Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross said Wednesday night on his radio show on TK99 that there is a 10-year basketball contract on the table that would bring Syracuse and Georgetown together on the hardwood.
Gross said Syracuse signed the contract and is waiting for Georgetown to sign off on it. There was no mention of when the games would be played.
Of course there are many moving parts to be considered when it comes to non-conference series, whether it’s television arrangements or the other games the programs have on their respective schedules. And on Thursday Gross stated that there are still details to be worked out, especially when considering how quickly Georgetown had to move in regards to it’s conference situation. But it’s always good for rivals to continue to play each other, regardless of what’s happened due to conference realignment.
In this current era of conference realignment (going from 2003 to present) some of college athletics’ best rivalries have been cast aside over hurt feelings and anger. But in the end, what’s gained from such actions? The fans ultimately lose out, and it can be argued that the players lose out as well when considering the history of games such as Kansas/Missouri.
Syracuse leads the all-time series 49-41, with their 58-55 overtime win in the Big East tournament semifinals being the most recent meeting between the two schools. Led by Otto Porter Jr. the Hoyas won both regular season meetings, one of which being a 61-39 conquest in the regular season finale for both.
If Georgetown and Syracuse can finalize the contract that’s a good move for both schools. Sure, it won’t be the same since they’re no longer conference rivals. But this would be far better than if the two programs would have gone with the “we’re mad so we’re taking our ball and going home” approach that some other schools have taken in recent years.