UK in the Big East?
December 4th, 2009 | 
Author: By LARRY VAUGHT
I pride myself on trying to be open minded and listen to what others have to say because often my opinions do change.
However, vaughtsviews.com reader Gary Kuchenbrod has a suggestion/theory that I don’t quite think I can endorse.
Here’s what he suggested:
“For years, I have suggested that UK leave the SEC and join the ACC. That way, they could compete in football and play in a very strong basketball conference. However, recently I saw an interesting post advocating UK in the Big East Conference. That’s an even better idea because of these reasons:
1 UK goes to a BCS bowl game every year.
2 Louisville becomes a conference game, allowing for another “patsie” on the schedule.
3 UK competes in the STRONGEST basketball conference in the country.
4 Commonwealth basketball fans may have an opportunity to see a home and home matchup each year.
“Facts are facts and the ‘proof is in the pudding- — we are never going to compete in SEC football! We keep recruiting better players but the ‘haves’ keep getting even better players.”
I do agree that the “haves” keep getting better — just like Kentucky used to do in basketball before taking a few years off before Calipari arrived. Florida, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and others are going to continue to recruit superb football players.
But I still like the progress UK is making. I think it would be horrible to play in the Big East in either sport — and I really don’t think there’s room for UK there any way.
I still remember when UK guru Oscar Combs advocated having Kentucky leave the SEC and join the ACC. To me, that would make better sense than going to the Big East.
But maybe that’s just me. Let me know what you think?
Posted in Uncategorized
29 Responses to “UK in the Big East?”
Leave a Reply
UKAthletics.com
UK is the SEC. We are a charter member and should never leave. The Big East is a good basketball conference but history shows it to be cyclical.
While football might be more competitive I have to disagree that we would be in a BCS bowl every year. Also what would that do to our recruiting in the south. How many kids do we get becuase they want to play in the SEC? How many will want to play in the Big East?
Better yet, let’s just start our OWN conference – The UKACFUO-AOGA (UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOR US ONLY- ALL OTHERS GO AWAY). We can then be guaranteed a conference championship in EVERY sport. No more TOUGH inter-conference games to worry about. No more worrying about who will be conference Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Pre-season this or that of the Year, etc. I think this would be the best solution for the situation. Who wants to actually have to compete for anything? Let’s just lock it up before we start. Only a few minor modifications will need to be made:
1) For football, we will need to secure a spot as a BCS conference, with an automatic bowl bid. How cool will THAT be for recruiting?
2) For basketball, Rupp Arena will need to foot part of the cost for installing some new girders in the rafters to handle all the Conference Championship banners.
3) We will need to beef up the BBSN, so that it goes national with our games. Unless we can strike a deal with one of the major networks. Someone will need to contact Notre Dame and get some advice.
4) Someone will need to come up with a really cool logo for the conference.
So let’s get the ball rolling on this. The sooner the better. Then we can start playing on our own terms and not worry about those pesky conference foes who have things better than us. This will be much easier than trying to build something we can be proud of.
REMEMBER: WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH CHANGE CONFERENCES.
#1 The money! Are yureAure you want to give up our share of $15 B, just that share alone is worth more than the $17 m from a BCS game
#2 In basketball conference supremecy follows an ebb and flow pattern, all your seeing is that now the big east has joined that pattern with the sec and acc. You could say they have taken the big 10′s place. It will be brief. The sec has already started to reemerge. And, the exposure from the contract guarentees the SEC should stay for the next 18 years or so.
#3 Personally, I’m kinda proud to be in the SEC. I’d feel like we were runnin’ scared by leaping to another conf. In football. I’d rather fight for second in the SEC East and maybe have a shot at first in a “special” year every now and then, than jump to make it easier, just to say we won a conf. Title. Would it really mean the same to you? Second in the SEC East is better than 90% of Div I college football. And I thhink most people accept that and agree.
#4 Did I mention that in the next 15 years we will make about $1B off the tv contract. You can certainly expect bowl reallignment to go with that.
RIGHT ON THE “MONEY” Juan. Your #3 reason is EXACTLY why I wrote my post above.
GO SEC!!! and GO BIG BLUE!!!
Forgive the typo’s in my previous post. #1 should say “are you sure”, sometimes errors escape me while typing on an iPhone.
Also, I surmise by your suggestion that your local sports news is Big East, ACC heavy, with plenty of sec as well. Don’t get caught up in all that.
