Saw my cousin last week that played football at UMASS and Patriots.  He is pumped that the school is taking its program up to the D1 level.  They are going to play their games at Gillette Stadium the next 2yrs while they expand/rebuild the stadium on campus.  Anyone out there have an update on whats going on with Nova's efforts to move up?  After watching the rugby championships at PPL Park I think it would be a great place to watch football.  Thanks.

Seppi

Check out the story @ phillynews.com/philly/sports/colleges/Villanova on the delay to move up.  I don't get why the school has been so quiet about all the details.  Now everyone is speculating because there is no real information as to why its delayed.  There has been no official word on anything except that they are working with the Big East?  Not good enough and by the way don't we have a business school that can muster some PR power?  I just hope that the Big V doesn't go down with the ship on this one.

Its amazing that WV AD would complain about Villanova.  They are one of the schools that really doesn't bring much to the Big East as far as $$ from there market and is not on another major conference list for an invite to join.  If WV left the Big East would anybody notice?  Aren'tthey the number one team a few years back who choked against Pitt in the last game of the season that left them out of big BCS Championship game and could of brought the Big East football to new highs! So where is this coming from.

Its situations like this that make you think Big East will break up soon.  If there isn't some sort of limit on new schools joining like Central Florida and Houston?  Who cares.  Houston hasn't  been heard from since the Big E played there back in the 70's!!!

There is no doubt that our President doesn't want to commit to the agreement.  Is it that he is over his head in these types of situations?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Bottom line shows that our university has and is taking hits and has been labeled some as a small time entity.Unfortunate.That said there is still time rectify the situation by committing or pulling out of the process.  No one will remember either way if its handled right.  That's a big if.  

Hi everyone!

I am a Villanova student and we are allowed to bring signs into the pavilion for Game Day (not the actual game itself). 

Any ideas for clever signs/sayings?

It can be anything! A saying about the players, Jay Wright, ESPN, etc.  Last year there were some good signs about Scottie Reynolds.  

Also, after the game, there is a vote that goes on espn.com where people can vote for the best sign that was seen at Game Day. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/gameday#/signs/

Again, ANY ideas at all would be helpful! 

Thanks!

LET'S GO NOVA!!!

It seems as though the Bigeast is getting frustrated with Villanova's time line on a decision to take their football program up to the BCS Division 1 level (Commissioner statement 1/25/11).  My question is how long does it take to figure out the finances and location of play to make a decision?  Its been estimated that Villanova is losing 4 million currently per year with a program that has a hard time filling the current stadium of 12,000 seats.  What will be the losses if the program goes up to the division 1 championship level based on the Bigeast attendence minimum of 15,000?  Its time for the board to make a statement on the progress it has made and explain what the criteria is that they are using to make this decision or what the challenges are.  Why would they move the program up to the Bigeast and incur additional loses that can't be made up or hopefully increased from TV, gate and increased Alumni donations except to protect other sports at Villanova in the future.  The sports programs at the university  has  nationally compeditive teams in most sports and a major money maker in the nationally ranked basketball program. 

Jordan Canzeri  Troy (NY) HS RB coming to Nova.  "Canzeri, who rushed for 2,048 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior, provided Villanova defensive coordinator and New York recruiter Mark Reardon his oral commitment to compete for the Wildcats" Full story below.

Continue reading this post »

MORE FUN ON EXPANSION .  .  .  This author posits that WVU wants to encourage the FB teams to secede from the BE.  

Continue reading this post »

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Marinatto: 'We're not waiting for Villanova'
By Brian Bennett

The Big East has announced its plans to expand to 10 teams. Villanova is currently undergoing a study to determine whether it will move up to the FBS level and join the Big East, and that process is expected to be completed in April.

The two timelines, however, do not necessarily intersect.

I spoke with Big East commissioner John Marinatto on Tuesday about a host of topics, including expansion. I asked him if the league was waiting on Villanova to make its decision before it went forward with other options.

"We're not waiting for Villanova," Marinatto said. "It's their institutional decision to make, and they have a process set up to make it. They've got to determine what's in their best interest, and we've got to determine what's in our best interest."

Marinatto said he didn't have a good idea of which way Villanova was leaning right now and doesn't know if the school even knows that yet.

"It is a complicated issue for any institution, and probably even more complicated for a small, private institution," he said.

I asked Marinatto if the Big East could decide to add another team before Villanova finalizes its plans in April.

"If the right situation developed in between, we would move on it," he said. "That's a very real possibility. We're not going to make a decision or not make a decision based on Villanova's study."

This makes sense from the league point of view. The Big East originally had hoped for an answer from Villanova by the end of 2010, but the school understandably wanted more time to study all the many factors involved, especially the finances of big-time football.

But the league can't just sit idly by and wait for the Wildcats, who would need a few years to get up to FBS qualifying standards anyway. If the conference decided to add, say, Central Florida, it could do so now and easily fold in Villanova at a later date, as there would be very little transition with a school that competes in all other Big East sports.

I'll have more from Marinatto on Wednesday, including his thoughts on the 2010 season and the outlook for the league's future.

As a Bearcat fan I'm interested in learnign what Nova fans think about the Bearcats.  Many around Cincinnati think the weak schedule is an indicator that this team is 15-0 due to that.  I lean more toward the Bearcats being much better than people think because the weak schedule is hiding the qualities of this team.

I have not seen Nova play yet this year, but I am sure they are very good this year again.  I am looking foreward to seeing the Bearcats play Nova Sunday.

(Editor's Note: A very well done FanPost! See, I wasn't lying. Right to the front page!)

Thanks Chris for pointing out the FanPosts Feature on the Blog.

The Big East is really shaping up to be a power conference like it usually is despite the pre-season doubts that always seem to linger.

After reading the post about the Big East reigning supreme, a few thoughts came to mind --

St. John's

After St.John's upset against the Hoyas, some may say see St. John's as the sleeper team to watch out for. With the third best recruiting class coming in next season, the Johnnies certainly have much to look forward to. With three wins and no losses in the BIG EAST so far, the Red Storm can make a statement this season. Their upcoming schedule against 7 straight ranked teams should really show whether the Storm can be considered a force in the Big East. 

Notable Opponents Coming Up: Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Duke

For thoughts on Notre Dame and UConn, see you after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »