Conference Realignment: Big East Will Hold Syracuse And Pitt To 27-Month Commitment
by Brian Favat on Oct 19, 2011 8:00 AM EDT
in Conference Expansion
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PrintIt should probably come as no surprise that on Tuesday, Big East commissioner John Marinatto announced that the Big East will hold Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the 27-month commitment. This despite the fact the Big East could soon balloon to 14 programs in football and 19 in basketball. CBSSports' Brett McMurphy is go:
"Marinatto reiterated that the Big East would not allow Pittsburgh or Syracuse to leave the league early and must honor the 27-month exit agreement. Pitt and Syracuse will remain in the Big East through June 30, 2014, meaning the Big East could have a 14-team football league in 2013 if necessary, Marinatto said.
And you thought Boston College's final year in the Big East was awkward? Orange and Panther fans can look forward to loads of hate when they roll up into Storrs, Piscataway and Morgantown.
Both Pittsburgh and Syracuse fans are understandably peeved at Marinatto, but this makes perfect sense if you are the Big East. If Marinatto lets Pitt and Syracuse off the hook early, this would signal to Louisville or West Virginia or anyone else who wants to "Get the hell out of Providence" that they could get out while the getting is good.
The fact that Syracuse and Pitt are staying put for another three seasons ain't no thang for the ACC, as it simply gives the conference "more time to get organized and get their schedules set." This, combined with Missouri's "imminent" move to the SEC, and all signs point to the fact that the ACC is pretty set at 14 programs for now. No UConn. No Rutgers. No Notre Dame or Texas. Good with 14 for now.
UConn president Susan Herbst apparently sees the writing on the wall, and hits us up with some knowledge, Thomas Friedman-style.
"In terms of stability and finding the best institutions that fit, that you want to play, you have to go pretty far beyond where you ever thought," she said. "And that's OK. I think most of us are settled with it. Football, it's a little easier because you only go to a far away place every other year and they come to you every other year.
"The world is flat. I think we've all come to see that college athletics is like telecommunications or political organizing or any of the kind of dynamic institutions that used to be very regional. It's a national activity."
In other expansion news, the Big East may choose to host its football Championship Game at Yankee Stadium. Which doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, until you realize that Yankee Stadium's football capacity (54,251) is still greater than 3/4 of the football stadiums in the Big East. That, and the alternative -- a football championship game played on campus annually on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium doesn't seem all that appealing, either.
So the Big East Football Championship may soon join the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, 2011 California Golden Bears football and the now-defunct International Bowl as other prestigious college football games played inside a Major League Baseball ballpark.
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I still don't think they will stay the full amount of time...
If Pitt and ’Cuse decide to leave early without the approval of the Big East will Marinatto physically stand in front of the moving truck? Everyone has a price and I assume they have to be trying to work out a deal.
If Pitt and ’Cuse decide to leave, and the ACC takes them in early then what? The Big East could sue them for breach of contract, but would potential damages be enough to stop Pitt and ’Cuse from beginning play in the ACC? John “Honey Badger” Swofford needs to give them a wink and a nod to come over early, as the waiting period is ridiculous.
Everyone has a price and I assume they have to be trying to work out a deal.
I also wouldn’t be suprised to see something negotiated before lame-duck-year-two.
by Eagle in Brighton on Oct 19, 2011 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions
If not, we can always just pull for either lame-duck to win the BE BB tourny. Love that kind of irony.
by Eagle in Brighton on Oct 19, 2011 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Indeed
We are all now Panther and Orange fans, for the next two years, anyhow.
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Oct 19, 2011 10:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
And the Big East Football Championship at Yankee Stadium! #joke
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Oct 19, 2011 10:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Syracuse and Pitt could still leave early.
[Maryland AD Kevin] Anderson said on Wednesday that he does not envision the process taking the full 27 months. He said the Big East has asked both Pittsburgh and Syracuse to stop coming to conference meetings and that the conference has signaled to their partners that "the transition could be sooner."
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2011/10/19/could-pitt-syracuse-move-to-acc.html
Abiaka Windclan
>>>---------------------------------->
'As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship and this fine crew never give up, never surrender.'
by Abiaka Windclan on Oct 19, 2011 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions
The ACC needs to get those teams out of the Big East
Or they will essentially be shells of what they are now in two years. The Big East is going to be lobbying its schools to annually beat/win/punish these schools in every way possible. Though if Pitt or Cuse win the football/basketball championships, it would be quite bitter sweet for the conference, and a good way to shove it back in Marinara’s face about it.
Don't give up, don't ever give up ~ Jim Valvano
No rush
The damage to Orange football has already been done (see: record from 2005-present) when they got left behind during the last realignment.
Don’t feel strongly one way or the other if both Pitt and Syacuse have to wait. Like I said, makes sense for the Big East. And gives ACC time to get schedule, divisions, etc. right this time.
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Oct 19, 2011 10:02 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
and . . . .
. . . . . gives time for BC to become competitive again . . .. . . so we can beat Pitt and Syracuse when we meet in ACC play!
and . . . .
. . . . gives Pitt and Syracuse time to recruit and intergate better ACC prospects (whom they could not get with just a BE pitch ) over the next two years
Beat Syracuse last year on the road. Pretty sure BC football can still beat Syracuse …
No extra time required.
