When The Big East Conference was formed in 1979 it was built on tough
basketball teams and more importantly tradition. That tradition went out
the window when The Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers decided to
leave The Big East in favor of The Atlantic Coast Conference. The
almighty dollar rules the landscape of college sports despite school
presidents saying otherwise. There is no loyalty to the fans, only to
the bank accounts of schools presidents.
The Big East was dealt a blow in 2004 and 2005 when The Miami
Hurricanes, Boston College Eagles, and Virginia Tech Hokies left The Big
East in favor of The ACC. The move was strictly a football move for The
ACC to have the 12 teams required for a conference championship game.
Of the three schools Boston College was the only team that had deep ties
to The Big East as it is a school located in The Northeast which is
flooded with schools from The Big East.
The Big East was able to take the blow as former commissioner Mike
Tranghese was able to lure The Cincinnati Bearcats, Louisville
Cardinals, Marquette Golden Eagles, South Florida Bulls, and DePaul Blue
Demons away from Conference USA. The move was needed to keep the
conference alive in football and it made the conference a basketball
superpower. These teams would join with the likes of The UCONN Huskies,
Georgetown Hoyas, as well as Pitt and Syracuse to make The Big East one
of the toughest conferences in America for college basketball.
Anyone who is a fan of college basketball enjoys The Big East
Tournament as rivals clash for a week at The Garden and now those
rivalries are dead. In the early years of the conference, Syracuse
clashed with Georgetown and The St. John’s Red Storm. In the 90’s The
Huskies would go at it with Syracuse, St. John’s and The Villanova
Wildcats. For the 2000’s Pitt and UCONN staged epic battles in The Big
East Championship. We also cannot forget about great individual
performances from Gerry McNamara putting Syracuse on his back in 2005 as
a nine seed on the way to the conference title. UCONN guard Kemba
Walker recently outdid McNamara by leading The Huskies to The Big East
Title by winning five games in five days at MSG last season.
When Pitt and Syracuse decided to bolt for a payday, it was indeed
the day that college basketball died. This would have never been thought
of when Lou Carneseca, John Thompson, and Rollie Massimino roamed the
sidelines in The Big East.
For Pitt and Syracuse they will soon realize that the move was a
mistake. These two teams bring a large contingent of fans with them to
New York City. Both schools have plenty of alumni that work in the area
as well. It is a common practice for fans to work in the morning and
head over to The Garden for the games in the afternoon and evening. Good
luck with that now as The ACC Tournament is generally held in North
Carolina in the backyard of The North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue
Devils.
Pitt and Syracuse should look long and hard at Boston College as The
Eagles were constantly in the mix for a conference crown while in The
Big East. They made the move to Tobacco Road and The Eagles are now an
afterthought. The Panthers and Orange will be able to win in The ACC,
but the sizzle that was created when these two played the likes of St.
John’s, Georgetown, UCONN, and Villanova is gone. For college basketball
it is the equivalent of not seeing The Washington Redskins and Dallas
Cowboys in the same division. Rivalries are what make sports successful
and we have seen some great ones wiped away. The Big East “was” a great
conference for college basketball.
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