Pitino is not a fan of Gonzaga potentially joining the Big East

[JRSlim2284]

Lloyde beat me to it.

I'm not sure the mediocre programs in Pullman, WA and Corvaillis, OR are adding all that much, if anything to the BE. On or off the court.

Oregon State and Washington State essentially own the Pac-12. They are still in control of their own destiny.

I don't think it necessarily would. But if you flirt with the idea of bringing a team from Washington, might as well go all in for 2 other schools jilted by the Power 5. Again, this is a ridiculous idea. I know this. But I wanted to entertain how to approach this seriously, or as serious as possible

 

[garyshu71]

So what do you do with Gonzaga and how much fun will it be if Mark steps down and they fall flat. Now you’re stuck with that. Look at Georgetown, DePaul, and St. John’s after they lost HOF coaches. That is not a big TV market either.

 

[TheHall87]

So what do you do with Gonzaga and how much fun will it be if Mark steps down and they fall flat. Now you’re stuck with that. Look at Georgetown, DePaul, and St. John’s after they lost HOF coaches. That is not a big TV market either.

They've definitely taken a step back the past couple of years. A blip on the radar or a sign of things to come?

This is the first week they are unranked in the AP poll since 2016. 143 consecutive weeks in the poll.

 

[hallgrad80]

I'm gonna say something outlandish. Besides the "basketball 1st" principle and the fact I shake my head at the idea, what's stopping Gonzaga and what's left of the Pac 12 from merging with the Big East? 14 teams. 7 for each coast.

"Big West" would be Zags/OSU/Wash St/Creighton/Marquette/Butler/DePaul
Big East would be SHU/UConn/Georgetown/Nova/St. John's/Providence/Xavier (or swap with DePaul for the purists)

Play everybody once. Intra-conference twice.

Im not saying I'm all in on this but it's clearly an arms race in college sports on every level. And bringing in those 3 are legit D1 schools with good foundation$ to work with.

The problem that I see is that the Big East is a conference, apart from UConn , made up of private universities while any of the power five conferences are primarily made up of state supported universities which gives them an advantage, For example the state has enabled RU by covering its deficits from its athletic program and in paying for its sports athletic facilities.

 

[Levirgo]

As much as I'm against it, times are changing and the geography of Big East is no longer East. So add Gonzaga, and as others have mentioned have the original Big East vs the New Big East teams. After that, keep it as 12, no nore teams please. The mega conference with so many teams like other conferences have now is a bit ridiculous, didn't work previously and wouldn't again.

 

[hallgrad80]

This is one of those games where you love to be wrong with your prediction . Right up there with my prediction against UConn and Marquette.

 

[Hall84]

I'm afraid that when Few leaves, Gonzaga is no longer Gonzaga. I'm against this all the way around.