Official Conference Realignment Thread

[rodfromcranston]

KMac is now lobbying for the Big East to grab Butler and Xavier.
Nice.

[bigappleram]

of course he is, he is about as unbiased as CNN or Fox News. what a beaut, encouraging the BE to steal from the league of the state U he works in.

[Ramulous]

Wonder what KMac's advice to the A-10 will be ???

[Billyboy78]

Wonder what KMac's advice to the A-10 will be ???

I don't even like seeing him at our games. You know he doesn't give a crap about us. I have told him he is being unprofessional when tweeting his obvious love for PC and the BE.

[rambone 78]

Maybe someday fairly soon PC will come crawling to the A10, wanting in....

Wonder what KMac will say then.

[ATPTourFan]

As one of the original students in 104 when the building opened, but never an official member of the Fanatical Fans, I have some perspective on this.

Yes, during the first two seasons, it seemed like everything went Rhody's way when they played in the Ryan Center. But in the 3rd and 4th seasons, students just stopped supporting the team and I was often literally surrounded by maybe 10-14 other students in all of 104/103 for most every game not televised on ESPN.

There's no easy answer to this issue. Students did have their chance to support the team through thick and thin, but they bailed at the first sign of a down year (6 wins certainly qualified as that).

At first I didn't like the idea of students going behind the basket, but when the entire north endzone is full up to the upper corners with students, it sure creates a great atmosphere. Some games back when the team was at it's peak under the Baron regime, we had BOTH endzones full with students up to the 300s. Remember Baronville (makes me laugh now)!?? There was buzz for that team. Imagine what it will be like perhaps by the end of this season after one or two nice surprise wins. Certainly next year, the atmosphere from student participation in home games will be much improved.

Like I said, no easy answer. Not sure how they'd ever go back to putting students in 104/105 again, but I guess it could happen after maybe several solid seasons and during a re-seating session.

[ramfan85]

Maybe someday fairly soon PC will come crawling to the A10, wanting in....

Wonder what KMac will say then.

I'm sure he'd say that they could do a lot better.

[urirx]

on the ryan center seating

I figure the only way students get back the seats that are rightfully theirs, is a lawsuit from URI student government against URI. Students were promised, and had published, that they would have 3 sides of the court, minus required seating for the visiting team, dedicated to them. This promise was part of the package that led to the senate approving the increase in student fees to cover the "convocation center" debt.

I think you could argue it was a misrepresentation, or that when students didn't fill the seats they were sold to people who would, but I would be interested in seeing the case worked through.

[rambone 78]

It's official, Louisville to the ACC.

Another big blow to the BE.

UConn left out again. What a shame.

[Blue Man]

I really don't see them trying to grab any A-10 teams but UMASS. They are bleeding money from football. No basketball program is going to bring in the kind of money that even a Tulane or ECU can with football.

[rambone 78]

Even taking UMass, so what?

UMass moving up in football is a disaster in the making. Playing their games 80 miles away at Gillette isn't the answer.

Big deal. However, the BE is desperate. UMass would be better served staying put.

Look what's happening to UConn, and they have far more resources than UMass ever will. Their FB program is going to wither away on the vine, it's already started.

If you're not in one of the big 4 conferences, or maybe the ACC, you're screwed. And they're screwed.

[Blue Man]

Even taking UMass, so what?

UMass moving up in football is a disaster in the making. Playing their games 80 miles away at Gillette isn't the answer.

Big deal. However, the BE is desperate. UMass would be better served staying put.

Look what's happening to UConn, and they have far more resources than UMass ever will. Their FB program is going to wither away on the vine, it's already started.

If you're not in one of the big 4 conferences, or maybe the ACC, you're screwed. And they're screwed.

Oh I agree it'd be foolish for UMASS to make a move - I'm just saying they'd be the only ones targeted by the Big East because of football. It's pretty clear they really don't care how good a team is, as long as they have an FBS team.

[RF1]

It is entertaining to read the UConn Board. They are blaming everyone for their plight but the true culprit, themselves. Their sanctimonious actions when BC, Miami, and Va Tech left for the ACC comes back to nite them. You can't go ballistic with lawsuits against certain schools and a conference and then later expect those schools and that conference to later forget it all and vote you in.

UConn is also not as big a commodity as their fans think. Their football program is really nothing special. It plays far off campus and doesn't get fans to follow it to bowl games. This does not go unoticed. Even their flagship multi-national champion men's basketball program has some issues. It is currently on probation and and the man most repsonsible for its success just rode off into the sunset. It is not even a given anymore that all UConn men's hoops games sell out. Fans have become spoiled.

Fortune may yet change for UConn with more conference movements. They could eventually end up in the ACC if it were to really come apart and they were desperate for new members. It however is no consolation for UConn fans right now as they are in a state of purgatory in the current Big East. They have long over-estimated their athletic program's worth and cannot believe what fate has delivered.


UConn Board Link:
http://the-boneyard.com/

[rodfromcranston]

Yes, but UConn women is still a commodity, as long as Geno is around.

[rodfromcranston]

Daryl Jasper came over at half time.
What a nice guy!
He was explaining the sound system testing
that they've been doing on the new sound system.
Glad URI is well represented by such people!
So, after he left, I turned around and Milan was sitting behind me.
I also met a poster. He introduced himself as Blue Man, I think. Nice guy.

[Rhody72]

What did Jasper's have to say about the sound system?

