NY Post - It is official, Catholic 7 Leaving Big East

[CA Mustang]

The PAC-12 has already been in talks with SMU,...

When did that happen?

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Cincinnati really interests me in all this. They may be getting hosed worse than anyone else. Imagine going from C-USA to an AQ conference, having that nice AQ spot for almost a decade, and then watching your erstwhile partner and seeming peer Louisville bolt and your AQ conference collapse into dust. Kind of reminds me of the SWC leftovers. Welcome to the wildnerness Cincy!

[sbsmith]

Cincinnati really interests me in all this. They may be getting hosed worse than anyone else. Imagine going from C-USA to an AQ conference, having that nice AQ spot for almost a decade, and then watching your erstwhile partner and seeming peer Louisville bolt and your AQ conference collapse into dust. Kind of reminds me of the SWC leftovers. Welcome to the wildnerness Cincy!

Cincy and Uconn will end up in the ACC once the Big 10 decides which two current ACC schools they want. They won't be in the wilderness for long.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Unless of course the Big-10 picking off two more ACC schools leads to a feeding frenzy by the other conferences, which is very possible.

[EastStang]

UConn and Cincy may stay just to collect all the checks from WVA, Pitt, Rutgers, ND, Louisville, Georgetown, DePaul, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, St. Johns, etc. Although each of those other schools might be tempted to put some pressure on the ACC to avoid that little issue. However, I would say that UConn, Cincy, Memphis are not bad schools to have in your lineup for RPI purposes in hoops. Perhaps we could backfill in hoops with schools like George Mason, VCU, St. Louis to make travel less painful.

What I want to know is whatever happened to the tort of interference with contract relations? I mean these schools have a contract with each other and the ACC, B10, etc. are luring schools away. Sooner or later if I was the WAC and the SBC, I'd be suing somebody which would in turn sue somebody and up the ladder until somebody is paying some big bucks (like the Big Ten, the SEC, and the ACC). I think that would be hugely funny, but I digress.

[redpony]

USA Today now reporting that the vote has been taken and they are leaving. They will have a timetable after they have resolved the many issues surrounding this fiasco.

Lots of indecision- what conference next?

[Nacho]

football didn't ruin the be. that is on bball. those clowns have been running the be into the ground for years and now they bolt. good riddance.

[Kynd Tulsa Phan]

if UCONN has a brain they will leave hoops in the Big East and move its football to the MAC. Same goes with Temple.

[SMU Pony Mom]

This is truly one of the saddest days in sports for me. As a UConn grad with a daughter at SMU, things couldn't be worse. Big East basketball has been such an important part of my life. The league started two years before I was a freshman and I remember how excited I was about getting a chance to be in the same class year and conference as Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullen. Hopefully over the next couple of months both schools will somehow miraculously be able to find good landing spots. Right now I'm not overly optimistic.

[PonyKai]

College athletics is a fu*ing embarrassment. It's the drunk chick smoking a cigarettes backwards sh*thammered at a party screaming look at me.

[PonySnob]

Basketball was going to be awesome.........now it's meh!

[Charleston Pony]

not sure about all the contracts, but I assume there are still a lot of entry/exit fees to be negotiated and distributed. Good year for "billable hours" guys

It's a shame the CUSA brand isn't available because at this point, I'd like to see the "best of the rest" who are currently on the outside looking in to form a coast to coast group with regionalized divisions.

Let's just hope this doesn't kill the effort that is well underway for SMU to become a basketball power. May need to schedule very aggressively in the non-conference schedule (the old Fresno State "we'll play anybody, anywhere and anytime"), but let's face it...we have a much better chance of becoming a bball power and being able to pack Moody than earning a seat at the big boy football table.

We might eventually see this thing come full circle and be playing in the SWC again...only this time the SWC may consist of SMU, UNT, Rice, Houston, UTEP, NMSU, Tulsa, Ark St, Tulane, La Tech, La-Lafayette and La-Monroe

[leopold]

This is truly one of the saddest days in sports for me. As a UConn grad with a daughter at SMU, things couldn't be worse. Big East basketball has been such an important part of my life. The league started two years before I was a freshman and I remember how excited I was about getting a chance to be in the same class year and conference as Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullen. Hopefully over the next couple of months both schools will somehow miraculously be able to find good landing spots. Right now I'm not overly optimistic.

This isn't over for UConn. There will be another round. Keep your head up. My god, at this rate Temple will be in the ACC in five years.

Unless of course the Big-10 picking off two more ACC schools leads to a feeding frenzy by the other conferences, which is very possible.

The Big 10 and SEC have both said publically they are still looking. Everyone seems to think that conferences could go to 16 schools and work it into a decent schedule. That would mean that there are still conceivably 18 spots left in the major conferences (4 in the PAC, 6 in the Big XII, 2 in the Big 10, 2 in the SEC and 4 in the ACC) without even considering the Big East.

It's both horrifying and exciting at the same time.

[JasonB]

Once the Maryland situation passes through the courts, everything is going to move again. Just waiting for that.

[SMU 86]

SMU
Houston
UCF
USF
Memphis
Cincinnati
UCONN
Temple

possibly add:
UMASS
Villanova (move up from FCS to FBS to appease UCONN and strengthen basketball in the league)
Talk to Georgetown about moving up to FBS as well.

Small, but solid conference. Keeps the Texas/Florida/Northeast markets. Add more as needed.

Since Villanova and Georgetown voted to leave the conference with the other catholic schools I don't they would consider coming back.