division I-A conferences that thrive in these categories will get automatic bids for their champions in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. (The B.C.S. contract expires in 2009.)

The new system also includes an appeals process. A committee of eight university presidents may grant automatic qualification status based on factors like a conference's tradition, market size, television ratings and ability to travel to bowls.

"I feel very good about it," Tom Jurich, the athletic director at Louisville, said of the Big East's chances of retaining its bid. "I don't know of any other leagues out there to take our place."

Jeff Long, the athletic director at Pittsburgh, said, "We feel quite confident about our ability to compete and perform on the national stage."

The conference has earned respect nationally for the way it is handling the transition.

"I think the Big East has done some very good things in dealing with a very difficult problem," said Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma's athletic director. "They've responded well."

The defections have also had an effect on Big East basketball. Tranghese said any notion of the conference splitting because of its awkward size did not make sense.

He lashed out at conference basketball coaches who had wondered aloud about the logistics of scheduling with 16 teams and holding a postseason tournament.

"We're in this together because our presidents said this is what we want to do," he said. "It's unwieldy. It's going to be difficult. But that doesn't matter. Our job, and my job in particular, is to make it work."

He added: "Why would presidents make a decision to stay together when the environment would have allowed them to separate? We're rebranding. We've invited new people, new schools. We've restructured ourselves and our office. Those are not signs of a conference planning on breaking up."

Maize Wrote:He added: "Why would presidents make a decision to stay together when the environment would have allowed them to separate? We're rebranding. We've invited new people, new schools. We've restructured ourselves and our office. Those are not signs of a conference planning on breaking up."

He will not be with us much longer, the adding of the 12th football game will excelerate the breakup process.

So the question is what will Notre Dame do, and will we go to 9, 10, or 12 teams?

9 teams and 9 teams only. With the new criteria no need to delute the product. If not ND, Penn State, BC or Maryland take Memphis as long as RC Johnson is not the AD.

Agree, ECU and Central Florida do not increase the TV market.

Yep,

You go with 9 schools initially, Then you expand to 10, 11 or 12 if the right candidates come along that will add real value to the league.

I do believe that championship games in 12-team conferences have lost their cache. I know the Big 12 conference game has lost its attractiveness.

Maize Wrote:He added: "Why would presidents make a decision to stay together when the environment would have allowed them to separate? We're rebranding. We've invited new people, new schools. We've restructured ourselves and our office. Those are not signs of a conference planning on breaking up."

Why does Tranghese continue to mislead on this? Didn't the Big East papers show that the vote from the football schools (including BC) was 6-0 to split and form an all-sports conference?

But wasn't there a problem that arose when BC announced it was leaving, and that only left 5, which is one short of the required 6 members for a conference to keep it's benefits?

Either way, it's clear that basketball guy Tranghese is going to do whatever he can to keep the football playing schools from forming their own all-sports conference.

Looks like things are getting back on track for the Big East conference!

And the best thing is that this was written in a New York article so it should get some serious press.

As for Tranghese, the fact that this guy is hellbent on keeping this conference at 500 teams is proof that his job security is shaky at best. He's lucky he is a strong negotiator and helped keep the BCS bid and the like. That being said, you can bet there's going to be a split. Keep the 8 football shools and add a 9th. I'm not sure about Memphis' support outside of Cincinnati. ECU the am way. UCF either, but UCF has the advantage of strong fan support and a traveling partner for UCF. ECU has strong fan support and some football tradition. Memphis has fan support, a football program on the upswing, a strong basketball program and a new market for the Big East. Should be interesting.

Quote:He added: "Why would presidents make a decision to stay together when the environment would have allowed them to separate? We're rebranding. We've invited new people, new schools. We've restructured ourselves and our office. Those are not signs of a conference planning on breaking up."

Ugh! Let's delete this post fast before Top Cooq says, "I told you so". And then we have to explain again to him that the Big East commissioner has to say this type of thing. After all, he represents all 16 schools and it's his job right now to try and make it work, which the article also makes a point of saying that it isn't simply the football people who are unhappy, but the basketball coaches as well.

