One and done.
That was essentially the message from Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who told the Tribune on Friday the conference tournament would return to Madison Square Garden in New York only if the Big Ten can have the premier weekend — the one the Big East has had locked in since 1983.
Why? Because moving this season’s event to MSG required the tournament to move up a week, creating a condensed regular-season schedule that coaches despised. Indiana, for example, played five games during a 12-day span from Jan. 19-30. Illinois just suited up three times in five days.
“I appreciate the sacrifices the teams made, the impact it had on our students,” Delany said. “Wasn’t good. Wasn’t healthy. I thought starting (the conference schedule) early was OK, but if you look at our schedules (through the years), we’ve been able to give everybody two-day prep (before games) in 99 percent of the cases.
“We won’t do it again this way, and I take responsibility for asking the coaches. … If we can make it back to the Garden on a regular week, that’s great.
“I know we will be back out East. Where we will be, I don’t know. It won’t be on a regular basis. I expect that 80 percent will be in legacy territory (Chicago and Indianapolis) and probably 20 percent out East, whether it’s in D.C. or Philadelphia or New York.”
Philadelphia, huh?
Delany indicated that the Palestra, which bills itself as the “Cathedral of College Basketball,” is too small with a capacity of 8,725.
He said he does not regret the decision to move the tournament to New York, saying: “I don’t look backward. … And I’m not overlooking the objective, which is to give the players and the teams and our fans there a chance to see the Big Ten in the Big Apple.”
Delany estimated about 100,000 Big Ten alumni live in New York City and about a million in “the corridor from northern Virginia to southern Connecticut.”
“It is home to some of the great institutions in America — political, media, educational, athletic,” Delany said. “We expect a very good response.”
Delany said about 14,000 tickets have been sold for all sessions, the first of which is Wednesday. Individual tickets go on sale Monday after the bracket is set. Prices range from $20 for early sessions to $135 for top seats to the semifinals and championship game.
Delany views capacity at about 17,000 because MSG officials control the sale of suites, which bump the seating to 19,182.
Last year, in part because Maryland played only one game, the Big Ten tournament in Washington drew just 13,281 fans per session.
Chicago averaged 16,928 at the United Center in 2015. Indianapolis averaged 16,722 in 2016.
The other issue created by the condensed schedule is that the Big Ten’s NCAA tournament teams will be idle for roughly 10 to 14 days.
“It’s interesting,” Delany said. “Nobody has chosen to schedule a Division II or III game in that period. That’s a little indication that they don’t want that or need that. There are positives and negatives (to the gap). Teams can rest up, put new things in and practice more. If we do well (in the tournament), everyone will be OK with it.”
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
