NCAA Basketball FanHouse

Big East Commish Plans Farewell Tour

Charles Rich — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:51:00 EST

Filed under: Louisville Football, Pittsburgh Football, Syracuse Football, West Virginia Football, Big East, Rutgers Football, Georgetown Basketball, Marquette Basketball, Villanova Basketball, Big East Basketball, Cincinnati Football, Connecticut Football, South Florida Football

Well, this will cause some tremors in college sports over the next couple of years. Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese has announced that he will retire in June 2009.

"I am stepping down at this point because I believe it is the right time," added Tranghese. "The Conference is in great shape and it will give my successor the best opportunity to be successful."

Tranghese will have been the Big East Commissioner for 19 years when he steps down. He was the first employee of the Big East conference, the second Big East commissioner.

He was also the force that managed to keep the conference intact and a full member of the BCS after Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech left for the ACC. He prevented the conference from splitting into two conferences -- football schools and basketball schools -- by refusing to choose one over the other.

The football schools needed him because he had the connections and relationships with the other conferences and their commissioners to stay in the BCS. His expansion of the conference into 8 basketball schools (this includes Notre Dame) and 8 football schools. Has surprisingly worked to this point.
The basketball conference, while over sized and causing much teeth-gnashing by the coaches over the toughness has worked. Football, while at least one member short, has actually been much more respectable and better than expected. Both sides are safe economically in the short-term. Something that seemed unlikely 4 years ago.

That doesn't mean there aren't huge issues looming. The 16 Big East teams are still together in no small part because of a formal agreement not to split. That expires in 2010, and will not be extended in any binding manner.

Tranghese is giving the conference a year's notice, in part, because it won't be easy to find a commissioner that will be welcomed strongly by both interests. It actually makes it more likely that the school and conference will hire from within the conference ranks. Someone who already knows everyone and can stroke both sides. Lots of issues will be looming for the next commissioner

The football schools are in need of at least a 9th member to provide balance and another game. Given the costs, it is harder and harder to schedule 5 non-conference games each season. (Notre Dame isn't about to give up it's football independence.) The basketball schools surely don't want a 17th member in basketball and definitely don't want to see the conference tilt further to the football interests (something they already feel has happened).

Forget about rumored "associate" members. Both sides remember Temple all too well.

Then there's the free-floating anxiety over the Big Ten finally letting go of Notre Dame dreams and going to 12 members with Rutgers, Syracuse or Pitt. Or the latest idea that the SEC would actually expand to create a super conference with 2-4 members. Short-term stability may be present, but not long-term.

Sixteen members in all other major sports is too many, and creates higher costs for the member schools in travel budgets. It also reduces the money available to each in basketball when divided that many ways. Which is another reason against further members.

The next commissioner is almost certainly going to deal with a conference split between the 2010 and the end of the Big East TV contract in 2013.

Big East Commish Plans Farewell Tour originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Memphis A.D. Denies That He Is Talking With the Big East Conference

Shiloh Carder — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:17:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Memphis Basketball, Big East Basketball, Conference USA Basketball, Memphis Football

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson is saying that the school is not discussing a move to the Big East conference ... hdespite reports saying that they are.

''No, absolutely not,'' Johnson said. ''I have had no meetings with the Big East.''

"We have no expansion plans and are speaking to no schools about expansion," Big East spokesman John) Paquette said.

However, that doesn't mean that he's not interested in leaving Conference USA. There are some rumblings that Memphis does want to move up into a BCS conference and believe they've set up their program to be an attractive addition somewhere.

The pros for staying in Conference USA is, well, domination in basketball and a shorter travel schedule. The cons are everything else (competition, mo' money, mo' exposure, etc). They'd also rejoin Louisville and Cincinnati as conference brethren.

The rumblings also have East Carolina also thinking about bolting C-USA for the Big East.

As for the Big East, adding Memphis would mean they'd expand further west and into the football fertile South (adding ECU would bring in the North Carolina market). They'd also continue to stockpile on great hoops programs and pick up another ~~big~~ sizeable city market.

On the football side, adding a ninth member to me is a no-brainer. However, it gets a bit messy on the basketball side. The Big East already has 16-teams (which is absurd) and adding one or two more schools would be way too much. They could drop one or two non-football schools (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova).

Um, but which one would they drop? From a competitive standpoint, St. John's would top the list. But, c'mon, that's their New York City connection and that ain't happening. Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova are top notch hoops programs. Providence and Seton Hall are Big East originals. Notre Dame is Notre Dame (even without the pigskin). That leaves DePaul ... and I'd doubt they'd shoo away ChicagoLand.

But all this does bring out one huge point: Memphis has grown too big for its home.

Previously at FanHouse:
Teams Want in the Big East Even If the Big East Doesn't Want Them

Memphis A.D. Denies That He Is Talking With the Big East Conference originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 17 May 2008 04:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House Cleaning at West Virginia

John Radcliff — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:16:00 EST

Filed under: West Virginia Football, Big East, West Virginia Basketball, West Virginia

Rodriguez might not be such a jerk after all! I'm just kidding. Nothing will ever justify the way things have gone down between Rodriguez and West Virginia. It's been one stinking mud slinging mess that hasn't benefited either party. Suggestions of racism that probably aren't true. West Virginia fans shredding Rodriguez along with a slew of youtube's taunting Rodriguez. And of course, the WVU administration enslaving Rodriguez. Hell, I just want the season to start just so we can get out of this silly off season.

But it's hard not to look at the new contract signed by West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins, and not wonder how screwed up the lines of communication are at West Virginia.

Yet, the deal was a surprise even to some who shouldn't have been stunned. That's because WVU's administration -- continuing to be battered by the Heather Bresch bogus degree scandal -- did this deal behind the backs of its athletic leaders. It was a spin move right out of a Joe Alexander post-up. The WVU athletic staff had no knowledge of the "lifetime" contract talks until WVU Athletic Director Ed Pastilong finally was informed about it 24 hours before the dog-and-pony show to announce it.

The Bresch thing, if you don't know, is about Governor Manchin's daughter receiving a masters degree from West Virginia without earning it. The whole story is best read here (language warning). Back to my point though, who's in charge of the athletic department if the athletic director doesn't know a coach is getting a raise?

West Virginia's president, Mike Garrison, probably wanted to make a splash in his first year. But I doubt this is what he was looking for. He's single handedly ushered out the most successful football coach in Mountaineer history and has 80% of the faculty calling for his resignation over the Bresch scandal. Not bad for just over seven months on the job! And now leaving the athletic department in the dark about contract negotiations. It's been a bad year off the field for West Virginia. A little house cleaning might be in order before it works it's way onto the field. My suggestion would be to start at the top.

House Cleaning at West Virginia originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 05 May 2008 19:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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