I don't see what's so "classy" about it. They're a member of the league until June 30, 2014. I can understand not putting the logo where it would be impractical or cost prohibitive to replace, such as the fieldturf and basketball court. But sewing a logo patch onto a jersey or using paint on a natural grass field is easy.

Like I said elsewhere on this board... The gauntlet should be thrown down: The bowls do not belong to individual teams, they belong to the conference. The NCAA BB bids belong to the conference. NCAA post-season tourney bids belong to the conference...

IF you don't promote the conference by wearing the symbol and at least temporarily putting on your field and/or courts, THEN you just are not eligible to participate in the conference benefits like bowls and post-season bids.

Let Rutgers scare up their own "at large" bids to the NCAA tourney, bowls, etc...

(06-25-2013 07:28 AM)Maize Wrote:  The BIG EAST/American has been very good to Louisville...as I have always said I will always be a fan of the league and will continue to watch & follow it even though this is our last year.

I echo the sentiments, and if it were not for the huge opportunity to go the ACC, I would rather UofL stay in the AAC over any other conference and yes that includes the SEC and B1G.

My dream conference would have been:

EAST
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
Boston College
Miami
Rutgers
Connecticut

WEST
Louisville
Memphis
Cincinnati
Houston
Boise State
Southern Miss
TCU
East Carolina

That conference could have held its own with anyone.

I would have loved the Big East 8+ Temple, ECU, TCU and Memphis

East: Syracuse, Connecticut, Temple, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
West: Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis, ECU, TCU, South Florida

Oh well, time to move on.....

I'll play:

UConn
Rutgers
Cincinnati
Louisville
Memphis
Central Florida
Houston
Boise State

Syracuse
Temple
Pitt
West Virginia
East Carolina
South Florida
TCU
BYU

(06-25-2013 07:49 AM)L1C4 Wrote:  Tom Jurich will do things the right way, he always has. I for one agree that we should show the logos of the American on the jerseys and field/court.

+1

Jurich is a class act.

Plus, from a historical point of view it would be cool for UL to sport the 'A' on their uniforms, fields ect...even for one year. It will be one of those oddball trivia things that folks will talk about in the future.

For you old time baseball fans out there think about the Seattle Pilots, who played ONE year in Seattle (1969) before moving to Milwaukee and changing their name to the Brewers. Pilot's gear can fetch some pretty good coin for the right buyer

Some of those uni's with the 'A' are bound to be a collector's item, especially if a kid like Bridgewater blows up and wins the Heisman.

(06-25-2013 01:08 PM)Knightshift Wrote:  I don't see what's so "classy" about it. They're a member of the league until June 30, 2014. I can understand not putting the logo where it would be impractical or cost prohibitive to replace, such as the fieldturf and basketball court. But sewing a logo patch onto a jersey or using paint on a natural grass field is easy.

True... but they DO NOT HAVE TO....that is the point.

I 'get' that you may not like Rick Pitino for turning you guys in to the NCAA but Jurich has been a true professional and pragmatic as possible considering the circumstances.

IF you are looking of an example of how NOT to act when leaving a league just look at our old friend Oliver Luck who is now complaining about being the lone Big12 outpost in the eastern seaboard. LOL.

I'm not sure why we need this thread, Louisville's teams and fans have always been classy, why should now be any different.

(06-25-2013 01:16 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  IF you don't promote the conference by wearing the symbol and at least temporarily putting on your field and/or courts, THEN you just are not eligible to participate in the conference benefits like bowls and post-season bids.

Let Rutgers scare up their own "at large" bids to the NCAA tourney, bowls, etc...

There are two problems with that theory.

#1. Check out the website the conference has been using for the last month or so to promote the American (link). You'll notice there are two teams missing from the website under the section labeled "member schools". I understand why the conference doesn't want to include two departing members on its promotion website (it was built to advertise the future of the conference). UofL and Rutgers are only going to be in the league for one year and it doesn't really benefit the conference to actively promote a departing team during a time when the conference is trying to establish an identify and a brand (my understand is that both will be included on the site that launches July 1st).

However, I can see Rutgers point of view as well. If the conference isn't going to list the school as a member or actively promote it as a member, why should the school do anything to actively promote the conference? What does Rutgers gain by saying "Hey, we are in the American for a year!"? While I'm glad/proud UofL didn't choose this route, I can at least see where they are coming from (not that I necessarily agree with it).


#2. That suggestion would be suicide from a legal perspective. First, there is still the on-going litigation between Rutgers and conference over Rutger's exit fees and Rutger's share of the exit fee money (they were still a member in good standing when WVU, Cuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, and TCU left). That lawsuit might also be a contributing factor to why Rutgers isn't planning on sporting conference logos (e.g. maybe Rutger's lawyers think putting down conference logos would give the conference some real or perceived leverage in the case...I don't know). Second, banning a member school from post-season bids because it choose not to display conference logos would constitute a massive breach of contract. Aside from handing Rutgers a legal slam dunk win on the exit fees argument, it would also open the conference to additional lawsuits for financial damages (lost bowl revenue, lost revenue on NCAA credits, etc). That isn't a road the conference wants to go down.

Not shocked by this really. Opposing fans hate them but for the most part their programs show some class. Rutgers..... somehow I'm not shocked by that. NJ is a miserable shithole.

(06-25-2013 06:26 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  Not shocked by this really. Opposing fans hate them but for the most part their programs show some class. Rutgers..... somehow I'm not shocked by that. NJ is a miserable shithole.

have you ever even been to new jersey?

Louisville and rutgers will also keep the Big East logo for its field hockey and womens lax team i assume as well?

(06-25-2013 06:25 PM)UofLgrad07 Wrote:  

(06-25-2013 01:16 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  IF you don't promote the conference by wearing the symbol and at least temporarily putting on your field and/or courts, THEN you just are not eligible to participate in the conference benefits like bowls and post-season bids.

