Wheels preparing to turn on the Big East Lacrosse League

The actual members of the Big East are Cincy, UConn, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, St. Johns, Seton Hall, U of South Florida, the Cuse, Villanova, and West Va. If even just two or three of three other BE schools started lax programs, it could become a headache for Cuse, that will want to maintain its out-of-conference rivalries, or even for a program like Notre Dame, which might have travel more often and farther than a limited budget might allow.

I know who the conference schools are--I'm actually an alum of USF. I was just naming the ones who currently field programs. But I agree that it's not necessarily in Cuse's best interest in the long term as it could both harm SOS and become the large headache you mention if another few schools pick up lax. It wouldn't surprise me if, in agreeing to the conference, SU puts forth a provision that if the league gets to, say, 10 teams, we go to north and south divisions or something else that wouldn't require them to play an 8 or 9 game conference schedule each year. Since SU's the powerhouse and has the ability to literally take their ball and go home from the negotiations, that may be something they suggest.

I was thinking the same thing about a North/South split. Seems to me though that teams like Syracuse, Georgetown, and Notre Dame all NEED to be mixing it up against the likes of Virginia and Hopkins throughout the season, so they can be battled-tested in May. Another option is for the Big East to not let Syracuse be the decider, and instead pursue an "Independent" (like Notre Dame is in football or Syracuse is in lax), or a team willing to change conferences for this opportunity. How about Hobart?

Interesting you should mention pursuing an independent. When I first heard tell of a possibly impending lax conference predicated upon SU's desire to join, I thought that a pipe dream (even more of a longshot than getting Notre Dame football to join up) would be to snatch up the other prominent independent, Johns Hopkins. It'd ensue that Cuse and JHU meet each year, and obviously would make the BE a helluva conference.

I was actually thinking about Hopkins, too. Hopkins might be a better academic fit for the Big East, and where Hopkins is located could make for convenient travel for teams like Notre Dame or even Providence - they could potentially hook up with the Blue Jays and the Hoyas during the same trip. I didn't mention them though for a few reasons, including the unlikelihood of them joining, the fact that Hobart would probably say YES!, and because I just couldn't remember if Hopkins was fully Independent or affiliated with another league for DI lacrosse...

It's on!
http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2008/06/05/conference-shakeup-the-big-east-joins-the-party/
and http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2008/06/05/conference-shakeup-where-teams-will-land/

Yeah, I was reading those on IL yesterday... quite interesting. Though it seems, while we're clearly closer, there are still some loose ends to be tied up, mainly getting Villanova and Providence up to code.

An official announcement has been made. Check out www.bigeastlacrosse.com !!!

Thanks for that link. I checked out bigeast.org just to be sure the league was announcing it for real, and sure enough, they are!