How the Big East Elevated Xavier's Brand

[GoldenWarrior11]

The Big East may have elevated Xavier's brand, but Xavier also very much helped solidify and affirm the Big East brand as well. Match made in heaven.

http://www.todaysu.com/rothstein-files/rothstein-kentucky-run-table-sec/

The Musketeers’ program had great success under coaches like Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser, Thad Matta, and Sean Miller, but things have changed under Chris Mack since Xavier joined the Big East in 2013.

Instead of being the dominant program in the Atlantic 10, Xavier is instead a top-tier contender in a league that produced the most recent national champion.

Instead of the Cintas Center being labeled as a high-level mid-major home court, it’s now perceived as a venue where the Musketeers knocked off Villanova last February.

Xavier was a great program before it joined the Big East, but the marriage with this new conference now has the Musketeers en route to a different status.

On the heels of a 28-6 season where it earned a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament, Xavier again appears to be the second-best team in its league this season and its recruiting prowess only continues to progress.

Mack boasts two consensus top-100 freshmen on his roster this season in Quentin Goodin and Tyrique Jones while two top-100 prospects in the class of 2017 — Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs — have already pledged to the Musketeers. Scruggs, a 6-3 point guard, was a top-30 recruit by most scouting services.

Not many programs have benefited more from realignment than Xavier, who is 37-24 in Big East play over the past three seasons.

[Xudash]

Thanks for sharing that.

Instead of being the dominant program in the Atlantic 10, Xavier is instead a top-tier contender in a league that produced the most recent national champion. - - I think we all enjoy that line.

How tough is the Big East grind during the season? - - Not many programs have benefited more from realignment than Xavier, who is 37-24 in Big East play over the past three seasons.

That took me by surprise a little.

[pki1998]

Thanks for posting. I have to agree that conference realignment has been kinder to X then almost anyone. Of the top of my head, it's hard to think of many programs that have benefited more. Sure a program like Rutgers got a pay day by going to the BIG, but its done nothing to boast their athletic department. Outside of the other Big East newcomers, the only programs that possibly benefited more are Utah, and Louisville.

[BEX]

Mack and especially Travis Steele have done a tremendous job in elevating the X program in a relatively short period of time. Have to admit, I was a little in awe of playing the Nova's of the BB World that first year, the style of play, the toughness required, etc. But Mack and Travis went out and "got some guys" to compete in that style and it showed up much faster than I expected. Witness the "beat down' of the A-10 co-champs a year ago. X showed the versatility, speed and quickness that their incessant recruiting had paved the way for.
Now it's still showing up in fabulous new classes, the current one ranked #4 by 247. Dayton? #92. Difference? Mack and Steele come thru the door and the first words out of their mouths is BIG EAST. "You wanna play in the BIG EAST?" It's a compelling argument. Great facilities, committed staff, 100 straight seniors have a degree (thx Sister Rose). Parents eat it up. Go X!

[trephin]

Has X really elevated their performance? Or are they just finally getting media respect? I think many east coast basketball fans knew about their basketball after the epic 1990 clash with Georgetown and of course Pete Gillen who was and is a respected Brooklynite.

[DeltaV]

Has X really elevated their performance? Or are they just finally getting media respect? I think many east coast basketball fans knew about their basketball after the epic 1990 clash with Georgetown and of course Pete Gillen who was and is a respected Brooklynite.

I always wondered why Xavier wasn't in the Big East...especially when we did have DePaul. I guess because Cincinnati had a football team, and X didn't...

[Xudash]

Has X really elevated their performance? Or are they just finally getting media respect? I think many east coast basketball fans knew about their basketball after the epic 1990 clash with Georgetown and of course Pete Gillen who was and is a respected Brooklynite.

I always wondered why Xavier wasn't in the Big East...especially when we did have DePaul. I guess because Cincinnati had a football team, and X didn't...

Back when that round of realignment was taking place, the immediate noise in the press about expansion on the basketball side primarily included Marquette and Xavier.

Then it became Marquette and DePaul, with both coming from the same conference, along with the football schools that also came from that conference - C-USA. Later on, it was said that Mike Tranghese didn't want to hurt his protege (Linda Bruno; the inept and hideous Commissioner of the A10 at the time) nor did he want to look as cavalier as Swofford when it came to raiding conferences.

We were thus left to continue in the A10 for years longer, enjoying the likes of LossSalle, Fordham, Duquesne and the annual, perennial, self anointed pre-season champs, the UD Flyers, who would then promptly go .500 in conference season play and miss the post season.

I think some of it may be (almost reluctant) media respect, finally, though I do recall, even after the Marquette and DePaul selections took place, that Xavier, Gonzaga and Memphis at that time started to be treated differently - as high majors playing in mid-major conferences. The success was there. The Forbes rankings had been going on for years. The Cintas Center and our succession of coaches meant everything to the ongoing development of the program.

I'm just glad it worked out as it has worked out. I love that Xavier is part of this Big East with the other 9 members that comprise it.

[Savannah Jay]

To me the single most impressive thing about Xavier the last 30 years is the string of coaches...without a gutter ball.

Gillen 202-75 for a .729 winning pct
Prosser 148-65, .695
Matta 78-23, .772
Miller, 120-47, .719
Mack, 162-77, .678

I am struggling to come up with another single example where a school has hired 5 successive head coaches who sustained similar levels of success. One losing season in the bunch...13-15 in the first season of A-10 under Prosser.

[trephin]

VCU - last losing season 98-99; every coach above .500 from 1974-2016 (10 coaches)

last 5 coaches
wade .694
smart .744
grant .752
capel .658
mccarthy .542

i do think Xs recent run coaches are all better though

[DudeAnon]

Not to come off like a total douche. But Xavier's consistency is borderline incredible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Mu ... on_results

Since 1982 they have only been below .500 once and have never been below .500 in conference play.