Fanning The Flames - Big East Expansion

[strikenowhere]

From Dana O'Neil twitter:

Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman told The Athletic that with the FOX deal expiring in 2025, she will ask her presidents to at least examine expansion. "That's in the back of our minds,'' she said. "What school helps with our basketball aspirations?"

https://twitter.com/DanaONeilWriter/...629804034?s=20

Asked about going national, and perhaps eyeing a certain Catholic school in Spokane, Ackerman said, "nothing is crazy in this environment but we're also mindful of details, like travel and logistics. Geography is not insurmountable, but it's kind of high on the list.''

https://twitter.com/DanaONeilWriter/...400859651?s=20

<Bulging Emoji Eyes>

[jazzdelmar]

From Dana O'Neil twitter:



https://twitter.com/DanaONeilWriter/...629804034?s=20



https://twitter.com/DanaONeilWriter/...400859651?s=20

<Bulging Emoji Eyes>

Flame dampened, if not extinguished.

[bdmiller7]

Dayton or Saint Louis would be my guess if they add 1 team to get to 12: Catholic, decent size, nice arenas, solid teams, within the geographic footprint of the Big East already. It would be nice if there were a few teams in the Pacific or Mountain time zones that the BE would be interested in to join with Gonzaga, but I can’t think of any they would want.

[jazzdelmar]

Dayton or Saint Louis would be my guess if they add 1 team to get to 12: Catholic, decent size, nice arenas, solid teams, within the geographic footprint of the Big East already. It would be nice if there were a few teams in the Pacific or Mountain time zones that the BE would be interested in to join with Gonzaga, but I can’t think of any they would want.

The Continental Divide is a very high bar for effete East coasters. I biked it over McDonald Pass into Helena in June….the wind howled, temperature dropped and it snowed sideways. Got hypothermia. One of the fun days of my life.

[229SintoZag]

The Continental Divide is a very high bar for effete East coasters. I biked it over McDonald Pass into Helena in June….the wind howled, temperature dropped and it snowed sideways. Got hypothermia. One of the fun days of my life.

It’s always gotta be about you, doesn’t it Jazz……?

Typical effete East coaster….biking it in June.

Real men bike that in March or October.

[jazzdelmar]

It’s always gotta be about you, doesn’t it Jazz……?

Typical effete East coaster….biking it in June.

Real men bike that in March or October.

Probably warmer.

[willandi]

It seems more like, as far as the Zags go, the BE is flaming the fans.

[strikenowhere]

It seems more like, as far as the Zags go, the BE is flaming the fans.

I dunno - Big East boards seems to think this thing has just a little more weight to it than usual:

https://holylandofhoops.com/forum/vi...20edd&start=10

[SLOZag]

Pretty breathtakingly direct remarks about GU's chances to get into the Big East:

http://adimeback.com/big-east-realig...aga-or-nobody/

[strikenowhere]

https://adimeback.com/big-east-reali...aga-or-nobody/

The geography is Gonzaga’s problem
None of this is to say Gonzaga is a lock to join. The continental United States is big, and Gonzaga is on the wrong side of it. But that’s a Gonzaga problem: they’re the ones that will have to play half their basketball games 2500 miles away from home and answer a lot of hard questions about what to do with their other sports. Everyone else in the league just has to go west for basketball once. Yeah, it’s a long flight, but it’s only one, and on the other end of it you might have a Top 10 opponent on national TV. It’s a good deal. And the increased payouts from FOX and NCAA Tournament credits will be more than enough to cover trips for non-revenue sports. Is it ideal? Not at all, but it’s not a dealbreaker if you’re a current school.

Yup yup yup. I'm telling you guys, this isn't some wishful thinking going on...

[strikenowhere]

Pretty breathtakingly direct remarks about GU's chances to get into the Big East:

http://adimeback.com/big-east-realig...aga-or-nobody/

Lol we both posted this at the exact same timestamp

[jbslicer]

The Continental Divide is a very high bar for effete East coasters. I biked it over McDonald Pass into Helena in June….the wind howled, temperature dropped and it snowed sideways. Got hypothermia. One of the fun days of my life.

Did you stop at Frontier Town?

[ZagsObserver]

If the money is there, details get worked out. Familiar line which has been true for years. It’s true today.

[ZagNut08]

Would be very interesting to see what shakes out. As far as BBall goes, it would be a relatively easy decision, it's all the other sports that complicate things.

Only thing I would miss is getting to see some Zag games in SoCal...but that could all be irrelevant if I move back to NC.

[HenneZag]

Man, a dream conference. I think logistics for Basketball would get worked out. With that said, I don't see how we can navigate these waters with all other sports. Geographically I really can't make sense of it.