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Conference USA dominoes teetering
Bonesville.net Staff Report
Has the clock started ticking on Conference USA’s final days? It may be too
soon to tell, but word is filtering out that a few league programs could be
preparing to abandon ship.
According to a source, four C-USA members — Charlotte, DePaul, Marquette,
and Saint Louis — have recently expressed an interest in fleeing the league.
Previous speculation in the media had included scenarios that would land the
49ers and Billikens in the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Blue Demons and
Golden Eagles in the Big East.
It also was noted by the source that a teleconference will apparently be
held Sunday, with presidents from each of the league's 15 member schools
expected to be hooked up for the session. The purpose of the call was not
disclosed.
C-USA members agreed over the summer that the league would remain intact
through at least the 2004-05 season. Whether or not league presidents will
revisit that Sunday is unknown.
The information emerges as events relating to the continuing shakeup of
conference alignments appear poised to begin rapidly unfolding.
On Friday, the Hartford Courant quoted a C-USA source who characterized
Louisville as "a 100 percent lock" for an invitation to join
the Big East. That same source, according to the report, indicated that
Cincinnati lacks adequate support among Big East schools to be assured of
receiving a bid.
Cincinnati had been thought by many knowledgeable observers
to be headed to the Big East with the Cardinals, but the newspaper's story
alluded to the high-profile Bearcats basketball program's history of
off-the-court distractions and noted that UC's desirability is diminished by
its inability to generate a groundswell of fan support for its winning
football program.
According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Big East commissioner Mike
Tranghese notified University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson in a
phone call this week that the Tigers would not be a part of the Big East's
expansion plans because of the school's location far from the eastern
corridor.
The Courant speculated that Big East interest may be refocusing on C-USA
member South Florida because of its location in the talent-rich Sunshine
State, long a recruiting hotbed for Big East schools.
But geography may conspire against the Bulls, too.
Tranghese has publicly questioned the past and future wisdom of
his conference extending its footprint the length of the Eastern Seaboard to
Florida. If that line of thinking factors into the formula the league
follows in selecting a school to accompany U of L into the fold, East
Carolina could emerge as a logical choice.
ECU has fallen on hard times of late in football but that is likely to be
viewed as a small blip on the long-range radar in light of the program's
traditional success and the sustained support the Pirates have enjoyed in
terms of fans in the seats and dollars from boosters for capital
infrastructure.
While its struggling basketball program might have been considered an
insurmountable barrier to ECU's inclusion in the Big East a few years ago, the
school has raised its recruiting horizons, increased its talent level and
boosted its home attendance
figures since leaping from the Colonial Athletic Association to C-USA two
years ago.
Along the way, the Pirates have spawned a formidable Williams Arena
environment and sprung some notable home upsets. Most prominent were a
headline-grabbing win over Louisville (2001-02) and a pair of shockers over
Marquette (2001-02 and 2002-03).
A potentially interesting twist is the legitimate Eastern pedigree of Pirate
hoops coach Bill Herrion, who achieved significant success at Drexel,
located in Philadelphia, prior to taking the ECU job in 1999.
Herrion is well-regarded in Big East circles and has particularly close ties
to Mike Jarvis, head coach of one of the Big East's linchpin basketball
programs, St. John's. Herrion once served a five-year stretch as an
assistant under Jarvis at Boston University and George Washington.
Other factors that could shore up a bid by ECU to join the Big East include
the school's rapidly expanding enrollment, projected to reach 27,000 by
2008; a base of living alumni expected to surpass 100,000 during that same
time span; and the generally positive reputation of its athletes in terms of
academics and character issues.
02.23.07 11:47 AM
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