Kevin Ollie

[The Q]

Surprisingly, UConn, Pitt, Syracuse, and Louisville have all had pretty serious declines since 'leaving' the Big East.

It shouldn't take long for UConn to get back on track. Their fan support is strong.

At this point, the program is more than just Calhoun.

That last statement needs to be proven true.

Right now it’s not. And attendance was way down this year.

 

[CycleandJazz]

I would certainly place most the blame on Ollie just not getting it done, but I so think the downgrade in conference is a real problem. There's a big difference in being a founding member of the Big East like Uconn was and Cincy being in the Big East for I think like 8 years or something. IMO anyway. That's why I do think it's more of an adjustment for a program like that than Cincy.

As for the other programs, I actually think Boaton College has more sustainability in the ACC than Cuse and Pitt, I know call me crazy. Lol. But even when BC had it rolling, they didn't rely on the North East or specifically playing at MSG in the Big East tournament the way Pitt and Cuse did when they had it rolling. Their best players during their great run were from California and Texas. Just look at BC now. Their 2 best players are from NC, and they have another kid coming in next year from NC that's a top 60 player. I think realignment is really going to affect Cuse, Pitt and UConn negatively.

The big mistake was the Big East trying to become a football conference when many of its founding members (Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, and Seton Hall) didn’t have the resources or inclination to be a D1 football school. BC seems isolated away from its ACC conference members, even more than Syracuse for some reason, and Pitt and UConn simply don’t fit where they are now. ND can enjoy success in the ACC because it has always recruited the East Coast well and have always had a very high national profile.