LFN: G'Town Loses AD - Prior to Big East Breakup?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com/2009/05/georgetown-loses-ad-prior-to-big-east.html


Three days after I opine that perhaps something is awfully fishy down Big East Way, Georgetown athletic director Bernard Muir suddenly fills the vacant AD position at Delaware:

There's a lot to digest here - and while folks still continue to digest it (including DFW, whose report I anxiously await), here's my take. Let's just say that this upcoming Big East conference meeting in Florida is one that I am anxiously anticipating.

[aceinthehole]

Hey Nostradamus, stay away from the paint thinner.

You have recently fallen off the deep end. xrotatehx

[HoyaMetanoia]

I hope you don't strain anything reaching this far.

[Go...gate]

Let's face it, change is in the wind. It may not be all that radical, but it's fun to speculate.

[Seawolf97]

Excellent article -reads like a mystery novelxthumbsupx

[henfan]

The Big East is breaking up?xlolx

[Tribe4SF]

Did I read somewhere that the basketball coach at Georgetown does not report to the AD? If that is the case, then it's no surprise that bball success was not mentioned in the Prez's adieu. It would also reflect on the gloss of Muir's resume, and would certainly make this more than a lateral move. LFN is right that the development of Georgetown's football program is less than inspirational.

[nwFL Griz]

Anyone who follows Big East football (I do, even though it is casually), knows that the football playing members are less than satisified with the current make-up of the conference...and feel like the conference expansion was strictly for basketball, even at the expense of football.

So, it would not surprise me at all to see the Big East split along football, non-football lines.

[henfan]

1) Specifically, which BEC FB members have expressed dissatisfation with the current conference makeup to threaten conference unity?

2) Is the BEC not obligated to its media contracts through the 2013-2014?

Sometimes readers seem to be challenged separating message board rumor and speculation from reality. Saying that BEC membership is bound to change at some point is neither brave nor inaccurate. Changes happen in every conference all the time. Saying that the BEC is bound to split without any evidence is simply ridiculous. Hey, to each his own...xcoffeex

[GannonFan]

1) Specifically, which BEC FB members have expressed dissatisfation with the current conference makeup to threaten conference unity?

2) Is the BEC not obligated to its media contracts through the 2013-2014?

Sometimes readers seem to be challenged separating message board rumor and speculation from reality. Saying that BEC membership is bound to change at some point is neither brave nor inaccurate. Changes happen in every conference all the time. Saying that the BEC is bound to split without any evidence is simply ridiculous. Hey, to each his own...xcoffeex

Agreed. No doubt, somewhere in the future, the Big East, and every conference, will change. But it ain't happening tomorrow, and it ain't happening the day after that. Too easy to predict something that will inevitably happen, silly to think that it's going to happen soon.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

1) Specifically, which BEC FB members have expressed dissatisfation with the current conference makeup to threaten conference unity?

2) Is the BEC not obligated to its media contracts through the 2013-2014?

Sometimes readers seem to be challenged separating message board rumor and speculation from reality. Saying that BEC membership is bound to change at some point is neither brave nor inaccurate. Changes happen in every conference all the time. Saying that the BEC is bound to split without any evidence is simply ridiculous. Hey, to each his own...xcoffeex


Agreed. No doubt, somewhere in the future, the Big East, and every conference, will change. But it ain't happening tomorrow, and it ain't happening the day after that. Too easy to predict something that will inevitably happen, silly to think that it's going to happen soon.

Oh really?

http://news.collegesportsinfo.com/2009/05/big-east-to-split-or-not-to-split.html


In 2006, the Big East got a new, improved, and more lucrative contract with ESPN, with the value reportedly worth $250 million for both basketball (to which CBS kicked in approximately $9 million) and football between 2007-13. The specifics of the basketball television contract seem to be $23 million per year from ESPN and another $9 million from CBS.

...

The big thing to remember about the Big East is that the football presidents have a 'get out of jail free' card that they can exercise and Big East Football can split with essentially no penalties (no exit fees and the conference members keep their credits). The card expires in 2010 and no one knows whether this card will be extended beyond 2010.

While credit goes to Matt for figuring out that piece of the puzzle, I can't see why the obvious "evidence" of Hofstra officials taking to trouble to talk to two friendly reporters about A-10 membership, coupled with other suspicious activity (A-10 member Fordham pushing the issue of football scholarships, Tranghese's retirement, etc.) is consistently downplayed by you two as not being evidence. According to you, they're just doing this for their health? xlolx Granted, Fordham's action could be considered independent for football considerations, but not Hofstra's. What does Hofstra gain by floating A-10 membership, unless they smell something in the wind that might give them an opening there?

As for the BE football teams being dissatisfied with their current arrangement, that's been speculated on for good reason - BE football schools don't like sharing revenues with the non-football schools in a 16 team megaconference - why not only share between 8 similar institutions with football?

Put it this way - if the BE starts requiring football for membership, does UD have more in common with the BE - or St. John's?

[DFW HOYA]

These schools are not going anywhere. 1/16th of the current deal, the media markets, and the tournament at MSG still beats 1/8th of the difference.

[GannonFan]

While credit goes to Matt for figuring out that piece of the puzzle, I can't see why the obvious "evidence" of Hofstra officials taking to trouble to talk to two friendly reporters about A-10 membership, coupled with other suspicious activity (A-10 member Fordham pushing the issue of football scholarships, Tranghese's retirement, etc.) is consistently downplayed by you two as not being evidence. According to you, they're just doing this for their health? xlolx Granted, Fordham's action could be considered independent for football considerations, but not Hofstra's. What does Hofstra gain by floating A-10 membership, unless they smell something in the wind that might give them an opening there?

As for the BE football teams being dissatisfied with their current arrangement, that's been speculated on for good reason - BE football schools don't like sharing revenues with the non-football schools in a 16 team megaconference - why not only share between 8 similar institutions with football?

Put it this way - if the BE starts requiring football for membership, does UD have more in common with the BE - or St. John's?


Hofstra didn't "float" A10 membership, Pecora did, and he's not changed his tune over several years so that wasn't anything new. And neither was Marcus's decision to report that as something significant since he's pretty much on a "write an article about Hofstra finally leaving the CAA, a conference I can't stand, at least once every other month". Hofstra could very well be looking at other options, but you can't gleam that from an article from Marcus or just because Pecora yearns for a different basketball conference.

As to the Big East, Tranghese was going to retire someday, so that's not an issue. And of course, somewhere in the future the Big East will be different than it is today. So will the Big 10, the ACC, the Big 12, the Pac 10, etc. Heck, the only conference that probably won't change is the Ivy. As to whether it's going to break up next year, as you pretty much opine that it will without saying so explicitly. You're also forgetting that the Big East makes a lot of money off of men's basketball as well. Certainly it's probably less than football, but it's not an insubstantial amount of revenue and they would be putting that money at risk if they made a play to keep all of the football money by breaking off. Leaving G-town, nova, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Providence, among others, behind, could very well happen, but basketball will take a hit. And while they could keep some of the money they pay out now in football, they would still be 4 teams short of the 12 required to make some real money off of a conference championship game. And that's not going to change in 12 months.

[nwFL Griz]

These schools are not going anywhere. 1/16th of the current deal, the media markets, and the tournament at MSG still beats 1/8th of the difference.

Try reading the article in the post directly above yours, it addresses those very points.