The Big East is at in impasse, seemingly unable to make any moves to bolster its future. It's hindered by two forces: outside conferences that pilfer Big East schools at will, and internal politics which allow schools in the most tenuous situations to protect their own interests at the expense of the remaining six football programs (the chief culprits in this category are Notre Dame, Villanova and South Florida).
It's almost certain that if WVU, UConn, Rutgers, Louisville, Cincy or South Florida were offered a berth in any other BCS conference, none of those schools would choose to remain in the Big East. So while those six schools, if they remain in tact, could make a credible nucleus for a BCS-worthy Big East, none of them individually can afford to risk a long-term commitment. This is the classic prisoner's dilemma; if everyone sticks together, all will benefit, but the first one to defect will assure its own safety at the expense of its former associates. In this situation, there is scant likelihood that the current league members will agree to an increased buyout.
And while there is no increased buyout to secure the existing conference nucleus, it will be difficult to recruit new members. Schools such as Boise State and the service academies may hesitate to shackle themselves to a sinking ship. And the schools which are more willing (meaning desperate) suitors, such as UCF and Temple, have had to contend with the self-serving parochial political obstructionism of South Florida and Villanova respectively. Not to mention Notre Dame, who appears to be irritated by the disintegration of the conference which has long accommodated its non-football sports, and whose bowl berths it has leached off of shamelessly. But not so irritated to motivate it to do anything to prevent the cookie from crumbling.
So, what of the Big East now? I think it is untenable for the Big East to proactively secure its own future at this point on its own terms. All we can do now is play the waiting game and see which, if any, of the remaining six are added by the other five BCS conferences. It could be any time between next week and next decade before we know the final shape of things.
1 comment:
The positives first. We are WVU. That is a huge positive. We are not just a cute regional brand we are a national brand. We have been relevant in Basketball on both the women's and men's side of things. We are competitive in the AD's cup on an annual basis. And most importantly we are legit in the only sport that matters in the conference realignment discussion football. We are the winning-est program not to have a national title. We have played for 2 national titles. In the era of the BCS Bowls we are 2 and 0 while knocking off ironically the SEC champion and the Big 12 Champion. We are relevant on the Court and on the gridiron. So what are we really talking about? What is there to wait for. The households in America want to watch our brand of Football. They enjoy the way we play score hit and the enjoy our passion. Why are we waiting for anything?
The negatives answer this question. First off perception drives the bus when it comes to academic reputation. WVU is a land-grant institution with a mandate to accept a % of instate students. The fact that our graduates have employment success in fields as varied as any institution seems to go unnoticed. So the tobacco road schools can't stomach the idea of bringing a WVU into the mix. I have even heard recently that WVU's academics are being called to question in the SEC. I'm just going to leave that unanswered. And finally, where does WVU fit into the mix of the Big 12? I am fairly certain that we fit in just fine. But with the tumult that is being fostered by Missouri. We are relegated to wait and see what chips fall where. What we are waiting for is for the external forces to see us for what we can bring and not for something they perceive we don't.
Finally, the Big East is held hostage by all of these going on(s)because the 6 remaining schools want to play the grass is greener wait and see themselves. So alas, we are waiting and seeing.
Da Geek
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