American Athletic Conference

[DoubleJayAlum]

An A-10 with eight wannabes but with WSU, CU, SLU, and Butler would be an upgrade from the MVC.

I don't know about that.

Let's be honest here, SLU hasn't really done much recently. Butler is certainly nice, but is it really worth all of the increased travel expenses to play Butler once a year?

The *star* programs in the A10 are Temple, Xavier, Butler and VCU. Richmond, Dayton and St Joe's are the next tier.

Temple is already leaving the A10 after this year (Charlotte is leaving too). If X, who is arguably the best program in the conference, leaves and takes any of the star programs with it, I don't know that I'd be all that interested. The are a lot of downsides besides increased travel costs (which will be pretty significant btw) -- more poor schools, an east coast focus with schools all located in areas that produce more D1 talent than the Omaha/Wichita area, a conference tourney in Brooklyn (if you thought St Louis was a long and/or expensive trip, you ain't seen nothing), etc.

[BostonWu]

I agree. Georgetown wants nothing to do with anybody from WSU. http://explore.georgetown.edu/people...TemplateID=130 ;)

Mathematics (1 professor mind you) and basketball...yeah perfect analogy???

[SpanglerFan316]

Mathematics (1 professor mind you) and basketball...yeah perfect analogy???

I think there might be music faculty from WSU at GT but this was the first hit Google gave me. ;)

[BostonWu]

I think there might be music faculty from WSU at GT but this was the first hit Google gave me. ;)

Yes music/arts would be a better analogy to the basketball program!

[SpanglerFan316]

Yes music/arts would be a better analogy to the basketball program!

Hey, we're getting there. Without music (e.g. pep band) and math/stat (e.g. game stats), you couldn't have basketball. :wink-new:
What about Engineering? Chemistry? Speech Pathology? Maybe the entire GT faculty is from WSU? ;)

[pogo]

[QUOTE=RandomJaysFan;349931]There is one reason for them to choose to only go to 8 or 10 teams: elitism. You have to remember that these people are complete...well, let's put it this way: if you think that we at CU are rich and arrogant, talk to someone from Georgetown. I used to live on the east coast and their attitudes towards the perceived 'lesser' schools are appalling.

To them, we're Mark Zuckerberg, and they're the Winkelvii. In their mind, we don't get past the bike room, no matter how much they need our programming skills. We're a bunch of hayseeds out on the Plains and they are rich, East Coast $$$ that goes back for generations. Not all are like this but a lot of them are. Xavier would be an acceptable get to that sort of mindset, and St. Joe's a little lesser than that but still OK, but apart from that, it'll be an ego blow to them to accept someone else. Butler has a get out of jail free card with their two title appearances and they're still close enough; that would make 10. Or, less likely due to distance, we're #10 due to the Catholic angle, but if they go to 10 and that's it I'd say we have a 10% chance or so.


To go bigger, they'd have to make a total basketball decision and then suppress their instinct to be a snot. If they do, then a ton of avenues open up, but you have to remember, their butts have been getting chapped over the whole SMU/UCF et cetera, additions that have been happening over the last 18 months. They've had to shut up and take it with that, so I'm wondering if they get their way they're going to say TO HELL WITH THIS, we're taking who we want and every other chump can pound sand.

If I had to guess I'd say since they shut their mouths about all the lesser additions due to $$$, they'd do it again to try to maximize revenue for the new league, but there's a surprising chance they don't IMO. Everything is so up in the air it's hard to tell exactly what everyone is thinking.[/Q

Its not just georgetown that has an elitist attitude. Its an east coast thing (however GT is in the most elitist/sense of entitlement city in the US) So it would be a fight against all of their pedigree to admit that there is someplace between the east coast and callifornia. Most people in the east think that ohio is the mid west and beyond that is the great unknown.

[MadDog]

Im surprised no one is suggesting the MVC make a power grab here. Why dont we approach Marquette, Depaul, St. louis, X, Dayton, and Butler. That turns us into a 16 team midwestern basketball powerhouse conference without having to deal with all the east coast crap.

[CBB_Fan]

Im surprised no one is suggesting the MVC make a power grab here. Why dont we approach Marquette, Depaul, St. louis, X, Dayton, and Butler. That turns us into a 16 team midwestern basketball powerhouse conference without having to deal with all the east coast crap.

While that would be great for the MVC (and Wichita), it simply is out of the realm of possibility. It would be great for the Southern conference to ask Kentucky, Arkansas, NCstate, and Duke to join, but those teams would never lower themselves to that.

In a less extreme sense, that is what those universities think of the MVC. They would see it as a giant step down regardless of who else we brought, and thus would never do it. There are two things a team can do in conference realignment: move up, or get thrown out. The Big East schools are getting thrown out, as their conference implodes. We will get thrown out if Creighton leaves and we are stuck here. But teams will never willingly move down to a lower conference.

[wufan]

Im surprised no one is suggesting the MVC make a power grab here. Why dont we approach Marquette, Depaul, St. louis, X, Dayton, and Butler. That turns us into a 16 team midwestern basketball powerhouse conference without having to deal with all the east coast crap.

This is actually a great idea but it takes leadership and balls to make 4 of the 6 schools that see the benefit. I think the MVC is lacking.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

They need to see the monetary value of aligning with UNI (Cedar Falls, IA - #88) and Evansville (Evansville, IN - #102), Indiana State (Terre Haute - #152). It just won't happen.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I know ADES publicly cannot endorse this, however privately he needs to be pushing this plan with the Big East. The time for sitting by and hoping for the best has come and gone at this point.

I am pretty sure that AD Sexton has a high RTC factor. Hence, he will not be taking much risk.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Im surprised no one is suggesting the MVC make a power grab here. Why dont we approach Marquette, Depaul, St. louis, X, Dayton, and Butler. That turns us into a 16 team midwestern basketball powerhouse conference without having to deal with all the east coast crap.

It would be a waste of time. Each of those schools has spent a ton of money to try to appeal to the east coast. They are recruiting the east coast hard not just for athletes, but for undergraduate students. The last thing they want is to be affiliated with a midwestern conference.

There is a much bigger dynamic going on here than athletics.

[DUShock]

There is a much bigger dynamic going on here than athletics.

BINGO!

[CBB_Fan]

No longer an "if" situation, but a "when" one.

@McMurphyESPN: BIg East hoops schools expected to release statement on future plans in coming days. Source told @espn would be an "upset" if they remained

@ESPNAndyKatz: BE hoops schools expected to release statement on future plans in 24-48 hours." our story will be up soon.

The time to start getting in on this is yesterday. Remember, this may be the single most important thing that has happened to Wichita State in 50 years. No matter what happens, it will have huge ramifications on us. If they take Creighton, and us, we hit gold. If they get just Creighton, we need a new league (UNI and Illinois St will immediately begin looking elsewhere, we probably will be relegated to the Summit League or the raided. MVC). Even if they do nothing of the sort, they may make it worthwhile to go to the A-10.

Pay close attention to this, it is going to be important.

[GoShockers89]

My guess is they will announce an intention to leave without any details on who the expansion candidates will be.