Big East Conference Realignment v2018

[Omaha1]

Seems like we haven't talked about realignment in a long time. I wanted to share a comment from Creighton AD and NCAA basketball chairman Bruce Rasmussen in today's Omaha newspaper.

One more from Rass, on Big East expansion:

“It’s always on the table. I don’t think there’s a school today that would get the seven votes that it takes. I thought Wichita (State) was one of those, was on the (table) and had a great interest in the league. But there was no way Wichita was getting seven votes.

“UConn is a school that has made a tremendous commitment to football and they have to decide what they’re going to do with football or they can decide upon leaving the conference that they’re in. UConn has been discussed a lot, but the elephant in the room is, what do we do with their football program?”

Interesting.

full link- http://www.omaha.com/sports/shatel/shat ... 73ebc.html

[ivet]

[DeltaV]

[GoldenWarrior11]

My guess is that UConn is in the Big East for non-football by 2022-23. 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). UConn is a geographic outlier in the AAC. There are 4 current Big East schools within the radius of what is UConn-to-Temple - their closest school in the American. For Providence's nine conference road games this year, they travel 6,350. UConn, in comparison, travels 10,440 miles. Houston (only) travels 7,568 miles. Providence only makes three 1,000 mile trips in the Big East (Creighton, Marquette and DePaul). UConn takes six (Tulsa, New Orleans, Memphis, Orlando, Wichita and Houston).

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.). Another legitimate question for UConn to consider long-term is - if the priority is football - whether or not being in the American is the best conference for their football program to reach both regional and national success. To be clear, the AAC is the top G5 football conference hands down. They will always be the favorite to grab that NY6 G5 bid, and they routinely have a few programs that are knocking on the door of the top-25. However, how does UConn compete against UCF, USF, Houston, SMU and Memphis now? They don't have the recruiting areas those schools do, and they have unquestionably leap-frogged them in the pecking order for a potential P5-invite if/when that day ever comes.

Regardless of why I think UConn will inevitably return to the Big East, the fact remains that its athletic department will undergo serious changes in the near future. Men's Basketball is struggling big time and the fan base is getting restless.

[whiteandblue77]

Seems like we haven't talked about realignment in a long time.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

The Huskies have lost their mojo.

The State of UConn Basketball - SB Nation/UConn Men’s Basketball – December 29, 2017

At 7-5 with games against competitive teams going very poorly, UConn Men’s Basketball is not in a good place.

Five reasons to keep UConn out of the Big East - SB Nation/Banners on the Parkway – January 5, 2018

Enjoy your mid-major league, Huskies. There’s no vacancy here in the home you left.

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Final 2016-17 RPI Rankings – Warren Nolan – April 2017

121. Connecticut 15-17 (9-9)

RPI Rankings – UDPride – updated January 10, 2018

118. Connecticut 8–7 (1-2); 0–6 vs. RPI Top 50 teams

RPI Forecast - rpiforecast.com – updated January 9, 2018

104. Connecticut 14–17 (7–11); 1–11 vs. RPI Top 50 teams

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If there is a God in heaven, this will remain a very short thread - unlike the previous HLOH 'expansion' threads listed below:

Can we agree on Xavier, Butler, and Creighton? – 98 posts dated January 9, 2013 to December 15, 2017

Conference Realignment Thread v. 2013 – 1506 posts dated December 4, 2013 to April 23, 2014

Conference Realignment Thread v. 2014 – 325 posts dated November 17, 2014 to March 30, 2015

Conference Realignment Thread v. 2015 – 1703 posts dated April 2, 2015 to March 21, 2016

Conference Realignment Thread v. 2016 – 1109 posts dated March 25, 2016 to January 3, 2017

Conference Realignment Thread v. 2017 - 461 posts dated January 1 to June 22, 2017

UConn to the Big East? Rumors and Discussion Thread - 214 posts dated February 15 to March 12, 2017

Add Dayton and VCU - 264 posts dated March 18, 2017 to January 5, 2018

What's Up With Gonzaga? - 66 posts dated March 27 to April 5, 2017

Geography & Expansion: When Creighton was invited... – 42 posts dated March 30 to April 5, 2017

The Gonzaga Thread... with Poll... - 110 posts dated April 5 to May 29, 2017

Is Homogeneity Of Membership Good Or Bad? – 291 posts dated April 6 to May 11, 2017

Would Miller Have Left Dayton If They Were In The BE? - 101 posts dated April 12 to April 20, 2017

The Dayton Thread... - 38 posts dated April 24 to September 20, 2017

Article on what's wrong with UConn recruiting - 58 posts dated June 6 to June 13, 2017

[Jet915]

UCONN opinion article.

http://www.theday.com/article/20180108/SPORT01/180109456

[Bluejay]

Is this the last year that the AAC receives any NCAA tourney credits earned prior to the breakup of the conference? When that well dries up, UConn will be in even worse financial shape as I understand that UConn, Cincy and USF were essentially sharing those $ among themselves and not with any other AAC members.

[MarquetteRustler]

Stay at 10.

[ArmyVet]

UCONN opinion article.

http://www.theday.com/article/20180108/SPORT01/180109456

UCONN is in a bad spot. Really their best scenario for basketball requires acknowledging that football is a disaster and the AAC is likewise.

Big East has all the leverage and has shown that they will succeed just fine and fill MSG without UCONN.