St. John's head coach Rick Pitino is urging the Big East to expand into a super conference, echoing a suggestion by former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. Pitino argues that the league needs to grow to remain competitive and attract more national attention. While acknowledging the recent lucrative media rights deal, he believes the long-term financial potential of a super league outweighs current gains.
Rick Pitino , head coach of the St. John's Red Storm, is once again advocating for the Big East Conference to undergo significant changes and expand into a super basketball conference. In a recent interview on SiriusXM with former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski , Pitino restated his belief that the league needs to take decisive action to remain competitive.
Krzyzewski had previously suggested a merger between the ACC and Big East to create a powerhouse league, echoing the trends of conferences like the Big 12, SEC, and Big Ten bolstering their roster. Pitino wholeheartedly agreed, stating, 'I've been trying to get, and obviously I jumped on your bandwagon with the suggestion that you had about combining with the ACC, because I've been trying to get them to start a super league basketball league.'He emphasized the need for expansion, citing the conference's current size of 11 teams as insufficient. 'Eleven is just not enough,' Pitino asserted. 'And right now, a little bit like the ACC, we are not typical of the Big East of the past that was getting eight or nine, 10 teams in the NCAA tournament. So I think we are missing the boat if we don’t expand.' Pitino believes that a super league, reaching 16 or 18 teams, would attract more attention and potentially increase the number of teams from the conference making it to the NCAA tournament.Pitino acknowledged that the Big East's recent six-year media rights deal with FOX, NBC, and TNT Sports, averaging nearly $80 million annually, might seem like a strong foundation for the league. However, he argues that the long-term potential for financial gain through a super league expansion far outweighs the current financial successes. 'The presidents, most of the presidents and probably including mine, who’s a very knowledgeable basketball fan, they think about money, they think about the bottom line,' Pitino explained. 'And it’s like a company like Uber starting out and they’re losing, you know, $500 million a year, but they understand 10 years down the road they’re gonna be making a billion dollars. We just can’t see that. We can’t see that there’s a lot of money to be made down the road if we form a super league.'He believes that the coaches are largely in favor of a super league, but the presidents are hesitant due to potential short-term financial sacrifices for long-term gains. Pitino suggested adding schools like Dayton and Saint Louis from the Atlantic 10 and Memphis from the AAC to strengthen the conference, highlighting the potential for increased national exposure and revenue. The challenge lies in convincing the presidents to prioritize long-term growth and competitive standing over immediate financial considerations.
BIG EAST Rick Pitino Super Conference Basketball NCAA Tournament Expansion Mike Krzyzewski
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