Gonzaga to Big East - allegedly
- Thread starter NoNCAAWinsSince1992
- Start date
WCC had 3 teams in this year, and the 4th just missed the cut. And yet revenue wise, with the Big East's mega contract coming up again soon with FOX, adding teams would seem to be the smart thing to do. Their previous contract was negotiated back in 2012, as it was a 25 year contract.
There is a breakdown of expenses versus costs and rather than post the whole thing here this is the bottom line:
One Thing I Don't Get RE: Re-alignment & the Big East - GU Board Forums
guboards.spokesmanreview.com
Total Increase in Non-Basketball Expenses = $662,000 + $70,000 + $140,000 = $872,000
Total Increase in Athletic Expenses by Joining the Big East = $340,000 + $872,000 = $1,212,000
He seems to think the bottom line is this: It certainly appears that the increase in revenue ($3.41 million) far exceeds the incremental increase in expenses ($1.2 million).
It seems a big ask for the kids, who are nominally students, to be travelling out to the east coast all the time.
They already travel all over out of conference. They also have their own plane. It doesn't seem that far fetched as they do not have a football team.
If you think about 12 teams in the Big East, they would be traveling 6 times at the most, as they would play 2 games on the road at a time. Their OOC schedule is loaded with road games so I do not think this is as far fetched as it appears to be.
So UTEP should stay in CUSA, rather than join the MWC because it would a bruising regular season?
“Students” are not thought about in conference realignment. That’s why UTEP and FIU are in the same conference. It wouldn’t be “all the time” either.
Outside of St Marys and BYU, who has left, the WCC isn’t competitive for them. The MWC makes more sense, but if they want to expand their reach and brand, the Big East is a better option.
If you subscribe to the theory that they play soft, finesse west coast basketball then get out-toughed in the tournament, then it makes sense. There might be something to it. They got out-toughed by Baylor and Arkansas and almost by Memphis. And if you look at their 2021 run, they played Creighton in the Sweet 16 (nominally Big East, but still play a finesse style) and USC in the Elite Eight and UCLA in the Final Four (west coast style teams).
I wonder what it would take to get Gonzaga and St Mary's in the MW. That would be a good west coast basketball league.
Football plays fewer games and usually on Saturdays, so I wouldn't consider that much of a hassle if they had a football team.
But what about the 13 teams other than their men's basketball team that Gonzaga fields? The players on those teams are actually students, there to earn a degree, and that's an awful lot of students that would be travelling literally coast to coast on a regular basis.
Maybe if they add football. Both schools used to field football teams and even played in bowl games. St. Mary's played in the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
I think it would be better if the MW added them without football. The two "basketball schools" CUSA added couldn't get it together after they started playing football.
I don’t think it’s enough money and exposure to do it. Gonzaga almost left a year or two ago, but the WCC made concessions to keep them. If the MWC added them, they would probably be better than the Pac-12 most years.
You are basing everything on the NCAA tournament. They play one of the best out of conference schedules already. Secondly, 3 of the Elite 8 schools last year were from the Pac-12, plus Gonzaga made it 4 west coast teams. If all those teams that supposedly play finesse, soft basketball can make the final 4, then more power to them.
Gonzaga played Texas, Texas Tech, Duke, Alabama, and UCLA this year. Last year they beat Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Iowa, Virginia, and were scheduled to play Baylor during the regular season and it was cancelled. I wouldn't call that a soft schedule.
The Big 10 always plays a soft schedule out of conference, hence why they always fall flat on their face during the tournament, and have not won it since 2000.
They could play in a different conference just like BYU did and Hawaii does now. Did you know Creighton competes in the WCC in rowing? I am sure this is a possible scenario.
Not the same thing. Football is different, as the WCC and Big West don’t sponsor football. I assume the Big East doesn’t sponsor rowing and the WCC does. Creighton used to compete in the WAC for womens basketball.
I don't think Gonzaga cares all that much about what happens in December any more. They've probably had their 2 best seasons end at the hands of a more physical team. IF this happens, I would think that would be a big reason why. If this happens...
I don't think that Gonzaga gets beat just because the other team is more physical. They have played many physical teams in the tournament. Baylor and Florida State in 2019 were tough physical teams. 2017 West Virginia and Xavier were considered the same and they made it to the National Championship against NC.
What does not make sense is that the Big 10 is supposed to be the most physical conference of them all, and yet every year none of them can make it to the Sweet 16. Is it fair to say they get beat by faster pro style "soft" teams? 9 of them last year in the tournament, and only 1 makes it to the Sweet 16, Michigan and they were a 1 seed. Again 9 this year and only 2 make it to the Sweet 16, and cannot advance any further.
It is my argument that their OOC schedules are weak. Besides Wisconsin and Michigan, I don't think any of them tested themselves. This supposedly extreme "physical conference" gets beat every year when they play anyone decent OOC.
As for Gonzaga, they may not have won the national championship, but they seem to be able to advance further than any Big 10 school year after year. I can't pinpoint what happened this year, as they were the experts pick and odds on favorite just like last year, and the simple answer is not because the other team was physical. Would a Big East schedule help them, on top of their brutal OOC, of course. Would it also cause them to have to alter their roster, maybe and maybe not. I for one would love to see it.
Big East West division
Gonzaga
NMSU
UTEP
GCU
St Mary's
San Francisco
Gonzaga
NMSU
UTEP
GCU
St Mary's
San Francisco
