It has been eight years since the original Big East Conference folded, with the basketball-focused so-called “Catholic 7” forming a new non-football conference. Yet a wave of conference realignment across the NCAA leaves the Big East with a crucial decision of whether expansion will prove profitable.
Expansion would be beneficial for the league’s ability to create more excitement around the Big East’s current product and elevate existing brands. Every other power conference has added programs in the last decade, including the Big East. Adding either one or three additional universities would enable the Big East to retain an even number of teams in the standings.
The Big East currently includes 11 universities following the return of the traditional Big East power UConn to the league in 2020 after seven years in the American Athletic Conference. Nine of the Big East universities are private, Catholic schools, with the exception of Butler and UConn.
Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said the prospects of expansion are tempting but travel and financial logistics may foil plans for the conference if it expands to programs located farther away from most Big East universities.
“You have to have the whiteboard and come up with a variety of options,” Ackerman said. “The idea of a national conference in a sport other than football, in my judgment, is tricky because you’re dealing with tougher travel.”
Bleacher Report | With rumors that the Big East may expand, it could consider programs like Loyola, Dayton, St. Louis, Wichita State, and even Gonzaga.
Potential Big East candidates’ acceptance to the conference seemingly depends on their ability to boost television revenue, institutional fit with existing members and competitiveness on the hardwood. Ultimately, conference expansion decisions will come down to money for both the schools and the conference. Regardless, do not expect the Big East to be the same five years from now.
Here are some programs the Big East may consider:
Loyola University Chicago: The Ramblers’ thrilling trip to the 2018 men’s Final Four commanded the college basketball world’s attention. A premier program in the Missouri Valley Conference, Loyola would offer the Big East an immediately marketable brand as well as fit the archetype of a prestigious Jesuit university. Conference executives, however, might balk at the cost of adding another team in the Chicago media market, which DePaul University already occupies. Additionally, the Big East may want to wait and see if the Ramblers’ success continues without Head Coach Porter Moser, who left this offseason to take the same job at the University of Oklahoma.
University of Dayton and St. Louis University: The Flyers and the Billikens are both competitive members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, the former home of current Big East members Butler and Xavier. Both schools are mid-sized Catholic universities located near urban centers, giving them a similar profile to most of the Big East’s existing members. It remains unclear, however, whether either school would boost television revenues enough to justify their addition to the conference.
Wichita State University: The American Athletic Conference’s dramatic reconfiguration resulting from realignment announced this summer may motivate the Shockers to leave a conference now quite different from the one they joined in 2017. Wichita State joined the AAC thinking it would retain the program’s relevance after a thrilling Final Four appearance in 2013. Yet Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco has made realignment difficult. To come to the Big East, Wichita State would need to provide a 27-month notice as well as forfeit $10 million dollars. Like VCU, Wichita State’s dissimilarity to existing Big East members would also give university commissioners pause.
Gonzaga University: Head Coach Mark Few has built a powerhouse in Spokane, Washington, with Gonzaga retaining a No. 1 national ranking all of the 2020-21 season. The addition of Gonzaga would be a dream come true for the Big East, significantly boosting conference money and recognition, not to mention its fit as a mid-sized Jesuit university. Unfortunately, the Zags have little incentive to make the switch. Losing tournament money, playing nontraditional opponents and incurring a greater travel cost to join the Big East does not make sense for Gonzaga. Kansas: Images of a Georgetown-Kansas Big East Tournament championship matchup under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden tempt loyal Hoya fans. Kansas may be built on basketball, but many of its Big 12 peers are not. After the stunning departures of the University of Texas at Austin and Oklahoma University for the Southeastern Conference earlier this year, the Big 12’s uncertain future left some wondering if Kansas would try its luck elsewhere, with the Big East floated as a possible fit. Unfortunately for Big East fans, the Big 12’s addition of four new universities and Kansas’s investments in football have all but removed it from the candidate list.