Chancellor Kenneth Shaw and Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel Press Conference Regarding The BIG EAST Conference's Realignment Announcement
Chancellor Shaw: "I am glad. I am glad it is done. And I'm glad the way it turned out. I think we have a really good lineup for basketball and football. Of course for basketball, it is instant magic. For football, it is going to be a very, very competitive conference."
Q: Jake, are you happy with the way it has turned out as well?
Jake Crouthamel: "Yes, I am. I think it was orchestrated in such a way that we were able to get things done that we set out to do in a timely manner and in a manner that included discussion with a lot conferences and a lot of teams so that everybody was informed. There was no under the table stuff going on. And I'm very happy with the way that it turned out. I have to say, I'm happy that it is over."
Q: What is the difference between what the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) did in taking three BIG EAST schools and what the BIG EAST did, taking five Conference USA schools?
Jake Crouthamel: "First of all, we didn't start this process. The ACC didn't have to take teams. They chose to take teams, and they did it in a rather curious manner. As soon as it became known that the BIG EAST has going to have to add teams, have to add teams … we couldn't survive without adding teams. We couldn't survive without adding teams, and that became very apparent across the country. It really wasn't a matter of what conferences the teams we were looking at were in, it was a matter of we had to add teams. And conferences knew that. They knew that as soon as the ACC took action. With the dialogue that went on with the commissioners of those conferences and Mike Tranghese, the Commissioner of the BIG EAST, the process was handled in such a way that everyone knew what direction the other conference was headed. So the future of all of the conferences, not just the BIG EAST, could be anticipated and planned for. That is the way it turned out. There's going to be a lot of shuffling taking place, not because of us. We have to expand. We cannot exist as a I-A conference with five teams."
Chancellor Shaw: "I think the proof of what Jake said will be revealed in the weeks to come when you'll find the other conferences making the adjustments much more quickly than we were able to because the communication, as Jake said, has been very open. There were no surprises. So there probably won't be any surprises when Conference USA and others begin now to make their adjustments."
Q: Is this trickle down effect of one conference's moves affecting another conference bad for college athletics?
Jake Crouthamel: "We don't know. We will tell you in five to 10 years."
Chancellor Shaw: "I suppose if you ask Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida if they thought it was bad, they would probably say it has worked pretty well for us. I think that is why it is right to say we don't know. Once the move was made by the ACC, we were left with no choice."
Q: What was the reaction of the schools coming into The BIG EAST Conference?
Chancellor Shaw: "At one of the schools, I think it was Louisville, they had a big ceremony and they had thousands of people there. They are excited. They are pumped. South Florida is ready to go. I think it is safe to say they wanted to be part of this affiliation. And we wanted them."
Q: What was the reaction Conference USA's commissioner?
Jake Crouthamel: "Not happy, I'm sure. Just as we weren't happy that we had to expand. But again, the preparation for what has transpired and about to transpire with some of these other conferences and the ground work that was laid in anticipation of these other conferences having to move was well-laid. I credit Mike Tranghese with handling that with a great deal of sensitivity to a lot of issues, not just for our issues, but for their issues. We'll see how this whole thing works out. I would echo what the Chancellor said on the reaction of the other schools. They reacted with great enthusiasm. All three schools."
Q: Did the BIG EAST look at schools like Marshall and Central Florida?
Jake Crouthamel: "We looked at a lot of schools. Who knows? We may go beyond eight, but we are not going beyond eight for the foreseeable future. We are at eight and we are going to stick with this eight. We are going to put it together and get it up and rolling."
Q: The new members have strong men's basketball programs. How will this affect how many NCAA Tournament at-large bids the conference will receive?
Jake Crouthamel: "Mike Tranghese made a comment about that in his press conference this afternoon. When we were a conference of nine, seven of those nine were in the NCAA Tournament. Seven of nine. I believe we have seven of 16 that are of NCAA caliber. If you can have seven of nine, then why couldn't you have nine of 16, or eight of 16. As Mike pointed out this afternoon, he chaired the committee his last year, and I was on the committee for six years, we know a little bit about how the NCAA men's basketball committee works. You play your way in. It's not where you are in the conference. You play your way in."
Q: Will Syracuse Athletics be hurt financially by realignment of the BIG EAST?
Chancellor Shaw: "I think I should answer that. I think there will be financial impact. I've asked Jake and the Athletic Department and Lou Marcoccia (Senior Vice President for Business, Finance and Administrative Services) to work the numbers. It is clear that we could face some financial difficulties. But they are not of a crisis dimension. They are the kind we can work with. We will work through this. It will be a faint memory in a few years. It will take a little time to work through it. Let me say this, this is a program that, at least in my time and I suspect before my time, has never had to be subsidized by the University. There are probably only 30 programs in the country that can say that. Whether any can make that statement in five to 10 years with the saturation of television and other reasons is another question. So when I say we are going to have to make some adjustments and that it will cause some difficulties, I want to put it in the context of a very financially strong program compared to what, the other 2,000 programs across the country."
Q: Can you talk specifically about Cincinnati's and Louisville's men's basketball programs and what they add to the BIG EAST?
Jake Crouthamel: "As we all know, this whole process was driven by the sport of football. Totally driven by the sport of football. We chose football schools, not basketball schools. That is what the basketball folks did. They chose basketball schools. We chose football schools that just happen to be darn good basketball schools. Is it a coincidence? Yes, it is. We chose football schools."
Q: If the BIG EAST does not keep its Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bid, does this move backfire against you?
Jake Crouthamel: "No. I don't think it backfires at all. First of all, we don't know what the BCS is going to be. We don't know if there is going to be a BCS. There will be some sort of playoff, I'm sure. What it is called and who runs it and who is responsible for it, we don't know. That's mere conjecture. I don't see anything backfiring when you look at what we have done. We have grabbed three very fine institutions of higher education with a great deal of potential that we think they have within their programs and within their institutions. We think we can help to nurture that potential. At the same time, we can live off of that potential and grow our own programs. Again, the fact that two of those three football schools so happen to be basketball schools does not hurt our cause. We are going to be, if not the best, arguably the strongest basketball conference in the country from top to bottom. You can't dismiss that out of hand when you are talking about major college athletics."
Chancellor Shaw: "I think also you can't dismiss the need for the Northeast to have schools they can root for. Are the television folks and the Bowl folks basically going to write off the Northeast? That is what they would have to be saying if they were in effect to say The BIG EAST Conference is not important to the BCS configuration."
Q: What does the football side of BIG EAST have to do in the next three years to solidify its position in the BCS?
Jake Crouthamel: "We can't do anything with the new members because the new members won't start playing until the 2005 season and by that time, things will be settled with this thing we call the BCS. What we have to do is be strong. What exists in the BIG EAST must be strong. We must play and play well and play up. We've scheduled Florida State next year. That is not by coincidence."
