One of the more bizarre side processes of all this conference realignment is that you just never know what will pop up on any given day.
One week ago it seemed as though Pittsburgh and Syracuse were happy, healthy members of the Big East. Now they’re packing their bags for the ACC. In the Midwest, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech appeared to be destined the Pac-12, to become college football’s first super-conference. Instead, we now know they are staying put in a nine team Big XII (mathematicians must be having a field day looking as this college football realignment, huh?).
Well file this one under the “We didn’t totally see this coming” department: Apparently East Carolina wants to now become a member of the Big East.
The school released a statement Wednesday which said in part:
“While we have formalized our interest in Big East Conference membership as a viable option, ECU will remain focused on competing at the highest level through the efforts of Conference USA.”
First off, congratulations to East Carolina. If we’ve learned anything in this whole process, it’s that to be successful in the realignment game, you’ve got to be able to talk out of both sides of your mouth (see Pittsburgh chancellor Mark Nordenberg for example), and East Carolina certainly has that down pat. After all, how can you “remain focused on competing at the highest level through the efforts of Conference USA,” when you’re applying to another conference? In any other walk of life, that would be just about the most oxymoronic statement ever said. In the realignment game, it’s par for the course.
At the same time, the move isn’t all that shocking. Since the Big East raided Conference USA back in 2005,in the process taking three football playing schools (Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida) and two more for all sports (DePaul and Marquette), East Carolina was thought for a long time to be a second-tier expansion candidate if the conference ever tried to get to 12 football playing schools. Eventually the Big East went in another direction (TCU, the awkward courtship of Villanova) and the Pirates fell by the way-side. Now seeing an opportunity, East Carolina is trying to seize it.
Still, as someone who grew up as a tried and true, dyed in the wool Big East guy, this move is a little, umm, depressing. Granted there has been expansion to the conference before, but this just seems different. It’s one thing to add two established football schools like Louisville and Cincinnati, plus an emerging power in South Florida, all three of which bring something to the table nationally in other sports (Maybe not South Florida, but the other two anyway). It’s quite another to add a team that is- what- the fifth biggest game in their own state? Plus, besides a totally average football program, is East Carolina even half decent at anything else? Nothing that I know of anyway.
Anyway, this is going to sound very Darwinist of me, but at this point, I really do wish the Big East would just close their doors on football for good, and let the eight basketball schools keep the conference’s name. After all, the Big East was started as a Northeast, basketball conference back in the late 1970’s anyway, and those eight basketball playing members (Villanova, Georgetown etc.) should be able to keep the Big East name. At the very least, we know that they’re going to hold the standard high in all other sports, and wave the banner proudly.
As for the football playing schools? Well at this point adding teams just seems like trying to cover a flesh wound with a glow in the dark band aid. Seriously, what’s the point? Already we’ve learned that two of the six remaining football schools (not including TCU), have expressed a desire to play elsewhere, with UConn making their overtures to the ACC public, and West Virginia applying to both the SEC and ACC, before ultimately being rejected. Rutgers seems to be a tag-along in this process too, content to leave if everyone else does, or willing to stay if they decide that too.
As for the other schools, I know enough Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida fans to know that when they came to the Big East, it was to get away from schools like East Carolina, not to eventually meet up with them again. Sorry East Carolina fans, it’s true. If those three wanted to play in Conference USA, they would’ve never left in the first place. Which is essentially what this move is about.
Ultimately, I could give you my expansion ideas but I won’t waste your time. In a sense, expansion ideas have become a lot like the way people talk about their fantasy football teams; we know you have them; we just don’t necessarily want to hear about it.
My only proposal is this: For all things holy, if we must keep these schools playing football, drop the “Big East,” name. And as I said before, when the basketball schools break off (which will happen eventually) leave it to them.
When I think Big East, I think Syracuse-UConn at the Garden, Gerry McNamara, John Thompson, Jim Boeheim, Ray Allen vs. Allen Iverson.
I don’t ever think “East Carolina football!”
Nor do I ever care to.
Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres
