Dick Vitale On Ncaa Conference Realignment: “it’s All About Greed. It’s Really Absolutely A Joke. We Didn’t Help The Scenario As Well.”

Dick Vitale on NCAA Conference Realignment: “It’s all about greed. It’s really absolutely a joke. We didn’t help the scenario as well.”

The NCAA realignment soap opera has settled down this week after Larry Scott has denied Texas entry into the Pac-12. The ACC is headed for some major changes with the additions of Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the near future. Who better to check in with regarding the craziness that is NCAA realignment than the legend Dick Vitale himself? Dicky V is quite fired up on the subject of realignment as he prepares for the upcoming NCAA basketball season.Dick Vitale joined 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on New School with Shan and RJ to discuss his impressions of NCAA realignment, what he would do to fix the way that the NCAA and its conferences are handling the realignment process, college football having their own conferences separate from basketball, and NCAA realignment changing the face of college basketball.

Overall how do you feel about this NCAA realignment drama?

“It makes no geographical sense with some of the matchups. It’s all about greed. It’s all about dollars. It’s all about ego and it’s really absolutely a joke what has transpired. I never thought I’d see this. Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the ACC? Come on now? Give me a break. Geographically you know and I know they belong in the East. It just makes no sense. It’s all about dollars. There’s no loyalty. You got guys sitting in a committee like for example I’ll give you the Big East. You got the guy who is one of the most powerful guys with them the president of Pittsburgh [Mark Nordenberg]. He’s making lots of decisions. He played a vital role in TCU joining the Big East. He’s sitting in on the meeting and I got this from inside people and he’s telling everybody we must unite. We must trust each other. We must really be together and in the meantime he’s sticking a knife in their back going to the ACC. These are guys who are representing our student athletes? You guys hear it all the time like about academics. They gotta be loyal. They gotta have integrity. We want kids doing it the right way. Oh really take a look at our leaders.”

How can this NCAA realignment get fixed exactly?

“The solution is very simple. You look in the mirror, which is right and obviously right now it’s all about dollars and it’s all about greed. Let’s face reality we didn’t help the scenario as well. When I talk about the fact that we went out gave Texas all those millions and millions for a TV network. It’s a business decision. I don’t blame our people. You are out there to make money. You are out there to do your thing to make some dollars in your business world, but that certainly set it in tone because Texas’s situation gave them such a great edge over every body else in the Big 12 with that network and you can’t blame Texas if they are in a situation where they could be like Notre Dame in football. If Notre Dame can have their own independence with that TV contract…it’s really a vicious domino effect, but I guess it will all play out and I hope we can get to talk about games and talking about big matchups and talking about basketball and football instead of realignment. I’m bored with it. I’m fed up with it. I tweet it. I put it on my twitter. I said I am tired of it.”

Should college football have their own conferences and leave the rest of the sports by themselves?

“It looks like we might be heading to mega-conferences. I think we may be going that route. I see the Big East now losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse. I don’t know how they are going to replace that. I know their commissioner came out and said ‘We are going to be united.’ I really don’t believe that. I still think Connecticut is still trying to get out of there. I couldn’t really tell you where it is going. I can’t put a finger on it. It’s a soap opera. It’s like watching one of those reality shows like the Kardashians except I’d rather look at the Kardashians than these [college] presidents.”

Where does NCAA realignment leave college basketball?

“I think when you look at it for example the Big East Tournament has always been special at Madison Square Garden. Then we had a rumor that the ACC was looking to play at Madison Square Garden. I don’t think that will happen. I really don’t. I think what you are going to see right now is that we got a scenario where with Pittsburgh and Syracuse going to the ACC that there is no question that the ACC becomes the best basketball conference. I really believe that. Those teams with the likes of Duke and Carolina and Maryland and etc. I’m interested to see what the Big East does to replace Pittsburgh and Syracuse. I’m also interested to see if TCU remains in the Big East as they said they would.”