Conference carousel to start spinning again?

[coasterville95]

You know they would insist all their road games be like 9pm eastern tips. If not 10 pm.

[MHettel]

I still would like Creighton in, maybe I am the only one that fondly remembers that series. Yes, it took us what 4 tries to actually win a game after losing three games by what 1 or 2 points each. Oh, and the way the games from Omaha always seemed to have TV technical difficulties preventing us from watching, and the stronger than usual accusations of corrupt officiating in Omaha. But I thought fans of both schools liked that series.

Xavier, Butler, Creighton, Gonzaga and St. Louis - call it a day. You take those plus the Catholic 7 and you have yourselves a dream basketball schedule every season. PlayPlay 6 teams once and 5 teams twice, it's not quite the double round robin the coaches want, but them are some pretty good odds of having a high quality home schedule every year, and that's BEFORE Mike Bobinski and company work their magic with the OOC games. All the ESPN media darlings in one conference, when they show the TV executives their "inventory" that would have to start them drooling, and the mega big checks, like the 3 million a school per year someone claimed on the other thread.

A few things to consider.

Xavier Perspective- The 12 team arrangement and the scheduling format you outlined implies divisions will be involved. Teams will be split into 2 6 team divisions. Does XU try to insist on being in the East, with the 5 eastern based Schools? They would be the 6th furthest team east... And, if so then ghow does Marquette and DePaul respond to that? These teams now get put in the West where they play Creighton, SLU, and of course get to travel to Gonzaga... Or, if XU doesnt manage to get into the East, then they are looking at very limited trips east every year, which I believe would not be desireable.

Gonzaga perspective- No matter how many conference games there would be, or which division they would end up in, you can assume that Gonzaga would have to travel at least half a continent away every time they have a game. Have you been to Spokane? You basically have to fly into Seattle first then take a little hop to Spokane. We're talking 7 to 8 hours total travel time between Gonzaga and their closest opponent. Imagine doing that 8 times between mid January and early March. Then tack on the Conference tournament and of course the post season. Simply put, I think thats too much travel....

I said before that the best way to include Gonzaga is to "build your way out West." I think maybe the conference needs to grow to 16 and consider adding St. Mary's and Seattle U. SMU is a quality program, and Seattle U has alot of money and a reasonable number of local alumni and could invest in the program pretty easily, especially if they stumble into a rich revenue stream from TV.

I simply cant see how Gonzaga works without a few more Western Schools to have it make sense....

[More Cowbell]

I have no desire to add any other west coast teams. SMU plays in a gym the same size as Fordham and still doesnt sell out. They do not have a national following and are 3-7 in the tournament. I would love for Gonzaga to join, but I can't think of any west coast teams that actually bring something to the tournament. When Matthew Dellavedova leaves they are back to being LaSalle.

Also, I imagine Gonzaga flies charter out of Spokane.

[Muskied]

They should just build a Gonzaga West Chester satellite campus like everyon else. Play half their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens....is this too simple of an idea?

[drudy23]

When Matthew Dellavedova leaves they are back to being LaSalle.

.

???

St Mary's? C'mon...they get a little more respect than that.

They're not world beaters...but they're not LaSalle either. They've been decent the last 5-10 years.

[More Cowbell]

???

St Mary's? C'mon...they get a little more respect than that.

They're not world beaters...but they're not LaSalle either. They've been decent the last 5-10 years.

Maybe LaSalle is a bit harsh, but the school is not set up for long term basketball success. The success they have enjoyed is largely due to their ability to take Australia's best players. That will not last forever.

[MHettel]

The idea is not to evaluate just St. Mary's but to ask aloud if adding Gonzaga by itself is practical. A scenario with Gonzaga makes Creighton seem more logical. Gonzaga gives presence on both coasts, but there is no continuity. People lauged at Denver. You can laugh at Seattle U and Porland as well. But these are big cities where a suddenly resourcefull team (TV dollars) can buy their way to reasonable competitiveness pretty quickly. Other schools like pepperdine offer similar benefits and basically "fill in" the map a bit better.

I dont know what will happen, but I cant see Gonzaga as part of a 12 team league, but if I'm the league i definately want Gonzaga. I love the idea of back to back televised games on a major network one week-night each week. One east coast game, one west coast. Heck you could fit three games into 6 hours of programing if you span the 4 time zones....

[LA Muskie]

I think we'll see Gonzaga in for basketball only. I think the conference will allow charters for flights in excess of xxx miles. That would make up for many, but not all, of the travel issues.

And I think all of this will be good for the conference. They would be a huge get. Add XU, Butler, Gonzaga, Creighton, and make a push for ND. If you can't get ND, add SLU and call it a day.

[MCXU]

The league could also accomodate Gonzaga as much as possible by scheduling them at least 2 road games back to back so instead of 8 trips east you do 4 trips east and play Thursday Night and Saturday.

Example: @ Providence then @ St. Johns followed by 2 home games. If there is only 1 school that needs a special scheduling accomodation it is not that hard to accomodate that need.

Thats another thing I hope the new league does, Conference games on Thursday & Saturday or Saturday and Monday. I want the conference season to replicate the NCAA tournament format i.e. play a game, have a day off, play a second game. It will prepare the teams better for the tournament which is what matters most.

[BMoreX]

Why does everyone think you need 2 divisions when you have 12 teams? Maybe I'm just overthinking here, but when I hear someone mention divisions, that's 2 divisions and the winner of each is the #1 and #2 seed in the tournament. Frankly, no major conference works like that in basketball because there is no reason to. Now obviously, technically there are "divisions" since you'd play 5 teams twice and 6 teams once, which is normal. But true divisions is just not needed.

St. John's, Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, Seton Hall
DePaul, Marquette, Creighton, Gonzaga, Butler

If it is the above scenario (or substitute Dayton/SLU for Gonzaga, or sub them both in and take the Zags oyt), I want Xavier playing home and homes against the eastern schools every year.