Which BEast programs NEED to succeed

[Bill Marsh]

GT and Marquette NEED to succeed. They're our best programs both at this point in time and historically. Sorry, but none of the rest of us are at that level on both counts.

Wizard, time for blind resume time:

Team 1:
All-time NCAA Tourney wins - 38-31
FF : 3
NCAA Campionships - 1
Last 10 yrs - 8 appearances; 1 E8; 3 S16

Team 2:
All-time NCAA Tourney wins - 49-32
FF : 4
NCAA Campionships - 1
Last 10 yrs - 8 appearances; 1 FF; 2 E8; 4 S16

Team 3:
All-time NCAA Tourney wins - 46-27
FF : 5
NCAA Campionships - 1
Last 10 yrs - 7 appearances; 1 FF; 1 E8; 2 S16


Objectively rank the above. I think you misspoke.

If we're talking all time, St. John's has to be in the conversation along with Marquette, Georgetown, and Villanova. Although they only have had 2 Final Four appearances (1952, 1985) and 3 others in the Elite 8 (1979, 1991, 1999), they also won 4 NITs (1943, 44, 59, 65) back when those championships were at least as good as getting to a Final Four. In fact, their 1944 NIT champions were arguably the national champs since the NIT that year included the NCAA champs, Utah. Their 1950 team that finished 3rd in the NIT is also noteworthy since the same 2 teams, CCNY and Bradley, finished 1-2 in both tournaments. St. John's is also one of the winningest programs of all time with a track record of success that goes back before World War I when the Helms Foundation declared them mythical national champs in 1913.

In recent years, the strongest program of the teams in the new Big East has been Butler.

[Bill Marsh]

GT and Marquette NEED to succeed. They're our best programs both at this point in time and historically. Sorry, but none of the rest of us are at that level on both counts.

As for my Bluejays, I understand concerns about whether our recruiting can catch up, but we will NOT be a bottom feeder after Doug leaves. This is a program that has always found a way to win but has lacked a platform to get to the highest level. Spoiled fans don't allow a program to sink, unless their school's administration doesn't care about athletics. Ours administration does, a lot more than some of the other schools in the league. And our fans are spoiled. Very. Dana Altman is a hell of a coach, and a sizable contingent of our fan base thought he was mailing it in the last few years.

Which schools in the Big East care less about winning than Creighton?

[Bill Marsh]

Deleted.

[SJU87]

A Big City team like St. John's or Depaul needs to win a national championship and put on a big show afterwards. Imagine St. John's winning a national championship and they get a victory parade down Broadway with all of NYC watching ? It'll be huge for the Big East. Same with Seton Hall, get them going again and have a strong rivalry with SJU and stadiums will be packed.

[Xudash]

Let's all win big and be relevant.

[Omahanian]

GT and Marquette NEED to succeed. They're our best programs both at this point in time and historically. Sorry, but none of the rest of us are at that level on both counts.

As for my Bluejays, I understand concerns about whether our recruiting can catch up, but we will NOT be a bottom feeder after Doug leaves. This is a program that has always found a way to win but has lacked a platform to get to the highest level. Spoiled fans don't allow a program to sink, unless their school's administration doesn't care about athletics. Ours administration does, a lot more than some of the other schools in the league. And our fans are spoiled. Very. Dana Altman is a hell of a coach, and a sizable contingent of our fan base thought he was mailing it in the last few years.

Which schools in the Big East care less about winning than Creighton?

I think my brethren Jays fan, Wizard, would probably admit he got a little carried away by his excitement and enthusiasm in that comment.

Back to the original question in this thread and the context of the Creighton needing succeed:

1. First, I must confess that for me all sports are local or at least local to my conference. So I don't know Jack really about east coast basketball and what we're really getting into. I know we have to step it up but I don't really know how much are what this really means.

2. However, I do believe that the CU athletic administration has a much better handle on what this opportunity means. And what this challenge will entail. It may or may not come right away, but this administration is committed to getting there. It is a challenge we welcome and have been looking for. I have to surmise this is part of what the Catholic 7 were looking at when they decided to go with Creighton. They saw not only the potential but the commitment we have to reach that potential.

3. Creighton is a pretty damn cool place. Not the only gem in the Big East but a gem nonetheless. I think there is a pretty unified goal here on campus and around the Omaha community that we're going to do our damnedest to make this new conference proud of their westernmost member.

