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NEW YORK -- Dan Hurley may be a fan of Gonzaga potentially joining the Big East Conference, but Rick Pitino most certainly is not.
“100 percent, no,” Pitino said in response to a question from NJ Advance Media following St. John’s emphatic 77-55 beatdown of Fordham on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t feel like getting on a plane for five or six hours. Tell (Hurley) he could go join their conference. But if they want to join for basketball only, hey, let’s do it.”
The issue was revived this weekend when Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman was in attendance Friday night in Seattle when defending NCAA champion UConn beat Gonzaga, 76-63.
“Not putting any pressure on Gonzaga to join a great basketball league but, um, yeah...” Hurley told reporters in Seattle.
“If we could get a program of Gonzaga’s caliber to come into the Big East,” Hurley had said ahead of the game, “obviously we could really use another big-time program to strengthen the league, the TV contracts and everything that goes into it, we should just suck it up.
“It would certainly be worth it just for the basketball boost that it would give to our conference,” added Hurley, the Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard.
Ackerman told the New York Post at Big East media day that she remains in touch with Gonzaga and that the school -- which, along with UConn, has been linked to the Big 12 as well -- would be a great fit for the Big East.
“There’s no better fit for Gonzaga than the Big East,” Ackerman said. “If you look at the kind of school they are, basketball focus, their enrollment, their budget, it’s totally on point.”
As for Pitino, he has said several times he is opposed to realignment where it involves student-athletes having to make cross-country trips to compete. Stanford and Cal are set to join the Atlantic Coast Conference while Rutgers next year will be in the Big Ten Conference along with UCLA and USC.
“I think it’s the most absurd thing what’s going on in the world of college sports, it’s totally absurd,” Pitino told ZAGSBLOG in September.
“They don’t even care about women’s sports, minor sports. They’re just saying you’ve gotta travel, so everybody’s going to be sitting in an airport with their flight delayed while football and basketball are taking their private planes.”
NEW YORK -- Dan Hurley may be a fan of Gonzaga potentially joining the Big East Conference, but Rick Pitino most certainly is not.
“100 percent, no,” Pitino said in response to a question from NJ Advance Media following St. John’s emphatic 77-55 beatdown of Fordham on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t feel like getting on a plane for five or six hours. Tell (Hurley) he could go join their conference. But if they want to join for basketball only, hey, let’s do it.”
The issue was revived this weekend when Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman was in attendance Friday night in Seattle when defending NCAA champion UConn beat Gonzaga, 76-63.
“Not putting any pressure on Gonzaga to join a great basketball league but, um, yeah...” Hurley told reporters in Seattle.
“If we could get a program of Gonzaga’s caliber to come into the Big East,” Hurley had said ahead of the game, “obviously we could really use another big-time program to strengthen the league, the TV contracts and everything that goes into it, we should just suck it up.
“It would certainly be worth it just for the basketball boost that it would give to our conference,” added Hurley, the Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard.
Ackerman told the New York Post at Big East media day that she remains in touch with Gonzaga and that the school -- which, along with UConn, has been linked to the Big 12 as well -- would be a great fit for the Big East.
“There’s no better fit for Gonzaga than the Big East,” Ackerman said. “If you look at the kind of school they are, basketball focus, their enrollment, their budget, it’s totally on point.”
As for Pitino, he has said several times he is opposed to realignment where it involves student-athletes having to make cross-country trips to compete. Stanford and Cal are set to join the Atlantic Coast Conference while Rutgers next year will be in the Big Ten Conference along with UCLA and USC.
“I think it’s the most absurd thing what’s going on in the world of college sports, it’s totally absurd,” Pitino told ZAGSBLOG in September.
“They don’t even care about women’s sports, minor sports. They’re just saying you’ve gotta travel, so everybody’s going to be sitting in an airport with their flight delayed while football and basketball are taking their private planes.”
