(09-13-2013 11:20 AM)NJRedMan Wrote: Wait, you're saying since we have no quotes from the school presidents the push MUST be coming from Fox? AD's must work for Fox then. How about Val Ackerman? She is the direct mouthpiece for the presidents. She must also be a Fox exec.
Where is the quote from Fox that they want us to expand to 12 instead of staying at 10? That one doesn't exist but you gloss over that because it doesn't go well with your narrative.
Oh and there is a #11 that fits with us institutionally, is in our geographic footprint and has on the court success. Saint Louis. Saying no one good enough is in our footprint is not accurate at all.
Redman, I really do enjoy the back and forth with you. I respect your opinion. If I didn't I wouldn't respond to it but do me a favor, if you're going to paraphrase me, don't put words in my mouth.
I never said that the push must be coming from Fox because we don't have quotes from the presidents. I'm saying that my recollection of articles I read last December is that the reports attributed the interest in going to 12 to Fox. Do you remember it differently?
My recall isn't perfect. And the reporters may have gotten it wrong. Or their sources may not have been as reliable as they thought.. So, I can't claim it as an absolute fact. It's just the way I understand it to be from what I've read.
Yes, St Louis could be #11. Yes, they are a great institutional fit and they are within the footprint. Have they had on court success? Yes, but just not enough for me. I guess that's where we disagree.
I'd be okay with St Louis. They're not a terrible pick. But they haven't shown me enough to convince me that they can compete at this level. They've been in the A10 for 8 years and have only been better than a .500 team 4 of those 8 years. They were in the MVC the year before that and had a losing in conference record that season. That's 9 years in mid major conferences with only 4 winning seasons in conference to show for it. Before that, they were in CUSA. In their 9 years in CUSA, they only had 4 winning seasons in conference.
So, despite their success the past couple of seasons, their history has not been encouraging - winning records in only 8 of the past 18 years in mid major conferences. If they couldn't sustain a winning program in mid major conferences, why should anyone believe that they are worth taking a gamble on for membership in a much tougher conference?
I might feel differently if Majerus were still alive. I would bet on him being able to continue to develop the program and would hope that in the Big East, they could build on what he started. Vt unfortunately for all of us, he's gone.
Ultimately the question is not what St Louis is or might be, but what the Big East wants to be.If the want to be a power conference, then they have to bring in power programs. If you think St Louis qualifies, fine. I don't.
OTOH, if the Big East wants to simply be an affiliation of Catholic schools or similar and that's it, then they'll take St Louis. I think their choice will tell us all a lot about what they want to be and what their standards are (basketball standards obviously).