I know they’ve been talked about regarding BE expansion here over the years, but is there any chance of them moving to the AAC or maybe back to Conference USA. SLU has the facilities, recruiting territory, and media market to move up. All that’s missing is a competent coach to push them to the next level. Thoughts ?

Not knowing much about them, I always thought they had a good basketball reputation even when they are down and they seem to fit the BE mold of urban, basketball schools. If UConn moves, I’d think SLU gets the call, if not sooner.

C-USA, really?

Why would they want to join a much weaker league.

Big East or bust.

That Joe Buck-narrated campaign video they had...

The A-10 is clearly a better basketball league than C-USA and, with the changes to the AAC membership, will likely be consistently better than them, too.

There’s an argument that the AAC could offer more money (although a 20% share of what the new members are getting as opposed to what the legacy members like Memphis and Tulane are getting may not have it pan out that way), but even then, that means subjecting yourselves as a non-football member to the whims of football-focused realignment.

I don’t see why SLU (or Dayton or VCU or anyone from the A-10) would leave for anyone other than the Big East at this point. My understanding is that SLU has always liked the East Coast focus and large number of Catholic schools in the A-10 and the one gap (the lack of a school in Chicago, which is SLU’s largest source of students outside of Missouri) has now been filled by Loyola. I mean, I guess if there’s an overwhelming offer of more money from the AAC or someone else, then you can’t rule out anything, but I don’t think the Wichita State-level money is getting offered to new members, which means the gap between the A-10 and AAC financially may not really exist (or at least isn’t materially different in the way fans are building it up in their minds). C-USA ought to be a complete non-starter for any A-10 member.

I dont think missing a competent coach is the issue. They've hired very competent coaches in the past including the one they have now but none can win there consistently. Maybe they dont relax their academic standards and admissions enough like some of their fellow catholics do. Larry Hughes was their top rated recruit ever and he was a 1 and done. How many highly rated recruits have they got since him ?

Since Loyola-Chicago recently left the MVC for the A-10, that tells you where the MVC and A-10 sit in the pecking order in the Midwest.

Where the AAC sits after the latest realignment is a more interesting question. If I was a non-football basketball school, I would not leave the A-10 for the AAC. Mainly because it's less predictable who will be a member in 10 years.

Now if Geography ever became important again, maybe the best private Midwest schools could join together. SLU, Marquette, Creighton, DePaul, Loyola, Drake, Bradley, etc.

(09-16-2023 08:32 AM)The Cutter of Bish Wrote:  Big East or bust.

That Joe Buck-narrated campaign video they had...

That had nothing to do with the Big East. It was for their new training facility which will be completed next year.

(09-16-2023 08:26 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  C-USA, really?

Why would they want to join a much weaker league.

Where else will they go ? It’s either the two I mentioned or remain stuck in perpetuity in a one bid league. The BE is set with what they have.

(09-16-2023 08:14 AM)Ridge1982 Wrote:  I know they’ve been talked about regarding BE expansion here over the years, but is there any chance of them moving to the AAC or maybe back to Conference USA.

Billikens are Big East bound, sooner rather than later. AAC is fast becoming an untenable option for non-football schools, particularly those with realistic aspirations of being a Top 75-ish or better program every year. We all understand the lure of joining a conference led by Miss Judy, but tbh C-USA these days is more UMSL's speed.

SLU has the facilities, recruiting territory, and media market to move up. All that’s missing is a competent coach to push them to the next level. Thoughts ?

Travis Ford has won slightly less than 57% of his conference games (and zero NCAA Tournament games) in eight seasons. That's the definition of mediocre, especially considering SLU's advantages over most of the A-10. Certainly would need much better to avoid turning into DePaul South in the Big East

(09-16-2023 08:38 AM)darkdragon99 Wrote:  I dont think missing a competent coach is the issue. They've hired very competent coaches in the past including the one they have now but none can win there consistently. Maybe they dont relax their academic standards and admissions enough like some of their fellow catholics do. Larry Hughes was their top rated recruit ever and he was a 1 and done. How many highly rated recruits have they got since him ?

