The Big East is actually the Really, Really Big East since it boasts 16 members. Looking at their standings, it is a lot to actually consume.
So I'm in favor of breaking up the Big East (but that's for another time). Instead, let's look at how to split up the conference into divisions. But how?
FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL: My favorite one is seperating the football and non-football schools into their own divisions. It will kind of keep the flavor of the football teams' magic. The schedule for either of the eight-team division scenarios could involve playing the other seven teams in your division twice (14 games) and then rotate playing four of the teams in the other division (4 games).
FOOTBALL: Cincinnati, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, UConn, West Virginia
NON-FOOTBALL: DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova
EAST/WEST: There is also the ol' geographical method. Seems like a good idea since there are five teams who reside in the midwestern portion of the country.
EAST: Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn, Villanova
WEST: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, South Florida, West Virginia
FOUR DIVISION FORMAT: An interesting, albeit unlikely option, is having four mini-divisions. The 16-team WAC did this back in the mid-to-late-1990s which resulted in half the teams leaving the conference and forming the Mountain West.
The problem I have with this is that it kind-of breaks up some natural rivals and splits up the three NY/NJ teams. The lone good thing about this is the scheduling. You can play the other three teams in your division twice (six games) ... then every other Big East team once (12 games).
NORTH: Providence, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn
EAST: Georgetown, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Villanova
CENTRAL: Cincinnati, Pitt, South Florida, West Virginia
WEST: DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame
So I'm in favor of breaking up the Big East (but that's for another time). Instead, let's look at how to split up the conference into divisions. But how?
FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL: My favorite one is seperating the football and non-football schools into their own divisions. It will kind of keep the flavor of the football teams' magic. The schedule for either of the eight-team division scenarios could involve playing the other seven teams in your division twice (14 games) and then rotate playing four of the teams in the other division (4 games).
FOOTBALL: Cincinnati, Louisville, Pitt, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, UConn, West Virginia
NON-FOOTBALL: DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova
EAST/WEST: There is also the ol' geographical method. Seems like a good idea since there are five teams who reside in the midwestern portion of the country.
EAST: Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn, Villanova
WEST: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, South Florida, West Virginia
FOUR DIVISION FORMAT: An interesting, albeit unlikely option, is having four mini-divisions. The 16-team WAC did this back in the mid-to-late-1990s which resulted in half the teams leaving the conference and forming the Mountain West.
The problem I have with this is that it kind-of breaks up some natural rivals and splits up the three NY/NJ teams. The lone good thing about this is the scheduling. You can play the other three teams in your division twice (six games) ... then every other Big East team once (12 games).
NORTH: Providence, St. John's, Syracuse, UConn
EAST: Georgetown, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Villanova
CENTRAL: Cincinnati, Pitt, South Florida, West Virginia
WEST: DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame
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