(02-16-2013 08:06 AM)thegalen Wrote: but we're not exactly talking about adding Gonzaga or a killer, deliverable market here. For as much as everyone likes to play the "cultural fit" card, re-centering the Big East to the Midwest/Plains is an even bigger leap than adding a public (which, you know, the Big East has ALWAYS had).
But isn't this is a two-way street? Doesn't being a member of a conference bring value to a SCHOOL? It's not just the SCHOOL bringing value to the conference, right?
Those are rhetorical. It IS a two-way street. Let's look at Richmond. They joined the A-10 for the 2002 season. In the previous decade they had zero at-large bids: (1998, 14 seed; 1991, 15 seed).
In the 11 years since joining the A-10, they've earned THREE at-large bids: (2011, 12 seed; 2010, 7 seed; 2004, 11 seed). Because they were on TV, doubled their TV money, increased their recruiting budget, upgraded their facilities. They got A-10 kids instead of CAA kids.
The upgrades made their program better. Why wouldn't the same hold true for someone who joins the C7?
I said I could make an argument for St. Bonaventure as #14 that wouldn't sound THAT crazy. And this is exactly what I meant. The Bonnies had the welding scandal and were god-awful. But they find diamonds in the rough and have two NCAA bids in the last seven non-NCAA sanction years, including an at-large.
They're not going to bring much to the conference initially, but what happens TO the Bona program if they join the C7?
They'd be quadrupling their TV money, so they can promote the school better, make facility upgrades and recruit better.
Instead of playing Fordham, LaSalle, Saint Joe's, Duquesne, GW as their private-school rivals, they now have Villanova, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall and Marquette. So they can sell more and charge more for tickets.
Syracuse gets coverage in Rochester and Buffalo. Bona gets coverage there when they play/win big games; and when they play their neutral site OOC games there. What happens when Bona starts playing "Syracuse's Big East schedule" ? The Rochester and Buffalo papers are going to have a field day with it before every game against Georgetown, Villanova and St. John's.
Bona could play two neutral site games a year: One in Buffalo, One in Rochester; one non-conference, one conference.
If they play Georgetown at Blue Cross arena in Rochester, they whole Syracuse leaving the Big East for the ACC thing will blow up again. They'll get coverage (By the way, compare Bona and Syracuse in the 20 years before the Big East and A-10 were formed. Syracuse had 6 NCAA bids and 8 wins. Bona had 4 NCAA bids and 6 wins. It was playing the Big East giants that helped Syracuse get a stranglehold on all the Western New York markets)
Bonaventure does not deliver the Buffalo and Rochester markets NOW. But by the time the Syracuse/ACC, Bona/Big East angle dies down, they WILL deliver those two markets. It's where most their alumni actually live.
I think that makes a lot more sense than Wichita State. Wichita State is a better basketball program. Hands down. They deliver their entire market (#86; 625,526 people) now.
But you invest in Bona and they could bring you the #49 and #51 markets (2,189,317 total people) later. In the meantime, they go 4-12 in conference while they take their TV check and increase their recruiting budget.
It's a long-term plan, and it takes some serious balls. But I'm sure it would work out fine. The C7 founding members will get wins/NCAA bids at their expense while they improve their program. And you'll be able to go back to Fox Sports with the TV ratings in Buffalo and Rochester down the line and say "Give us more money."
Besides, the worst that happens is you have a Northwestern situation; where everyone else gets their wins against them in conference. In non-scandal years, Bona wins OOC at a high enough clip with A-10 recruits to not hurt the league at all. They'd get C7 recruits and win more OOC games, even if they're 4-12 in conference every year.