Rob Dauster
Dec 15, 2012, 2:25 PM EST


Here is that statement in its entirety:

“Earlier today we voted unanimously to pursue an orderly evolution to a foundation of basketball schools that honors the history and tradition on which the Big East was established. Under the current context of conference realignment, we believe pursuing a new basketball framework that builds on this tradition of excellence and competition is the best way forward.

We are grateful to our Commissioner, Michael Aresco, for his exceptional leadership of the Big East Conference. We have been honored to be associated with the outstanding group of institutions that have made up the Big East. While we pursue this opportunity for our institutions, we believe the efforts of the past two years have established the foundation for an enduring national football conference.

We look forward to building this new foundation with an emphasis on elite competition and a commitment to the development of our students engaged in intercollegiate athletics. That is where we will now spend our energy as we move forward.”

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...-big-east/

pretty classy statement.

"While we pursue this opportunity for our institutions, we believe the efforts of the past two years have established the foundation for an enduring national football conference."

So the Big East Football conference lives on. There is an idea, Big East Football Conference and Big East Basketball conference.

(12-15-2012 06:38 PM)TXSTCAT Wrote:  So the Big East Football conference lives on. There is an idea, Big East Football Conference and Big East Basketball conference.

I'm not sure to the specifics but the Missouri Valley conference is having success in a similar scenario.

as to the Catholic 7 leaving: and notice they didn't invite Tulane

(12-15-2012 06:59 PM)jpm3985 Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 06:38 PM)TXSTCAT Wrote:  So the Big East Football conference lives on. There is an idea, Big East Football Conference and Big East Basketball conference.

I'm not sure to the specifics but the Missouri Valley conference is having success in a similar scenario.

as to the Catholic 7 leaving: and notice they didn't invite Tulane

Tulane is not a Catholic school.

(12-15-2012 07:12 PM)slappycajun Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 06:59 PM)jpm3985 Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 06:38 PM)TXSTCAT Wrote:  So the Big East Football conference lives on. There is an idea, Big East Football Conference and Big East Basketball conference.

I'm not sure to the specifics but the Missouri Valley conference is having success in a similar scenario.

as to the Catholic 7 leaving: and notice they didn't invite Tulane

Tulane is not a Catholic school.

I had never realized they were Private Secular. Most private K-12's here in Louisiana are religiously affiliated so I guess I just figured they were too.

(12-15-2012 08:19 PM)jpm3985 Wrote:  

(12-15-2012 07:12 PM)slappycajun Wrote:  Tulane is not a Catholic school.

I had never realized they were Private Secular. Most private K-12's here in Louisiana are religiously affiliated so I guess I just figured they were too.

Quick sketch:
1834 -- Medical College of Louisiana opens in New Orleans. Prior to this, nearest such college was in Augusta, GA.
1847 -- Growth of New Orleans (4th largest city in US) leads to development of other, non-medical academic departments. State legislature renames MCL as the University of Louisiana.
1887 -- The "University of Louisiana" is renamed the "Tulane University of Louisiana" in honor of the New Orleans businessman Paul Tulane (1801-1887) who gave about $400,000 for the improvement of the University of Louisiana. I don't know how much $400k in 1887 would be worth in 2012, but it was a huge amount of money. Coincident with the name-change, the State of Louisiana cedes executive control of the university to the Tulane Board of Regents, a private group not chosen, selected, or accountable to the state government. Paul Tulane (son of French immgrants) also gave a lot of money to the Presbyterian Church, but did not require the University of Louisiana to adopt any religious/theological positions as a result of accepting his financial gift.

1974 -- The University of Louisiana System is created by the state government, with executive oversight for various colleges throughout the state, not counting the ones in the LSU system.

Any idea when this "split" happens?

Its pretty amazing to me that the basketball/football split has actually happened after 15 years of it being constant internet speculation.

It was always the ultimate nuclear weapon to D1 athletics as we know it for it changes the whole dynamic of college basketball, sending schools flying left and right in its wake.

If the C7 goes out and takes Xavier, Butler and Creighton they've pretty much neutered the A10 and MVC of men's basketball. St. Louis I guess could head to the MVC which would hurt the A10 even more but not be a replacement in kind for Creighton.

