And so we come to the end of this rainbow: the end of the realignment/relegation project. Frankly, I am ready for it to be over because the Big East region required the most work to get the conferences down to 12 and get teams aligned correctly. I should have used a spreadsheet from the get go, but I held on to my old notebook ways. Silly, old ways.

I guess this is a good time to ask what you think of this project. Wouldn’t it make college basketball more exciting? Can you imagine if some of the big programs – like Georgetown, perhaps – were relegated out of the cushy Tier 1 conferences? If you think it is something that should be implemented, write to your state’s representative. Apparently, they have little better to do than to fix college sports. Perhaps I’ll add some more thoughts to that debate next time. This time, it’s on to the slimmer, more reasonable Big East.

Tier 1 – Big East
Holdovers: Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Villanova, Marquette, Syracuse, West Virginia, Providence, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgetown
Promotions: Xavier
Comments: The aforementioned Hoyas should have been relegated, but I chose to demote Seton Hall and that f-bomb dropping Bobby Gonzalez instead (not that John Thompson III hasn’t been know to curse a blue streak). Xavier joins the fray and may have some revenge on their minds. They were ousted from the 2009 tournament by Pitt in the Sweet 16. They had no answer for DeJuan Blair, who will take his apparently unusable knees to the pros next season. The Musketeers beat West Virginia in the 2008 tournament (thereby ending the college and perhaps basketball career of one Joe Alexander) in the Sweet 16. Xavier also beat Villanova in 2006-07 and was 2-1 over the past three years against Cincinnati. They belong, even though their coach has escaped to the sun of Arizona. Something tells me they won’t lose too much with Chris Mack.

Tier 2 – Atlantic 10
Holdovers: Dayton, Rhode Island, Temple, Duquesne, La Salle
Promotions: Vermont (from the America East), Siena (from the MAAC)
Relegations: Seton Hall, St. John’s, South Florida, Rutgers, DePaul
Comments: Welcome to the Small East. There are as many teams here from the former Big East as from the Atlantic 10. Really, I should have given DePaul a double relegation after their winless season, but I couldn’t do that to both major Chicago schools. Plus, I have fond memories of Ray Meyer, Terry Cummings, and Mark Aguirre. Now that I think of it, I should have moved DePaul (along with Dayton) into the Big 10 region and perhaps I’ll make some slight adjustments in my next iteration (assuming there is such a thing). South Florida also should have been moved to the SEC region, but I’ll keep them here for now. None of these teams played any from outside their previous conference last year, but I imagine URI, Temple, Seton Hall, St. John’s and possibly Rutgers could combine for some entertaining basketball.

Tier 3A – MAAC
Holdovers: Niagara, Rider, Manhattan, Fairfield, St. Peter’s, Iona, Loyola (MD), Canisius
Promotions: Robert Morris (from the NEC)
Relegations: Richmond, Massachusetts, Fordham
Comments: The fallout from the A-10 being co-opted by the bottom half of the Big East starts to appear in Tier 3. Richmond probably belongs in the ACC region, but the rest of the squads fit. Massachusetts and their new coach Derek Kellogg would be the team to beat, although Niagara and Rider have been good in recent seasons. Manhattan beat Fordham last year, so the Rams would probably be in their proper conference. Robert Morris moves up from the NEC. I had them a couple of years ago when they three decent fantasy players (Tony Lee, Jeremy Chappell, and A.J. Jackson – I am surprised I remember all three without looking them up). They beat Iona last year.

Tier 3B – America East
Holdovers: Binghamton, Boston University, Stony Brook, New Hampshire, UMBC, Albany, Maine
Promotions: Cornell (from the Ivy)
Relegations: St. Bonaventure, Charlotte, George Washington, St. Joe’s
Comments: Charlotte and possible GW should be in the ACC region as well. That’s what the Big East gets for going last (even though I chose the order: longer travel times.  The Big Red of Cornell move up in weight class and already beat BU last year (I wanted to go to Boston University for the sole reason that I could tell people, “I am going to be you.”) George Washington made a run through the America East last year and beat BU, Binghamton, and UMBC – the first two of which opened their season in fine style. After that, things went downhill and they will end up facing those three teams and more this year.

Tier 4A – NEC
Holdovers: Mount St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, Long Island, Quinnipiac, Wagner, Central Connecticut State, St. Francis (NY), Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis (PA)
Relegations: Marist
Transfers: New Jersey Institute of Technology (from Independents)
Comments: NJIT was a late add. They have not beaten any of their new leaguemates. Mainly, because they haven’t beaten anyone. Last year, they lost to Wagner. Marist has fallen a long way since Rick Smits was there (even Jared Jordan). I thought for hours and hours of how to split up the two St. Francises, but in the end I figured they deserved each other.

Tier 4B – Ivy
Holdovers: Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Brown
Relegations: Hartford
Comments: Yes, Hartford is now the leaguemate of Harvard. That is almost as bad as the two St. Francises. Unfortunately, the Hawks belong in the Ivy because they were whipped by the America East and lost to Brown and Yale last year. They did knock Maine out of the America East conference tournament. I wonder if joining the Ivy will make Hartford’s students smarter.