That's bitterness talking. Look around the NFL and see all the top talent Pittsburgh and Syracuse have produced despite not having stellar records (including one of the best WRs and best DBs in the league from Pitt, and best DE in the league from Cuse). While WV has been the flagship school for a decade now and is the only team seemingly capable of taking on a non-conference power in a BCS bowl game and beating them.

I wonder what song Pitino would be singing if Louisville got its wish and went to the Big 12. These after-the-fact Big East loyalists are really fun. It's like watching Oliver Luck after SU and Pitt left talk about how much better Air Force & Navy were than Syracuse & Pitt, right before he takes WV to the Big 12 and sues the conference.

Boise has plenty of top talent as well, cant say the same for Houston, UCF, and SD St., all of which are emerging. Big East hold overs have plenty of talent in the NFL as well though. If my team got selected to the Big Ten I'd be ecstatic, but this arrangement works just fine to me. I liked playing the teams that left because they were rivals but id much rather see boise than SU and Pitt, and removing the rivalry factor, even WVU

Other good points is that it solidifies the Big East Presence in 2 extremely fertile recruiting grounds, Texas and Florida. With 2 in each state now Coaches can invite recruits to watch the team play in both those states once a year, not to mention being on TV and in the newspaper. Think its a big win for the conference.

And that lucrative Idaho market. Well, nothing saves a conference like an Idaho football factory with the lowest graduation rate in its own region. The basketball conference reduces its quality substantially as they don't even get SD state in bball. I think Houston just lost to UT-San Marcos...

Basketball isn't a huge problem, while they don't have the depth they once ha they are still a strong B-Ball conference. Academics don't mean much, if they did Rutgers, with some of the best student athlete marks (and I believe recently the best in football, would have gone before WVU, Syracuse and Pitt, but its about the sports. Don't know why you are being so negative about this, its not like they had much of a choice

I don't have a problem with what they're doing, I have a problem with Pitino's asinine comment about how they're gaining more in football than they're losing.

I think immediately they are actually gaining more. You have 1 perennial power and up and coming schools replacing 1 perennial and 2 has-beens (despite what the media says about Pitt every year)

What the Big East is losing, unfortunately is a whole lot of tradition. Pitt, Syracuse and WVU, have strong traditions and will take them with them. Realistically, the only two teams who can claim a longstanding football tradition are SMU and Rutgers.

Rutgers is ranked below SU and Pitt in academics, sorry.

You don't know what you have with the football schools. They're unproven. Louisville was considered an up and coming football powerhouse when they joined the Big East much like Houston. They haven't turned out that way.

Not talking about as an academic institution (they aren't even ranked against SU as they are in different categories, and Pitt and Rutgers are only 2 spots off). Their football programs academics are consistently ranked highest in the country, which is what you criticized Boise for and was what I discussed.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2008/08/rutgers_ranked_no_64_academica.html

There is some methodology used to rank them all regardless of category. But yeah, according to GSR, Rutgers is #1 and Syracuse & UC are tied for #2.

yes, if you look at the 2011 rankings Pit is in the tie at 58th, the next group of schools is tied at 62nd and includes Syracuse, the next group of schools is tied at 68th and that is Rutgers. There is hardly a difference.

But again, what i was referring to is this

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2011/05/rutgers_football_excels_again.html

Bottom line, Boise doesn't graduate its athletes, but if that was preferable to on field performance RU would have been picked. Its about Ratings, Fanbases, anf Merchandise

Louisville actually *was* an up-and-coming power... then Steve Kragthorpe showed up. lol. Glad we got him as OC, he can sure work an offense, but those defenses... yeah.

yes, the growth of several programs in the conference have been hurt by coaching exoduses. Hopefully for the conference (and in most cases the other teams) BE coaches will stay with their teams