30 for 30 Requiem for the Big East

[bbwvfan]

I enjoyed the first 90 minutes of the film. Fun to have a nostalgic look back at a conference that grew in stature while I was in college.

But, I was left disappointed by the last 30 minutes.

Of course, the evil powers of football were cause to the greatest basketball conference in the country breaking up.

And, while it spent time dealing with the racial insult to Patrick Ewing by fans… especially the 'Nova incident, the producers of the show use 'Dueling Banjos' background music and show a rustic cabin and barefoot folk dancing on a front porch when they refer to the addition of WVU to the BE.

Hypocrites…

No mention to which school pushed for the league to vote down the contract offer from ESPN, or why the basketball schools were so resistant to change.

 

[bbwvfan]

This article is spot on...

Requiem For "Requiem For The Big East" - The Smoking Musket

 

[GoldRusher]

ESPN owes us all an apology - The Daily Athenaeum Online: Opinion

 

[bbwvfan]

I saw that too. Thought about posting it, but I saw this thread got like zero action... so, I passed.

I thought I was the only one who had a reaction to the Requiem documentary...

 

[GoldRusher]

I saw that too. Thought about posting it, but I saw this thread got like zero action... so, I passed.

I thought I was the only one who had a reaction to the Requiem documentary...

I think most of the fan base understands the butthurt from the BigEast, there wasn't much of a pulse left anyway but once WVU bolted it was flatline city and its tough for some of the northeasterners to swallow that inbred hillfolk meant that much to their conference.

 

[bbwvfan]

Syracuse is about to join the ACC, but what if SU made the move 10 years ago? | syracuse.com

In the days and months following the departures of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College, the Big East Conference came close to splintering.

The football and basketball factions came close to going their separate ways. A few leaders -- namely Pittsburgh president Mark Nordenberg and former West Virginia University president David Hardesty -- negotiated the league through those difficult times and kept the Big East together.

I don't remember seeing this presented during the documentary…

 

[DCWV4life]

I still have not caught the whole show.....The BE is a perfect example of incompetencein the highest leadership positions.

If other conf's want what you have, then what you have is valuable and you need to protect it...The fact they let those three markets walk out the door instead of bolstering the BE position shows the inept business leadership.

 

[bbwvfan]

We all have our opinions.

We've talked about this issue several times in the past. By now, all of us are aware that JoePa wanted an all sports conference for the Eastern Indies. The documentary highlighted this point, and Tranghese stated during the show how he knew the rejection of PSU by the BE schools would come back to hurt them.

IMO, this clearly demonstrated the small picture thinking of the presidents of the BE schools. Obviously, the money generated from TV revenue in the 80's was nowhere near what it became in the 2000's. But, to realize the forces behind ever increasing TV contracts, and to continue holding onto past virtues seems unfathomable to me.

Did the power within the BE shift from the basketball schools to the football schools over time? Yes.

The basketball schools could have reaped huge benefits by simply hanging to the coattails of its football members. But, they turned a deaf ear to Miami when it wanted to change revenue sharing. Miami warned the BE of their displeasure, and the BE was doomed the day the ACC successfully raided the conference.

The basketball schools are the reason the BE collapsed.

Not WVU…

 

[WVUDAD]

We all have our opinions.

We've talked about this issue several times in the past. By now, all of us are aware that JoePa wanted an all sports conference for the Eastern Indies. The documentary highlighted this point, and Tranghese stated during the show how he knew the rejection of PSU by the BE schools would come back to hurt them.

IMO, this clearly demonstrated the small picture thinking of the presidents of the BE schools. Obviously, the money generated from TV revenue in the 80's was nowhere near what it became in the 2000's. But, to realize the forces behind ever increasing TV contracts, and to continue holding onto past virtues seems unfathomable to me.

Did the power within the BE shift from the basketball schools to the football schools over time? Yes.

The basketball schools could have reaped huge benefits by simply hanging to the coattails of its football members. But, they turned a deaf ear to Miami when it wanted to change revenue sharing. Miami warned the BE of their displeasure, and the BE was doomed the day the ACC successfully raided the conference.

The basketball schools are the reason the BE collapsed.

Not WVU…

Yes, the basketball schools, by wanting to remain in control ruined the league. They are the reason that only 8 football schools were there when all the other leagues were going to 12, all so they could have veto power on important decisions. Like you say, the basketball schools could have had their cake and ate it too if they would have just let the football side run the league and the basketball guys do their thing and reap the money. In the end they ended up with a ghost of their former league, some of the best roundball schools also play football, and know what pays the bills, sPitt, Cuse, UConn, Cinci, and even WVU played as good at basketball as any of the "roundball schools" at the end. But what REALLY killed the BE was indeed when they kept PSU out.

 

[mad2mc]

Just watched this and can't believe that basketball side still believes that by adding football caused the Big East collapse! The stereotypical bit on WVU was shameful, but what do you expect from ESPN?