So what conference wants NYC? :)

Well I can't make the image show-up, but here is the article from Seat-Geek (pic.twitter.com/ei18SDb3Oi). Essentially tickets are at levels never before seen ($550 per seat for weekend) with over 40% of the traffic coming from CT (and 30% from NYC/NJ). And the most expensive college basketball tournament ever held at MSG, pretty much levels from the Miami Heat/NY Knicks game the night before the Super Bowl.

I can tell you, I have not seen such exumberance for tickets at even these prices in a very very long time.

You guys stop messing around and drop down your football program and join us in the Big East. Come on, you know you want to. I know you miss your old brothers. Your probably getting tired of getting no love being in (what one poster referred to as) "the conference of mismatched socks."

(03-24-2014 11:51 AM)ivet Wrote:  You guys stop messing around and drop down your football program and join us in the Big East. Come on, you know you want to. I know you miss your old brothers. Your probably getting tired of getting no love being in (what one poster referred to as) "the conference of mismatched socks."

We would be more of a mis-matched sock in the now Catholic-only Big East. I have actually heard from some G-Town friends that there is some unhappiness for G-Town in the NBE, is that true, or just a small sample size?

As an aside, UConn just ran through its ticket allotment and many many high donors were not able to get any tickets and are now also flooding secondary markets - didn't think it was possible but prices will probably continue to rise as the week wears on.

(03-24-2014 12:21 PM)uconnwhaler Wrote:  We would be more of a mis-matched sock in the now Catholic-only Big East. I have actually heard from some G-Town friends that there is some unhappiness for G-Town in the NBE, is that true, or just a small sample size?

As an aside, UConn just ran through its ticket allotment and many many high donors were not able to get any tickets and are now also flooding secondary markets - didn't think it was possible but prices will probably continue to rise as the week wears on.

I work at Georgetown, that is not true. We are more concerned with Academic profiles and institutional fit than number of championships a school has. Why do you think Richmond is even mentioned as a candidate? As this recent tournament has shown, small time programs are well capable of knocking out the Blue Bloods in the tournament. We are more concerned with the stability and longevity of the BE and not have to worry about Conference shuffling again.

The ACC/B1G might be appealing but that would involve stepping up our football program. Trust me, we have no interest in bringing up our football program. We are content with playing 'Nova and the Ivy's in FCS.

When you have one of your top coach's reportedly leaving a Big East power to go to an ACC bottom feeder I think you know all you need to know about the happiness in that league. Terrible TV coverage is going to kill recruiting.

(03-24-2014 03:02 PM)mlb Wrote:  When you have one of your top coach's reportedly leaving a Big East power to go to an ACC bottom feeder I think you know all you need to know about the happiness in that league. Terrible TV coverage is going to kill recruiting.

Buzz is a smart guy, he saw the writing on the wall that's why he was looking to get out before he was fired. His buyout went down to be $100k and a year to year contract at over $3mil a year. As much as you dislike the BE, he left for something a more secure job in the long run. You honestly think he is going to steal recruits from Syracuse, Louisville, UNC, and Duke? Heck, even NC State has stepped their game up. Now he's going to Blacksburg Virginia-also known as BFV. This is the guy that did a country jig mocking West Virginia on their home court.

(03-24-2014 03:17 PM)ivet Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 03:02 PM)mlb Wrote:  When you have one of your top coach's reportedly leaving a Big East power to go to an ACC bottom feeder I think you know all you need to know about the happiness in that league. Terrible TV coverage is going to kill recruiting.

Buzz is a smart guy, he saw the writing on the wall that's why he was looking to get out before he was fired. His buyout went down to be $100k and a year to year contract at over $3mil a year. As much as you dislike the BE, he left for something a more secure job in the long run. You honestly think he is going to steal recruits from Syracuse, Louisville, UNC, and Duke? Heck, even NC State has stepped their game up. Now he's going to Blacksburg Virginia-also known as BFV. This is the guy that did a country jig mocking West Virginia on their home court.

Hey Ivet,

What's your take on John Thompson III and is he facing any pressure from the admin?

(03-24-2014 03:17 PM)ivet Wrote:  Buzz is a smart guy, he saw the writing on the wall that's why he was looking to get out before he was fired. His buyout went down to be $100k and a year to year contract at over $3mil a year. As much as you dislike the BE, he left for something a more secure job in the long run. You honestly think he is going to steal recruits from Syracuse, Louisville, UNC, and Duke? Heck, even NC State has stepped their game up. Now he's going to Blacksburg Virginia-also known as BFV. This is the guy that did a country jig mocking West Virginia on their home court.

Buzz competed very well against those same coaches in the Big East. He'll hold his own once he gets his recruits in.

Don't forget that the guy who hired him saw him up close when UC and Marquette were in the same conference.

I'm a big believer that the coaches in the Big East will be throwing a fit about their awful TV deal. Not the money, obviously, but the lack of exposure.

