The Big East will never be the same....

[ponyscott]

The NY Times lamenting the new Big East:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/sport ... -east.html

'Southern Methodist' get mentioned in the article....

"It is that type of verve and passion that typifies New York and separates the Big East tournament. That is why the Big East can brag that its new 18-team membership will have more Final Fours and a larger television footprint, but those things cannot replace the history and tradition of a league forged together by familiarity. Alumni sat next to one another in office cubicles and shivered through the frigid winters together in the northeast corridor. Not a lot of Providence and Southern Methodist graduates sit next to one another in offices."

[Terry Webster]

They probably said the same thing when some of the old cusa teams came in a few years back. Last night was the first time that 2 cusa teams played in the Beast finals.

[Digetydog]

The NY Times lamenting the new Big East:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/sport ... -east.html

'Southern Methodist' get mentioned in the article....

"It is that type of verve and passion that typifies New York and separates the Big East tournament. That is why the Big East can brag that its new 18-team membership will have more Final Fours and a larger television footprint, but those things cannot replace the history and tradition of a league forged together by familiarity. Alumni sat next to one another in office cubicles and shivered through the frigid winters together in the northeast corridor. Not a lot of Providence and Southern Methodist graduates sit next to one another in offices."

I sit in an office full of Uconn grads. Have worked with people from Providence and Rutgers. They would be surprised to find out how many SMU alums work in the NYC area.

[Hoop Fan]

i do agree that though that losing Syracuse was a big blow to the Big East tournament and will never be the same probably. Pitt, not so much. The Orange in the stands has always been prevalent at MSG. Beast really needs St. Johns to sustain something. Need Georgetown to get back to a few Final Fours also to rekindle the Hoya Paranoia and Gtown hate. Also Uconn cannot fall off the map once Calhoun hangs it up.

[Terry Webster]

Did anyone else hear Mick Cronin diss Syracuse after the Friday game...made a comment about how no one should want to leave the BE>

[CA Mustang]

Similar sentiments for the ACC: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0 ... its-roots/

[DFW HOYA]

Reading the NY Times about college sports is like Randy Galloway talking about MTV--he's know it's out there but couldn't tell you a single artist after 1983.

Syracuse has a lot of fans that travel to NYC and they tend to overwhelm the Garden during games--think "Barnhill South". I think the NYC press thinks no one will show up anymore.

The joke is on Syracuse, though. Each ACC school gets just 400 tickets to the conference tournament in Greensboro and any drunken Syracuse fans think they can drive 12 hours and buy tickets off of a Duke or Carolina fan is fooling themselves.

That being said, there is nothing like the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The location, the NBA scouts, the star power in the VIP seats...and when a team makes a late run the place shakes. Watch out for the beer prices, however--they've passed $10 in the arena this year.

[ponyscott]

Memphis brings alot of fans and Temple will travel well into NY as well. The Big East will be great for all and as soon as we get the Basketball coach finalized then we will add to the equation...it will be fun!

[well travelled pony]

Umm, acc tourney is no longer in Greensboro, but yep, tix to that event are beyond tight. I look forward to a new coach taking us to dancing at the MSG!

Go Ponies!

[DFW HOYA]

Atlanta in 2012, but Greensboro hosts the ACC from 2013 through 2016.