Just wanted to have the first poll ...

[E.T.]

... a little history for us all . . .

A BIG EAST History & Retrospective (Part 1)

By Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse University Director of Athletics

12/8/00 12:04:01 PM

Jake Crouthamel

With the Orange sports schedule slowing down as student-athletes take final exams and head home for semester break, www.suathletics.com is presenting a series of feature articles that take an exclusive, inside look at the SU Athletics Department.

And now we are fourteen. I am referring to The BIG EAST Conference which, with the addition of Virginia Tech, moves us to that number. As one of the four founding fathers of the BIG EAST and the only one still directly associated with it, I have had the great pleasure of involvement with its entire history to date. Of all our sports only men's lacrosse, wrestling and men's/women's crew do not participate in formal BIG EAST championships. The Conference has grown to become one of the majors in the country, representing some of the finest teams and individual performers in intercollegiate athletics. It certainly didn't start that way, however. Of the coaches for which a championship was originally provided, only Jim Boeheim remains. As a result, I thought it worthwhile to go through a bit of the history of The BIG EAST Conference since 10 of our coaching staffs inherited their involvement.

THE CREATION

In the Spring of 1978, only a few months after my arrival in Syracuse, Dave Gavitt, Jack Kaiser and Frank Rienzo, Athletics Directors at Providence, St. Johns and Georgetown respectively, gathered to discuss newly imposed NCAA men's basketball in-season scheduling requirements. These requirements forced independent institutions like the four of us to align and schedule schools with whom we had no interest or tradition. Self determination was far better than being told who your partners would be, and so the four of us met for countless hours in countless sessions to determine the make-up of our new conference to be. We considered the quality of men's basketball programs in the northeast, regional representation, significant media markets, etc. Boston College was invited over Holy Cross, UMass and Boston University. Connecticut was then added. Rutgers was extended an invitation but declined because it was aligned in the Atlantic 8 (now the Atlantic 10) along with Penn State. Rutgers didn't feel comfortable disassociating itself with Penn State. Seton Hall took Rutgers spot. Villanova was also in the Atlantic 8, but it joined up a year later over Temple and St. Josephs. Thus, in the first year of operation, 1979-80, we had seven active members which increased to eight in 1980-81.

After only two years of existence as a conference formed specifically for men's basketball, football became an issue. Joe Paterno, head football coach and then Director of Athletics at Penn State, had been trying to put together an all-sports conference of the eastern Division IA independent schools. They included Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple. While our football fortunes would be well served through such an alignment, it would have been a step backward for men's basketball. To enter into such an alignment Syracuse and Boston College would have had to leave the BIG EAST. With the reluctance of B.C. and Syracuse to do so, Penn State then asked for membership in the BIG EAST. This was a turning point in the Conferences history. If Penn State was accepted, our football would be protected. If Penn State was rejected, B.C. and Syracuse might have no other option but to leave the BIG EAST, and join together with the other Eastern independents. To expand membership in The BIG EAST Conference six affirmative votes were necessary. The vote was 5-3. Instead of taking Penn State, we invited Pittsburgh as the ninth member. At that time Pittsburgh and Penn State were bitter rivals, and Pittsburgh was less than enamored with aligning itself with Penn State. Pitt's membership in the BIG EAST, along with B.C. and Syracuse, checkmated Penn State's eastern all-sports conference, and gave the Conference one more Division IA school. This football issue nearly caused the premature demise of the BIG EAST. Clearly, three schools in the BIG EAST had no concept of the importance of football, but the others realized that this decision not to invite Penn State would come back to haunt us. In fact, football would dictate every future consideration of membership expansion of our "basketball" conference.

Men's sports championships were conducted in the current array in the first year of operation, 1979-80. Women's sports were added with the 1982-83 season. For those of you who have been part of this growth, especially Kathleen Parker and Lou Walker, we went from a seat-of-the-pants operation to one of being well organized and professional. The BIG EAST conducts championships in nine mens sports and, with the addition of women's lacrosse next season, 11 womens sports. We have had both individual and team NCAA champions scattered throughout these sports through the years, and have established ourselves as one of the major conferences in the country.

