Dec. 18, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Mention the Big East Conference Basketball Tournament and some of the great games, names, coaches and a location come to mind.
Names? Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Alonzo Mourning, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker and many more.
Coaches? Jim Boeheim, Lou Carnesecca, John Thompson and son, Jim Calhoun, Jamie Dixon, Jay Wright and many more.
Location? Hang on a second, do you where the first Big East Tournament was held? Madison Square Garden? Wrong. In 1980, the first conference tournament was held at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, R.I. In fact, the tournament would move to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut the next two years.
In 1983 the Big East Conference Basketball Tournament moved to a new home. It was not just any home, it was Madison Square Garden. It was not just any city, it was New York. In the first tournament in the world's most famous arena, Chris Mullin led St. John's to a tournament title with a championship game win over Boston College. For all you younger fans, there once was a time Boston College played in the Big East.
Since that weekend in March back in 1983, no tournament has called home to the same building as long as the Big East.
There are so many ingredients that make the Big East Tournament and Madison Square so special. It's a combination of the New York basketball fans who bring their rich knowledge and appreciation of the game. It's the media from the some of the biggest markets in the country. It's the national attention the tournament gets with every game televised to the entire country and it never hurts to be playing right down from Broadway.
Despite two waves of conference realignment, the Big East Basketball Tournament remains as one of the best in the country. Whether it is noon games on Tuesday or Wednesday or the championship game Saturday night, it is still a special atmosphere that few if any other conference can match.
While basketball is what the Big East was built on, no one questions the impact football has had and will have as the Big East looks toward the future. With new television contracts on the horizon and a conference makeup that stretches four time zones, Big East football brings a new opportunity for the league to do something no other conference can do.
In regards to conference football title games, the SEC was first in 1992 to showcase a championship. Two decades later it still is the game that stands out among other leagues who also play an extra game. Whether it be the MAC, ACC, Big 12, Conference USA and most recently the Big 10 and Pac 12, the right location has not been easy. Some have chosen to play their league title games on the campus of the highest placed or ranked team and in this economic time we live in that option is understandable.
While the Big East continues to complete its football expansion, ideas of what to do with its championship game remains just that, ideas. But Big East Commissioner John Marinatto has hinted and even talked about in a recent news conference of playing a title game at Yankee Stadium.
The idea of playing a football game at Yankee Stadium is not new. The House-That-Jeter-Built already plays host to a bowl game and has and will host regular season games.
Yet, there are many who question such a decision by the already well criticized league. Why play a football championship game in New York if the matchup could be Boise State vs. UCF or San Diego State vs. Louisville? Who would go? How many people would be in the stands on a potentially cold day in the Bronx?
All fair questions. But do you know why you play a conference football championship at Yankee Stadium in New York? Because you can and no other league can do that, not the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 or anyone else.
But what about the crowd? What about it? The Big East football title game is likely to never draw 70,000 fans and there is nothing wrong with it. Do I know how many Boise State and UCF fans would travel to New York for a football game in early December? No, I don't. Neither does the Big East or its potentially new television partner, but it still is something all parties would be intrigued to see. After all, it's not like there's nothing to do in New York.
Holding a football game in New York does not guarantee a large crowd or a big television audience. But it does guarantee you media coverage leading up to and after the game that you cannot put a price tag on.
And don't think the Big East would not utilize the weekend to showcase the conference. A Big East Championship weekend could include a basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, perhaps the official start to the conference schedule or a showcase of top league teams against other national powers.
There will likely be a number of ideas the league and its television partner come up with to showcase the conference and justify the thought of playing a conference championship football game in the Big Apple.
Much is still to come in regards to the Big East and expansion. Division alignments need to be set. Schedules need to be solidified and visions must become reality. Come mid-March they will come to Madison Square Garden, something they have been doing since 1983. Over the course of five days buzzer beaters will take place and fantastic performances will be highlighted and a new chapter in Big East basketball history will be written. In December of 2013 the conference may start a new novel of history and begin writing a new list of memories in the one city the Big East can truly call it's City of Champions.
Knights notes and more: It's not about me, but for fans who can't get enough of Taylor Young's insights for UCF home games, you can listen to our radio broadcasts in the arena on FM frequency 97.1. Headsets only, no boom boxes please...No excuses for not seeing Terry Rooney's baseball team this upcoming 2012 season. His Knights play 38 home games and when you arrive for opening night on Feb. 17 you will see 1,000 new chair back seats on the first base side...Final thought: When shopping for your better half for the holidays and the store assistant asks "What size are you looking for?," never does one have to make so many decisions in so few seconds because the ramifications of that answer can resonate long after the purchase and presentation of the gift.
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080 in Orlando.