ClaytonFlyerFan, Excellent and fair response. As for non-conference scheduling, many suggest, and I think it is true, other programs are concerned about coming to the UD Arena for fear of getting beat by the Dayton Flyers. However, I see no reason that element would change; because while I realize your argument is a better conference affiliation would change the perception of losing to Dayton, I simply don't believe in applicable reality that it would actually change that perception. For I think UD would have to win the national championship for Duke to play us in a two-way contract (one game at UD Arena); and the same is true for Kentucky, Michigan State, UCLA, and Arizona, and Indiana, and Gonzaga, etc. Therefore, even with a modest conference upgrade (recalling that big east members are not large wealthy land grant universities with 110,000 seat football stadiums), I think you only get, at-best, a modest, and hypothetical increase in willingness of power five football schools who wish to take a loss at the UD Arena, and especially on their own home court, by playing UD. In regard to comparing the Big East with the A10, folks tend to overlook that the A10 has four extra teams hanging off the list; but conveniently like using those same four bottom feeders in other direct school to school comparison's (trying to have it both ways). You have to remember, half the schools in the new big east, were already in the big east prior to the change; so simply going to the big east recently does not account for why Villanova won a national championship. If that were true, every big east team, then and now, would make it to two final fours. Truth is, Dayton and Villanova were equals fifteen years ago, and Villanova simply out performed its peers. As for playing Duquesne and SLU versus Butler and Xavier; I have made about seven trips in a row over to Pittsburgh to see the UD at Duquesne game, and at-least half the time, we come out of the game pretty happy. In contrast, I rode the bus to the road Xavier game for about 12 years running, and we never came home happy (mostly because the outcome was virtually known in advance, and for the 20 years prior to my road trips. I enjoyed the XU rivalry like everyone else, but I certainly do not relish the reality that my flyers were going to lose to them every road game, and most tournament games against them, for over thirty years. Similarly UD has struggled in the A10 on the road during most seasons in the conference. If you think that trend, or the Xavier trend, will generally change after joining the Big East; then you love the Dayton Flyers, and I respect you immensely for that. I simply stuck on the idea that we have former players reaching back for the "Other schools give out scholarships too" excuse following every middling loss in the last 10 years. That is troubling; because next thing you know, tizzy and bedell will concluded that the other schools have nets, rims, and balls. That's by far to complicated for one like myself. Furthermore, if more UD fans will not go to Pittsburgh or Saint Louis, their sure as heck not going to travel to seton hall, or Creighton, or providence. This fan base is only so big, and it simply cannot fill every arena up and down the east coast 10 times a year; not on top of having to go to tropical paradise games, and to Connecticut, and Chicago legends, back to Hawaii, and back to Chicago again to see DePaul. A large part of the current big east reputation, is all media and big east school driven. The big east members are catholic schools approximately same size, and in many of same metro regions, as the A10 catholic schools; they just choose to treat UD like the wicked step sister, and consequently, the UD administration and fan base have the whole thing dominate their thinking. As opposed to just embracing who we are, which would produce much better result. In fact, there is a very real notion, that a school doesn't always get punished for not being able to schedule up, if in fact it appears power programs refuse to schedule you. I shouldn't make you folks made at me, but why do you suffer from this "I hate my own conference complex?" Its embarrassing!
