Hey all...am interested in some opinions on this. A columnist (Bob Smizik) in the Pittsburgh paper today suggests that next year, with the addition of L-ville, Cincy, SoFla, Depaul and Marquette, the Big East will be too big and therefore diluted. The schedule will have each team play 10 other teams once, 3 other teams twice, and two other teams not at all. He suggests that the Div 1 football playing members leave to form their own conference and the others (mostly private Catholic schools) start their own conference. Both would/could be good conferences. Now we all know this isn't likely, but as I said I am interested in others' opinions. Thanks.

I can't see how "big = diluted". If, for example, Louisville and UConn don't play in the regular season one year (or Marquette and G'town), the conference won't be hurt. Plus they would have a possibility of meeting at MSG during the Big East tourney.

QUOTE: "He suggests that the Div 1 football playing members leave to form their own conference and the others (mostly private Catholic schools) start their own conference."

Well, the D1 members essentially will be playing in their own conference. The columnist realizes that all the money and prestige in college sports these days stems from football. It will take some time (if ever) for the Big East to get over the loss of Miami and VaTech. Louisville, Cinci and S. Fla. just won't cut it. But keep hope alive: the ACC did it -- went from a hoops to a hoops-and-gridiron conference.

Personally, I think the new Big East will be pretty exciting for basketball.

To call it diluted, you would have to add a higher ratio of weak teams to the conference.

Added teams:

Strong - Louisville, Cincy
Good - Marquette, DePaul
Weaker - South Florida(?)

Current Teams:

Strong - UConn, 'Cuse, Pitt
Good - ND, BC, Seton Hall
3rd Tier - Friars, West Virginia(?), 'Nova(?)
Weaker - GT, Rutgers, SJU

So, I think you are adding 4 teams near the top, and one towards the bottom.

Of course, everything could be very different by next year when they join, but what can you do?

Well, his premise is that while the teams in the BE will be "good," the conference itself will be diluted. Rivalries will be difficoult to create/maintain without annual home and home clashes, or especially if the top teams don't even play each other. For example, the Pitt-Uconn matchup has grown into an intense rivalry...home and home each year plus three straight conference championship games. That will go away...even if they play it could now be only once per year.
We'll see how it all shakes out.

sportnerd...I enjoyed your rankings, especially after the couple of upsets last night! My Pitt Panthers lost a whole lot more than anyone thought we would when Jaron Brown and Julius Page graduated...

Yeah, I kind of noticed that my "good" teams all dropped the ball. I should have been more on top of things when my alma mater, the Bison, beat Pitt. Seriously, that shouldn't happen.

As for the other part about missing on rivalries - those come and go. Just five or six years ago, UConn-Pitt would not have been a big deal. Look at how much people pay attention to Georgetown-St. Johns now.

Good point. If UConn and Pitt manage to stay on top, every game they play will be important and intense...regardless if it's just one game a year or three.

Yeah, the loss to Bucknell hurt...no...SHOCKED everyone around here. But it made the Georgetown loss easier to understand!

it will make it much more exciting

and the teams that make it to the NCAAs will be ready to take on anyone

I can't imagine any team getting out of that conference will fewer than 5 or 6 losses