I saw earlier on this or another thread someone say that facilities don't matter that much for recruiting. I would just add my opinion that for a place like Creighton or UNL down the road here in Nebraska (sorry Creighton only fans, I am one of those, I support both schools but the Blue one reigns supreme in my Basketball heart) we don't necessarily have a lot of the other front of mind, obvious attractions. We have no beaches or mountains. We have four seasons so you might have to wear a jacket on campus some days. We are not a mega metropolitan area that recruits instantly recognize and appreciate. Thus, in my opinion, for us, one way to get recruits who might not otherwise give us an honest look, is to really try to go the extra mile in facilities. Wow the recruit there. Let the recruit see the commitment there. Then perhaps they look at the other things we offer where we excel that might not have been front of mind for them at first. So for schools and communities like us, I think facilities matter very much. Without them, we don't have the basic ante on the table to get a recruit and his / her family to seriously consider us. --That's my theory anyway.

[JOPO]

A Big City team like St. John's or Depaul needs to win a national championship and put on a big show afterwards. Imagine St. John's winning a national championship and they get a victory parade down Broadway with all of NYC watching ? It'll be huge for the Big East. Same with Seton Hall, get them going again and have a strong rivalry with SJU and stadiums will be packed.

Amen! Can't wait to face the Johnnies twice a year, every year! We need to pack both the Rock and MSG for those games!

[Friarfan2]

A Big City team like St. John's or Depaul needs to win a national championship and put on a big show afterwards. Imagine St. John's winning a national championship and they get a victory parade down Broadway with all of NYC watching ? It'll be huge for the Big East. Same with Seton Hall, get them going again and have a strong rivalry with SJU and stadiums will be packed.

Amen! Can't wait to face the Johnnies twice a year, every year! We need to pack both the Rock and MSG for those games!

You think seton hall will top 10k for a game @ St. John's for the first time in many, many years?

I don't. In fact, I think seton hall is going to be a queens staple against the johnies. Unless they are scheduled for a weekend, they will be an automatic carnesseca arena team. Just no interest in seton hall.

[Bill Marsh]

GT and Marquette NEED to succeed. They're our best programs both at this point in time and historically. Sorry, but none of the rest of us are at that level on both counts.

As for my Bluejays, I understand concerns about whether our recruiting can catch up, but we will NOT be a bottom feeder after Doug leaves. This is a program that has always found a way to win but has lacked a platform to get to the highest level. Spoiled fans don't allow a program to sink, unless their school's administration doesn't care about athletics. Ours administration does, a lot more than some of the other schools in the league. And our fans are spoiled. Very. Dana Altman is a hell of a coach, and a sizable contingent of our fan base thought he was mailing it in the last few years.

Which schools in the Big East care less about winning than Creighton?

I think my brethren Jays fan, Wizard, would probably admit he got a little carried away by his excitement and enthusiasm in that comment.

Back to the original question in this thread and the context of the Creighton needing succeed:

1. First, I must confess that for me all sports are local or at least local to my conference. So I don't know Jack really about east coast basketball and what we're really getting into. I know we have to step it up but I don't really know how much are what this really means.

2. However, I do believe that the CU athletic administration has a much better handle on what this opportunity means. And what this challenge will entail. It may or may not come right away, but this administration is committed to getting there. It is a challenge we welcome and have been looking for. I have to surmise this is part of what the Catholic 7 were looking at when they decided to go with Creighton. They saw not only the potential but the commitment we have to reach that potential.

3. Creighton is a pretty damn cool place. Not the only gem in the Big East but a gem nonetheless. I think there is a pretty unified goal here on campus and around the Omaha community that we're going to do our damnedest to make this new conference proud of their westernmost member.

I saw earlier on this or another thread someone say that facilities don't matter that much for recruiting. I would just add my opinion that for a place like Creighton or UNL down the road here in Nebraska (sorry Creighton only fans, I am one of those, I support both schools but the Blue one reigns supreme in my Basketball heart) we don't necessarily have a lot of the other front of mind, obvious attractions. We have no beaches or mountains. We have four seasons so you might have to wear a jacket on campus some days. We are not a mega metropolitan area that recruits instantly recognize and appreciate. Thus, in my opinion, for us, one way to get recruits who might not otherwise give us an honest look, is to really try to go the extra mile in facilities. Wow the recruit there. Let the recruit see the commitment there. Then perhaps they look at the other things we offer where we excel that might not have been front of mind for them at first. So for schools and communities like us, I think facilities matter very much. Without them, we don't have the basic ante on the table to get a recruit and his / her family to seriously consider us. --That's my theory anyway.

Well said. Thanks for your insights.

[HoosierPal]

College sports is all about money. And money is directly connected to TV Market Share and success in those markets (viewers).

NY is the largest market, followed by #3 Chicago, #4 Philly, and #9 DC. Schools in those markets need to succeed for the long term success of the league. The rest, well they really aren't as important to the power brokers (Fox Sports) as the rest.