Cheers,
Neil

i have another idea, keep the post, and ban Top Stooge!

Omni,

You are so right.

The Commish has to appeal to multiple audiences when he speaks on behalf on the Big East.

Now if MT came out and said we are spliting in 5 years the BBall schools would go nuts and it would show instability in our conference.

Right now I really don't care one way or another.

Wilkie01 Wrote:Agree, ECU and Central Florida do not increase the TV market.

Ugh, that's just ignorant. You should really do a lil research b4 stating an opinion. Even with success, USF capturing a significant chunk of the Orlando TV market is a pipe dream -- and the same would go for UCF and Tampa.

Being an UCF fan, I can see why you are upset with the prospect of having to stay in CDOA!

UCF_Cardinals Wrote:Florida do not increase the TV market.

Ugh, that's just ignorant. You should really do a lil research b4 stating an opinion. Even with success, USF capturing a significant chunk of the Orlando TV market is a pipe dream -- and the same would go for UCF and Tampa. [/quote]
I doubt picking up UCF would increase South Florida's T.V. market. I guess adding UCF gives another part of the Florida market, but the Florida market is almost saturated now with 4 BCS schools so adding a 5th isn't going to make a big difference. Now, adding a Tennessee market, or even a Carolina market, markets that the Big East currently don't have, now that is something to consider.

heh, maybe... however, I'm content. Don't be suprised if at your local sports bar UCF is playing. I've seen more UCF televised up here in Louisville at BW3's than USF, even w/o conference affiliation. Just look, and you will see :)

UCF_Cardinals Wrote:heh, maybe... however, I'm content. Don't be suprised if at your local sports bar UCF is playing. I've seen more UCF televised up here in Louisville at BW3's than USF, even w/o conference affiliation. Just look, and you will see :)

That could be because South Florida has only been a Division I-A program for a few years, and some of their televised games have been on national television. Then again, I have seen several South Florida games here in Cincinnati and in the bars in Cincinnati and have NEVER seen a Central Florida game around here, so it goes hand in hand.

Cat's_Claw Wrote:

UCF_Cardinals,May 1 2005, 12:29 PM Wrote:Florida do not increase the TV market.

Ugh, that's just ignorant. You should really do a lil research b4 stating an opinion. Even with success, USF capturing a significant chunk of the Orlando TV market is a pipe dream -- and the same would go for UCF and Tampa.

I doubt picking up UCF would increase South Florida's T.V. market. I guess adding UCF gives another part of the Florida market, but the Florida market is almost saturated now with 4 BCS schools so adding a 5th isn't going to make a big difference. Now, adding a Tennessee market, or even a Carolina market, markets that the Big East currently don't have, now that is something to consider. [/quote]
Memphis would Tennessee exposure.

Don't know much about ECU's market/fan base, 'cept the school is in the middle of cotton fields.

UCF would snag mainly Orlando (24th largest market?), but also the FL East coast, and is also televised steadily throughout the Palm Beaches. I don't know about the Miami and Jacksonville areas, however.

USF has Tampa, and I'd just assume the southern West coast, ie Fort Myers, which is a nice growing market.

Both UCF and USF really need to take a sports marketing lesson from Louisville; both schools marketing teams respectively suck. Last year UCF seemed to put forth the $$$$, but the focal strategy, while creative, was ineffective and lame.

Again...I wouldn't totally count out an eastern solution to the expansion problems...it would certainly be in the BEs best interest to develop a successful football progam in Philly (Temple or Nova)....also has Omnicarrier mentioned the other day if the Pentigon would loosen up the recruiting restricions on Army and Navy to a point where they can compete in the BE...that would be a huge plus for the conference in many different ways


Jackson

Quote:He added: "Why would presidents make a decision to stay together when the environment would have allowed them to separate? We're rebranding. We've invited new people, new schools. We've restructured ourselves and our office. Those are not signs of a conference planning on breaking up." 

To be a good commissioner, he has to make that statement. He is fully aware what the Big East is like without 1-A programs and he is the face and voice of the Big East but the final words are school presidents, don’t forget about that.