Editor, BC Interruption
u must be kidding
Pretty sure BC football can still beat Syracuse
There is no way anyone — even you, Mr Contrarian — can be confident that BC can beat anyone with Spaz as our Spaz-in-Chief.
we did lose to several bad teams already, including one that LOST to ’Cuse, just in case you were unawares
We beat Syracuse 16-7 on the road last year with basically the same team we have today (including no Montel). The Orange are terrible.
Quit being so pessimistic. BC football is depressing enough as it is.
Editor, BC Interruption
I think it depends primarily on what the Big 12 does
If the Big 12 doesn’t end up taking any Big East teams (and the SEC doesn’t either) than Big East football should survive (it wouldn’t really be recognizable as the Big East but it would survive).
If the Big 12 takes only one of Louisville / West Virginia and then stops, Big East football still has a decent chance to survive. I’d guess they’d end up eventually going after Temple, UCF, possibly ECU and possibly even UMass. I’m not convinced any of the teams in the west will join them, and I don’t expect Navy to either.
If the Big 12 takes both of them, Big East football is probably dead. If it takes both of them and Cincinnati, Big East football is absolutely dead.
If BE football is expected to die, the remaining schools (especially the non-BE football schools) might just vote to end Big East sponsorship of football immediately. That would allow the 3/4/5 teams departing to be on their way, and allow the leftover football programs to attempt to place their football programs in another league or possibly leave the Big East entirely.
Assuming Big East football survives, I think the worst that would happen is that they’d keep their football programs in through 2013 but all other sports would be in the ACC by 2013.
It’d certainly be a bit ironic if schools from a conference that took teams from Conference USA now have to go to that conference and beg for admittance.
Assumption is the mother of all @#%-ups.
No BE teams for Big12
The Big 12 is leaking as we speak(Mizzou) ! They need 3 teams ASAP ! Taking a Big East team won’t help them anytime soon (remember the 27 month rule) ! Prediction no sain BE team will jump to a conference 27 months later that might be called the PAC 20(cause for TWO years in a row both Texas and Oklahoma have all but left for the PAC !!!).
by Lancaster O's Fan on Oct 19, 2011 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
One more thing
The Big East Information Minister says everything is fine.
Assumption is the mother of all @#%-ups.
by mdak06 on Oct 19, 2011 11:11 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Slow on the Draw ???
You guys did a lousy job of reading the above article ! This has almost nothing to do with Pitt and Syracuse( they are simply being used as an example to all who might be tempted to defect). Big East Commish will enforce the nasty 27 month rule on ALL who attempt to defect ! The author is right that it really doesn’t hurt the ACC, BUT it’s HUGE to Bevo’s Big 12 agenda !!! They are stuck at 9 teams(after four teams in 2 years have fled, STABILITY anyone?). This is all being done so that Bevo will have to look elsewhere to find more serfs ! Maybe he can con BYU ? THERE WILL BE NO SHORTENING of the 27 month sentences for Pitt and Cuse !!! Bravo Johnny !
by Lancaster O's Fan on Oct 19, 2011 12:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Why wouldn’t the BIG 12 be willing to wait 27 months for Louisville and/or West Virginia? I agree that the retention of the other 6 football teams is the real reason why Marinatto keeps saying he will hold Pitt and Syracuse for the 27 months. The only card he has in his deck is the conferences BCS AQ status. Read a comment on another blog where someone said that all Boise, Air Force, SMU, Houston and Central Florida have to do is wait it out and not join the BIG East. They have 6 teams and will lose their AQ status if they are unable to add any teams, and its possible that the Conference USA/Mountain West merger could get an AQ bid.
by johnhelvete on Oct 19, 2011 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good for the Big East
The 5 or 10 mil exit fee may be a pushover but the 27 month exit fee is not. This should give the Big XII pause, and perhaps push BYU to the forefront of any Big XII expansion talk. That would mean much easier access to BCS qualification and $$$$$$$$ for BYU than football independence does. Also, word is that Texas and Oklahoma may prefer a 10 team league so if the Big East can stop the bleeding for now it has a chance of survival.
Truthfully, other than basketball and name value, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are not much of a loss, and it will be fun to see those two well-past-their-prime programs get some UCF/BC style beat downs from the NNBE and further de-legitmize ACC football.
Well, if you want to 'de-ligitmize' ACC football...
…adding Big East teams would be the way to do it.
Abiaka Windclan
>>>---------------------------------->
'As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship and this fine crew never give up, never surrender.'
by Abiaka Windclan on Oct 19, 2011 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Honest question
Why are some FSU fans pissed about the additions of Syracuse and Pitt? If they are such terrible football programs, wouldn’t that make it just as easy to dominate the ACC in football?
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Oct 20, 2011 9:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Diluting the league
Probably the same reason that Big East basketball fans are pissed about Houston, SMU and UCF joining the basketball ranks.
Of course if Villanova hadn’t been channeling their inner GDF, Temple would have been invited for all sports and it would have been a much easier tradeoff to live with.
by NE Expatriate on Oct 20, 2011 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
True. Villanova completely in the wrong for wanting to block Temple’s re-entry to the Big East.
Editor, BC Interruption
True. Losing two more founding members of the conference is no big.
Viva la NNBE!
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Oct 20, 2011 7:57 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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