Hey, here’s an idea: Northeastern joins the Big East athletic conference.
OK, now hold on. Before you get that lighter going in a fit of rage at my latest pipe dream (Huskies win Beanpot, etc.) and torch The News in a pseudo-sadistic ritual over your toilet … listen to this.
The Big East Conference, reeling from the possible losses of Boston College, Miami and Syracuse who are in the process of being lured by the siren song of the Atlantic Coast Conference (Duke, North Carolina, etc.) could be looking for a couple of new teams soon. And, granted the Colonial Athletic Association is no Big East, we know that other conferences have taken notice of the recent spike in success by the Huskies. Seems to me that groups wanna get in on NU’s ground floor.
And then there’s Northeastern, a school growing both academically and athletically, primed for a curtain call. In the past year, Northeastern sent four teams into their respective NCAA tournaments (field hockey, men’s soccer, baseball and football). Throw in a men’s basketball team that finished 10 points and possibly a couple of years away from an NCAA bid, and the track teams continued to surge into the national limelight … and things around Huntington Avenue look pretty rosy.
“We’re coming off the best year in Northeastern’s history,” Director of Athletics Dave O’Brien said. “We finished 79th out of all the 331 Division I schools and that is a tremendous and unprecedented accomplishment. We’ve got great coaches in place and are working hard to raise money from alums and corporate sponsors. All the good things going on at NU and the addition of residential living is having a positive effect on athletics as well. It’s all a part of the package we’re offering here, and what better city than Boston for a college kid to live in?”
Northeastern has already proven they can play with some of the Big East’s top power in certain sports. NU’s field hockey contingency beat Connecticut, the Big East’s best school for the sport, the men’s soccer team could easily have held onto their lead over Big East champion Boston College in the second round of the College Cup last year, and the women’s track team could seriously contend with current BE track queens, Miami.
Keep in mind, this would be a Big East without such powers as Miami, Syracuse and Boston College.
So you want a more realistic proposal, huh? I’ll give you that too.
Say the ACC is successful in its bid to add at least Miami, which is the latest scenario coming from the University of North Carolina and which the Big East most likely wouldn’t sue over. That leaves a hole in the Big East that needs to somehow be filled. One possible suitor could be the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where former NU AD and current UMass Director of Athletics Ian McCaw has expressed interest in becoming a Division I football conference. The addition of UMass would also improve the conference as far as basketball is concerned. Say the boys from Amherst jump ship, who better to fill their spot in the Atlantic-Ten than the Huskies? We’re already an A-10 football school, and President Richard Freeland has expressed interest in getting all sports to be members of the same conference. The transition is almost seamless.
Joining a mid-major conference like the Atlantic-Ten, which annually puts teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tourney (cha-ching) would improve the much maligned budget issues of our small revenue school. If NU can achieve 2003’s success with a budget of just $5 million, what can they accomplish with three times that?
In the coming months, the landscape of collegiate athletics could drastically be transformed. And if such changes in the ACC and Big East take place, NU could be an unexpected benefactor.
Warm up your vocal chords, Dave O’Brien. I have a feeling you’ll be getting your big call soon.
— Jack Weiland may be reached at [email protected]
