Big East MTEs (A Wishlist Item)

[xubrew]

Before anyone starts to reply about how the Big East would never do this...I know that. It's rare for anyone to do anything new, and it's common to come up with reasons to not do anything new. I get that. This is a wishlist item, not an expectation of it becoming reality.

So for those that don't know MTE stands for -multi-team event. It's all those tournaments you see over Thanksgiving that ESPN pretty much has the market cornered on. Schools are allowed to play 29 regular season games plus a conference tournament, but the new rules (which are relatively new) allow a school to play in 31 games if they are in an MTE. The rules used to be a little different, but have now been simplified to where it's 31 games if you're in one and 29 if you're not.

As I said earlier, ESPN has the market cornered on these types of events. I'd like for Fox and the Big East to try and un-corner that market.

I'd also like for the Big East to think/say "We are a BASKETBALL CENTRIC conference! We care about basketball all season long! We are going to do things that are basketball centric in November and December rather than just waiting for football to end!"

So, what if each week for six weeks, there was an MTE featuring a Big East team that the Big East and Fox put together taking place within the Big East footprint?? (Chicago, Indy, Philly, MSG, etc)?? Even if it were just four team brackets with a 3rd and 1st place game the next day, it's something...

This checks a lot of boxes for me...

-It's high level basketball early in the year.

-It's meaningful basketball early in the year.

-It's not football

-It could help showcase the Big East early in the year on a network that isn't ESPN

-Since there are six events, there is still room for Big East teams to play in the other events if they want to, but this is a way to pretty much guarantee that all Big East teams get to play a 31 game schedule

-I think it would help the metrics. The Big East already does very well in the metrics, but why not do even better??

-Invite teams into these events that take basketball seriously and would welcome the chance to play in events that are both showcased and meaningful early in year

-The overall motivation to this is that the events would create games that are MUCH better than what we typically see across the college basketball landscape at that time, AND it would likely be far more popular than most of the basketball being played at that time. It may not compete with late season college football games, but it would be the best basketball available, and I think that alone would generate SOME type of audience as opposed to the crap that's normally on. And...THE BIG EAST WOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF IT!! THEY'D BE CONTROLLING IT!!

-And, not to mention, it's more good content for Fox, which certainly doesn't hurt when it comes to media deals.


Anyway, that's my wish. Thank you for listening!

[GoMuskies]

Sounds good to me and not THAT implausible if they limit it to four team events. Sounds like Miller and Co. have decided those are the only types Xavier is going to play in the future, and I suspect if he thinks that he's not the only one out there who feels that way.

[Masterofreality]

Love the idea!!

Love it even more if the Big East team in Chicago was someone other than DePaul, in Philly someone other than VILLANOVA, etc
And maybe have another local flavor team like Illinois to play in Chicago for example

[xubrew]

Love the idea!!

Love it even more if the Big East team in Chicago was someone other than DePaul, in Philly someone other than VILLANOVA, etc
And maybe have another local flavor team like Illinois to play in Chicago for example

That is basically the idea. Thanks for elaborating. In the Big East footprint with a Big East team, but not a home game for the home town Big East team per se.

BTW, the one rule for MTEs that is still in play is that all the teams must be from different conferences. So there would/could only be one BE team in each event.

[xukeith]

Why would FS1 or ESPN create a MTE that specifically helps BE? Is it in anyone's interest outside of BE conference to improve the BE brand?
Maybe advertisers would appreciate the NYC, Chicago, and Philly audiences.

[xubrew]

Why would FS1 or ESPN create a MTE that specifically helps BE? Is it in anyone's interest outside of BE conference to improve the BE brand?
Maybe advertisers would appreciate the NYC, Chicago, and Philly audiences.

ESPN absolutely would not do it because they have no contract with the Big East.

Fox DOES have a contract with the Big East, and they have zero MTEs, so my to your question is...WHY NOT do it? It's better than most of the crap college basketball that's played during the first six to seven weeks of the season. Why not have a featured tournament every week that they can showcase?? And yes, I would like to think that it is very much in both the Big East and Fox to improve/showcase the Big East brand. If Fox doesn't want to showcase the league, then why the hell did they pay for it in the first place??

[JTG]

With 20 Big East games, the Gavitt games, Big12 games and a Holiday tournament, what coach wants some more big time games, just because you don't want to watch 3 or 4 buy games? At the start of every season, you report on all these obscure games, that no one else watches. So what's wrong with X playing a few of those? Maybe go to a movie or read a book. Teams need those buy games to get ready for the conference season. Having a couple Dec conference games would pique interest, but it's also holiday season where people have other things going on in their lives.

[xubrew]

With 20 Big East games, the Gavitt games, Big12 games and a Holiday tournament, what coach wants some more big time games, just because you don't want to watch 3 or 4 buy games? At the start of every season, you report on all these obscure games, that no one else watches. So what's wrong with X playing a few of those? Maybe go to a movie or read a book. Teams need those buy games to get ready for the conference season. Having a couple Dec conference games would pique interest, but it's also holiday season where people have other things going on in their lives.

Well if you want to play 31 games instead of 29 you need to be in an MTE anyway, so why not be in one that's being managed by your own conference on your own network that isn't reliant on ESPN?

And I think the Big East could do better doing their own events instead of the Fort Meyer's Beach Tip-Off, and the Jack Jones Fest, and the Empire Games, and Baha Mar Hoops (one of my personal favs), and some of these other ridiculous events that aren't really showcased, probably cost more to travel to than the revenue that was generated, and didn't produce games that were anywhere near as compelling as these could be.

And you ask what coach would prefer playing in big time games as opposed to the Baha Mar Hoops Classic (which is a VERY liberal use of the word "classic)?? Well...I would hope ALL of them would!!

...and just an FYI, sports over the holidays rates very well. People are off and they're watching TV, and a lot of people are watching sports. Anyone who works in television knows that. My theory as to why that is is that watching sports is something people can do with their families without actually having to talk to them. The Diamond Head Classic games are really kind of crap, yet on Christmas Day a lot more people watch all four of them than what would watch if it were played some other day.

[GoMuskies]

And you ask what coach would prefer playing in big time games as opposed to the Baha Mar Hoops Classic (which is a VERY liberal use of the word "classic)?? Well...I would hope ALL of them would!!

Spoken like someone who has CLEARLY never been to Baha Mar!

[xubrew]

I take it back!! Let's go there!!

I THINK this is the tournament where the ceiling fell down a few years ago. Maybe that was another one.

I have to travel to a lot of places, and none of them look anything at all like that!