Big East Mediation From The Fairway
by JohnRadcliff on Feb 6, 2012 11:00 AM EST
in Big East Conference
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PrintThe slow process of the mediation and the litigation between the Big East and West Virginia University leads me to day dream about a prop bet for our early release. One involving golf clubs and horses.
Sadly, no on ever listens to me. Things do seem to be coming to a head. Mediation is scheduled to conclude on February 9th and the Big 12 2012 football schedule was due February 1st.
Today was the deadline for the Big 12 to release its schedule for 2012 per its contract with its television partners. The conference has reportedly submitted a schedule, but it likely won’t be made public until some time next week as the Feb. 9 status conference draws close.
There's no guarantee that a final settlement will be announced on the ninth. But it does seem to at least be a possibility. Perhaps the Big 12 sent two possible schedules, one with and one without WVU, and it won't be announced until the litigation is complete. If this was a relationship, we could file for irreconcilable differences.
We're both at fault here. The way West Virginia is going about this isn't with a lot of class. But conference realignment didn't just magically appear when Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they were leaving. We justify our actions by the results we expect. And out of frustration for the lack of action, not reaction, the conference has displayed. It's why Oliver Luck was brought in as athletic director. John Marinatto, that was your first clue. Actually, your first clue was Rutgers building up their stadium to woo the Big 10. Rumors should have been flying around somewhere about the Big East looking into expansion.
Sadly, the only people talking about Big East expansion were the people on message boards from the football schools. Call them crazy if you want. But they saw it coming. So now that lack of action is coming home to roost and you only start looking for schools when your back's against the wall. I'm a little iffy on the new Big East. But the point is you could have done that at any time. Imagine if you really had a plan and had been working on it for the past four years. Instead, you went with the Scott Trade option.
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oh the irony
The irony is that the same lack of foresight that set the stage for the mess we’re in now (and I would argue that lack of foresight REALLY started back in 2002-03) is dragging this entire process out. Someone with any measure of intelligence would understand that the battle has been fought and WVU, Cuse & Pitt are gone, the only question is when. Look to the future, build up your conference going forward and have all 3 cut you a nice big check to get things rolling – maybe use that money to entice other schools to bounce their current locations sooner rather than later. Of course its getting late in the game for that, which speaks once again to the original point. At the Big East HQ you’re evidently taught to fight the last war instead of preparing for the next one, which is why there probably won’t be a Big East HQ much longer.
Brandon
Well put AB
Going back to 2002-03 is frustrating because that was a rock solid conference. At least as far as the teams on the field. I can only imagine how fun it would have been if the football schools then could have stayed together. I doubt all these schools in conferences out of their geographical area is going to be sustainable. We’ll probably all be back together in ten years.
by JohnRadcliff on Feb 6, 2012 11:34 AM EST up reply actions
yep
might take 20 years, but not sure I disagree with you. at some point geography matters. You really want to get pissed, just imagine if Trangese had the foresight to go poach FSU and maybe Maryland and someone else (Georgia Tech?). Remember FSU only joined in 1990 or so. Someone with foresight would have recognized in 2003 that football was the major revenue driver going forward and value could be found in strengthening the football side. The 2002 Big East was far superior to 2002 ACC from a football standpoint. So you’d have a fantastic football conference with a lock down on the east coast. Would rival where the PAC12 is now I think. Basically Mike Trangese and John Marinatto set fire to an enormous mountain of cash simply by being stupid.
Brandon
on twitter: @abpriddy
What's the worst that can happen?
Get sued again over the same thing? Hey Big East, we tried to handle this the right way, like adults but you won’t let us break up with you…now quit stalking us and get on with your life.
by PicktownMountie on Feb 6, 2012 12:22 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
What?
I had to laugh at the statement, “Sadly, the only people talking about Big East expansion were the people on message boards from the football schools.” The mere fact that the Big East had an expansion committee and WVU was a member dispels that idea. I think it could have moved faster, but the Big East had already added TCU, who was set to join in 2012 and had been meeting with other potential members throughout the summer and through August. Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced their departure in September, and the Big East shuffled committee members around and Notre Dame’s Jack Swarbrick took over and has been extremely effective in getting expansion done more quickly.
I like sports, movies, and music!
Hush, Notre Dame fan....
Your opinions on the plight of the football schools in the Big East do not interest me in the least. If your school gave a damn about Big East football, they wouldn’t still be an independent. Sayonara, Big East.
2012 Orange Bowl Champs: "I haven’t seen a Tiger take a beating like that since Elin grabbed her 9-iron."
by MtnEer_in_SC on Feb 7, 2012 9:13 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
The Big 12 needed a school fast
WV said, pick us and we’ll be there, even if it costs. With no other offers(no media market), and the BE on the verge of collapse, WV made the best of a bad situation. It was probably the only option.
We were all talking about that kind of action
in 2006 or earlier. Instead of really going after it, they did just enough to keep the BCS status. They got DePaul instead of getting a ninth so everyone would have equal road and home conference games in football. They don’t care if it’s a second rate football conference. They never have and they never will.
Well said, my man.
The last minute BE attempt to get Boise St to join next year tells me that they have already determined that WVU won’t be there in the fall and they’re looking for a stop gap.
by Mountaineer Chuck on Feb 6, 2012 10:20 PM EST reply actions
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