Marquette, 6 Others Make Plans To Split From Big East

By Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel 12-13-12

At some point between Thursday and early next week, Marquette and six other Catholic basketball-centric schools will separate from the Big East, according to multiple sources.



Earlier Thursday, Big East commissioner Mike Aresco held a conference call with the seven universities - Marquette, St. John's, Villanova, Georgetown, DePaul, Providence and Seton Hall - in a last-ditch effort to keep the league together.

If the seven secede, the Big East, which has been scrambling to survive with its football members since the first major conference realignments eight years ago, would likely fold.

Marquette and the other six, which either do not play football or football at a BCS level, have been considering a break from the Big East for some time now. When the Big East reacted to the departures of Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville and Rutgers with the additions of schools such as Tulane, that was the last straw.

The seven basketball schools were considering leaving at some point but have decided that now would be the best time because the new direction of the Big East offers them very little, particularly in terms of extensive travel for its non-revenue sports as the league expands from coast to coast.

Marquette athletic director Larry Williams has been among those critical of the Tulane addition because it will not help the Golden Eagles' RPI when they are competing for a NCAA tournament berth. MU coach Buzz Williams rolled his eyes at the time the addition of Tulane was announced.

If the seven schools look to form a league of their own, they would have to find a viable TV contract. Basketball takes in one-third of football revenue.

But the Big East Seven could strengthen its position by raiding other leagues. Possible new members include Butler, Dayton, St. Louis, Virginia Commonwealth, Gonzaga and other basketball-first schools.

A new league won't have the same clout as the old Big East, but Marquette would be in a much better position than it currently is with the Big East trying to stay solvent with football.

If the split occurs, what happens next?

"Lawyers are going to have to sort it all out," a source told CBSSports.com. "I don't think anybody knows exactly how this is going to happen. (The seven schools) just know it's time to separate."

A new conference including the seven Catholic schools would have enough clout for an automatic NCAA tournament berth.

An independent for many years, Marquette joined the Midwestern Collegiate Conference - now the Horizon Conference - in 1988.

It left the MCC in 1991 for the Great Midwest Conference. In 1995, Marquette joined Conference USA.

Its big move came in 2005, when Marquette was accepted as a member of the Big East, which at that time was established as one of the premier conferences in the nation. The switch was caused in 2004, when the Atlantic Coast Conference set off the first major chain reaction in college sports when it took Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech. The Big East reacted by expanding to 16 teams, including Marquette.

When the Golden Eagles joined the Big East, the league included Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia.

At the time, MU said of the move, "It is conceivable that in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s cross country, you could finish anywhere from 6th to 8th and still be selected to an NCAA Championship. The Big East has won multiple national championships in those sports. This will be a very competitive and exciting conference. This is what we have been working toward since joining the MCC back in 1988-89. It is also a tremendous opportunity for the university will be reconnected with alums, while opening up a new area for student recruitment, fund raising and friend raising."

Since then, the Big East has splintered the four major conferences - Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Pac-12 - expanding by taking on major football powers. The reasons that caused Marquette to join the once-prestigious league are no longer applicable.

The Big East is scheduled to add Boise State and San Diego State next season as it expands its league across the country. Southern Methodist, Houston, Central Florida, Tulane and East Carolina are also scheduled to join what would be the remaining members in Cincinnati, South Florida, Temple and Connecticut.

If Marquette and the other six schools form a conference, the move would make life easier for the Golden Eagles' non-revenue sports. As it currently stands, the Big East has spread to Texas and California. With a more regional base, a new conference would cut travel costs and time for the sports that do not travel by air.