St. Louis and Duquesne (OR Detroit Mercy)

[NoderDamer]

#11 and #12.

No need for Dayton, we have the Xavier market covered. Creighton-St. Louis is a big rivalry in the making, and Detroit (OR DUQUESNE) would be nice. Pittsburgh market baby, Dicky V baby, Detroit and the Catholics baby.

Who else on the Atlantic Seaboard is viable? VCU, no, not private. Richmond? Please why dont we add Northeastern? Duquesne OR Detoit and St. Louis are no brainers to Fox Sports 1 people. 12 teams is the ideal basketball number. 10 is ridiculous for round robin, when every major conference sans Ivy has a conference tournament. What, do we want to be the Ivy League? Why don't all conferences get rid of the conference tournament and value the regular season? Anybody?

[DeltaV]

The first, and most important hurdle for admittance to the Big East is basketball. Duquesne and Detroit don't have it, period. This conference is not meant to just be a collection of markets, it is a collection of high-caliber basketball teams which don't play FBS football. St. Louis is a worthy contender (and honestly I'm not horribly opposed to 11 teams since it would help out the non-rev sports), but no 12th team has shown itself.

And look at those TV markets anyway: Pittsburgh is dominated by Pitt (and Pro Sports)...PSU, WVU, and Ohio State probably draw more eyes to TVs than Duquesne ever could. Detroit has Michigan and MSU. Now, not duplicating markets is a goal (see the thread from a few months ago about St. Joes), but expansion shouldn't occur just to get a lower-tier team in a new market. I'll be keeping an eye on how Davidson does in the A10; if they blow up there, I would love to see the conference footprint move south into ACC territory, even if they wouldn't bring us a strong TV market.

[Dew]

I enjoyed reading contrarian thoughts, but I do not think either school has a realistic chance of being invited to the big east. Like you, virtually everyone has identified St. Louis as a logical 11th school, but instead Richmond or Dayton as the 12th school. I'd be plum happy if we expanded and did something completely out of the box – i.e. Gonzaga, but I think it very unlikely.

[NJRedman]

Oh dear god.

No way the Dookies get an invite. They need to improve GREATLY and start winning and competing for A-10 titles before they can even be considered.

Detroit needed an A-10 invite and follow in Butlers footsteps, but unfortunately those spots went to Davidson and George Mason. The Horizon league isn't what it once was so winning that wont do much for them but it will help. They need to OWN the Horizon league and make nice runs in the NCAA. A couple of Sweet 16's and maybe an Elite 8 will help their cause.

SLU is up as #11 in the eyes of many. They need to continue to be one of the top teams in the A-10 and not drop off under Crews.

Dayton has the fan support and infrastructure but lack in the wins. if they become one of the best in the A-10 along with SLU and VCU they will cement their spot in the BE if they expand.

VCU needs to DOMINATE the A-10 and make deep runs in the NCAA and keep Smart around.

Richmond needs to become one of the premiere teams in the A-10 and have some success in the NCAA tourny. They really need to step up their game and win a few A-10 titles and always be right in the hunt.

[yorost]

VCU does not need to keep Smart around long term, he's just current insurance on adding a program that doesn't quite look cemented yet. The longer he stays the better it is for them because he more or less ensures they continue to stay at a high level. After a few years, though, it won't be a big deal in regards to expansion if he leaves or not, given he kept their success up. It sucks Stevens left Butler, but that doesn't change we added Butler, not Stevens. He raised their profile as much as his own. All coaching changes have risk, but Miller has the most secure program reputation Butler has had for any new coach in probably 70 years.

As for VCU, they don't need to dominate anything. Every new year they get a bid while Dayton and Richmond do not, it gets harder to justify choosing one of those two. Dayton and Richmond not getting bids will probably be more than enough for them, given Smart does not exit or a new coach continues the success.

I almost feel more confident in VCU getting a bid than St. Louis, oddly enough. St. Louis faces the prospect of Crews not working, which could harm their odds badly, but I don't think Smart is leaving for a few years so think VCU will continue to make its case. Granted, St. Louis could end up with a bid regardless of performance, since Creighton was already added and the city they are in, but who knows.

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...and Duquesne or Detroit being added would be an embarrassment for the conference unless either makes major waves immediately. Duqensne would be extra stupid, since it would be a gift to the A10 to take them. Their up years are just being ok competition.

[marquette]

Anyone remember when Siena was a contender for one of the first spots? Yeah, that didn't wind up happening for the same reason this won't. No proven basketball pedigree.

[NJRedman]

Anyone remember when Siena was a contender for one of the first spots? Yeah, that didn't wind up happening for the same reason this won't. No proven basketball pedigree.

No, because they were never actually a candidate. There was talk of them going to the A-10 but never any mention except for one schmuck about them joining the Big East.

[Jet915]

Yeah, Sienna needs to get into the A-10 and do well before they are even considered for the Big East. Same can be said for Duquesne and Detroit.

[XUFan09]

Wow, I got my Master's from Duquesne, so they are a secondary rooting interest, but there's no way in hell they deserve an invite to the Big East. In their best recent year, they ended up getting an invite to the CBI. And to reiterate what another person said about Pittsburgh sports coverage (since I lived there for two years), it goes as follows:

Steelers
Penguins
Pirates
Steelers again
Penguins again
Pitt?
National stories about the NFL, NHL, or MLB
Duquesne

That is not a TV market worth mentioning. I also don't know how someone could dismiss Richmond so readily while propping up Duquesne. Not saying they necessarily deserve an invite, Richmond's program is far superior to Duquesne's.

[nathanhm]

#11 and #12.

No need for Dayton, we have the Xavier market covered. Creighton-St. Louis is a big rivalry in the making, and Detroit (OR DUQUESNE) would be nice. Pittsburgh market baby, Dicky V baby, Detroit and the Catholics baby.

Who else on the Atlantic Seaboard is viable? VCU, no, not private. Richmond? Please why dont we add Northeastern? Duquesne OR Detoit and St. Louis are no brainers to Fox Sports 1 people. 12 teams is the ideal basketball number. 10 is ridiculous for round robin, when every major conference sans Ivy has a conference tournament. What, do we want to be the Ivy League? Why don't all conferences get rid of the conference tournament and value the regular season? Anybody?

Not sure if this is a legit post or just a troll.

No to Dusquesne and Detroit Mercy - stupid idea. No to expanding in general until someone comes up with a good enough resume. StL is close but not there yet. Same with VCU and Richmond. Also referencing Dickie V makes me not like you.

No to expanding just to expand. 10 works great for the regular season and the BET. Not sure how having 10 teams and a conference tourney makes you think of the Ivy League makes me think of the PAC-10.

Basically just no to your post.