How close did the basketball and football schools in the Big East come to breaking up in 1994?

I don’t think it was close. The Catholic 5 and UConn were confronted with the reality that they needed to bring Rutgers and WVU in as full members in order to secure a tv contract so they pulled that trigger

(10-15-2022 08:59 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I don’t think it was close. The Catholic 5 and UConn were confronted with the reality that they needed to bring Rutgers and WVU in as full members in order to secure a tv contract so they pulled that trigger

I thought that was a last minute compromise.

The choice was either to take all four of football only members (Rutgers, WVU, VT and Temple), which was not acceptable to Catholic schools, or the breakup. I believe it was Syracuse AD who caved in and came up with the compromise deal.

It was actually pretty close. Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Boston College were very united, and when Tranghese was able to bring Miami into the fold, and Rutgers, West Virginia, Temple and Virginia Tech were all in talks to join them (either in expanded Big East, or a new entity as Big East Football or a new Eastern League altogether).

I believe the Syracuse AD organized the status quo in allegiance to the Big East, and in only bringing aboard West Virginia and Rutgers as full-members and not Virginia Tech and Temple (who were football-only). I think VT really got shafted, as they were expecting a full invite but then had to navigate the Metro and possible invitations by the A10 and CAA.

In a weird way, Penn State joining the Big Ten extended the life of the Big East as a hybrid league. Had Penn State been successful in creating an Eastern All-Sports League, Syracuse, Boston College and Pittsburgh would have bolted much earlier (along with Miami). It also pushed Miami into joining a league, as the SEC wasn't interested in them and the ACC prioritized FSU.

But yes, a split in the mid-nineties was very possible. CBS stepping up with a football/basketball offer, and Syracuse not wanting to destroy the Big East (at this point), prevented a split from occurring IMO.