Post by WinthropEagleFan on Nov 9, 2005 6:52:05 GMT -5
Someone on the Winthrop site posted a Charlotte Observer article of an interview with Winthrop President Anthony DiGiorgio (who is also the VP of the conference and the Chairman of the membership committee):
www.winthropfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=172
Has some interesting quotes about expansion, Coastal, and other issues.
Winthrop head talks about Big South's future
Winthrop University President Anthony DiGiorgio visited with fans and athletes at the Eagles' 2005 Fan Fest on Nov. 1. DiGiorgio is also vice president of the Big South Conference, chairman of the conference's membership committee and a member of the conference's strategic planning committee. Observer staff writer Denny Seitz had an opportunity to talk with DiGiorgio on Nov. 1.
Q. How do you feel about the state of the Big South right now? The level of competition in the Big South continues to grow. One of the biggest drawbacks is the condition of facilities at some of the schools. I see those things changing. I see big improvements.
Q. What factors are selling points for the Big South? There's several. No. 1, we're geographically compact. Because of that, we don't have exorbitant travel costs. Our location also helps us play competitive non-conference schedules, too, within the Southeast (vs. ACC, SEC and Southern Conference schools).
Q. There's talk of Coastal Carolina leaving the conference. Is that a big concern? Coastal Carolina is not necessarily looking to leave. They're looking to compete for a championship. Our task isn't to keep Coastal from leaving but for us to bring in another football-playing school so our conference champion gets an automatic (Division I-AA) playoff berth.
(Note: Five Big South schools have football. The NCAA gives automatic football playoff berths to the champions of conferences with at least six teams.)
Q. When Birmingham-Southern joined the conference a couple years ago, some were surprised, since the school doesn't have a football team. Any regrets? Football does not drive our conference. We're always looking for quality institutions. Birmingham-Southern is a quality institution, both academically and athletically. Their sports teams have been NAIA national champions.
Q. When the conference expands, is it imperative the next school has a football team? It's not imperative. But we want a football-playing school, yes. And we want a travel partner for Birmingham-Southern. If we have six football-playing schools in a 10-school conference ... that would be good. One of our top recruiting priorities is to have a travel partner for Birmingham-Southern.
Q. How does the conference safeguard against teams like Coastal leaving, like Elon did a few years ago when it joined the Southern Conference? That was unfortunate. There's talk Coastal wants to go to the Southern Conference, too. Coastal looking at the Southern was and is driven by their sudden and quick success in football. I'm not terribly concerned (about the possibility) that they're leaving.
Q. How do you ensure success for the Big South Conference? One new wrinkle is the NIT (basketball tournament). It's been purchased by the NCAA. It will complement in a very real way the NCAA Final Four process.
One of the very real possibilities is an automatic NIT bid for teams that win their regular-season championship but lose in their conference tournament. That would help the Big South tremendously.
Q. People have talked about a Big South vs. Southern Conference competition, in basketball and football. Do you see something like a Big East-ACC challenge in the works? It's something that should be done. One of the things we're missing is the Division I teams in the Charlotte region competing against one another in a tournament. Our folks have had exploratory discussions about this. When you talk about the non-football-playing schools, I see it as very logical to have a basketball tournament involving Winthrop, Charlotte, Davidson and another team. It would make perfect sense.
www.winthropfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=172
Has some interesting quotes about expansion, Coastal, and other issues.
Winthrop head talks about Big South's future
Winthrop University President Anthony DiGiorgio visited with fans and athletes at the Eagles' 2005 Fan Fest on Nov. 1. DiGiorgio is also vice president of the Big South Conference, chairman of the conference's membership committee and a member of the conference's strategic planning committee. Observer staff writer Denny Seitz had an opportunity to talk with DiGiorgio on Nov. 1.
Q. How do you feel about the state of the Big South right now? The level of competition in the Big South continues to grow. One of the biggest drawbacks is the condition of facilities at some of the schools. I see those things changing. I see big improvements.
Q. What factors are selling points for the Big South? There's several. No. 1, we're geographically compact. Because of that, we don't have exorbitant travel costs. Our location also helps us play competitive non-conference schedules, too, within the Southeast (vs. ACC, SEC and Southern Conference schools).
Q. There's talk of Coastal Carolina leaving the conference. Is that a big concern? Coastal Carolina is not necessarily looking to leave. They're looking to compete for a championship. Our task isn't to keep Coastal from leaving but for us to bring in another football-playing school so our conference champion gets an automatic (Division I-AA) playoff berth.
(Note: Five Big South schools have football. The NCAA gives automatic football playoff berths to the champions of conferences with at least six teams.)
Q. When Birmingham-Southern joined the conference a couple years ago, some were surprised, since the school doesn't have a football team. Any regrets? Football does not drive our conference. We're always looking for quality institutions. Birmingham-Southern is a quality institution, both academically and athletically. Their sports teams have been NAIA national champions.
Q. When the conference expands, is it imperative the next school has a football team? It's not imperative. But we want a football-playing school, yes. And we want a travel partner for Birmingham-Southern. If we have six football-playing schools in a 10-school conference ... that would be good. One of our top recruiting priorities is to have a travel partner for Birmingham-Southern.
Q. How does the conference safeguard against teams like Coastal leaving, like Elon did a few years ago when it joined the Southern Conference? That was unfortunate. There's talk Coastal wants to go to the Southern Conference, too. Coastal looking at the Southern was and is driven by their sudden and quick success in football. I'm not terribly concerned (about the possibility) that they're leaving.
Q. How do you ensure success for the Big South Conference? One new wrinkle is the NIT (basketball tournament). It's been purchased by the NCAA. It will complement in a very real way the NCAA Final Four process.
One of the very real possibilities is an automatic NIT bid for teams that win their regular-season championship but lose in their conference tournament. That would help the Big South tremendously.
Q. People have talked about a Big South vs. Southern Conference competition, in basketball and football. Do you see something like a Big East-ACC challenge in the works? It's something that should be done. One of the things we're missing is the Division I teams in the Charlotte region competing against one another in a tournament. Our folks have had exploratory discussions about this. When you talk about the non-football-playing schools, I see it as very logical to have a basketball tournament involving Winthrop, Charlotte, Davidson and another team. It would make perfect sense.