BIG EAST BASKETBALL KING OF THE 80s

Former SU Point Guard Pearl Washington During the eight-year period from 1981-82 through 1988-99, men's basketball flourished in the BIG EAST. We were the most televised conference in the country, won two NCAA championships, and twice lost in the NCAA final game. But the clouds were forming around the issue of football again with B.C., Pitt and Syracuse sensing some conference movement around the country. The BIG EAST re-opened quiet discussions with Penn State about membership. Suddenly, the Big Ten jumped in and snapped up Penn State. Other conferences began nosing around for potential new members, particularly the ACC and the SEC. At that time the Athletics Directors at Pitt and B.C. joined me on a trip to the ACC Conference office to talk about federated membership in football only.

[E.T.]

BIG EAST History & Retrospective (Part 2)

By Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse University Director of Athletics

12/9/00 12:13:25 PM

Jake Crouthamel

With the Orange sports schedule slowing down as student-athletes take final exams and head home for semester break, www.suathletics.com is presenting a series of feature articles that take an exclusive, inside look at the SU Athletics Department.

THE BIRTH OF BIG EAST FOOTBALL

Our plea fell on deaf ears. The three of us could not remain as independents in football and survive in an environment with everyone joining football-playing conferences. The problem was compounded by the fact that the other eastern football independents (Rutgers, Temple, West Virginia and Virginia Tech) were not in the BIG EAST, and none of them had a flagship football program like a Penn State. Only two other independent football schools carried such a status, Florida State and Miami, and both the ACC and SEC were talking with each one.

Our BIG EAST basketball compatriots recognized the urgency of the situation, and agreed to extend full membership to Miami with the clear understanding that Miami would work with us to solve the football milieu. Thus, after a lot of courting and mating dances, Miami became our 10th member. With Miami in our fold, Rutgers, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Temple had no other choice but to join B.C., Pitt, Miami and Syracuse in a football only federation called The BIG EAST Football Conference. Formal play began in 1991. That year Miami won the national championship. Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple remained in the Atlantic 8 for all other sports, as did Virginia Tech in Conference USA. We survived the next two years under this arrangement until the you-know-what hit the proverbial fan.

At that time the College Football Association (CFA) was the sole negotiator, representative and controller of Division IA college football television. As members of the CFA, The BIG EAST Football Conference schools were bound to all national network and cable television arrangements contracted for by the CFA. ABC Sports and ESPN held exclusive rights for CFA television, but they were about to expire. Coincidentally, our BIG EAST basketball television was about to expire as well. At the NCAA Convention in San Antonio in January of 1994, I was asked by Neil Pilson, then president of CBS Sports, to meet with him. The meeting was a shocker. CBS had been out of the college football business for some time with ABC/ESPN claiming all the exclusive rights. This was CBS's opportunity to get back in. It had reached an agreement with the SEC for football and basketball, and needed BIG EAST inventory to round out its programming. CBS laid a lot of money on the table for exclusive national network rights of The BIG EAST Conference for football and basketball. We pointed out to CBS that we could not represent the non-football playing schools in the BIG EAST for their basketball rights. The response from CBS was that it would then assume the basketball rights for the eight BIG EAST football schools. A total mess! We were looking at a situation where B.C., Pitt, Miami and Syracuse were being asked by CBS to pull its basketball television rights away from The BIG EAST Conference. Clearly, we couldn't do that and remain in The BIG EAST Conference. On the other hand, we couldnt reject the amount of money CBS was offering for the package deal.

After meeting with CBS the directors of B.C., Pitt, Miami and I met. I suggested that the only shot we had at keeping everything together and at the same time benefiting from the CBS largesse was to get a majority vote by "packing the court." To do that we needed to get two football schools accepted as new members of The BIG EAST Conference. In order to accomplish that we needed seven votes from the ten members, the four IA schools and three more. We believed UConn and Villanova would support us because both were talking about elevating their football programs to Division IA. That left one vote to coerce. If we could get it, we would be at 12 members, with a 6-6 representation of Division IA, and a 6-2 vote in the football conference. We could then force the vote on the football side, needing only one more vote on the basketball side to approve the CBS package offer.

