Interesting article out of Providence with unconfirmed report that the Big East is looking at other leased office space in other cities to include New York,Tampa, and Hartford since the current lease on BE HQ expires next spring.
Could this be the harbinger of other BE changes? Link at http://www.projo.com/sports/billreynold ... 140f1.html

Nice find....thanks freaked!

The BE headquarters will not move anywhere as long as Providence people are running the show.

_________________
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS - SEC
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS - BIG EAST / AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE / BIG TEN

Panther and Carolina Knights,thanks for the posts.
Panther,good to see that you are posting more on this board as well as the BE MB.
Here is BE MB thread discussing the above linked article regarding BE HQ location at http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=392179.

IMO,this story is HUGE.

I believe that the question of where the BE HQ is located will probably indicate whether or not there will be a major Big East realignment in 2010.
The timing of this decision is rather "exquisite" against the backdrop of the reported BE five year moratorium set to expire after this school year.
As some have indicated,the BE BB league would likely resist any move out of Providence.However,the article mentions that this situation should be taken "in the context of the conference presidents suggesting a year ago that the office move out of Rhode Island".Also,does anyone believe the "COVER STORY" that the possible move would be made for cost containment purposes?

Bottomline: If the Big East Presidents can come together and decide on a "unified" future home of the league with a long term lease then all of the recent speculation regarding "major" Big East realignment can/should be dismissed(at least for the term of the new lease) as unfounded rumors.However,if this matter cannot be amicably resolved by next spring than "all bets are off" regarding "major" (we are probably talking split) BE realignment for 2010.

I will be monitoring this situation.

Thanks
Freaked

I don't know....

On one hand, this could just be a case of "their lease is coming up" and the League Office is nothing more than a couple suites of offices with a phone and fax machine for John M. I drove past the office building in which The Big ten offices are (were ?) in Rosemount, Illinois, and it sure didn't look like anything special from the outside.

So if most conference business is done over the phone, we could be blowing this all out of proportion.

On the other hand, the Big East (Dave Gavitt, Mike Tranghese, John Marinatto) are all Providence Friars and there has been perhaps a cliqueishness about the Big East and Providence. If the conference BB tourney at Madison Square Garden (and now the Yankee Bowl) is their crowning glory, and the office location is meaningful, maybe they need to be in mid-town Manhattan.

From a practical standpoint, I would go with an office within walking distance of some nice hotels near a hub airport, so for meetings the ADs / Presidients could fly right in, meet, and fly right out (maybe Newark ?). Note that the Big Ten Office in Rosemount is 10 minutes form O'Hare....

Tute -

You forgot about the donut shop and lunch buffet. These were the places that Mike Tranghese was at when the future planning of the BE occurred in the late 90s /early 2000s when the ACC raid was being planned. Would the BE brass want to give those up?

I figured MT was asleep at the time....

Panther I see your point....
I'm thinking the 'Burgh is near the north-south mid-point of the new Big East.
We could re-decorate a janitor's closet at Heinz Field for the new league office, and then JM could chow down on those obscenely large sandwiches they sell there !!! What do you think ?

If the next raid involves the Big Ten grabbing Notre Dame, I'm actually all for it. Being that they are too good to play FB in the Big East, such a "raid" would be more like wart removal....

Out of Providence.......

Why not to the place of the source that pulls the Big East strings........South Bend, Indiana!

Hey the College Hall of Fame did move from South Bend to Atlanta. Perhaps the Big East officials could rent that shrine of a building if vacant and uncommitted?

Big East officiating must get paid well by ND. NO TD for Univ. of Washington!

Panther,Tute79,and Louisvillecard thanks for the posts.

This appears to be a Big East issue only,no other conferences are apparently involved.

BE HQ UPDATE!!
Blog article out of Hartford with comments from BE official John Paquette,who says that the lease expires in June with new digs being needed on or before(didn't I say the timing was exquisite?) July 1,2010.Apparently the old building is being sold to Brown University and the BE is being asked to leave by the end of June.Mr Paquette indicates that the process is in the early stages.The league apparently HOPES to secure other suitable leased office space elsewhere in Rhode Island although the preliminary discussion regarding a new BE home in Hartford has been confirmed by this source.It apparently will be a matter of time before we know where the BE league HQ ends up although this writer is of the belief that it will end up "near" the current one.Will there be a "fight" over the location of the new BE HQ? Link at http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_mens_bas ... oking.html

Article out of Providence with update on BE HQ situation.
Apparently the lease for the current BE HQ building in Providence expires on 6-30-10 but Brown University wants all of the tenants to leave by March 31,2010 so that building renovations can begin.
According to local officials there is plenty of vacant office space in downtown Providence, so what is the problem?
Is there going to be a "fight" over the location of the new BE HQ?
Link at http://www.projo.com/news/content/BIG_E ... f5d9f.html

ABC affiliate in Providence discussing BE HQ situation at http://www.abc6.com/news/buddytv/69325157.html

Nothing new on this front.
I will continue to monitor.
However,I was wondering what if any affect would rumors regarding a possible Big Ten raid have on the ongoing Big East HQ selection process?

Thanks
Freaked

Desmond Conner in Hartford Courant blog blurb believes that the BE will keep it's HQ in Providence.I will continue to monitor.Link at http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_football ... thing.html

BE announces that it's headquarters will stay in Providence.Now with the Big Ten expansion situation this move does not seem to be that significant of a deal as the BE BB schools will stick together.Link at http://www.pbn.com/detail/48563.html