(03-24-2014 03:24 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 03:17 PM)ivet Wrote:  Buzz is a smart guy, he saw the writing on the wall that's why he was looking to get out before he was fired. His buyout went down to be $100k and a year to year contract at over $3mil a year. As much as you dislike the BE, he left for something a more secure job in the long run. You honestly think he is going to steal recruits from Syracuse, Louisville, UNC, and Duke? Heck, even NC State has stepped their game up. Now he's going to Blacksburg Virginia-also known as BFV. This is the guy that did a country jig mocking West Virginia on their home court.

Hey Ivet,

What's your take on John Thompson III and is he facing any pressure from the admin?

Haha, he is getting a lot of pressure from his Dad. He has put the school in a difficult Quagmire; on one hand, he isn't living up to the expectations, on the other hand...his Dad is a legend and has done great things for the School-heck the new athletic center is named after him. Georgetown Administration is very tight lip about how they handle things so there hasn't been much talk about him being replaced. I'm sure his Dad has a lot of say in it as well.

The fanbase of course is getting restless, you are going to get two different views depending on which generation you talk to. For the older guys, they are not use to this but they are also loyal to the Thompson Family. The younger guys of course want GU to be national contenders every year and feel JTIII is not the man that can deliver. I happen to be of the younger gen so my loyalties to the name isnt as big.

(03-24-2014 02:58 PM)ivet Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 12:21 PM)uconnwhaler Wrote:  We would be more of a mis-matched sock in the now Catholic-only Big East. I have actually heard from some G-Town friends that there is some unhappiness for G-Town in the NBE, is that true, or just a small sample size?

As an aside, UConn just ran through its ticket allotment and many many high donors were not able to get any tickets and are now also flooding secondary markets - didn't think it was possible but prices will probably continue to rise as the week wears on.

I work at Georgetown, that is not true. We are more concerned with Academic profiles and institutional fit than number of championships a school has. Why do you think Richmond is even mentioned as a candidate? As this recent tournament has shown, small time programs are well capable of knocking out the Blue Bloods in the tournament. We are more concerned with the stability and longevity of the BE and not have to worry about Conference shuffling again.

This is a fool's errand. Every Eastern conference except the SEC, Ivy, and Big 10 has had a member leave over the past 5 years. Even conferences of like-minded institutions like the MVC and ACC have lost members. What makes the current Big East resistant to those changes?

Maybe if you had added Notre Dame instead of Butler, you'd have the religious affiliation thing going. Or if Dayton and ND had joined, Georgetown would have some academic equals in the conference. But as it is, the conference spans from Rhode Island to Nebraska, with enrollments from 4,600 (Butler and Providence) to 25,000 + (Depaul and St. John's), with missions ranging from regional, undergraduate-focus (XU, Providence, Villanova, Butler) to high-end professional commuter schools (Depaul, St. John's) to national research institutions of widely varying quality. Ten years ago the schools were in 5 different conferences.

That doesn't shout "Unity!" to me. At least, not on a level that makes the conference more stable than other top-end basketball conferences.

IMO, Georgetown is the most desirable school for other conferences to add, but St. John's and Creighton also have attractive options that don't require another school to jump with them. Put another way, the conference is only stable as long as those 3 schools want it to be. They may be united now, but a new administration at any of those schools could change their mind and destabilize the whole conference.

*edit - I hope they do stay together and I'm rooting for them. I just don't see them being any more committed than other schools that have made similar professions of unity in the past.

(03-24-2014 02:58 PM)ivet Wrote:  

(03-24-2014 12:21 PM)uconnwhaler Wrote:  We would be more of a mis-matched sock in the now Catholic-only Big East. I have actually heard from some G-Town friends that there is some unhappiness for G-Town in the NBE, is that true, or just a small sample size?

As an aside, UConn just ran through its ticket allotment and many many high donors were not able to get any tickets and are now also flooding secondary markets - didn't think it was possible but prices will probably continue to rise as the week wears on.

I work at Georgetown, that is not true. We are more concerned with Academic profiles and institutional fit than number of championships a school has. Why do you think Richmond is even mentioned as a candidate? As this recent tournament has shown, small time programs are well capable of knocking out the Blue Bloods in the tournament. We are more concerned with the stability and longevity of the BE and not have to worry about Conference shuffling again.

The ACC/B1G might be appealing but that would involve stepping up our football program. Trust me, we have no interest in bringing up our football program. We are content with playing 'Nova and the Ivy's in FCS.

...then why did you (as in certain sections of the C7) publicly attack Tulane and SMU?

As for football: A school with the resources to do it can reach the level of most AAC schools within 5-6 years. Villanova beat Temple in football very recently.

(03-24-2014 11:38 AM)uconnwhaler Wrote:  So what conference wants NYC? :)

We do, we do! Come on, NYC is a natural fit with Houston, Philly, Dallas, et al.

@Captainbearcat and oliveandblue-answer to your question is football. We got tired of all the Football related drama.