RaliLlama Wrote:

MileHighBronco Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:C-USA didn't "invited" Cincinnati, Cincinnati, along with a few other schools, created C-USA by merging the Great Midwest nd the Metro Conference. Cincinnati didn't get into the Big East because of basketball. The Big East didn't need basketball help.

Are you nuts? It certainly wasn't their football that got them into the Big East. Enlighten us. What got them invited to the BE?

I don't know either. I felt that Memphis was the obvious choice. More fan support plus no competition from an NFL team. Basketball would have been a wash. Both are #25 usually.

Basketball and the Ohio market. A lot of talent in Ohio high school and having a school in Ohio helps to open that market even more.

To be unneccesarily fair to UC, Memphis or anyone else in CUSA was not UC's equal. UC totally dominated that conference: in 10 years there they won 7 conference championships and 4 more conf. tourney titles . No other CUSA team is remotely close to UC in that regard--actually, all of them combined can't match it.
Basketball was UC's calling card no matter what anyone says.

Basketball was UC's calling card - has been pretty much all along. Certainly it was a factor in the Big East invitation, and Huggins resurrecting the program was huge. That said, I suspect the conference isn't the least bit sad that he didn't accompany UC into the league. The conference members are an interesting mix of schools, but probably none of them looked forward to standing alongside a program with the national reputation that UC has developed in the last decade.

But without a football program of mild accomplishment yet significant upside, I agree with CatsClaw - no BE invite. BE only has 8 football members. It needed a replacement member after the defections - one that would have some staying power and the ability to do what we've just seen Rutgers do, and Cincy has that. It could use a nice Midwest market, and Cincy is that. UC became only the second BCS school in the populous state of Ohio. Fan support is an issue, but one the conference is willing to be patient about. There is strong suspicion that UC caught a bit of a break with Dantonio's unexpected departure, because hiring Brian Kelly will give UC its best chance to really turn the corner in terms of achievement on the field and in the stands. They may have flown under the radar this year, but Kelly is inheriting a team that went 7-5, with four of the five losses on the road to Ohio State, Va Tech, WVU and Louisville (lost on the last play of the game), plus the blowout win over #7 Rutgers. Core of the team is mostly sophomores. Check the final BCS rankings and see what storied programs UC finished ahead of. The fan base and city has many options and cultural distractions, and needs to be energized. Say what you will in the MAC, but it appears Kelly can do that... he has vowed to do so anyway.

No one in Cincy is going to seriously suggest that UC is a sleeping giant ready to take down the perennial national powers. But no one outside of Cincinnati should suggest that the university, as a BE member, should be taken too lightly. There is much potential.

CatsClaw Wrote:Cincinnati didn't get into the Big East because of basketball. The Big East didn't need basketball help.

Plain and simple, Cincinnati is a member of the Big East because the grand and glorious President of the University of Cincinnati declared the University of Cincinnati should become a better academic environment and is promoting her UC21 vision. They are in the Big East thanks to Dr. Nancy Zimpher, one of the most intellectual and aspiring college presidents in academia today.

:uberbow: All Hail Nancy Zimpher!

With UC21 and no more Bob Huggins to embarass it and lose in the first round of the tourney, UC is heading places.

Stuff and nonsense.
UC was headed to the Big East arm and arm with Louisville exactly because of Huggins and the basketball program, and this was set in motion before Zimpher was even at UC. Zimpher could have stopped the move, but she sure didn't initiate it. The invite came when she was barely in office and had been in the works for a while. It wasn't a UC move, but one that involved quite a few universities putting it together over 2002-2003. Without the national stature of the Huggins hoops program, it wouldn't have happened.

Pulltown Falcon Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:Cincinnati didn't get into the Big East because of basketball. The Big East didn't need basketball help.

Plain and simple, Cincinnati is a member of the Big East because the grand and glorious President of the University of Cincinnati declared the University of Cincinnati should become a better academic environment and is promoting her UC21 vision. They are in the Big East thanks to Dr. Nancy Zimpher, one of the most intellectual and aspiring college presidents in academia today.

:uberbow: All Hail Nancy Zimpher!

With UC21 and no more Bob Huggins to embarass it and lose in the first round of the tourney, UC is heading places.

Zimpher has now had voluminous basketball recuits held ineligible w/her new bball coach ( also look at how she avoids the new HS academic standards she demanded by bringing in jucos) and hired a football guy w/a tainted background.

As for Huggins tourney record of 18 straight years, UC wont see 10 wins this year let alone the Big East tourney in NYC.

As for their Big East inclusion, believe me Huggins success got them there. There were plenty of schools w/football programs that were better than UC to bring in ( See USM for one) that could've provided a MUCH better football squad than UC. The UC bball under Huggins was the drawing card.

Tranghese tried to save the football conferance and went hunting into CUSA for football programs, that is right. But there were much better programs in that conferance than a 20K attendance drawing UC. They looked at the bball package and UC fit because of Huggins. Huggins is also good friends w/most Big East coaches of note, Calhoun and Boeheim.
The sad thing is UC bball won't draw this year, as well as the football apathy out there in UC.

To think anything else is absurd. The fact you are bowling is a tribute to the MAC who needed a partner because we kept getting screwed by the other bowls.

When Dave Gavit set up the Big Eat it was for mostly northeastern catholic bball schools ( exception UConn and Syracuse). Later they added on Nova and Pitt. Then Tranghese took over and was afraid of the superconferances and SU and Pitt leaving and put together a football conferance, which weakened the bball but kept certain schools at bay. When the ACC raided, the Big East raided CUSA. All in all its still a bball conferance at heart and the football conferance, which steals money as a BCS participant , was set up at the football playing bball schools demand.

The only thing UC has going for it is Chuck Machock !!!!