Big East Basketball: Expansion candidates for an 11-school conference
By Brian Foley
Saint Louis, Dayton, and Davidson
The Pros
Solid basketball programs: All three schools field above-average basketball programs in mid-major conferences. Earlier this decade, Saint Louis averaged 27 wins over a three-year stretch. Dayton earned four straight tourney bids from 2014-17. And Davidson has been in the tournament more often than not over the past 13 years. (Plus Steph Curry can join other NBA stars like Dwyane Wade, Gordon Hayward, David West, and Kyle Korver in the “Big East-adjacent Club.” It meets monthly.)
Fit Big East model: SLU and Dayton – private, Catholic universities with roughly 8.5K undergrads -are perfect fits with the current Big East members. Davidson is much smaller (roughly 2K undergrads) and is associated with the Presbyterian Church, but it is similar enough that the Big East could easily work out a deal.
The Cons
Location: If the Billikens or Flyers were located in the Northeast, they would probably already be in the Big East – that’s how well they fit the conference’s identity. Unfortunately, they are tucked in the Midwest, something the Big East would seemingly like to avoid. The Wildcats are located on the East Coast – about 20 miles north of Charlotte – but moving into the South is probably another no-go on the Big East’s checklist.
Don’t move the needle: Here’s the real problem with Saint Louis, Dayton, and Davidson. If any three of them were Gonzaga, the Big East would probably jump to add them right away. A Zag-esque program moves the needle, and Ackerman would sacrifice a little bit of location to add a difference-making basketball school. Unfortunately, Gonzaga is 2,500 miles away from Madison Square Garden, while SLU, Dayton, and Davidson would merely beef up the back end of the Big East and bring little attendance and attention help to the conference tournament.
Other options: Fordham, Old Dominion, VCU, Richmond, go back and time and get Notre Dame before the Irish committed to the ACC