This plan was presented to the 10 BIG EAST Directors and met with immediate and firm resistance by the non-IA schools. Once again football was driving the membership issue. After several futile and very long meetings among the directors, no resolution could be reached. The voting of the directors was split with the IA and IAA schools on one side and the basketball schools on the other. We turned the matter over to the presidents of our 10 schools to make the final decision. After two meetings a decision was reached in March, 1994, ironically at the Lubin House in New York City, the day before BIG EAST men's basketball tournament was to begin. St. Johns had represented a very strong anti-expansion position throughout our discussions. However, once the president became involved, and with the input of then head men's basketball coach Lou Carnesecca, the long-term implications were understood, and we had our seventh vote. Rutgers and West Virginia were added as our 11th and 12th members. There were, however, some very bitter and lingering feelings both about the process and the result. There was one condition attached to the agreement and one understanding. The condition was that should the University of Connecticut and/or Villanova move their football programs to Division IA within a given period of time, either or both would be invited to participate in The BIG EAST Football Conference as a full members. This is happening at UConn. The understanding was that the six Division IA member schools would not block acceptance of a 13th member which might have a Division IA football program but not be included in The BIG EAST Football Conference; i.e., Notre Dame. In June, 1994 Notre Dame officially became the 13th member in all sports except football.

The invitation to Virginia Tech as our 14th member, while certainly not an afterthought, was a much easier process. During the past several years Virginia Tech had quietly, but steadily, been gaining stature in its football program. It became apparent that a conference of 13 members needed either one additional or one fewer member. With an even number of members we could create two divisions of equal numbers in men's basketball. Of the schools that merited consideration, clearly Virginia Tech headed the list. With several of us having been through previous expansion battles, there was no resistance to the inevitable.

THE IRONY

The irony of The BIG EAST Conference is that it was formed to accommodate men's basketball, but in practice it has served football to a far greater extent. I can't help but think back to that July, 1981 meeting in Boston when Penn State was denied membership in the BIG EAST by one vote. On that one vote turned the fate of college football in the East that had national repercussions.

In 21 short years we have gone from a conference with 2/7th of its membership in Division IA to one with a ratio of 9/14th, and having doubled in size. With such membership representation the BIG EAST has been designated a IA conference which means the non-IA schools benefit from the majority voting privileges of Division IA in the NCAA governance structure. We are a montage of 14 institutions of higher education; nine private and five public; seven denominational and seven non-denominational; one that has federated membership for football only; one that has federated membership in all sports except football; a range in undergraduate enrollment from 3,600 to 25,500; and a range in athletic budgets from $8 million to $28 million. However, I believe firmly that while we are surely the most diverse major conference in the country, it is that diversity and capacity to change that are our strengths. I believe we are better positioned as a conference to address the future of intercollegiate athletics, whatever that future may hold.

[E.T.]

Easier for this to just provide the link:

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2002/12/12-06-02tdc/12-06-02dops-letter-04.asp

[E.T.]

Just some interesting quotes to close my mornings postings on this subject  ;D

2003 Big East media day

Commissioner Mike Tranghese's comments

July 25, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Richard Cirminiello

For the first time since the formation of the Big East, Mike Tranghese was the headline act at the conferences annual football kickoff.  Yes, all eight league head coaches and players like Kellen Winslow, Vince Wilfork and Larry Fitzgerald were on hand Wednesday morning, but no one had the press hanging on his every word more than the beleaguered commissioner of the fractured conference.

A feisty Tranghese stood in front of the media for the first time since the highly-publicized defections of Miami and Virginia Tech.  He bared his soul and promised that his conference would survive once all of the dust settles.  What he was unable to deliver were many of the specifics of this process, ensuring that rumors and speculation about the Big Easts future will continue to run rampant for at least the next few months.  He did, however, promise that certain critical decisions would be made and announced in the near future, a period he defined as somewhere between two weeks and two months from now.

To follow are key excerpts from Big East commissioner Mike Trangheses half-hour press conference at Wednesdays football media day:

On whether he felt he was blindsided by the ACC

Yes.  They don't think they did anything wrong, but I disagree.  I believe theres a protocol and they never followed that.

On the rumor he recently apologized to ACC commissioner John Swofford

I have nothing to apologize for.  My conference has nothing to apologize for.  

On his ongoing relationship with Swofford and the ACC

John and I havent talked since July 1.  John and I have to deal with each other.  Itll probably be awkward, but we have to work together.  I have great friends in the ACC.  Theyve said personal things to me over the past few months that I really appreciate.

