When the Big East added the Creighton Bluejays to its ranks, it wasn’t just adding a private school basketball powerhouse without an FBS football program to a cadre of like-minded schools. It was also adding a notable media market outside the conference’s existing footprint.
That’s because Creighton is located just outside of downtown Omaha, delivering that vital Nebraska/Iowa television market — and, sure, delivering eight men’s NCAA tournament appearances, a pair of Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight finish since joining the Big East in 2013.
That’s a solid showing for the most notable Division I program in the city of nearly 500,000.
