Notre Dame membership is on BE Agenda

[MST83]

I sent emails listed on the Big East Contacts thread and would encourage you to do the same. Below is the response from the UConn Pres.

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxxxxxx,



Thank you for writing. This is already an item on the Big East agenda for our upcoming meeting. Indeed it is an item that is sure to elicit an interesting discussion.



I appreciate your note and support for the Big East.



Best,



Mike



Michael J. Hogan

President

UConn





From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[xxxxxx:wrdoss@msn.com]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 9:02 AM
To: PRES - Mike
Subject: Big East Study



Dear President Hogan:



I am writing you to request you consider sponsoring or supporting a Big East Committee to study if “It is in the best interest of the Big East Conference to allow Notre Dame to continue as a non football member?”

The need for such a study has been heightened by Notre Dames recent actions which were detrimental to the Big East Conference by tampering with one fellow member’s football coach (The University of Connecticut) and hiring another fellow member’s football coach (The University of Cincinnati). Most conferences have a written or at least unwritten rule of not hiring laterally within the conference.

As a supporter of the Big East and a member of The University of Cincinnati Athletic Supporter’s group, I have long felt that Notre Dame’s membership was too one sided. They add little in other sports.

I look forward to such a study being initiated as soon as possible.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[catsfan32]

Here here, down with Notre Lame!

[Deaf_Bearcat]

We can keep ND in Big East on 2 conditions:

1.) Have its football join the Big East conference.
2.) Have its name changed from Fighting Irish to Poachers.

If both conditions are not met, kick ND out of BE!

[Bruce Monnin]

I have received no reply to a similar note I sent to the Big East Commissioner. Got one of those automatic "I am out of town at the moment" emails back.

[MST83]

Same here on Commissioner

But use the other contacts. Contact Uconn and UC for sure!

I have received no reply to a similar note I sent to the Big East Commissioner. Got one of those automatic "I am out of town at the moment" emails back.

[brcats]

To be a fly on the wall during that discussion!

[CaptainProbasco]

I wonder how serious it will be... A serious move to kick ND out will probably split the conference.

[1977 BearCat]

I wonder how serious it will be... A serious move to kick ND out will probably split the conference.

I have my doubts that many of those other b-ball only schools want to be part of an "All Catholic Conference."

[RedRocker]

I have received no reply to a similar note I sent to the Big East Commissioner. Got one of those automatic "I am out of town at the moment" emails back.

He never responds.

[MST83]

I would be overjoyed

Add Memphis and UCF and we have a great BB and a better FB setup:

Syracuse - NCAA Champ in FB & BB
UConn - NCAA Champ BB
Pitt - NCAA FB Champ
UL - NCAA BB Champ
UC - NCAA BB Champ
WVU - Close in both
Rutgers - NY TV
Memphis - Close in BB
USF - FL TV and FB recruiting base
UCF - FL TV and FB recruiting base

I wonder how serious it will be... A serious move to kick ND out will probably split the conference.

[CincyBeerCo]

Add Memphis and UCF and we have a great BB and a better FB setup:

Syracuse - NCAA Champ in FB & BB
UConn - NCAA Champ BB
Pitt - NCAA FB Champ
UL - NCAA BB Champ
UC - NCAA BB Champ
WVU - Close in both
Rutgers - NY TV
Memphis - Close in BB
USF - FL TV and FB recruiting base
UCF - FL TV and FB recruiting base

I think the "magic" numbers for conference members would be 9 or 11 (equal # home vs away games) or 12 (split into 2 divisions.)

[#41]

Any talk of expansion must immediately be tempered by the fact that adding additional football schools will likely result in the Big East fracturing.

There's no way the Big East expands in it's current format -- the hoops schools would (likely) insist on a 1-1 addition (1 hoops-only school, 1 football school) to maintain the balance of power, and it'd be impossible to get to 10 football programs without creating an unmanagably large basketball conference.

[Bruce Monnin]

The Big East should probably split up one of these days anyway. The basketball teams have been getting the short end ofteh NCAA tournament selections because for some reason people seem to think a conference should get no more than 8 bids. SO the Big East maxes out at 50% of its conference making the tournament while a lesser conference like the Big Ten gets 6 or 7 out of its 11 teams in.

[richard k.]

Any talk of expansion must immediately be tempered by the fact that adding additional football schools will likely result in the Big East fracturing.

There's no way the Big East expands in it's current format -- the hoops schools would (likely) insist on a 1-1 addition (1 hoops-only school, 1 football school) to maintain the balance of power, and it'd be impossible to get to 10 football programs without creating an unmanagably large basketball conference.

The basketball side, as with all sports other than football, is already too big. If the basketball only schools go their own way - how does that impact the three sports of consequence? Well, football not at all. Women's basketball, UConn and Rutgers go with the football schools. Men's basketball - the catholic schools like Georgetown, do add something, but does anyone believe that a conference featuring UofL, Syracuse, UConn, W. VA, Pitt and UC really needs a lot of help? Add one school so that you have 4 home and 4 away football games, along with 16 home/home hoops, and you have a great conference. (I'd prefer BC or Maryland, but in the event neither of those leaves the ACC, how about UCF, etc?)

[RedRocker]

Add Memphis and UCF and we have a great BB and a better FB setup:

Syracuse - NCAA Champ in FB & BB
UConn - NCAA Champ BB
Pitt - NCAA FB Champ
UL - NCAA BB Champ
UC - NCAA BB Champ
WVU - Close in both
Rutgers - NY TV
Memphis - Close in BB
USF - FL TV and FB recruiting base
UCF - FL TV and FB recruiting base

Why stop there? Add BC and Maryland or Temple (maybe Temple vs. UCF) for a 12 team conference. Play 8 conference FB games and 16 conference BB games.