Crazy things going on during tournament week...
The end of the Charlotte/Richmond game was one of the most unusual scenes ever in college basketball. I will not be able to do it justice but for details go here. It is yet another example of how a lack of discipline can do in a team at the worst possible moment.
Basement Joe Lunardi and his cronies at ESPN were actually debating whether or not a team belonged in the "First Four Out" or the "Next Four Out" after Basement Joe informed them that he moved a team between those categories. Think about what that means--they debated whether or not a team "almost made it" or was just short of the "almost made it" category.
True Madness (but it helps me that the team in question was Kentucky--probably why they were still yapping about it).
But the worst part about the tournament week is the overblown coverage the supposed demise of The Super Big East is getting. Readers of past entries from yours truly know that I was never a fan of The Big East for several reasons, chief among them that they were too big (teams were given Madness consideration simply because they beat each other while their nonconference records were less than stellar), overrated (check the tournament record--not good for the numbers sent each year), and the management of the conference itself was too stupid (seriously, they STILL do that double-bye for their conference tournament).
The lamenting of a conference gone wrong should have occurred back in 2005 when the conference raided Conference USA and expanded to 16 teams--that fact alone signaled the demise of the conference. Regardless of how many "record number" of teams they sent to the NCAA since expansion, their size gradually set them up.
History is littered with organizations that expanded too far outside their collective abilities to continue as an organized, relevant entity in the world. The Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union, the Eagles, all are classic examples showing what happens when the parts start to feel overshadowed by the whole. Even going local with Best Buy shows what can happen to a large organization that expands without a plan to remain relevant in the ever-changing technological world in which we live.
The Super Big East is just the most recent example. And the "mainstream" media is doing nothing to acknowledge this fact. Instead they are showering the conference and its history with accolades and laments, completely glossing over two facts. First, the Super Big East did itself in through poor management and lack of cohesiveness. It is history's lesson that the parts begin to think for themselves and search out the best deal for the good of the part instead of the whole (whether it be independence, a solo record deal, or more money from a smaller "whole" that really "wants" another part). The Super Big East ignored this fact--choosing to thump its collective chest at everyone else in college basketball without considering the other sports (football is a prime example) and the money that could be made by banding together as a conference--in other words, planning for the future.
The second fact that is being glossed over is that the Big East is not going anywhere. The supposed "Catholic 7" have the rights to the name and will be playing in some conference format, albeit with some additions, next year. Sure, Georgetown and Syracuse will not be playing each other every year but did the rest of the world really long for those games--or just those on the East Coast? The fond memory I have of the Super Big East is in 1985 when it was simply The Big East and in its infinite stages. John Thompson's Hoyas faced the crazy sweater of Lou Carnesecca and the St. John's Redmen (now Red Storm) four times that year, including the Final Four, in 2003. Lou's club only got one win over a formidable Georgetown club. One problem though--eighth seeded Villanova, also from the Big East, upset Georgetown in the title game. Three Big East teams in the 1985 Final Four. Total teams in the conference that year? Nine.
All this is a lesson for the other conferences. Size doesn't matter. Teams are constantly changing conferences for more money, television exposure, or a better chance to make the BCS or March Madness. The conferences that will be successful will be the ones that create the traditional matchups and preserve the past while making new memories. All the while splitting the spoils amongst the parts so not only does everyone feel a part of the whole--but gets to play the "part" as well.
The Big 12 (with ten teams) is another Big East example on the verge of collapse when Texas planned their own sports network. The Big Ten (with twelve teams) seems to fit this current model for success but inexplicably wants to add two more teams (Maryland and Rutgers) more due to the geographical location (East Coast = more tv revenue) than actual tradition or intrigue. How long before the other Big Ten parts decide they want a piece of a different pie? History and tradition mean nothing if a "part" feels disrespected or devalued by the whole.
Regardless, the Big Ten needs to change its name. The leaders (or is it legends?) of the Big Ten should do the only thing that makes sense right now for a name change with the move to 14 teams.
Buy the name rights to the Big East.
Peace,
Reg
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