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RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

Did everyone catch today's article in the Providence Journal by Kevin McNamara about the "supposedly great" news on how the Big East was relaunching itself with a back to its roots emphasis on basketball. It was written that the "close to sainthood" Dave Gavitt would be smiling down. The Journal felt it was so significant that it was the lead story across the entire top of the front page of the paper. They would have you believe that happy days are indeed here again.

Scant attention was given to the real legacy of Gavitt - today's out of control college athletics landscape where schools are in a rush to grab as much money as possible with little regard for the destuction it causes eleswhere. The piece was all written from the perspective of Providence College. I guess the Journal feels all Rhode Islanders should feel relieved that little private Providence College, a school that overwhelmingly caters to non state residents (90%), has a new athletics conference home where it will earn more money. Nothing was written on how the new conference's raid on the Atlantic-10 will hurt Rhode Island's state university and largest school (URI). No mention was made to the damage that was done to the present Big East HQ in Providence and the probability that it will now move at some time in the future. Apparently Rhode Islanders jobs, lost rent, and departing tax revenues are not a concern. The only thing that should matter is how Providence College comes out.

Big East relaunched with its emphasis on basketball on Page A1 of Thursday, March 21, 2013 issue of The Providence Journal
Providence Journal
Kevin McNamara
03-21-13

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ ... w=ZW50aXR5

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Interesting that nobody ever mentions Gavitt's shameful time as
Boston Celtic's President. A total bust.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

RF1 wrote:Did everyone catch today's article in the Journal by Kevin McNamara about the "supposedly great" news on how the Big east was relaunching itself with a back to its roots emphasis on basketball. It was written that the "close to sainthood" Dave Gavitt would be smiling down. The Jpurnal felt it was so significant that it was the lead story across the top of front page of the paper. They would have you believe that happy days are indeed here again.

Scant attention was given to the real legacy of Gavitt - today's out of control college athletics landscape where schools are in a rush to grab as much money as possible with little regard for the destuction it causes eleswhere. The piece was all written from the perspective of Providence College. I guess the Journal feels all Rhode Islanders should feel relieved that little private Providence College, a school that overwhelmingly caters to non state residents (90%), has a new athletics conference home where it will earn more money. Nothing was written on how the new conference's raid on the Atlantic-10 will hurt Rhode Island's state university and largest school (URI). No mention was made to the damage that was done to the present Big East HQ in Providence and the probability that it will now move at some time in the future. Apparently Rhode Islanders jobs, lost rent, and departing tax revenues are not a concern. The only thing that should matter is how Providence College comes out.

Big East relaunched with its emphasis on basketball on Page A1 of Thursday, March 21, 2013 issue of The Providence Journal
Providence Journal
Kevin McNamara
03-21-13

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ ... w=ZW50aXR5

I would send this to both the ProJo and to McNamara himself. Unfortunately, this is not new. It's been this way in the 40 or so years I've been following college basketball in this area.

OBRAM · Unread post by **OBRAM** » 11 years ago

Well, when Xavier joined the A10 Projo says, its no big deal, they join the Big East, and it is the next coming of the Messiah. Xavier vs. Creighton, that should really put the TV Rating over the top. I bet they watch that one at the Vatican.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

I really gotta say though. I don't think this hurts URI as much as people are saying.

We're going to be top dog in a league with less competition. Baron isn't here anymore, we actually have a real coach and a real chance, with real talent waiting in the wings. We're going to become what Xavier, Temple, Butler, and Creighton all were to their respective former conferences.

OBRAM · Unread post by **OBRAM** » 11 years ago

The problem with all these conference moves, whether for football like most, or basketball for the Vatican City Conference , is they are not geographic, and when you consider the travel expenses for the soccer teams, or tennis teams, it is all a shame on how much expense and time wasted for student athletes this creates. Fans cannot travel to away games. You can go on and on.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Interesting that nobody ever mentions Gavitt's shameful time as
Boston Celtic's President. A total bust.

That along with his impact on the crazy conference realignment currently taking place is all conveniently forgotten. He set back the Celtics for years and perfected the greed driven quest by colleges for tv money.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 11 years ago

So you want KMac to report on Gavitts pro bball resume in an article on college hoops?
Pretty sure he skipped his coin collection and cooking ability as well.

