ESPN.com reported Saturday that Fox Network has offered the Catholic 7, as they’ve come to be known, a 12-year, $500-million contract for a 12-team league. That would mean Georgetown, Villanova, St. John’s, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall and DePaul will be inviting five others to join them in their new venture.
Dayton would seem to be a likely target, though not a sure thing. And whether the Flyers are in the new Big East with Butler and Xavier or an Atlantic 10 reeling from the loss of its three or four best programs certainly affects recruiting.
“There’s constant (chatter) on Twitter and the Internet. And what people want to know is where you stand in all of this,” Miller said. “I think most people look at it and say the A-10 is an excellent league right now. That’s an awesome place to be. If that league changes, how does it affect recruiting? I really don’t know because I don’t know where we stand.
“But I know this: One way or another, we’re going to continue to recruit the highest level player we can. And if we happen to be in the A-10 in the future, we’re going to continue to try to raise the bar. If we’re not in the A-10, that clearly means we’re in the new league, which means the whole philosophy of recruiting has to change. That league may be a notch up or two, depending on the field.”
The Flyers certainly would get a lot more traction with recruits if they could offer a home-and-away series each year with the likes of Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova.
“It does impact recruiting,” Miller said. “I think a lot of people are anticipating movement. I don’t know when that will come. But we’ve got a team to coach. We have recruits we are recruiting. And I believe this: No matter where we’re at, I like our mentality in recruiting. I don’t think we’ve settled (for lesser players) a whole lot since we’ve been here.”
Packing up: The Siegel Center at VCU is an intimidating place to play, but opposing teams should have an easier time plotting strategy now that the lively pep band has been moved away from the visitor's bench.
The VCU musicians were in one end zone of the arena but close enough to the Flyers’ sideline that a sub could have reached out and touched a tuba player. UD officials notified the A-10 after its 74-62 loss about a rule stating bands can’t be in the vicinity of the opposing sidelines, and the league told VCU the group had to move.
For tonight’s game with Saint Joseph’s, the band will still be in the end zone but on the other side of the floor, VCU athletics communications director Scott Day said.
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