SMU STAYING IN BIG EAST

[smumustang1980]

The Dallas Morning News reported the following this morning:


BILL NICHOLS

Staff Writer

[email protected]

Published: 11 December 2012 11:13 PM

UNIVERSITY PARK - Given the Big East’s reconstruction over the last year, SMU can only wonder what its new conference will look like when the affiliation officially begins on July 1.

The Big East has added five members and lost three since SMU announced on Dec. 7, 2011, that it was leaving Conference USA for the Big East.

On the heels of Louisville’s recent decision to join the ACC, the Big East’s seven Catholic, non-FBS schools reportedly met with commissioner Mike Aresco to air concerns about the direction of the conference.

Despite the whirlwind of realignment and general unrest, president R. Gerald Turner said SMU remains committed to the Big East. He said the other future Big East programs also reaffirmed their alliance in a recent meeting.

"We’d rather have everybody that we started with staying together," Turner said. "But knowing how volatile things were, all of us moving into it basically were doing so with the commitment that we would be creating a very good conference even if Armageddon occurred, and it has not occurred."

The Big East’s first big wave of expansion featured the addition of SMU, Houston and Central Florida in all sports and Boise State and San Diego State for football only.

Since SMU announced its plans to join, the Big East has added Memphis, Temple and Tulane, and East Carolina and Navy for football only.

The conference has taken big hits with recent departures of Notre Dame, Rutgers and Louisville.

Although the Big East looks more like the league SMU is leaving with six Conference USA schools, the move figures to be an upgrade.

The Big East will not have an automatic qualifier in the new playoff era starting in 2014. But the league will be among the "Group of Five" with the MAC, C-USA, Mountain West and Sun Belt that compete for one automatic spot among the available bowls.

And basketball stands to get more exposure and a fertile recruiting ground familiar to new coach Larry Brown in the Big East.

"Our idea is that the basketball opportunities with the Northeast there are tremendous for us," Turner said. "It certainly helped us with getting Larry Brown. And when you look at that football group with the new BCS contracts, we’ve got a very good chance of every year having that sixth spot."

The Big East move has already paid off for Brown, who grew up on Long Island. Using the Big East as his primary pitch, he landed a strong first recruiting class: Yanick Moreira, one of the top junior college prospects, and four-star guard Sterling Brown and three-star forward Ben Moore, both from the Chicago area. They will join transfers Nic Moore, Markus Kennedy and Crandall Head, who are sitting out this season.

"When we tell them what conference we’re going to be in, that’s made a big impact," Brown said. "The Big East is always mentioned as one of the premier leagues, and kids want to play the best. That’s huge."

Athletic director Rick Hart has declined recent interviews about the Big East but has said repeatedly that "SMU is committed to making the Big East a great conference."

Replying to a question about the new Big East on Twitter recently, Hart said, "Hard 2 sum up in few characters. Hopeful movement has stopped 4 now."

The Big East basketball contingent has been impacted by Louisville’s departure, and UConn could also be headed to the ACC.

But for SMU, the Big East was more about increasing revenue than upgrading competition.

The Big East’s exclusive window to negotiate with ESPN expired on Oct. 31, and the league is negotiating with other networks.

Even if the Big East can only match its current contract of $42.3 million a year, would exceed C-USA’s five-year, $35 million deal. SMU stands to earn at least $4 million per year in primary rights fees. Pac-12 schools reportedly earn about $20 million and ACC about $17 million apiece.

With 15 football members in 2015, the Big East could add another team.

"I talk with all of these presidents regularly," Turner said. "Just in the past week we’ve all reaffirmed that if there are big changes … the Big East is still a good conference and we’re happy where we are."

[Rebel10]

A 42.3 million dollar per year contract is worth more than a 7 million dollar per year contract any day of the week.

[PonySnob]

Hard to compete with schools getting $17-20 million per year however.......

[CalallenStang]

Translation: We are looking at all of our options but are committed to the Big East until the day we leave, so don't sue us if we leave.

[that's great raplh]

Acc

[03Mustang]

Translation: We are looking at all of our options but are committed to the Big East until the day we leave, so don't sue us if we leave.

Agreed, exactly how I interpreted Turner's comments.

[Water Pony]

To be in big boys club, we need to be the best in our new home, the BE.

To paraphrase an old Smith Barney advertisment, "We make money the old fashion way, we earn it."

[Comet]

my translation: we're staying in the Big East because we haven't gotten an invite from the PAC-12 or Big XII