All Good Things Must End

Today, it has become official. The Big East that we have all grown to love is dead. And, with the departure of the so-called "Catholic 7", many great rivalries die with it. I understand that the NCAA is a business, but that business is exactly what is killing college sports. College sports across the board have never been more profitable, but if the environment keeps on its current path, that market is going to dry up, and sooner rather than later.

Greed is killing college sports. With the break-up of the Big East, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports is going to be tossed aside. And for what, a few extra millions? Is that worth throwing away all the history, all the tradition? At what point does it become detrimental to the universities involved, to the fans, to the NCAA as a whole? Tomorrow will be the final match-up between Syracuse and Georgetown as conference rivals. Sure, they MIGHT get together and play a game in their non-conference schedules, but the rivalry as we know it is dead. The schools that have produced so many stars (Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, etc) will never get the chance to square up and go at each other for the Big East title. They will most likely never play another meaningful game against each other. All this just so Syracuse can pack up and go to the ACC in hopes of making more money in their football program.

When will the fans say "Enough of this!"? When are we going to stand up for tradition? When are we going to come together as a collective and show the NCAA that money shouldn't be the end-all-be-all? If we don't stand up and take a stand right now, it won't just be the Georgetown/Syracuse rivalry that we lose. Today it's them, tomorrow it may very well be Duke/North Carolina. It could be the end of the "Civil War" match-up (Oregon vs. Oregon State). I implore any person reading this to think about what the landscape of college sports might look like if we allow these schools to make decisions with their pocketbooks in mind instead of the happiness of everyone who supports their university.