Post by elp525 on Oct 2, 2010 7:08:40 GMT -5
October 1, 2010
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - Just for a moment here, let's set aside all of the arguments pro and con regarding the Big East's apparent dalliance with Texas Christian University.
Would it be a good move? Well, there are a hundred different ways to look at it. Personally, I kind of like the idea. It's growing on me, at least.
The fact of the matter is the league eventually has to do something to strengthen the football side of things. I find it amusing that a lot of the same people who are constantly criticizing the league for not being proactive and expanding are now scoffing at the notion of adding TCU because of the geography.
News flash: Adding any school in the East that is available and willing to come is going to be greeted with one big yawn. Argue all you want the credentials and the potential of East Carolina or Memphis or Central Florida or anyone else, but it is still like adding water to a bland soup. All you get is more bland soup.
Adding a team that is in the top five in the country and dying for an automatic BCS berth is adding spice, assuming that TCU's program can maintain its lofty status, which is no given.
But again, let's set that aside for now. The topic that Mapquest and I are delving into today is one of geography.
A school in Dallas - OK, Fort Worth, Texas - in the Big East? Really?
Then again, how long have the Cowboys been in the NFC East, right?
You want the geography? Yes, TCU is out of the way. Way out of the way. Take the trip from Morgantown, for instance, which it can be argued is pretty close to a geographical center of a Big East that these days stretches from Syracuse and Providence in the Northeast down to Tampa in the South and out to Chicago and Milwaukee in the Midwest.
West Virginia's trips to the outermost edges of the league right now are 568 miles to Providence in the North, 620 miles to Marquette to the West and 955 miles to South Florida in the South. TCU? Try 1,237 miles from Morgantown. Drive it and it will take nearly 19 hours according to Mapquest, which has never had to take a food or rest room break.
Yes, it's a long way. And from TCU's perspective, it is even longer to Providence (1,770 miles) or anyone else in the Northeast. It's nearly as far to Tampa (1,140). It's roughly 1,000 miles to DePaul or Marquette. The shortest trip is Louisville at "just" 869 miles.
Here's the thing, though. Why not? It's not as if TCU is playing in its own backyard now.
In fact, there are arguments to be made that the Big East is actually a better fit - or at least it's a wash - than what the Horned Frogs have going for them these days.
For the record, TCU is now in the Mountain West. Its closest football-playing neighbor is New Mexico, 625 miles away. A trip to San Diego State is 1,329 miles. Utah is 1,243, BYU 1,200, UNLV 1,196, Wyoming 900, Colorado State 817 and Air Force 704.
So much for logical geographic fits, right?
Plus, when traveling home (West to East) from almost any of those MWC games, TCU loses an hour and sometimes two. Traveling from most Big East venues (East to West) they would gain an hour. That's a pretty big deal if kids have to get up and go to class the next day.
Oh, and throw in airport access, too. With only a few exceptions - West Virginia chief among them - it's a lot easier to fly to New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa, etc. than it is to Laramie or Provo or Fort Collins.
No, there are arguments to be made regarding all sorts of nuances involved in potentially adding TCU to the Big East. Go ahead and mull those over just as the Big East is doing.
But take geography out of the equation. Strange as it might seem, it is the least of anyone's concerns.
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - Just for a moment here, let's set aside all of the arguments pro and con regarding the Big East's apparent dalliance with Texas Christian University.
Would it be a good move? Well, there are a hundred different ways to look at it. Personally, I kind of like the idea. It's growing on me, at least.
The fact of the matter is the league eventually has to do something to strengthen the football side of things. I find it amusing that a lot of the same people who are constantly criticizing the league for not being proactive and expanding are now scoffing at the notion of adding TCU because of the geography.
News flash: Adding any school in the East that is available and willing to come is going to be greeted with one big yawn. Argue all you want the credentials and the potential of East Carolina or Memphis or Central Florida or anyone else, but it is still like adding water to a bland soup. All you get is more bland soup.
Adding a team that is in the top five in the country and dying for an automatic BCS berth is adding spice, assuming that TCU's program can maintain its lofty status, which is no given.
But again, let's set that aside for now. The topic that Mapquest and I are delving into today is one of geography.
A school in Dallas - OK, Fort Worth, Texas - in the Big East? Really?
Then again, how long have the Cowboys been in the NFC East, right?
You want the geography? Yes, TCU is out of the way. Way out of the way. Take the trip from Morgantown, for instance, which it can be argued is pretty close to a geographical center of a Big East that these days stretches from Syracuse and Providence in the Northeast down to Tampa in the South and out to Chicago and Milwaukee in the Midwest.
West Virginia's trips to the outermost edges of the league right now are 568 miles to Providence in the North, 620 miles to Marquette to the West and 955 miles to South Florida in the South. TCU? Try 1,237 miles from Morgantown. Drive it and it will take nearly 19 hours according to Mapquest, which has never had to take a food or rest room break.
Yes, it's a long way. And from TCU's perspective, it is even longer to Providence (1,770 miles) or anyone else in the Northeast. It's nearly as far to Tampa (1,140). It's roughly 1,000 miles to DePaul or Marquette. The shortest trip is Louisville at "just" 869 miles.
Here's the thing, though. Why not? It's not as if TCU is playing in its own backyard now.
In fact, there are arguments to be made that the Big East is actually a better fit - or at least it's a wash - than what the Horned Frogs have going for them these days.
For the record, TCU is now in the Mountain West. Its closest football-playing neighbor is New Mexico, 625 miles away. A trip to San Diego State is 1,329 miles. Utah is 1,243, BYU 1,200, UNLV 1,196, Wyoming 900, Colorado State 817 and Air Force 704.
So much for logical geographic fits, right?
Plus, when traveling home (West to East) from almost any of those MWC games, TCU loses an hour and sometimes two. Traveling from most Big East venues (East to West) they would gain an hour. That's a pretty big deal if kids have to get up and go to class the next day.
Oh, and throw in airport access, too. With only a few exceptions - West Virginia chief among them - it's a lot easier to fly to New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa, etc. than it is to Laramie or Provo or Fort Collins.
No, there are arguments to be made regarding all sorts of nuances involved in potentially adding TCU to the Big East. Go ahead and mull those over just as the Big East is doing.
But take geography out of the equation. Strange as it might seem, it is the least of anyone's concerns.
