Last week, Creighton announced its inclusion into the Big East Conference. Along with Creighton, the Big East will include DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, Providence, Butler, and Xavier. There are many pros and cons to this decision. At the end of the day, however, I believe this was a bad decision.
The pros of moving to the new conference were attractive to a mid-major school like Creighton. First, through a deal with Fox Sports, Creighton’s athletic revenues would be boosted, a major plus to athletic director Bruce Rasmussen. Also, compared to the Missouri Valley Conference, the Big East would give Creighton much more national publicity. In the Missouri Valley Conference, not many people outside of Omaha heard about Creighton. In the Big East, however, all the major news outlets on the East Coast will be reporting on Creighton as the season progresses. Cons come with this decision though.
These cons include the increased pressure to recruit, a skill that Coach Greg McDermott had trouble with at Iowa State. In four years in Big 12 Conference play, Iowa State went 18-46. As Coach Tim Miles demonstrated this year at Nebraska, good coaching can only get you so far. In order to win in a power conference, you need good recruits. While this may be a worst-case scenario, I imagine that after Doug McDermott leaves, Creighton will do awful in the Big East and Greg Mcdermott will not be at Creighton in five years. I hope I am wrong, because I like Creighton and I want them to do well. Unfortunately though, I think Creighton is in a little over their heads. The article is below, feel free to negatively comment.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20130321/BLUEJAYS/703219903