Could the A10 try and make a pitch of a couple of MAC schools like Ohio and Buffalo in response? Ohio's AD has talked about a split conference affiliation to raise the men's basketball profile. The school is comfortable in the MAC for football but has by far the biggest facility in MAC basketball and already an A10 level basketball budget.

Yesterday, Butler put in their application into the new Big East basketball conference by beating #1 Indiana. They would be a good addition, over the past few years they have been the best of the smaller schools.

(12-16-2012 08:56 AM)WKUSledgeHammer Wrote:  Any idea when this "split" happens?

June 30, 2015.

(12-16-2012 12:37 PM)MG61 Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 08:56 AM)WKUSledgeHammer Wrote:  Any idea when this "split" happens?

June 30, 2015.

I'm thinking 6/30/14 is more likely, but who knows.

There are so many logistical and legal issues to work out -- somebody has posted a list of them on the Realignment board and the Big East board. There just doesn't seem any way for all that to be worked out in the next 6 months, so you're probably looking at 6/30/14 at the earliest. Then the question becomes if you can work out all those issues in 18 months. Even that is not a given, but I think it is the most likely result.

(12-16-2012 10:32 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 12:37 PM)MG61 Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 08:56 AM)WKUSledgeHammer Wrote:  Any idea when this "split" happens?

June 30, 2015.

I'm thinking 6/30/14 is more likely, but who knows.

There are so many logistical and legal issues to work out -- somebody has posted a list of them on the Realignment board and the Big East board. There just doesn't seem any way for all that to be worked out in the next 6 months, so you're probably looking at 6/30/14 at the earliest. Then the question becomes if you can work out all those issues in 18 months. Even that is not a given, but I think it is the most likely result.

2015 is the published departure date.

I read somewhere on this board that Football is the big boy in FBS schools and Basketball (generally) rules the roost in FCS & I-AAA schools.

So the $1,000,000 question is does the Big East management want a quick out for the 7 non-football sponsoring members and brand itself as "America's Premier FBS Conference" or does it string along the FCS/AAA members till 2015 just to prove a point.

As a footnote and completely changing the subject:
To this day I had never realized that Western Kentucky had its own TV deal for basketball games not picked up elsewhere. I watched the ESPN 3 coverage of HSSN's game coverage and I was impressed. This may explain why they haven't accepted a bid to another conference yet, control of Local PBS/ National PPV games.

(12-17-2012 08:48 AM)MG61 Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 10:32 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 12:37 PM)MG61 Wrote:  

(12-16-2012 08:56 AM)WKUSledgeHammer Wrote:  Any idea when this "split" happens?

June 30, 2015.

I'm thinking 6/30/14 is more likely, but who knows.

There are so many logistical and legal issues to work out -- somebody has posted a list of them on the Realignment board and the Big East board. There just doesn't seem any way for all that to be worked out in the next 6 months, so you're probably looking at 6/30/14 at the earliest. Then the question becomes if you can work out all those issues in 18 months. Even that is not a given, but I think it is the most likely result.

2015 is the published departure date.

True -- and that may turn out to be the actual departure date, as well. But everyone involved in that process wants it to end before then. We'll see.

(12-17-2012 11:13 AM)jpm3985 Wrote:  As a footnote and completely changing the subject:
To this day I had never realized that Western Kentucky had its own TV deal for basketball games not picked up elsewhere. I watched the ESPN 3 coverage of HSSN's game coverage and I was impressed. This may explain why they haven't accepted a bid to another conference yet, control of Local PBS/ National PPV games.

Before Wrong Waters screwed us with the current BCSPN deal, we had access to almost 40 mil homes via our deal with Fox College Sports!

Yes we had games on actual TV before and have for awhile, now have games online..Thanks Waters!

(12-17-2012 01:37 PM)WKUFan518 Wrote:  Yes we had games on actual TV before and have for awhile, now have games online..Thanks Waters!

I told you he was an SEC mole.

(12-16-2012 02:39 AM)Native Georgian Wrote:  1887 -- The "University of Louisiana" is renamed the "Tulane University of Louisiana" in honor of the New Orleans businessman Paul Tulane (1801-1887) who gave about $400,000 for the improvement of the University of Louisiana. I don't know how much $400k in 1887 would be worth in 2012, but it was a huge amount of money.

Got curious and played around with several online inflation calculators--it'd be about eight or million dollars. Plenty of money to get a college named after you in the 1880s.