No way. We would never compete to a high level in football if we moved to th big east or acc. That is just a baselss statement. That’s because the whole reason we get many of the “good” recruits is because we play in the SEC. We get tons of tv time, get national expoosure, and tons of games on tv, and the players get to play against the best of the best. That doesn’t happen in the big east or acc if we go there. Second, we are a founding member of the SEC, and the premier basketball program in it. It makes no sense to leave. Lastly, we are still moving up in football. It’s not like we’ve hit a ceiling.
If the Cats left and went to either of those, I think it hurts the program. First off, we would not get the exposure in football if they are playing in the Big East or ACC. A big selling point for UK right now is that it IS in the SEC and plays against the best teams in the country. It makes it hard to climb the ladder, but I think UK loses out on that exposure. In Basketball, we are fine because we would get on TV with or without the ESPN contract.
I, too, am proud that we are in the SEC. Granted, we are never going to climb over Florida, Alabama, and LSU because we are at a huge disadvantage geographically in recruiting, but we should compare ourselves to all other D-1 programs, not the 3 or 4 teams above us in the eastern division of the toughest conference in football. You get ranked based on your won-loss record, but we can compete favorably with 98% of other d-1 programs.
How many football recruits come to Kentucky saying that one of their reasons was playing in the SEC. If we left the SEC, we’d lose out on any sec caliber recruits we have!
I can’t stop laughing at this one. Thanks for the laugh on a Friday, Larry.
How about just getting better. The conference is getting better. We need to adjust to the SEC standards instead of expecting them to come to our level. A program like Kentucky has to excel even more than the Flordia’s, LSU’s, Alambama’s at the small things (Every game solid tackling, leadership, hustle, mental focus). Every post is about offense playcalling. For Kentucky to win in this monster of league like the SEC, the defense has to be a fast & lights out. You cannot consistently give up 3rd and 7+++’s every game in this league and expect to win. Our total defense needs to be in the Top 10 to 15 every year.
In no way, shape or form should UK ever consider leaving the SEC. I believe it is the strongest conference, top to bottom, in the nation when you consider all sports.
Football is great, basketball is very good, baseball is great and the “minor sports” are excellent in the SEC.
To even consider leaving would be a mistake.
Great stuff here. Kind of what I was thinking too and will be intersted to see if any feel different
I like the idea of just getting better in football, too. And great point on kids wanting to play in the SEC.
7-5 in the SEC and winning three SEC road games is still a pretty big deal. A lot of other teams in other conferences could not do that
Kentucky should never leave the SEC. I agree with John that overall, throughout history, the SEC is a premier conference in every sport. The basketball lull last year was a fluke, every conference has a down year or two. Now, the SEC is getting stronger again- mainly because Ky is getting stronger again. Don’t you think Alabama, LSU, and other schools use “playing against Kentucky” as a coaching/recruiting ploy? The old “they didn’t recruit you, don’t you want to prove them wrong” cliche.
I am with you on that Jackie. Those schools use that in every recruiting pitch
The Big East is barely a BCS conference, and I won’t be a bit suprised when they lose their automatic bid. The Mountain West and WAC field better teams and WVU is the only historically strong team left that competes year in and year out. The Big East has to many hoops teams and not enough football teams, a sign of disarray. The football jobs are all steppingstone locales for coaches trying to get a SEC, Big 10, or even an ACC job but those idiots in DuhVille can’t
comprehend that and think they can lock the next Urban Meyer in for life.
Stay in the SEC where we belong. No sane person wants to play a November roadie in New Jersey or Connecticut when they can be in Gainesville or Baton Rouge playing D1 competition.
I think we should concentrate on trying to get a college football playoff-
Does anyone know how overall athletic membership works in a conference? UK soccer is in the MAC (SEC doesn’t have men’s soccer). Many Big East teams aren’t are only BE members in basketball (they are not D1 in football, Notre Dame, etc.).
Is there a certain number of sports that are required to participate in order for a school to claim membership?
All this to say… could UK drop out of the SEC in football alone? This of course wouldn’t answer whether leaving the SEC would be a good or bad decision, just whether it is an option.
The thought of leaving the SEC is absurd. And if our school ever left it, I’d probably stay behind. Roll Tide! [At least that's what I'll be thinking this weekend as we watch what might be the best post-regular season football game or matchup of he year -- BCS title game included.]