EricRueb · Unread post by **EricRueb** » 11 years ago

Teams leaving the A-10 affects URI and its fans.
The Big East disbanded affects the entire state. That's a major revenue stream leaving the area. If you don't think that's front page news, you're insane.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 11 years ago

I just emailed McNamara saying I eagerly await a projo article on how this will affect the A10 and URI. Let's see if I hear more than crickets in response.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 11 years ago

The announcement yesterday was totally shameless. Dave Gavitt's name was thrown around nonstop by the University Presidents. Father Shanley set the tone for all to follow. It was definitely a lovefest among Big East Presidents and dignitaries. It was unbelieveable - then throw in the Fox News bologna.
I don't see how people are going to tune in to see St John's play Depaul, or Seton Hall to play Villanova...............same as always except you no longer have Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Connecticut............this Conference got pummelled and is a mere shadow of it's old self. But the shameless chest pounding of the Press Conference was enough to..............bbbbbblllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I will root for every Big East Team to lose in the NCAA - including those who are departing the A10.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 11 years ago

EricRueb wrote:Teams leaving the A-10 affects URI and its fans.
The Big East disbanded affects the entire state. That's a major revenue stream leaving the area. If you don't think that's front page news, you're insane.

He really only covered one angle of the story (perspective of PC) and he put a positve spin on it. There really was not much said about the negative impact on URI or the Big East headquarters. That is my point. The article only had one side.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 11 years ago

He'll probably respond by saying "contact Xavier."

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

EricRueb wrote:Teams leaving the A-10 affects URI and its fans.
The Big East disbanded affects the entire state. That's a major revenue stream leaving the area. If you don't think that's front page news, you're insane.

I didn't read the article, but i highly doubt that McNamara spent much time on how this will affect the RI economy.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 11 years ago

Blue Man wrote:I really gotta say though. I don't think this hurts URI as much as people are saying.

We're going to be top dog in a league with less competition. Baron isn't here anymore, we actually have a real coach and a real chance, with real talent waiting in the wings. We're going to become what Xavier, Temple, Butler, and Creighton all were to their respective former conferences.

If A10 goes from a 5-invite league to a 3, then that's not good for URI.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Well, if the A10 stands pat, and a couple more teams leave after next season, then they will be a 3 bid league, maybe even 2.

If they add a couple more good programs from the South or Midwest, then they've got a chance to be at least a 4 bid league.

That's where they need to be imo.

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 11 years ago

5 of 16 vs. 3 of 12, while a decrease, is that much of a drop, percentagewise (31% vs. 25%)

Captainron@ · Unread post by **Captainron@** » 11 years ago

Hope for the best, but plan for the worst

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

Just be in the top 3 then.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

In a 2 or 3 bid league, Rhody will have little margin for error, if they don't win their league tournament.

They will need to win over 20 games, have to have a very good league record, and most important, almost NO losses to the bottom half of the league, or 100+ RPI types OOC.

That's what happened to Maryland, and they are in the ACC. Too many bad losses offset their good wins.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Teams like Maryland and others from the power 6 (5?) don't schedule like Hurley will OOC.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Something tells me the power conferences won't want home and homes with URI after next season.

They might lose. It's going to be tough for Dan to get good OOC games, unless URI is willing to play most of them on the road.

He is going to have to schedule like Temple did under Chaney. Play anyone, anywhere.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 11 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:
Blue Man wrote:I really gotta say though. I don't think this hurts URI as much as people are saying.

We're going to be top dog in a league with less competition. Baron isn't here anymore, we actually have a real coach and a real chance, with real talent waiting in the wings. We're going to become what Xavier, Temple, Butler, and Creighton all were to their respective former conferences.
If A10 goes from a 5-invite league to a 3, then that's not good for URI.

Iggy, I disagree. What you're saying seems like a no-brainier, but if it's easier to get into the top 3 of a three bid league than it is to get into the top 5 of a five big league then the three bid league is preferable. You lose two bids, but also at least three teams that it would have been almost impossible to jump over. I like that math for URI.

wakefield · Unread post by **wakefield** » 11 years ago

TruePoint wrote:
Iggy1979 wrote:
Blue Man wrote:I really gotta say though. I don't think this hurts URI as much as people are saying.

We're going to be top dog in a league with less competition. Baron isn't here anymore, we actually have a real coach and a real chance, with real talent waiting in the wings. We're going to become what Xavier, Temple, Butler, and Creighton all were to their respective former conferences.
If A10 goes from a 5-invite league to a 3, then that's not good for URI.
Iggy, I disagree. What you're saying seems like a no-brainier, but if it's easier to get into the top 3 of a three bid league than it is to get into the top 5 of a five big league then the three bid league is preferable. You lose two bids, but also at least three teams that it would have been almost impossible to jump over. I like that math for URI.

