Conference Realignment: Navy To Join Big East Football In 2015
by Brian Favat on Jan 24, 2012 10:30 AM EST
in Conference Expansion
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This is probably the first move that actually makes some sense for the Big East.
Navy is expected to announce soon that it will join the Big East Conference for football in 2015, a source said Monday.
The Big East, which has been hit by the departures of Pittsburgh and Syracuse (to the ACC) and West Virginia and TCU (to the Big 12), will reload with Boise State and San Diego State in football, and Central Florida, Houston and Southern Methodist for all sports, starting in 2013. The addition of Navy in 2015 ups the total number of football-playing members to 11. The conference will no doubt be looking to add a 12th and a conference championship game, adding either another western school or a program like Temple or East Carolina.
I've been underwhelmed with every Big East football addition since Virginia Tech, Miami and BC all left, but adding the Naval Academy makes a lot of sense. Navy has a national following that will help the conference in TV negotiations, as the Academy arguably has the most value of any remaining non AQ program. The Navy football program also fits well within the Big East's traditional geographic footprint (err, east). All things considered, the Big East could have done a lot worse than Navy. You know, like, Memphis.
Navy has long been a traditional opponent of the Eagles that I would love to see back on a future football schedule. However, I'd imagine the Midshipmen's move to the Big East may make that more difficult going forward. After playing an eight (or nine?) game conference slate in addition to non-conference matchups against Army, Air Force and Notre Dame (should neither of the other two service academies join the Middies in the Big East), I doubt there'd be much room left on the annual schedule to face Boston College.
Anyway, I'm sure Susan Herbst will be happy with Big East football's most recent addition. Gotta cut down on all those football travel costs, you know, because UConn is all about the student-athlete and graduation rates.
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What’s the benefit for Navy? The revenue from the Big East TV contract? I don’t know if this was the best move for the Midshipmen.
Crusaders Killed the Big East
Sadly, if Holy Cross had not rejected the invitation to join the Big East in the 70s believing that academics trumped athletics totally, believing that joining the Big East would make their student athletes into athletes first, students second. (funny to think that Holy Cross very likely would have ended up on a slightly lower level academically, if not equal to Boston College if it had accepted the invitation; whereas today the gap between the two colleges is fairly substantial, it needn’t have been so) that the Big East may have developed into one of the better football conferences in the nation:
Penn State asked to join the Big East in 1982 but was rejected by one vote (Flynn voted for Penn State to join every time the vote came up_, perhaps Holy Cross could have been the deciding vote to have them join.
Boston College would have remained in the conference because of an intense intrastate rivalry between two Catholic, Jesuit, Universities.
Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College would never have absconded away from the Big East to the ACC in the 2000s because the Big East would have been a powerhouse in basketball AND football.
Oh and since BC would still be in the Big East it would be feasible for students to go to football games … away football games!
Really?
Do you really believe the only thing standing between Big East football and success is/was Holy Cross?
Honestly I do. If Holy Cross had joined the Athletic Department of Holy Cross would have most likely voted for the inclusion of Penn State into the conference. With a major football powerhouse like Penn State in the conference I believe it would have fallen apart in the 2000s.
by TheBigRedDog on Jan 24, 2012 10:03 PM EST up reply actions
The Big East had a major football powerhouse in the conference — Miami. But the conference’s priorities were so skewed towards hoops, all while the money and influence shifted to football. As a result, the Big East managed to scare off every college football program of significant value — Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia
Personally, I don’t think adding Penn State (football) and Holy Cross (basketball) would have made the Big East leadership realize that football, not basketball, was the future of college sports. In all likelihood, I think the Big East would have been in the same position it was in today.
The Big East has made multiple mistakes along the way … the exclusion of Penn State was just one of those mistakes.
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Jan 24, 2012 10:16 PM EST up reply actions
In other words, an all-sports conference will always be more desirable from a stability and revenue standpoint than the Big East’s hybrid model. Unless the addition of Penn State made the Big East leadership realize that the hybrid hoops-football model was an untenable one, I don’t think Penn State in the Big East changes the calculus.
Miami was probably always going to leave if they ever got an ACC invite. Same with Virginia Tech.
And Jim Delany’s B1G Ten Manifest Destiny probably would have included two of Penn State, Rutgers and Nebraska at some point along the line, anyway.
Penn State in the Big East may have delayed the Big East’s implosion, but I don’t think it would have fully stopped it, either since it didn’t correct the root cause.
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Jan 24, 2012 10:33 PM EST up reply actions
I still think Penn State would have made a world of a difference!
by TheBigRedDog on Jan 26, 2012 6:27 PM EST up reply actions
College football independence
Doesn’t sound like Navy thinks that football independence is viable going forward. Hello, Notre Dame to the ACC?
Editor, BC Interruption
I'm not sure
You’ll ever see ND in the B1G or ACC because believe it or not, both conferences (while not the SEC) have a handful of really good programs year in, year out. Note that ND traditionally plays Michigan and MSU real early in the season. One would argue that the best time to spring an upset against a worthy opponent is early season, not November. Its as if they know they have no chance of running the table, regardless of conference affiliation. Plus, even if they won, they’d probably be opposed to proving it ina conf championship game. When the Big East let ND dictate the terms of affiliation, that led to the end of the Big East. It is funny how ND doesn’t play BigEast football but they get the BigEast bowl tie ins over the actual conference schools.
One other note, it was nice to not hear their announcers imply that ND has superior student athletes when they played Stanford unlike every other game. ND is not even in the same stratosphere as Stanford.
by grebek on Jan 25, 2012 9:08 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Navy also confirmed that they will play Army, Air Force and Notre Dame every season. With those three programs plus an 8-game conference schedule, BC and Navy may never face one another again.
A shame to see a 29-game series in football (18-11 BC) go away.
Editor, BC Interruption
Couldn’t help yourself with that last sentence, eh?
2011 National Champs in Men's Basketball
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by derbyguy on Jan 25, 2012 3:00 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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