Big East League Meetings Begin Tonight

[ge1974]

Check this link out. Lots to do.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130518/BLUEJAYS/705189857/1001

[TedBaxter]

I hope Beebe can steer these guys through some decisions this week to get some resolutions on some of the items. They only have 3 months until the fall sports start action.

[CaribouJim]

I'm curious as to whom is in the mix for the commissioner. If they have someone who is the clear leader, he or she will have some leverage for sure in negotiating their compensation package with the clock ticking.

[pbiflyer]

Anyone know where in West Palm Beach the meetings are being held? I can swing by and give my regards to LW.......

[TedBaxter]

Anyone know where in West Palm Beach the meetings are being held? I can swing by and give my regards to LW.......
Don't bother him, he has too much work to do while he's down there.

[pbiflyer]

Don't bother him, he has too much work to do while he's down there.

Just going to do a quick hello to LW with my friend Filomena Tobias. ;)

[Phantom Warrior]

At least they seem to recognize the importance of making sure the Hoops Tournament in MSG is a success.

Boy I'd love to be the proverbial fly on the wall during a lot of these discussions.

Being Jewish, I think I'll share a saying I've heard on numerous occasions both as a kid and as an adult. Put 10 Jews in a room and ask them a question. What do you get? Answer: 10 completely different points of view.

I wonder if the same could be said for 10 college presidents, nine of whom are Catholic. Maybe they should just get out of the way and let the ADs and coaches - with Beebee (sp?) - do what they need to. What do these presidents know about the ins and outs of athletics anyway?

[TulsaWarrior]

The school presidents don't no #*&! about operating a college athletic conference. Find someone with media and athletic management experience and let him or her get things going. They should be asking what would Dave Gavitt do? Hell let Fox call the shots. Please don't hire someone because they have a Ph.D.

[ge1974]

Here is a blurb from Jersey Guy:

http://ajerseyguy.com/?p=6893

Word out of the meetings of the new Big East Conference in West Palm Beach–5 star Ritz Carlton Hotel–is that selecting a commissioner IS NOT a high priority this week. The ADS and coaches who are meeting are working on schedules and formats, but apparently the commissioner’s job has been downgraded to more of an administrator rather than a leader. The time frame for selecting this person still remains in the next few weeks, but it is likely to be a mid-level executive coming out of Fox television or the NBA, who can simply market the inventory in the new league that needs to be marketed and very little else. The Presidents of the New Big East do not want a leader in the sense of Mike Tranghese, Mike Slive or Jim Delany. They want an office administrator who will follow the directives of the Presidents, which is to make money.

I'm not so sure this approach by the league college presidents is a good idea. I think the league should get someone who is more than a "bean counter". I prefer a charismatic individual, who can work with the NCAA and other league commissioners.

[TheSultan]

I'm not really sure ajerseyguy really knows what he is talking about...and I question whether or not his view is being clouded by his judgement, personal connections or something similar.

Look, Dan Beebe knows how to run a conference. And I actually think these type of operating decisions are more urgent then the selection of a permanent commissioner especially with a television contract currently in place.

[MUBasketball]

I'm not really sure ajerseyguy really knows what he is talking about...and I question whether or not his view is being clouded by his judgement, personal connections or something similar.

Look, Dan Beebe knows how to run a conference. And I actually think these type of operating decisions are more urgent then the selection of a permanent commissioner especially with a television contract currently in place.

Actually, Jerseyguy's information has been solid throughout this entire process.

I'm getting pretty worried about the leadership of this conference. There should already be a Commissioner and staff in place hammering out details with school representatives at the meetings. Instead, its not even an urgent matter?

Scary.

[MUBasketball]

And what does Beebe know? He had a cup of coffee as Commish of the Big 12 before he was forced out.

[pbiflyer]

Actually, Jerseyguy's information has been solid throughout this entire process.

I'm getting pretty worried about the leadership of this conference. There should already be a Commissioner and staff in place hammering out details with school representatives at the meetings. Instead, its not even an urgent matter?

Scary.

Small pet peeve. Ritz Carlton is on Palm Beach, specifically, the area called Manalapan.


THE RITZ-CARLTON, PALM BEACH
100 South Ocean Boulevard, Manalapan, Florida 33462 USA (http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/PalmBeach/Default.htm)

Palm Beach is a very different animal than West Palm Beach, much like Jupiter is very different than Jupiter Island.

[TheSultan]

And what does Beebe know? He had a cup of coffee as Commish of the Big 12 before he was forced out.


He was the commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, before joining the Big 12 as its Chief Operating Officer in 2003. He was named B12 commissioner in 2007. He didn't do a real good job on the PR side of things, and had trouble with the egos of the Presidents involved, but he knows how run the operational side of things.

[TheSultan]

Actually, Jerseyguy's information has been solid throughout this entire process.

I'm getting pretty worried about the leadership of this conference. There should already be a Commissioner and staff in place hammering out details with school representatives at the meetings. Instead, its not even an urgent matter?

Scary.


His *information* has been good. His *interpretation* of what that information means has been poor.

IOW, in this case he is probably right that naming a commissioner isn't a great priority. But his insinuation that this is a bad thing may not be accurate.

[MUBasketball]

He was the commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference, before joining the Big 12 as its Chief Operating Officer in 2003. He was named B12 commissioner in 2007. He didn't do a real good job on the PR side of things, and had trouble with the egos of the Presidents involved, but he knows how run the operational side of things.