How much is recruitment effected by conference status? If it effects us less than other teams within the A10 we are golden.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 11 years ago

After next year, if STL and Dayton leave, I think3 bids is very optimistic. None of these Eastern teams that may be added are going to help.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 11 years ago

Ramster,
When was the last time someone called a press conference that wasn't a love feet filled with fluff?

Captainron@ · Unread post by **Captainron@** » 11 years ago

seanmc94 wrote:Ramster,
When was the last time someone called a press conference that wasn't a love feet filled with fluff?

Love feet? How did Rex Ryan get into this thread?

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

seanmc94 wrote:Ramster,
When was the last time someone called a press conference that wasn't a love feet filled with fluff?

Love feet?....must be a Rex Ryan press conference.

EasyEdBrown · Unread post by **EasyEdBrown** » 11 years ago

You guys know that, by and large, the A10 is generally a 2-3 bid league anyway, right?

We had 5 this year, and 4 last...but the number last year was artificially 1 higher because St Bonaventure won the A10 tournament. But in the time since we were last in the tournament, the A10 has had a single bid twice, and 4+ three times.

My point is...being a 2-3 bid conference isn't disaster as long as the quality at the top is good in the regular season (raising the league's profile) and the teams that do make it to the tournament go on runs. Temple under Dunphy making it and going one and out every year is fine I guess, but I think we're better off having the league place a few teams in the Sweet 16 than that.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 11 years ago

Well, with the addition of Butler and VCU we went to 5 bids. Before that, yes, we were basically a 3 bid league. Now we're going back to that with X and Butler leaving.

If we lose no more, we're good. That's a big if.

Having VCU and SLU at the top of our league is good. They can go deep into the tournament.

We need to be that 3rd team that can join them.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 11 years ago

McNamara basically said in response to my email to trust that when the A10 has something to announce, it will be reported. He feels the A10 will probably stay as is for another year and could still live on to be a strong conference. He felt that Butler screwed the A10 and hopes VCU will stay. He also said as far as raiding is concerned, the A10 is in a long line that includes the ACC, Big 12, Mountain West,Big East, and many others.

To me, while Butler is a big loss, it doesn't hurt that much since they were only in the league for one year. Xavier is a much more significant loss.

Also, I know I'm going to get yelled at by the Big East fans, but will the new Big East 10 really end up being that much better than the A10? I'm sure Georgetown, Xavier, Marquette, and Villanova will still be their typical year in/year out forces, but the other six (including Butler and Creighton), need to prove it to me. Yes, Butler has been to 2 championship games recently, and will probably remain a force as long as the coach remains.

Having said that, if we keep St. Louis, Dayton, and VCU, we will remain competitive with the new Big East. What I would love to see is an A10/Big East challenge in the next OOC schedule. Dayton vs. X, URI vs. Providence, GT vs either Richmond or GW, St. Joe's vs. Villanova... That would make for some good games.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

What nobody ever mentions is, Temple is as big a loss as Xavier.

twisted3829 · Unread post by **twisted3829** » 11 years ago

I don't mind Temple leaving, they are going to a better football conference

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 11 years ago

I'll miss Temple a lot more than X (who also has been great for the conference). They've been on or near the top of the league since the beginning. It's going to be strange not being in the same conference.
Butler may have used us, but I don't really think they "screwed" us. We're getting a lot of $ because of their one year in the league.
Tomorrow will be the first time I root for "Curly Q. Link" (Woo Woo Woo) and his Marquette team.

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 11 years ago

I agree that the loss of Temple is just as big, if not bigger than the loss of Xavier. However, we knew about Temple for a while, where X and Butler leaving was kind of out of the blue.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Cant stand losing Temple, X and Butler

Glad we have VCU though

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 11 years ago

URI had some very fun games against Temple through the years. To me it was always the strongest program in a middling conference, at least when Chaney was around. You could argue that changed when X came on board.
As for Saint Louis and Dayton, they will jump after next year.
This conference isn't going to be like the Big East heyday, but it's going to be good and it's going to be on a major TV network. If URI were invited, Thorr would go in a second.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 11 years ago

As a Temple alum who likes basketball and barely cares about college football, I continue to not like the move. I get it, but I don't like it.

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 11 years ago

Football steers the ship.

Ramblinrose · Unread post by **Ramblinrose** » 11 years ago

Stevie. I wouldn't be so quick to diss Creighton after today.

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