NBC Sports: The New Big East will never be the Old Big East

[ArmyVet]

and that’s a good thing

This a league where six teams seem destined to get a berth to the NCAA tournament again, a league that looks like it is going to finish in the top three on KenPom for the fourth consecutive season.

The Big East is also one of just two power conferences, along with the Big 12, that play a full round-robin schedule. Nothing stokes a rivalry better than a home-and-home in conference games that matter.

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/ ... ood-thing/

[Xudash]

He's spot on with the article.

The old BE was great. Enjoy the memories it provides. Don't deny its accomplishments.

Why even bother with comparisons?

Of course, that's an easy position to take, given what a great gig the Big East has become - once again.

[American X]

Great article, thanks.

"Chris Mack and the DGAF-mantra his teams play with." True-ish, but they GAF sometimes.

[billyjack]

Syracuse fans are bored sh-tless in the ACC, they miss MSG and their longtime rivals. For them, yes, they're in a place that has no resemblance to the Big East. To them the Big East doesn't exist cuz they're eating at Denny's in Winston-Salem and Applebee's in Nowhere-land South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the 10 of us have everything today that we had back in 1984. Everything is still in place. The feel of today's Big East is the closest to 1984 than it's been in 25+ years. Many of us here have witnessed everything since 1979, so we're talking firsthand.

Bruising hoops, 5-star talent, comraderie, and a portion of the hoops world that dislikes us out of jealousy or whatever (see ACC land mid 80's, see Billy Tubbs late 80's). Perfection. Love it.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Syracuse fans are bored sh-tless in the ACC, they miss MSG and their longtime rivals. For them, yes, they're in a place that has no resemblance to the Big East. To them the Big East doesn't exist cuz they're eating at Denny's in Winston-Salem and Applebee's in Nowhere-land South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the 10 of us have everything today that we had back in 1984. Everything is still in place. The feel of today's Big East is the closest to 1984 than it's been in 25+ years. Many of us here have witnessed everything since 1979, so we're talking firsthand.

Bruising hoops, 5-star talent, comraderie, and a portion of the hoops world that dislikes us out of jealousy or whatever (see ACC land mid 80's, see Billy Tubbs late 80's). Perfection. Love it.

Never gonna happen, but I'd much rather have Syracuse back in the league than UConn. I think it's a much better fit and has the potential to once again be a real power post-Boeheim. I honestly don't think the school presidents consider UConn an option. The only argument that makes sense is the unlikely scenario where somebody throws millions at them to get UConn in, and the only people suggesting it aren't the ones with the money.

Added benefit of Syracuse: everybody already hates them.

[herodotus]

Syracuse fans are bored sh-tless in the ACC, they miss MSG and their longtime rivals. For them, yes, they're in a place that has no resemblance to the Big East. To them the Big East doesn't exist cuz they're eating at Denny's in Winston-Salem and Applebee's in Nowhere-land South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the 10 of us have everything today that we had back in 1984. Everything is still in place. The feel of today's Big East is the closest to 1984 than it's been in 25+ years. Many of us here have witnessed everything since 1979, so we're talking firsthand.

Bruising hoops, 5-star talent, comraderie, and a portion of the hoops world that dislikes us out of jealousy or whatever (see ACC land mid 80's, see Billy Tubbs late 80's). Perfection. Love it.

Never gonna happen, but I'd much rather have Syracuse back in the league than UConn. I think it's a much better fit and has the potential to once again be a real power post-Boeheim. I honestly don't think the school presidents consider UConn an option. The only argument that makes sense is the unlikely scenario where somebody throws millions at them to get UConn in, and the only people suggesting it aren't the ones with the money.

Added benefit of Syracuse: everybody already hates them.

