The Big East is in a pretty bad state of flux right now, and the endgame is not completely clear. What is clear is that in a few years the Conference could look totally different than they do now. Nobody knows for sure why the conferences shift like this every few years, but UConn women's head coach Geno Auriemma thinks that Notre Dame, and their unwillingness to join the Big East as a football team, is to blame for the Conferences current problems. Check out some of the comments he made on Thursday, via Andrea Adelson of ESPN.
"They've been in our league 17 years, so how long are we going to date before we just decide this ain't working. And I'm not happy about it," Auriemma said at the conference's annual women's basketball media day Thursday. "That's not the opinion of the University of Connecticut, the Big East Conference. ... That's just Geno Auriemma's opinion...
If Notre Dame had come in as a football and basketball school when they came in, we wouldn't have a problem. Miami wouldn't have left. Virginia Tech wouldn't have left. Boston College wouldn't have left. We probably wouldn't have any of these issues, would we?"
Those are some pretty strong words from a guy who is never hesitant to speak his mind. I kind of think Auriemma is right here. Notre Dame would make the Big East an immediately recognizable football Conference, even if their depth wasn't great. And like he said, maybe those other teams wouldn't have left for the ACC when they did. Maybe it isn't Notre Dame's fault entirely, but they certainly seem like part of the problem at the very least.