Changing NCAA Landscape: An Idea for the Big East

The college conference landscape is changing. As it stands right now, Nebraska is headed to the Big Ten and 6 schools (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado) are headed to the PAC 10 to form a 16-team superconference. Where does the Big East fall in this picture?

I believe the Big East needs to be proactive and it is time to make a move now. Rutgers showed a high APR score in the latest results and has a foothold that the Big Ten wants in the NY/NJ market. Meanwhile, over in the ACC, Maryland has a foothold on the Washington, DC market. These two markets are very valuable to the Big Ten network and it wouldn’t be shocking that these two schools get invited next.

So, now Big East football is down to 7 teams. The Big East can take a quick fix and pick up a Central Florida, but I think that the “PAC 16” and the refurbished Big 10 are so powerful that something needs to be done to counter this. As we all know, the PAC 10 and Big Ten as we knew it were the two major reasons why we have not seen a playoff system in college football. The better maneuver is to first order Notre Dame to either commit fully to the Big East in all sports or leave. This will likely cause them to leave as well. Thus, we are down to 14 teams in Big East Basketball

At this point, you need to split off the basketball-only schools. Bye bye DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Villanova. Since the remaining teams in football will never be at the class of the Big Ten or Pac 10, you aim to create a 12-team conference that is more known for basketball, but now with twelve teams, you get a conference title game for the conference. Thus, as the Big East, you have to invite Kansas, Kansas State, and Baylor from the Big 12 (to get a pipeline into the Texas market specifically for football but now an up-and-coming basketball program after tragedy struck a few years ago). Next, you invite Memphis from Conference USA and you finish the conference off by asking Villanova to move up from the FCS to FBS level.

A look at the new Big East:

Baylor
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Kansas
Kansas State
Louisville
Memphis
Pittsburgh
South Florida
Syracuse
Villanova
West Virginia

A look at these twelve teams and you realize what a powerful basketball conference it is. As an added bonus, you get a Championship game in football every year (more $$$). Since the Pinstripe Bowl is going to be defunct (Big East vs. Big 12), you rotate the Big East Championship in football between Citi Field and Yankee Stadium each year.

Who's In?

ACC (5): Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State
America East (1): Vermont
Atlantic 10 (4): Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Rhode Island
Atlantic Sun(1): East Tennessee State
Big 12 (7): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Missouri
Big East (8): West Virginia, Syracuse, Georgetown, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville
Big Sky (1): Montana
Big South (1): Winthrop
Big Ten (5): Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Minnesota
Big West (1): UC Santa Barbara
Colonial (1): Old Dominion
Conference USA (2): Houston, UTEP
Horizon (1): Butler
Ivy (1): Cornell
MAAC (1): Siena
MAC (1): Ohio
MEAC (1): Morgan State
Mountain West (4): San Diego State, New Mexico, Brigham Young, UNLV
MVC (1): Northern Iowa
Northeast (1): Robert Morris
OVC (1): Murray State
PAC-10 (2): Washington, California
Patriot (1): Lehigh
SEC (4): Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
Southern (1): Wofford
Southland (1): Sam Houston State
Summit (1): Oakland
Sun Belt (1): North Texas
SWAC (1): Arkansas-Pine Bluff
WAC (2): New Mexico State, Utah State
West Coast (2): Saint Mary's, Gonzaga

Last 4 In:Louisville, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Florida State
First 4 Out: Florida, Wichita State, Arizona State, Virginia Tech
Next 4 Out:Mississippi, Memphis, UAB, Seton Hall
Other Bubble Teams: Dayton, South Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, VCU, Kent State, Wake Forest

Projected Big East Bracket - 3/1/2010

Tuesday
Game 1: #9 Notre Dame v. #16 DePaul
Game 2: #12 St. John's v. #13 Cincinnati
Game 3: #10 South Florida v. #15 Rutgers
Game 4: #11 Seton Hall v. #14 Providence

Wednesday
Game 5: #8 Connecticut v. Notre Dame-DePaul winner
Game 6: #5 Georgetown v. St. John's-Cincinnati winner
Game 7: #7 Marquette v. South Florida-Rutgers winner
Game 8: #6 Louisville v. Seton Hall-Providence winner

Thursday
Game 9: #1 Syracuse v. Game 5 winner
Game 10: #4 Pittsburgh v. Game 6 winner
Game 11: #2 West Virginia v. Game 7 winner
Game 12: #3 Villanova v. Game 8 winner

Friday
Game 13: Game 9 v. Game 10 winner
Game 14: Game 11 v. Game 12 winner

Saturday
Game 15: Game 13 v. Game 14 winner