Is Big East Expansion Inevitable?
The Story: Commissioner Val Ackerman told CBS Sports that more than three schools have expressed interest in joining the Big East if it chooses to go to a 20-game conference schedule, which would require an 11th team.
IS ONE OF THEM UCONN? As is always the case with such stories, the specific candidates are never mentioned, though the usual cast of characters — Dayton, Richmond, Saint Louis and Saint Joseph’s, and even Gonzaga — is listed.
The Huskies, too, are on that suggested list, though the “logistical hurdle, if not 100-foot wall” is, well, the football program.
“Geography would be in important,” Ackerman said. “Commitment to basketball would probably be the No. 1 thing, the notion that they would be additive as it relates to our basketball prospects. Are they going to help secure our chances every year of getting into the NCAA tournament? Possible No. 2: Would they help us with our tournament? Would they bring fans to Madison Square Garden?”
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? We’re not likely to know for several years, once other leagues’ television contracts start to expire. The Big East’s deal extends beyond that of many of its peers as it is only in the sixth year of a 12-year contract it signed with Fox Sports, meaning its rights won’t be renegotiated for some time.
But if the Big East wants another member, and there are enough schools expressing interest, chances are something will get done — unlike the Big 12’s botched process two years ago, when a number of schools, including UConn, poured their hearts out in glittery valentines that Bob Bowlsby promptly threw in the shredder.
OUR TAKE: Look, we’ve said this already twice this week. We loved watching UConn match up against Syracuse and Villanova and Georgetown each season and then the rematch each March, but there are a number of obstacles that stand in the way — and there’s none bigger than the football program.
It’s a divisive topic, for sure, but it wouldn’t be one if the Huskies were in UCF’s place — or even if they had been to a bowl game in each of the last three years, much like Memphis or Temple. But because UConn was beyond awful this season, drew fewer than 15,000 fans to games and is funded by the school and student fees to the tune of a combined $42.2 million in 2016-17, the program suddenly must be shut down. It’s basically akin to breaking a finger and wanting to amputate the whole arm. Things just don’t work that way.
Remember: Football is and always will be one of two real revenue-producing sports at the college level. If you drop the football team to the FCS, or shut it down all together, UConn’s sex appeal plummets. Would you rather the university find its niche in a basketball conference, effectively shutting it out of any potential future growth, or try to make itself as appealing as possible to a conference such as the ACC, where a bigger piece of the financial pie and an easier path to national titles remains?
Is Stewart Already Among UConn’s Greatest?
The Story: Former UConn standout Breanna Stewart picked up yet another honor on Wednesday when she was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, celebrating her performance after the United States won the gold medal at the World Cup in Spain in September.
ONE MORE FOR THE MANTLE: To say it has been a breakout year for the player Beth Mowins loves to call “Stewie” would be an understatement — and that’s a surprise given all the accomplished at UConn. Stewart won a national championship all four years she played for the Huskies, was the most outstanding player at the Final Four in each season and was named the Associated Press Player of the Year three times, including once unanimously.
This year, though, Stewart took it to another level:
- Named the WNBA MVP
- Won her first WNBA title (and the Seattle Storm’s third)
- Named WNBA Finals MVP
- Blocked on Twitter by Muffet McGraw
ESPN recognized Stewart as its seventh-most dominant athlete of 2018 earlier this week, ahead of Novak Djokovic, LeBron James, Drew Brees, and Alex Ovechkin, among others. She’s even fronting Eastbay’s winter marketing campaign.
SIMPLY THE BEST? There’s no doubt that UConn has produced some of the best women’s basketball players of all time, but Stewart is already making a claim to being the cream of that crop.
Rebecca Lobo, part of last year’s Naismith Hall of Fame class, was UConn’s first true women’s basketball icon; Sue Bird, Stewart’s teammate in Seattle, and Diana Taurasi are still going strong; and Maya Moore has won the WNBA title with the Minnesota Lynx every other season since 2011.
As Lobo wrote for ESPN, “There are plenty of 6-foot-4 women who play basketball, but they don’t have the combination of gifts that she does. She can handle the ball, shoot 3-pointers and block shots. She doesn’t look imposing, but she is a tremendous athlete … [and] a handful for any team.”
The scary part? Stewart is only 24 … and only getting better.
Morning Read
MONTY TURNS TO ACTING: Former UConn guard Renee Montgomery, now with the Atlanta Dream, has embarked upon an acting career. Her first film, “Not My Favorite Christmas,” will be released via Amazon Prime on Dec. 20. (Hartford Courant)
PRACTICE MADE SIMPLE: The women’s basketball team will have shorter practices this week with Geno Auriemma out recruiting and players taking final exams. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
MOSELEY BACK HOME: Former women’s basketball assistant Marisa Moseley is enjoying her first games coaching at her alma mater, Boston University. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
ESPINOZA-HUNTER ADDRESSES DEPARTURE: After transferring from UConn to Mississippi State just weeks into her freshman season, Andra Espinoza-Hunter said she was never genuinely happy in Storrs. (Westchester Journal News)
MORE DETAILS ON WAHAB: Center Qudus Wahab was going to declare where he was headed to college. UConn was a candidate, and now he is waiting. The Huskies have two schollies left, assuming no one transfers. (Hartford Courant)
ELITE PROGRAM WRAPUP: 247Sports takes a look at the dominant women’s basketball programs from 2015 to 2018. We just can’t understand why there is one more team than UConn on the list. (247Sports)
LAMB FOR THE W: The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Detroit Pistons on a walk-off jumper by Jeremy Lamb after Kemba Walker kicked it out in the final seconds. (NBA TV on Twitter)
