RE: CBS Sports College Hoops Mailbag: Big East Expansion?
If the Big East was forced to add teams today, Saint Louis and Dayton would be the only two realistic adds the conference could make. Both have schools have arenas that seat over (or close to) 10k, have a clear drive in their athletics programs towards men's basketball, and bring new large markets (yes, Dayton is a separate TV market than Cincinnati). Unfortunately, and realistically, if you look at where Dayton and Saint Louis would finish in the Big East in men's basketball, you question whether they add value to the conference. Dayton, with Archie Miller, would undoubtedly finish in the middle-to-top-half of the league fairly consistently, and Saint Louis, under Jim Crews, would challenge Seton Hall and DePaul for 10th, 11th or 12th in the conference. Would those two situations add overall value to the Big East? I would think that Fox, the Big East presidents and Val Ackermann would think not.
Schools like Wichita State and VCU, while strong basketball programs in new markets and no football, would have a tough time being accepted in with a 10-school league with a clear private/Catholic focus. Schools within conferences love similar institutions being accepted into their club (Nebraska/Rutgers - B1G, Missouri/Texas A&M - SEC, Colorado/Utah - PAC-12), and WSU and VCU don't fit the mold of what the Big East currently is - from an institutional perspective, right or wrong as that is.
UConn, as been stressed and reiterated time and time again on these boards, is a pipe dream for the conference and will not be headed back to the Big East - unless some sort of doomsday scenario occurs.
The league, for the first time since the 80's, looks to be viewing expansion from a position of selection and choice rather than reaction and impulse. They can take their time in any expansion talks and not have to worry about any schools leaving for greener pastures. They are in, what is perceived by national pundits, a power basketball conference with a very lucrative TV deal. They can afford to continue (re)build the league and its reputation, waiting to see how the collegiate landscape changes over the next several years.
|