SEC Wants To Expand Hoop Series Vs. Big East

SEC looks to expand basketball series vs. Big East

By Jon Solomon -- The Birmingham News

April 01, 2010, 9:23AM

This article appeared Thursday, April 1 in The Birmingham News.

The SEC has entered into discussions with ESPN about expanding the SEC/ Big East Invitational to pro­vide more high-profile col­lege basketball games early in the season.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said he wants better exposure and more mean­ingful games early in the season for SEC teams. Since 2007, the SEC and Big East have played four games each year -- two games at two neutral sites, with one arena in an SEC city and one in Big East territory.

The ACC/Big Ten Chal­lenge, created in 1999, has been the biggest success among series of this kind, pairing those leagues for 11 games annually on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The games usually occur at home arenas rather than neutral sites.

"We know about the ACC/Big Ten format (for the SEC and Big East). Whether that's the right format, I don't know," Slive said. "We may not change it. Those are sort of the extremes, and we're talking with ESPN to see if we can do something to create more."

Slive said discussions for an opposing conference "right now" are only with the Big East. All 12 SEC teams have played in the invitational; Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Se­ton Hall have yet to play for the 16-team Big East.

In 2007, the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series began with 12 games annually be­tween the conferences spread out over nearly a month. Two Pac-10 teams have to play twice in the event to ensure that all 12 Big 12 schools get an oppo­nent.

Some Big 12 coaches have said they like getting an­other quality opponent to improve their RPI, but pre­fer a one-week challenge. The Big 12/Pac-10 Hard­wood Series is home-and­home games over a two­year period.

The ACC/Big Ten Chal­lenge occurs over a three­day period and the oppo­nents are rarely the same each season. The only cer­tainty is that if a team plays on the road or at a neutral site one season, it will play at home the next.

Expanding the SEC/Big East Invitational fits the SEC's goal of a national nonconference schedule for all of its teams, Slive said.

"We want to make sure we provide equitable oppor­tunities for all of our teams," he said.

"This past year we played a much-improved noncon­ference schedule that turned out to benefit several of our teams" for postsea­son play.

The Big East leads the SEC 7-5 in the series. Two games were played at Bir­mingham's BJCC Arena in 2007 -- Alabama-George­town and Auburn-West Vir­ginia.

"It's up to ESPN to decide what the sites are," Slive said.