Now if anybody wants to debate whether the SEC should withdraw from the NCAA; that may be a more sensible discussion. That outfit is about as out of control and unwieldy as the federal government…
Larry- I think Oscar at one time proposed that UK go into the Big Ten. He suggested that UK replace Northwestern. Wildcats for Wildcats. This was years ago way before NW went to a Rose Bowl. A Big Ten move would make more since than the Big East since the conference has toyed with adding a 12th team. Dan
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. We historically are the dominate team in basketball in the SEC and if you want to be the best you have to at least play the best. Stay in the SEC.
Dan, you might be right. Oscar always has ideas.
At least it looks like we all agree. NO Big East
I love point #2 (it’s hard to disagree with calling L-ville a Patsie.) That is where my agreements end though. I appreciate his thinking outside of the box, but we belong in the SEC. There are many reasons why we won’t leave the SEC mentioned. One big reason I would like to add is the very generous media contract SEC teams now have with ESPN.
The financial impact of leaving the SEC would cripple UK’s major sports programs, football included. Rich Brooks himself said so when he was asked this very same question on his call-in show earlier this year. Folks who think we can leave the SEC simply do not understand the economics of UK Athletics. An average SEC football program is worth substantially more than even the best Big East program and those extra dollars run the entire Athletics Department.
You have got to be kidding, right? Men’s b-ball owns the SEC. I can’t speak for football because I am not a football fan. In either sport I don’t believe we would get the TV coverage like we do in the SEC. GO CATS.
Juan: Hit it on the head IMO..Why would you leave the SEC for any othe pastures..UK has done OK with our Basketball revenue..LOL..and we have won 1 or 2 NATIONAL TITLES while doing It… LOL!!!Listen the SEC for most of the 90′s and alot of this decade have led the nation in NCAA tourny wins..So boosting the competition in moving is not a valid argument, just because the SEC is down now doesn’t mean it will stay that way..And the thought that lets go some place we can start making BCS bowls…Guys we have 10..count them 10..bowl eligable teams this year alone..isn’t the arguement to change leagues for better Basketball competition IN direct contradiction to leaving the great Football league..LOL!!! GO BIG BLUE!!!!!
Brandon that is probably the most accurate and logical reason UK will never leave the SEC. It’s just too much money that helps all sports and even helps athletics contribute to library, scholarship fund, etc. I should have thought to make that point. Thanks for reminding all of us of the obvious
Of course this has already been said, but money talks. No way UK should tuck their tails and run from the SEC. SEC basketball does not get the publicity that the ACC and Big East do, but I think it is just as a good a conference. ESPN and the so called experts just have a love affair with the ACC and Big East.
As for football, it just doesnt get any better. While some refuse to see the gains UK is making, it is rather obvious. Sure people say that Auburn and UGA were down, but there have been many years that those teams were down and we still could not beat them. UK is taking baby steps needed to climb the SEC ladder. Our depth is vastly improving. I cant remember a year that we have had the injuries to major players that we have had the last two years, and still be able to compete. People need to be patient and let this team and program continue to grow. Not to long ago we were begging for the chance to play in a bowl. While there were some opportunities missed this year, the fact that we are in a position to possibly have had 10 wins speaks volumes from where we have come from. While the SEC is treacherous, it will make it all the sweeter when we make it to the top.
Kentucky was a charter member of SoCon… the conference that split to form the SEC… of which UK is a charter member… and the ACC.
We are right where we belong… We’re as deeply entrenched in the vaunted history that is the SEC as any other member… southern drawl and all.
Where is the merit behind geographical recruiting? How do WV OSU Cincinatti VATech UT Mizzou win recruits? Where was Shaun Alexander from again?
Maybe Coach Kelly will leave Cincinatti for ND… if so we should be all over southern Ohio with films of the LSU v OSU and FLA v OSU championship games convincing any talent why they want to play in the SEC. We should be all over the state of Virginia… Southern Illinois… Missouri. We have a geographical asset… being the northernmost SEC team without a rival east or west in our conference… and by virtue of playing in the elite conference.
We should reinvigorate our football program with all the enthusiasm of a southern baptist tent revival. Paint the endzones blue for Pete’s sake. Chalk out a rabid looking wildcat logo on the 50… bring back the Black Watch honor to our defense… liven the place up. We act as if it is an impossible feat… but all it really requires is that catalyst to ignite the spark. These may be only cosmetic… but we’re trying to amp up the atmosphere… once we have the atmosphere… then we will get the recruits.