I will also say that the new Beltone and another lighted sign at floor level near mid-court opposite the benches is very annoying to fans in sections behind the benches. They makes it very hard to see action in front of them.in front

[Blue Man]

Daryl Jasper came over at half time.
What a nice guy!
He was explaining the sound system testing
that they've been doing on the new sound system.
Glad URI is well represented by such people!
So, after he left, I turned around and Milan was sitting behind me.
I also met a poster. He introduced himself as Blue Man, I think. Nice guy.

Rod it wasn't me - I'm in 207, rhody jersey #1 or #41, rhody hat, every game. Come say hi!

But yes, Daryl is one of the good ones. Great representative of the program and the department.

[rodfromcranston]

Sorry, it was theblueram.
I'd love to meet you.
My problem is, I mostly stay in my seat at
halftime. It's a carryover from years at Keaney,
where walking around was like Times Square on
New Years Eve.

[RF1]

An article about UConn from The New London Day that dove-tails my assertion that UConn fans over-inflate their worth:

Picture of UConn outside of Connecticut not quite so rosy
By Mike DiMauro
Publication: The Day
Published 11/29/2012 12:00 AM

http://theday.com/article/20121129/SPORT01/311299580

[Blue Man]

Sorry, it was theblueram.
I'd love to meet you.
My problem is, I mostly stay in my seat at
halftime. It's a carryover from years at Keaney,
where walking around was like Times Square on
New Years Eve.

Haha when it was 50,000 degrees up top and you couldn't breathe? I understand that. I'll walk around and say hi...where do you sit?

[Rhode_Island_Red]

On the Ryan Center and student seating: "Game presentation" is atrocious and, at times, embarrassing. If I ever catch another of those stupid little plastic basketballs, I'm liable to throw it back at the "MAKE SOME NOI-ISE" moron.

Now, back to the original thread: none of the basketball-only schools will leave the Bigheaded East until its lucrative television contracts expire. The networks didn't give the original Conference USA much air time for basketball. Now that the Bigheaded East has essentially replicated Conference USA, what's different this time around? Nothing except for the fact that the BCS cartel is even more powerful, and that football truly is king--hence the ACC's taking Louisville and its top-25 football program over UConn and its glorified Mid-American Conference football program.

When those TV contracts expire, there 's bound to be some restructuring at our level, mainly to bring costs into line with revenues. So you might see Marquette, DePaul, Xavier, Dayton and Saint Louis re-creating the old Great Midwest, which would leave openings in the Atlantic-10 for Georgetown, Villanova and St. John's.

[ATPTourFan]

With the BIG EAST conference scheduled to lose even more of their key basketball membership in exchange for mediocre, at best, replacements from lands afar, the basketball-only schools are worrying about their future. Days ago, the AD at Villanova released a letter to reassure fans that the Wildcats are going to be just fine.



It appears that enough of Providence College's fans and boosters are concerned about their athletic future to warrant a letter from PC Athletics Director, Bob Driscoll, today:

Dear Friar Fans:

Providence College takes its commitment to the College's athletic programs, most specifically, the men’s basketball program, very seriously.

The Friar men’s basketball program is the cornerstone of our athletic department and a key component of Providence College. I want to assure our alumni and our fans that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure the future success of all of our athletic programs, including men’s basketball. We believe that Ed Cooley is one of the top coaches in the nation. In the last 18 months, Coach Cooley and his staff have brought some of the top players in the nation to Providence College. Ensuring that Coach Cooley is here to guide our program and that he has all the essential elements to run a championship caliber program is something we are working to solidify.

We believe that Providence College men’s basketball is poised for a run of great success and is on the verge of becoming one of the top college basketball teams in the country. We want to create an environment that allows us to sustain success and provide you, the fans, with the excitement that you deserve.

While it may appear to some that recent realignment news is eroding the environment for our men’s basketball program, we remain optimistic about our future. We believe that with change comes opportunity. There are opportunities now for us to position our athletic department and our men’s basketball program for long-term success. We will explore every opportunity in order to reach our goal.

We have some of the greatest fans in the nation. Please continue to support us and know that we working tirelessly to ensure that Providence College athletics and its men’s basketball program will continue to be strong and proud.

Sincerely,
Bob Driscoll
Athletics Director
Providence College

[iBall]

Something of interest from Adam Zagoria

http://zagsblog.com/articles/big-east-s ... -be-happy/

[ATPTourFan]

Thing is, NO WAY the bleeding has been stopped. UConn and Cincy already want OUT. At least ONE of them are going, so I'm not sure what the point is here.

[EasyEdBrown]

They might not have homes though.

The Pac12 is out. The Big 10 doesn't need them (they already have the Cincinnati market with Ohio St and UConn doesn't have a market). The SEC would be a competitive disaster for either of these schools, to the point where SEC might be hurting their brand by including them.

That leaves the ACC, who just rejected them to take on Louisville, so they are only an option if the ACC takes both, and the BigXII, which might take Cincinnati...might...to try to have a partner for WV and try and get some inroads into Ohio.

UConn might want to cling to the Big East like PC is doing for the next season or so.

[iBall]

UConn might want to cling to the Big East like PC is doing for the next season or so.

The Zagoria article is about the 7 BB only schools being content on staying put for the foreseeable future

Check out the BoneyardConference Realignment Board!... UConn fans want out of the Big East Faster than a dog can lick his backside