Imagine the Big East, Coast to Coast NYTimes Article

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

I hope we either stay at 10 or grudgingly go to 12 - St. Louis and Boston College being the best "fits" out there . . .

Except for men's basketball.

RPI Rankings - updated March 22, 2016

209 - Saint Louis (13th in the A10) ==> 0-9 vs RPI Top 50

248 - Boston College (15th in the ACC) ==> 0-13 vs RPI Top 50

[gosports1]

I guess once we see who ST louis hires we'll know what their long term goal is

[Xudash]

I guess once we see who ST louis hires we'll know what their long term goal is

Given how much they spent on their Cintas Centereque facility, I suspect we know their "long-term goal." The issue now is whether they have a clue when it comes to hiring their next coach. If they screw it up again, they get to remain in A10 Purgatory.

[GreatDaneAttorney]

I'm just not sure that West Coast expansion is needed. Might be cool, but certainly not necessary. Plenty of options in Central and Eastern Timezones will emerge in the next decade.

[GottabetheSHUs]

I admire Gonzaga's program, and would love to work out a scheduling arrangement... That said I really don't like the idea of a West Coast expansion of the Big East. I like the current 10 teams, and hope we can keep it another year or two before really moving forward with expansion.

If I were forced to expand today, I would say VCU for East Coast geographic fit in a mid-size market, strong basketball program and fanbase, and no major football aspirations (more important indicator of institutional fit than Public/Private IMO). I would also invite SLU for good Geographic fit for Midwest in a major market, good facilities, as for current performance... not every team can be good every year, and they have the resources to improve. Dayton is certainly an option as well, I just think SLU fills in the geographic map better.

[notkirkcameron]

Since Saint Louis is seen as the most likely Big East expansion candidate, it will be interesting to see who they hire after firing Jim Crews a couple of weeks ago.

Rumored to be FGCU Coach Joe Dooley. http://www.news-press.com/story/sports/ ... /82123306/

"In the world of unsubstantiated conjecture, though, the St. Louis job makes considerable sense for many reasons:

Dooley’s 10 years in the Midwest as a Kansas assistant supplies endless area recruiting knowledge.
Dooley, who played basketball at George Washington, has maintained strong ties in the Northeast, where he recruited for Kansas and where the bulk of A-10 programs are located.
An $81 million, 10,600-seat facility – Chaifetz Arena, opened in 2008 – that’s less than 10 years old.
A young roster that had only one senior and four juniors in 2015-16 with room to be molded.
No football program, making Billikens basketball king on campus.
A private university, free from endless departmental approvals and public records access that both drive Dooley mad and are unlike what he dealt with at Kansas."

[Hall2012]

I'm generally in agreement with most that I think we're in great shape with 10 teams and there's no need to expand, but if the league were to expand I'd want to make a point of keeping the balance between north east and Midwest schools. My Midwest choice would be SLU- big media market, nice arena, and the recent rebranding of their athletics logos hints that they're serious about improving their programs. I'm still not entirely sure what a Billiken is, but the new version is much more Big East quality than the old one (sorta like the Creighton redesign when they joined).

As far as a northeastern team is concerned, the top media markets are all pretty much covered so it would mean doubling down on one. I'd consider St. Joseph's in Philadelphia and Northeastern or Holy Cross (or BC if they were to drop football) in New England. Of course, the jump to the Big East would be enormous for Northeastern and HC so they'd both take a lot of patience.

[Xudash]

I doubt BC has any intentions of dropping football. Something materially damaging to the ACC would have to occur before that ever hits their radar screen, insofar as BC can heavily rely on reasonably solid funding through its ACC affiliation.

Besides, I recall recently reading an article on BC that was about that institution sinking $200 million into capital projects involving athletics.

They are in competitive purgatory for sure, but they're not in financial retreat mode yet.

[ChelseaFriar]

I doubt BC has any intentions of dropping football. Something materially damaging to the ACC would have to occur before that ever hits their radar screen, insofar as BC can heavily rely on reasonably solid funding through its ACC affiliation.

Besides, I recall recently reading an article on BC that was about that institution sinking $200 million into capital projects involving athletics.

They are in competitive purgatory for sure, but they're not in financial retreat mode yet.

Yeah, no way they drop football. Despite their shrinking season ticket holder base, they would get absolutely crushed by alumni for that move.

[NJRedman]

If we really want to keep the balance why not just bite the bullet and invite VCU? They clearly are a program that can grow into a successful Big East program. I don't care that they are not private, they are a basketball school and one in a market we don't cover.