On which schools the Big East is currently targeting

We have identified a few schools, but I cannot talk about them.  Our (school) presidents have identified a few schools already.  Theyve elected not to talk about other schools, including Temple.

On what type of school the Big East plans to target

We need to add schools that are academically compatible and can compete on the playing field at a high level.  Academic compatibility is on the top of our presidents list.  It helps to bring someone from a great market, but youve got to win to carry a market.  Ill take a team from a small market that wins over a big market team that cannot.

On how big a role geography will play in targeting new members

Its important to us.  The more geographic proximity you have, the better.  When you start talking about the Olympic sports, travel costs will be a very big factor.

On a timetable for completing the process of revamping the Big East Conference

Wed like to get things done no later than the winter of 2004 because the next BCS contract begins negotiations September of 2004.  We have to know what we are by then so they (the BCS) can evaluate us.

On the importance of deciding whether to split the Big East into football and basketball only conferences

"That's the first question that has to be answered.  We can't proceed until we have that answer. That's what our presidents are looking at.  That decision has to be made in the near future."  

On the question of the Notre Dame football program joining the Big East

"If I had a dollar for every conversation I had with Notre Dame, I'd be able to retire.  There'd have to be some set of unforeseen circumstances that I can't imagine to force them into that.  They really want to protect their independence in football.  They cherish it.  They believe its their birthright.  I just dont see that changing.  Weve talked about it, but I dont see it changing.  I respect them for that.

On whether he plans to raid another conference much the way he feels the Big East was pillaged

Were not going to go out and cause even more havoc.

On the television implications of losing Miami and Virginia Tech

We have five years left on our ABC/ESPN contract.  Since were losing two members, they can renegotiate that after this year.

On the importance of having a college football presence in the East

We have got to be a factor in college football.  College football will be damaged if theres no footprint in the East.  If they leave the Northeast out of the BCS, theyll be losing a huge television market.

On missing out on Penn State more than twenty years ago

Penn State is a great program.  In retrospect, not taking Penn State was the biggest mistake in our conferences history.  Penn State is a part of the eastern football footprint.  We were a basketball conference at that time (1981) and the presidents voted against them because they werent very good in basketball.  In my heart, at that time, I knew it was a big mistake.  Weve paid a price ever since.

On his feelings about Larry Coker and Frank Beamer

I want to publicly thank Larry Coker and Frank Beamer.  Theyre two great coaches and two great men.  Theyve handled this whole situation very professionally.

On what he expects from the Big East in the future

Whatever we do, I know well be one of the six strongest conferences in the country.

On the prospects for a football playoff

The presidents just dont want to play more games and play into the next semester.  There are huge logistical problems with a playoff.  Plus, if you create a playoff, the regular season will just not be the same.  If people want to tinker with a playoff, they better realize what itll do.

[Markeymark]

Thanks ET, I knew you'd come through with some good reading material.  8) I'll comment later, after I get a chance to read through all that.

[E.T.]

We have a bye ... take your time  ;D

The history lesson was real interesting ... and after this year of conference shuffling ... U never know.

[smazza]

psu in big east makes sense

they lost ground in big ten

[saevrick]

While I agree Penn State would make sense in the Big East, I just don't see it happening.  The Big Ten is a solid conference, and I think a fear of losing potential funds would probably play a part.  I would have to do some research to confirm that however.  But, if the Big East wants to court Penn State, they need to do so while JoePa is running the show.  It was his dream in the first place to have an eastern football conference.  It would only be right to have Temple in that though..

Notre Dame would never leave their football independence UNLESS they were to lose their tv contracts in the future.  Even when Notre Dame doesn't compete in a bowl game, they still make as much off of TV contracts as most schools do after bowl season, which of course as everyone knows they do not have to share with anyone else.  If Notre Dame couldn't take a spot from the current BigEast in bowl games, then there is a slight, albeit it be a very slight, chance they would join one of the conferences.. I doubt it would be the Big East however..  

The only whammy I would see is when the Big East football playing school break off from the basketball-only schools.. which is going to happen sometime within the next decade I would speculate.  Till then, all bets are probably off.  I would hope though when the split does occur that the football schools expand to at least the 12 minimum for a championship game..

[smazza]

psu