I think it's geography....we are 50 miles from X...and add little as regards eyeballs. There is also a "territorial" angle. We are in "X territory" and X may not welcome the competition.
I see the same thing re UConn's desire (to put it mildly) to join the ACC. Boston College views itself as "New England's" ACC team and does not want to share that mantle with another NE school. It has nothing to do with the bitter squabble between BC and the state of CT many years ago. Everyone in the administration of both schools in those days is gone...and relations between the people involved is friendly, scheduling resumed, etc. Nonetheless, BC views itself as THE ACC school of NE and it does not want competition from UConn in that context. They say so, flat out.
I suspect X may feel the same was about Dayton......"Nothing personal, guys,....we just don't want you in".....something like that. Offsetting that is the travel convenience for non-revenue teams. A swing though our area can hit X, Butler and UD. But even that may not fly since already two schools can be visited. So, the fact that X and Butler are so close may also work against UD. I'll bet Creighton would much prefer
Saint Louis as a school to bridge the gap between SLU and the Eastern BE schools.
Bottom line: The Big East doesn't need UD. When/if a time ever comes when we have something to offer that the BE needs...perhaps eyeballs that appeal to a TV sponsor...then they may look our way. Absent a need.....forget about it. An identical problem UConn faces with the ACC. The BIG difference is that UConn is in desperate financial condition because of football. We can thank our lucky stars that our U is in good shape re athletic finances. The A10 may not be the ACC or the Big East. But, while this is an off year, the schools of the A10 (most of them) are very serious about men's BB and invest accordingly.
The A10 could consider the benefit of strengthening like the American did by adding WSU. Note, no weak AAC schools were kicked out when WSU was added. There must be schools that want be top-tier, so to speak, that are attractive to the A10. Quinnipiac in CT is a school that has its sights set on advancement to the big time in all areas, incl athletics....just opened a med school, a very, very big investment. And QU has mentioned the A10 as a "target". There may be others.
What in the world can we do about a prominent school like
Fordham that cares so little about men's BB? Embarrassing.
LaSalle, not much better.