Jordan Goodwin was their highest rated recruit since Hughes, and yes, they should relax their admission standards, but wishful thinking on our part.

(09-16-2023 08:48 AM)Ridge1982 Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:26 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  C-USA, really?

Why would they want to join a much weaker league.

Where else will they go ? It’s either the two I mentioned or remain stuck in perpetuity in a one bid league. The BE is set with what they have.

Im not sure you understand the quality of basketball programs in CUSA now as opposed to 10 years ago. Which is coincidentally the last time CUSA had more than one bid. Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, UAB and East Carolina are long gone. The A-10 has had multiple teams in the tournament 14 out of the last 15 years.

I'm all for SLU in the Big East. They are an institutional fit (Jesuit)/basketball-first/non-football, would bring a strong new media/recruiting market (St. Louis) and have very strong attendance when top programs come to town. They also have the facilities. Not having an NFL or NBA team during the winter to compete with is also, IMO, a plus.

It might be surprising to most, but SLU has 8 seasons of 23+ wins in the past 15 years (08-09); only four of those seasons resulted in an NCAAT appearance. Is SLU a UConn/Gonzaga? Absolutely not. But they, IMO, continue to present a huge growth opportunity to the middle of the BE, especially when you factor in additional BET games at MSG (with a fan base that travels) and inventory that can be added/sold to FOX, CBSSN, etc.

Long-term, it also creates scheduling pairs that could make a Gonzaga addition more feasible; Creighton/SLU, Marquette/DePaul, Butler/Xavier, Villanova/Georgetown, St. John's/Hall, Providence/UConn. It's much easier for a road trip hitting two programs in close proximity (and possibly two four-game road trips to avoid returning to west coast).

SLU isn't going to the American. Neither is Dayton or VCU.

I think SLU checks every box that the BE wants in a member and if the BE was to expand, SLU should be 1st on the list. However, i really like the Home and Home setup the BE has. Adding 2 more conference games would be a challenge.

(09-16-2023 09:08 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I'm all for SLU in the Big East. They are an institutional fit (Jesuit)/basketball-first/non-football, would bring a strong new media/recruiting market (St. Louis) and have very strong attendance when top programs come to town. They also have the facilities. Not having an NFL or NBA team during the winter to compete with is also, IMO, a plus.

It might be surprising to most, but SLU has 8 seasons of 23+ wins in the past 15 years (08-09); only four of those seasons resulted in an NCAAT appearance. Is SLU a UConn/Gonzaga? Absolutely not. But they, IMO, continue to present a huge growth opportunity to the middle of the BE, especially when you factor in additional BET games at MSG (with a fan base that travels) and inventory that can be added/sold to FOX, CBSSN, etc.

Long-term, it also creates scheduling pairs that could make a Gonzaga addition more feasible; Creighton/SLU, Marquette/DePaul, Butler/Xavier, Villanova/Georgetown, St. John's/Hall, Providence/UConn. It's much easier for a road trip hitting two programs in close proximity (and possibly two four-game road trips to avoid returning to west coast).

SLU isn't going to the American. Neither is Dayton or VCU.

ST LOUIS is a 6 1/2 hour drive from Omaha. It may not be the best travel partner really for anybody.

St. Louis has everything except winning - they built the arena, have rivarlies with Marquette, Xavier, Creighton & DePaul, Jesuit Catholic school in a heavily Catholic eastern-facing Midwest city. Creighton took St Louis' spot - timing is everything. Had the OBE split come sooner, SLU would have made the cut instead of Creighton & St Louis is a much more valuable media market than Omaha. But SLU did not win enough & Creighton did & the Big East prioritizes winning basketball very highly.

SLU needs to start dominating the A-10 to have any chance at the Big East. Big East will not add any school from a non P-5 conference that is not dominating. BC or Syracuse could be added with middling basketball records but a team from a "G" conference must be dominating that conference. Xavier, Butler & Creighton all dominated their previous homes. SLU has the $$ - time to start winning if they want to move up.

(09-16-2023 08:55 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:48 AM)Ridge1982 Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:26 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  C-USA, really?