Ahhh, I stand corrected. Didn't know he was Commish of another conference.

[MUBasketball]

His *information* has been good. His *interpretation* of what that information means has been poor.

IOW, in this case he is probably right that naming a commissioner isn't a great priority. But his insinuation that this is a bad thing may not be accurate.

How is not having a commissioner or staff for a conference set to begin in about 5 weeks not a bad thing?

[TheSultan]

How is not having a commissioner or staff for a conference set to begin in about 5 weeks not a bad thing?


Because what is important is the detail stuff right now. Scheduling the fall sports, establishing an identity (logo), etc. You don't need a commissioner to do that. You need to have people get to work on that for you. And that could be Beebe's group or some sort of other consulting firm or even the athletic departments of each conference.

So let me say it this way...*if* that stuff isn't being done, I would be worried. But you only have so much time, and that detail stuff is what needs to get done first and foremost. A commissioner can be hired later on after that stuff is closer to completion - later in the summer would be fine.

[Goose85]

Because what is important is the detail stuff right now. Scheduling the fall sports, establishing an identity (logo), etc. You don't need a commissioner to do that. You need to have people get to work on that for you. And that could be Beebe's group or some sort of other consulting firm or even the athletic departments of each conference.

So let me say it this way...*if* that stuff isn't being done, I would be worried. But you only have so much time, and that detail stuff is what needs to get done first and foremost. A commissioner can be hired later on after that stuff is closer to completion - later in the summer would be fine.

You are making the assumption that all of the presidents / ADs are on the same page and working well together. What if that is not the case? Who breaks the tie when MU and Georgetown disagree on how something shoul be run?

Seems a commish should have been one of the easier things to accomplish.

[TheSultan]

You are making the assumption that all of the presidents / ADs are on the same page and working well together. What if that is not the case? Who breaks the tie when MU and Georgetown disagree on how something shoul be run?


You are correct...I am making that assumption. But if they can't agree on how to schedule soccer games this fall, then there really isn't much hope for the conference, regardless of who the commissioner is.

[TheSultan]

One more thing.

We are making the assumption here that the reason there is no commissioner yet is because there is conflict within the conference (The Georgetown camp v. the Marquette camp) that is preventing this from happening. It could simply be that there is no consensus about the candidates brought forward. If they are looking for a "media guy," Gavitt isn't going to fit that. And Zaninovich might be considered too "small time," for what they are looking for.

I think we are falling a little bit into a "chicken little" mode about this. That we get these breathless reports from Ajerseyguy that say "such and such is happening...and this is bad," and we buy into it without questioning whether such and such *is* actually happening...and whether or not it actually is bad.

[IWB]

Correct Sultan, we really don't know what is going on. Also, from what I have heard it isn't exactly the "Georgetown camp vs the Marquette camp". While MU has stepped up, they are not vying with Georgetown to be the dominant force, Georgetown is trying to take over the driver's seat all on their own.

[Goose85]

You are correct...I am making that assumption. But if they can't agree on how to schedule soccer games this fall, then there really isn't much hope for the conference, regardless of who the commissioner is.

Overall, I agree with what you are saying about some of the things needed to be done are not as complex as unwinding the old conference, negotiating tv rights, splitting old Big East money, etc.

There is still a lot more that goes into it than just taking 10 men and 10 women's games and coming up with a schedule for soccer and the other 'official' conference sports or else the conferences would not have the size staffs they have.

With none of the schools playing BCS level football, my guess is each of the athletic departments don't have a few higher level folks to lend to the conference until a commish and staff is hired.


One guy acting as the interim commish may help, but, these other conferences have a staff of close to 30 for a reason, and those are conferences that have been in place for a long time and likely already have policies / procedures / etc in place.

http://www.bigten.org/school-bio/big10-staff.html

http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=1514843

[TheSultan]

That is really good information Goose. I would have thought the staff would have been bigger than that.

Anyway, I just hope that someone, somewhere is working on this kind of stuff. Some of it might be outsourced for the time being, to either the law firm that was originally hired to do this stuff, or to Beebe's group, but yeah this work does need to get done.

[MU88]

Jerseyguy sources are at UConn. There appears to be an agenda for many of his reports. Everyone is in an uproar over the lack of a commish, but has anyone reported on the number of staffers working for the conference. I would guess there are a few people working behind the scenes.

Frankly, I don't think the lack of a commish is all that big of the deal. The bylaws and the TV deal are done. The conference has a head of officials. Things are happening behind the scenes. I think is it is utterly stupid to hire someone who may not be the right person. Take your time and do it right. Gavitt has great name recognition, but is he the best person for the job. Maybe, maybe not. Beebe ran two conferences, including the Big 12 for 4 years. I am sure he is an adequate placeholder till they find the right person for the job.

Finally, I would take everything reported by ESPN with a grain of salt. They have an economic incentive reduce interest in the Big East. By projecting an environment of unhappy coaches and infighting, you create the impression that the BE is second rate conference that can be overlooked. Look at the Mountain West. ESPN didn't cover them and give them much credit till they got a piece of the conferences tv contract. All of sudden, you heard story after story about how great they were this year.

[TheSultan]

This was linked somewhere a couple of days ago. It talks about the big meeting agenda and stuff that needs to be decided.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130518/BLUEJAYS/705189857/1001

In looking at this, it is obvious they have a lot of work to do. But *someone* put this agenda together and someone has done a lot of spadework ahead of time.