Let Rutgers scare up their own "at large" bids to the NCAA tourney, bowls, etc...

There are two problems with that theory.

#1. Check out the website the conference has been using for the last month or so to promote the American (link). You'll notice there are two teams missing from the website under the section labeled "member schools". I understand why the conference doesn't want to include two departing members on its promotion website (it was built to advertise the future of the conference). UofL and Rutgers are only going to be in the league for one year and it doesn't really benefit the conference to actively promote a departing team during a time when the conference is trying to establish an identify and a brand (my understand is that both will be included on the site that launches July 1st).

However, I can see Rutgers point of view as well. If the conference isn't going to list the school as a member or actively promote it as a member, why should the school do anything to actively promote the conference? What does Rutgers gain by saying "Hey, we are in the American for a year!"? While I'm glad/proud UofL didn't choose this route, I can at least see where they are coming from (not that I necessarily agree with it).


#2. That suggestion would be suicide from a legal perspective. First, there is still the on-going litigation between Rutgers and conference over Rutger's exit fees and Rutger's share of the exit fee money (they were still a member in good standing when WVU, Cuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, and TCU left). That lawsuit might also be a contributing factor to why Rutgers isn't planning on sporting conference logos (e.g. maybe Rutger's lawyers think putting down conference logos would give the conference some real or perceived leverage in the case...I don't know). Second, banning a member school from post-season bids because it choose not to display conference logos would constitute a massive breach of contract. Aside from handing Rutgers a legal slam dunk win on the exit fees argument, it would also open the conference to additional lawsuits for financial damages (lost bowl revenue, lost revenue on NCAA credits, etc). That isn't a road the conference wants to go down.

Hmmm... Breach-of-contract... What sort of "contract" can be said when a school wants to take the advantages of a conference (ie. bowls and bids) but doesn't want any of the responsibilities for those benefits?

That's a pretty sweet deal for a school that has done everything it can over the past seven years to dump on the conference and leave at the first opportunity. I'll leave the legal issues to the lawyers, but there seems to be something terribly wrong when Rutgers *wants* the benefits that come with conference membership but does not want anything to *do* with the conference.

But then again, I have no respect left for the SUNJ...

(06-25-2013 06:35 PM)gosports1 Wrote:  Louisville and rutgers will also keep the Big East logo for its field hockey and womens lax team i assume as well?

Does anyone outside of the NBE actually care?

But yeah, I'd expect them to leave the BE logos alone...assuming the logos are not updated.

(06-25-2013 06:43 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(06-25-2013 06:35 PM)gosports1 Wrote:  Louisville and rutgers will also keep the Big East logo for its field hockey and womens lax team i assume as well?

Does anyone outside of the NBE actually care?

But yeah, I'd expect them to leave the BE logos alone...assuming the logos are not updated.

i would imagine the coaches, the athletes, their parents, family, fans and the adminstrations of the schools involved do. UConn, Temple and Cincy will also be affiliates of the BE so they should care.
Why would "anyone care" outside of the American that Louisvile will wear the american logo? The answer to that question is the same answer to your question.

(06-25-2013 08:02 PM)gosports1 Wrote:  

(06-25-2013 06:43 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(06-25-2013 06:35 PM)gosports1 Wrote:  Louisville and rutgers will also keep the Big East logo for its field hockey and womens lax team i assume as well?

Does anyone outside of the NBE actually care?

But yeah, I'd expect them to leave the BE logos alone...assuming the logos are not updated.

i would imagine the coaches, the athletes, their parents, family, fans and the adminstrations of the schools involved do. UConn, Temple and Cincy will also be affiliates of the BE so they should care.
Why would "anyone care" outside of the American that Louisvile will wear the american logo? The answer to that question is the same answer to your question.

Well, last time I checked, this was an AAC forum... Go back to the BE board, little troll...

(06-25-2013 06:31 PM)gosports1 Wrote:  

(06-25-2013 06:26 PM)blunderbuss Wrote:  Not shocked by this really. Opposing fans hate them but for the most part their programs show some class. Rutgers..... somehow I'm not shocked by that. NJ is a miserable shithole.

have you ever even been to new jersey?

I used to live there in Bergen County. Absolutely hated it, mostly b/c of the people.

(06-25-2013 01:28 PM)LaBradfordsTWill Wrote:  My dream conference would have been:

EAST
West Virginia
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
Boston College
Miami
Rutgers
Connecticut

WEST
Louisville
Memphis
Cincinnati
Houston
Boise State
Southern Miss
TCU
East Carolina

That conference could have held its own with anyone.

Yes, it could've.

Your "dream conference" is almost the same (about 75% or so) as the proposed "Raycom Conference" of 1990, a 16-team league comprised of then-Independents who played Div. I-A football and were located east of Texas. Today, of course, many of those teams are now scattered among the SEC (South Carolina), AAC (Cincinnati), B1G (Rutgers), Big<12 (West Va.), C-USA (ECU, Memphis) and ACC (several). But 23 years ago, the challenge to assembling a "super-conference" of 16 or so members wasn't overcoming the various conference loyalties, but just the sheer novelty of a league with 16 members, at a time when 8, 9, or 10 was still the norm.

(06-25-2013 08:17 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  Louisville worked hard to make the AAC/Big East work. However, let's face it, $20 million a year versus $2 or $3 million per year sealed the deal. Yes, we like the conference and wish it well. Our move was a total business decision. I will miss the UConn and Cincinnati games. I was hoping to rekindle the Memphis rivalry, also. But powers that be forced Louisville to make a business decision.

One that each of our schools would make in a heartbeat, if given the chance.

Louisville sporting the American "A" on its new football uniforms