The Big Ten...

[GuyFawkes38]

makes me cringe.

Or, to be more specific, fans from Big Ten schools make me cringe. Big Ten fans have to the most insulated fan base in the country. They watch Big Ten action and nothing else (maybe the Pac 10 can challenge this).

After X's big win, I went to some B10 message boards. It's shocking stuff. B10 fans really believe that they are a better conference than the Big East and ACC. They look down at private schools like X as hopelessly inferior.

The hard, cold truth: Big Ten schools have been slipping in basketball and football for a while now (yes, and that includes TOSU). Show some respect for schools outside of your increasingly pitiful conference.

[golfitup]

Wisconsin is one of my favorite teams to watch outside of Xavier. Their style of play is just different and obviously works because it's very clear there are no blue chip athletes on that team.

As far as the big ten fans go.... I'm not sure. I mean naturally they are gonna defend their team and the conference they play in. I kind of equate it to Giants fans rooting for Barry Bonds. He's wearing your team's jersey so the natural inclination is to root for him even though everyone else knows its painfully obvious something is wrong here or in the big ten's case everyone else can see the big ten is just not as good on the national scene as it use to be. But if I were them, I'd defend the big ten as well. There are few things in life better than blatant homerism.

[GuyFawkes38]

Golfitup. I see what your saying.

But to be honest, I don't even sense it's B10 pride. I simply sense ignorance. They really believe that the B10 is god's gift to college athletics.

I think a lot of it is geography. Here in Cincinnati, over the years, we've seen a lot of good teams play semi-locally outside of the B10 (Louiville, Ktuck, UC). The east coast is similar. But in the Midwest, the college athletic scene is much more insulated.

[GuyFawkes38]

Case in point this entire thread on an OSU forum: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3156&t=4120943&p=1

This is the last post on the thread, which sums it up nicely:


the point still remains that coaching at ohio state gives matta a greater opportunity of a national title than coaching at xavier. the stage is also undeniably bigger at a school from a major conference than it is at an atlantic 10 school. that is why prosser left xavier for wake forest and that is why matta left xavier for ohio state. if sean miller is one day offered a job at "name" program from a high-major conference, he'll probably leave, too. heck, even xavier's winningest coach, pete gillen, left xavier for a big east team... and that was just providence. that is just the nature of coaching at xavier. in spite of having success with the musketeers, coaches often leave once they're offered by a program from a major conference.

Really? So that's why Miller recently turned down the Indiana job (Probably the most attractive job in the Big Ten) and the Marquette job.

The sad thing is that the Big Ten is filled with fans like this (hopefully they write better, but I doubt it from OSU/Big10 fans.

[Muskie1000]

well unfortunately from their view they do have a point. Gillen did leave for Providence but Xavier was not the program it was today. Prosser, as we all loved him, it was his time to go on. He had done all he could for our program. Now Matta I do have contention with. Matta had a chance to take our program to the next step and he just bailed out for the easy money instead. We shall see with Miller. Personally I think he would be crazy at this time to move on, unless it was for family reasons. Here he is king. Go to any of the Big 10 teams and you have to compete with football.

[Cheesehead]

Case in point this entire thread on an OSU forum: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3156&t=4120943&p=1

This is the last post on the thread, which sums it up nicely:



Really? So that's why Miller recently turned down the Indiana job (Probably the most attractive job in the Big Ten) and the Marquette job.

The sad thing is that the Big Ten is filled with fans like this (hopefully they write better, but I doubt it from OSU/Big10 fans.

Do we really know for a fact that Miller was offered the IU and Marquette jobs? I don't recall this as fact.

[DC Muskie]

There have been 10 Big Ten/ACC Challenges. The Big Ten has not won any of them.

When Kansas loses their coach to another program, much like Ohio State lost Gary Williams to Maryland, that shows you no one is safe from a successful coach leaving for another program.

[XUglow]

There have been 10 Big Ten/ACC Challenges. The Big Ten has not won any of them.

When Kansas loses their coach to another program, much like Ohio State lost Gary Williams to Maryland, that shows you no one is safe from a successful coach leaving for another program.

Don't knock the Big 10 too hard. I put them right up there with the A-10 and Mountain West.

[muskienick]

Case in point this entire thread on an OSU forum: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3156&t=4120943&p=1

This is the last post on the thread, which sums it up nicely:



Really? So that's why Miller recently turned down the Indiana job (Probably the most attractive job in the Big Ten) and the Marquette job.

The sad thing is that the Big Ten is filled with fans like this (hopefully they write better, but I doubt it from OSU/Big10 fans.


But the fact remains, Guy, that there was not one point the poster made that was inaccurate. Each of our previous four coaches did leave for higher profile programs in higher profile Conferences than Xavier and the MCC and A-10 (respectively). If Sean Miller follows suit some day, who among us wouldn't understand his motivation? The difference that many of us can see in Sean's situation that did not exist for the previous coaches is the expectation and support that flows from the President and AD through the Head Coach and down to grass-roots fan base of the program. I don't believe past coaches were given the feeling by their higher-ups that Xavier was a place that could legitimately challenge for an NCAA Championship. We wished for another trip to the Sweet Sixteen or a "Return to the Mountaintop" AKA the Elite 8 someday. Now, we routinely talk about prospects for a National Championship some day in the near future as an expectation rather than a pipe dream.

Many, both outside and inside of Xavier fandom, don't fully realize that change of attitude.

[GuyFawkes38]

But the fact remains, Guy, that there was not one point the poster made that was inaccurate. Each of our previous four coaches did leave for higher profile programs in higher profile Conferences than Xavier and the MCC and A-10 (respectively). If Sean Miller follows suit some day, who among us wouldn't understand his motivation? The difference that many of us can see in Sean's situation that did not exist for the previous coaches is the expectation and support that flows from the President and AD through the Head Coach and down to grass-roots fan base of the program. I don't believe past coaches were given the feeling by their higher-ups that Xavier was a place that could legitimately challenge for an NCAA Championship. We wished for another trip to the Sweet Sixteen or a "Return to the Mountaintop" AKA the Elite 8 someday. Now, we routinely talk about prospects for a National Championship some day in the near future as an expectation rather than a pipe dream.

Yes, it's factually correct that past X coaches have left for superior jobs.

But as DC noted, that happens often in major conferences too. That's part of the problem with his statement (Illinois, probably the 3rd best basketball program in the B10, lost 2 coaches in a row to superior jobs. it happens everywhere.)

Thad might be looking for other jobs if OSU wasn't paying him a boatload of cash.

And your right. the post in no way acknowledges the progress made since the Gillen era.