(01-08-2018 09:17 AM)kmdhoya Wrote: The Big East should remain at 10 members. The round robin is a nice format. The conference should aim to get 5 teams (50%) into the NCAA tournament each year.
UConn should wait to see that the next TV deal is with the AAC conference and wait/hope for an eventual invite to either the ACC or BIG conferences.
The Big East will only expand if it proves to provide more value to their TV deal, and/or it is a member that fits the profile of conference. While UConn is not a Catholic/Private university, it has a ton of history with five of the current members, and a decent history with a 6th (Marquette). The Big East would not hold back an opportunity to invite UConn because it is a state university. Nothing will be decided before 2020, which is when the American's TV deal ends. The earliest movement will be next year, when the AAC will (most likely) learn of its upcoming deal.
The tides can change quickly, but the way things are trending, my guess is that UConn is in the Big East for non-football in 2020-21. If UConn makes a basketball coaching change after the season, it could be the spark necessary to get things back on track (instead of a change in conference affiliation). However, the facts and figures do not lie: attendance against schools like UCF, USF, Tulane, Houston, SMU, Tulsa and East Carolina are not what they were against Villanova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence and St. Johns. The proximity and geography of rivals cannot be understated. It increases fan and recruiting interest, not to mention cuts down substantially on travel (for basketball and other sports).
If UConn Football was successful in the American (which it hasn't been), or UConn Men's Basketball was still near the top of the American (which it hasn't been), this wouldn't even be under consideration. However, UCF has improved its image, brand and reputation. So has Houston. As has SMU. Even Tulane appears to be making strides improving as an athletic program in the American. With the rise of these programs, by law of averages, someone has to fall - and this has unquestionably been UConn. Memphis has really struggled in basketball, but football is booming. Cincinnati is still very strong in basketball (football is rebuilding). These programs have immensely benefited from a conference association with UConn, and UConn's only tunnel to success in the reconfigured American was to be at the top in both sports (for perception purposes). In this regard, UConn's affiliation with the American in 2013 was a lose/lose proposition: if it won (in these sports), it would not have been treated as big wins, but rather as a favorite winning against inferior/called-up competition; if it had lost (which it has been), it gives growth and development perception to those programs, who would end up elevating their respective programs (which has also happened).
UConn, along with ECU, is really the only program that is at the bottom in both football and men's basketball. That never happened in the old Big East. Unless that changes next year in both sports, I would anticipate UConn looking at all options in terms of improving its athletic programs (whether thats new coaches, new resources, new conference affiliations, etc.).