Those of us who have been around since the beginning know that Cuse was the foundation of the BE. This league would never have amounted to much without Cuse. You young folks have to know that it took a while for Cuse to see the benefit of giving up their independence. When the NCAA finally opened the NCAA Tournament to teams other than league champions, and independents, the greatest impediment to the formation of an eastern league was removed (why join a league and limit yourself to one bid, when Nova, Bona, Holy Cross, Duquesne, St. John's and the other then Catholic powers, knew that 3-4 of them could get a bid the same year as independents). When three of the four eastern football powers (PSU, Pitt, WVU) decided that a league would be a good thing, they got together with a then rising Rutgers (hard to believe ain't it), and long time Catholic stalwarts, Villanova, and Duquesne, and began to put a league together. There was one problem, Syracuse, who had recently become the dominant eastern basketball school under Roy Danforth, was very hesitant to join a league. This created several problems for this new league. Not only would it be missing the most powerful eastern program, but St. John's among others, made it clear that they wouldn't join unless Syracuse did. Of course Syracuse didn't join. What became the Eastern 8 did eventually form. but struggled to capture the imagination of fans. When the NCAA started making noise about putting the various ECAC teams into groupings, the schools that hadn't wanted to join a league came to the conclusion that it would be better to be in a group of their own choosing, rather than submit to whatever arrangement the NCAA had in mind. This is where the BE was born. One much overlooked thing had occurred prior to the formation of the BE, that allowed it to be formed as we know it. After the formation of the E8, Penn St. had hired Dick Harter, who had formerly been the coach of those powerhouse Penn teams at the beginning of the decade (yes, Penn was a powerhouse basketball school in the 70s). Harter convinced Joe Paterno to allow him to pull Penn St. out of the E8 and go independent. This was a massive failure. How did this affect the BE? Simple, with Penn St., WVU, and a Pitt that had become an absolute monster in football, all in the same league, it's really hard to see them allowing Syracuse to basically form a rival league. I can't see them doing anything other than strong arming Cuse into the E8 with threats of dropping them in football. Had this happened, St. John's, PC, and BC would have quickly followed. Instead, free of that threat, Cuse joined the new BE. With Pitt and PSU no longer in the same league, the two schools jockeyed behind the scenes to get into the new league, and Pitt won. Had Cuse, and BC ended up with the football schools, the long dreamed of eastern all sports league might have eventually occurred. Villanova may even have never dropped football. Sorry for rambling, but I know some of you younger types, as well as you newbies, don't really know the history of eastern basketball, so now you know a bit more than you did.
PS,
Why on earth did Roy Danforth leave Syracuse after he's built them up, to go to Tulane? In an ironic twist, the addition of Tulane turned out to be the straw that broke the back of the Big East we all knew and loved.

[NJRedman]

Thats not exactly how those who formed the league tell it.

[herodotus]

Thats not exactly how those who formed the league tell it.

Well, as someone who follows Nova, and was around for all of this, it's pretty much spot on. Nova even turned down the BE at first. Rollie didn't want to move, but wiser heads soon prevailed. Rutgers had football dreams, and didn't want to separate from Pitt, and WVU. I guess Holy Cross decided they didn't want to be a basketball power anymore. I can respect that. Cuse was definitely the foundation, as they gave the league legitimacy. The rise of Georgetown is what took the league to the next level though. Of course, the leadership of Dave Gavitt can't be overlooked. The leadership of the E8 was horrible by comparison.

[billyjack]

You're giving way way too much credit to Syracuse.
You even said they lost their coach to freakin Tulane.

There were 4 teams that made the foundation:
1. St John's, the critical get.
2. Providence, top New England team.
3. Georgetown, already a rising star.
4. Syracuse, top Upstate team.

St John's was the key. Conference wouldn't have formed without Louie.

[DeePhence]

So many things happened to give rise to the Big East. The way we Providence fans tell it - Joe Mullaney had turned PC into a national power in the 1960s - won two NITs when independents didn't go to the NCAAs and winning the NIT was almost as big a deal on the east coast as the NCAA was. Dave Gavitt inherited the team, got lighting in a bottle with Ernie DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes, Joey Hasset and Kevin Stacom - all southern NE kids who turned out to be all-Americans. But Gavitt saw that little PC could not stay a basketball power forever (especially after the NCAA opened the tournament up to multiple bids from multiple leagues) and saw the threat to other schools like PC. He also saw the potential of Cable TV. That's why the original Big East HQ was in Providence, the first BET was at the Dunk (then called the Civic Center), etc.

Syracuse had a record unbeaten streak at the old Manley Gym, and had just built the Dome. They were one of the big gets for the league for sure, and were always a glamor program.

I guess if the East Coast football league had actually formed, Syracuse might have gone that way - maybe same with BC. So sure, Syracuse was crucial to the league (signing Pearl Washington also helped the league).

But I still hate them, and they can spend all night at Waffle House.