Post by elp525 on Oct 6, 2011 5:22:44 GMT -5
10/05/2011
MetroNews Sports
Morgantown
Mike Tranghese shepherded the Big East Conference through the tumult of the departers of Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech when he was commissioner of the league back in 2003. The conference faces uncertainty and instability again now that Syracuse and Pitt have announced they are leaving it behind.
"My fear is that there will still be more movement," Tranghese said during Wednesday's MetroNews Talk Line. "I just don't know if the league can survive losing anybody else.
"They've had to go to the well once and they'll have to go to the well again," Tranghese said of the departure of the two schools most recently. "I think they can re-structure but will they be left alone?"
The latest news in the conference shuffling came from the University of Missouri on Tuesday. The board of curators there voted to allow Chancellor Brady Deaton to explore a possible jump to the Southeastern Conference.
"I am reading about the Big 12 and Missouri now," Tranghese said. "It appears that Missouri is going to leave and that means the Big 12 is going to expand by two schools. Where are those schools going to come from? I happen to believe that at some point, some place (the ACC) will expand again. People just seem to be coming back at Big East schools."
Tranghese says the league could have, perhaps, bought itself a bit more stability by accepting a recent television deal from ESPN.
"It would have made it more difficult for (Syracuse and Pitt) to leave," Tranghese said. "How do you negotiate a contract and then leave? I think it would have made it much more difficult.
"There was a very good offer on the table from ESPN. I don't think it was the offer they should have accepted. I think there was still a little bit more money there and there were certain elements in the league that didn't want to do the deal. Those entities won out.
"It's easy to say that if they signed this wouldn't have happened," Tranghese continued. "I don't know if that's the case but it certainly would have made the chances of leaving less. Syracuse in particular said they wouldn't have left, but you never know."
One thing that Tranghese is certain of is that the trend toward large, mega-conferences is not good for member schools.
"I don't see how that is good for college football," Tranghese said. "If you have the super conferences all you have is more losers. Not more winners. Just more losers."
MetroNews Sports
Morgantown
Mike Tranghese shepherded the Big East Conference through the tumult of the departers of Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech when he was commissioner of the league back in 2003. The conference faces uncertainty and instability again now that Syracuse and Pitt have announced they are leaving it behind.
"My fear is that there will still be more movement," Tranghese said during Wednesday's MetroNews Talk Line. "I just don't know if the league can survive losing anybody else.
"They've had to go to the well once and they'll have to go to the well again," Tranghese said of the departure of the two schools most recently. "I think they can re-structure but will they be left alone?"
The latest news in the conference shuffling came from the University of Missouri on Tuesday. The board of curators there voted to allow Chancellor Brady Deaton to explore a possible jump to the Southeastern Conference.
"I am reading about the Big 12 and Missouri now," Tranghese said. "It appears that Missouri is going to leave and that means the Big 12 is going to expand by two schools. Where are those schools going to come from? I happen to believe that at some point, some place (the ACC) will expand again. People just seem to be coming back at Big East schools."
Tranghese says the league could have, perhaps, bought itself a bit more stability by accepting a recent television deal from ESPN.
"It would have made it more difficult for (Syracuse and Pitt) to leave," Tranghese said. "How do you negotiate a contract and then leave? I think it would have made it much more difficult.
"There was a very good offer on the table from ESPN. I don't think it was the offer they should have accepted. I think there was still a little bit more money there and there were certain elements in the league that didn't want to do the deal. Those entities won out.
"It's easy to say that if they signed this wouldn't have happened," Tranghese continued. "I don't know if that's the case but it certainly would have made the chances of leaving less. Syracuse in particular said they wouldn't have left, but you never know."
One thing that Tranghese is certain of is that the trend toward large, mega-conferences is not good for member schools.
"I don't see how that is good for college football," Tranghese said. "If you have the super conferences all you have is more losers. Not more winners. Just more losers."