Why would they want to join a much weaker league.

Where else will they go ? It’s either the two I mentioned or remain stuck in perpetuity in a one bid league. The BE is set with what they have.

Im not sure you understand the quality of basketball programs in CUSA now as opposed to 10 years ago. Which is coincidentally the last time CUSA had more than one bid. Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, UAB and East Carolina are long gone. The A-10 has had multiple teams in the tournament 14 out of the last 15 years.

And I’m not sure you understand that the A10 is not what it was in the last decade. The league has been trending downhill for awhile. Butler and Temple aren’t walking through that door.

(09-16-2023 09:24 AM)goofus Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 09:08 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I'm all for SLU in the Big East. They are an institutional fit (Jesuit)/basketball-first/non-football, would bring a strong new media/recruiting market (St. Louis) and have very strong attendance when top programs come to town. They also have the facilities. Not having an NFL or NBA team during the winter to compete with is also, IMO, a plus.

It might be surprising to most, but SLU has 8 seasons of 23+ wins in the past 15 years (08-09); only four of those seasons resulted in an NCAAT appearance. Is SLU a UConn/Gonzaga? Absolutely not. But they, IMO, continue to present a huge growth opportunity to the middle of the BE, especially when you factor in additional BET games at MSG (with a fan base that travels) and inventory that can be added/sold to FOX, CBSSN, etc.

Long-term, it also creates scheduling pairs that could make a Gonzaga addition more feasible; Creighton/SLU, Marquette/DePaul, Butler/Xavier, Villanova/Georgetown, St. John's/Hall, Providence/UConn. It's much easier for a road trip hitting two programs in close proximity (and possibly two four-game road trips to avoid returning to west coast).

SLU isn't going to the American. Neither is Dayton or VCU.

ST LOUIS is a 6 1/2 hour drive from Omaha. It may not be the best travel partner really for anybody.

Less than 90 minute flight.

(09-16-2023 09:36 AM)Ridge1982 Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:55 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:48 AM)Ridge1982 Wrote:  

(09-16-2023 08:26 AM)PicksUp Wrote:  C-USA, really?

Why would they want to join a much weaker league.

Where else will they go ? It’s either the two I mentioned or remain stuck in perpetuity in a one bid league. The BE is set with what they have.

Im not sure you understand the quality of basketball programs in CUSA now as opposed to 10 years ago. Which is coincidentally the last time CUSA had more than one bid. Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, UAB and East Carolina are long gone. The A-10 has had multiple teams in the tournament 14 out of the last 15 years.

And I’m not sure you understand that the A10 is not what it was in the last decade. The league has been trending downhill for awhile. Butler and Temple aren’t walking through that door.

I wouldnt wish CUSA purgatory on anyone.

I recall the days when Saint Louis and Memphis were members of the Missouri Valley (in the early 1970s). Later, the two schools shared membership in both The Great Midwest and Conference USA. There is no member of the Big East that would be any better a conference mate for Saint Louis men's basketball than Memphis. SLU and UM sharing a league simply "feels right" in many respects. Both on the Mississippi River. Both with very large African-American populations. Both "basketball-centric cities." Having said that, the AAC cannot offer the sheer number of schools, unlike the Big East, with which SLU would be a good fit. I see minimal, if any, reason Saint Louis would be interested in the AAC

In short, Saint Louis needs to be patient and hope to land a Big East invite. And I have posted multiple times that the Big East would benefit from that addition.

The concept of Saint Louis joining C-USA is as absurd as my thoughts of landing a lovely lady by dressing like Sam Drucker (of Green Acres' fame), speaking with a French accent and growing a hulihee (look it up). Not going to happen.

On the A10 theme, Dayton, like SLU, would not be a good fit for the AAC. Now VCU is a different animal, as it is a large public university with less-high-profile academic characteristics than either UD or SLU. VCU might actually be intrigued by the thought of joining the AAC. But that is a stretch too. VCU would almost certainly prefer the A10 to the AAC. But if the AAC is fortunate enough to land Army, the league should at least try to lure VCU.