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Not sure if this has been posted... seems a little more definitive than what we've heard all day.

A day after holding a meeting in Washington D.C. among university presidents and chancellors who gave Big East commissioner John Marinatto permission to find other teams in an expansion/survival mode for the embattled Big East football conference, the league has made preliminary moves to expand the football league to 10 teams and the highly-successful Big East basketball conference to 17 teams.

The Big East went into a crisis mode last month when Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they were jumping to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

According to sources familiar with the process, but not authorized to talk about any negotiations, the Big East is focusing on two areas, with SMU, Central Florida ,Navy and Temple as the primary schools being looked at. Air Force is also being considered, but that seems more remote of a possibility

In football, the focus was on getting to at least 10 teams. A two-tier plan of attack has been implemented with one area focusing on schools that would join the conference in football only which has included conversations with Navy, Air Force and Temple. With the departure of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the Big East will have shrunk to 6 teams, with TCU scheduled to join the Big East as a member in all sports next fall.

Adding SMU, which would be a travel partner for TCU, and Central Florida would increase the total to nine teams and Temple becomes a strong option if Navy chooses to remain as an independent in football. Another possibility would be to add Villanova, which is already a member of the Big East in all other sports, as the 10th member if the Villanova administration decides to make the jump from the FCS to the FBS level.

http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/extras/colleges_blog/

sounds promising-still gonna have to see whose in and whose out because it may have to go bigger. I don't see how a 10 team conference is going to work well with schools so distance. Divisions make sense

This is definitely more promising than anything we had heard up to this point. Football only in the Big East is a deal we should readily take right? Also, what happens if TCU bails to the Big XII? Hmmm..

edit - just read more of the actual article from the link provided. They specified that SMU and UCF would also be basketball (so I'm assuming all sports) and that the Big East hopes to max out at no more than 18 basketball schools.

They could add Houston. Again the ideal would be a Southern Division with TCU, UH, SMU, Southern Miss, UCF and USF and whoever is left in the East

This...is new. Intriguing.

P.S.- Hi, ECU, you still aren't being mentioned.

I read this as they are looking at us and UCF for all sports, with Navy, Air Force and Temple as football-only...

"...the league has made preliminary moves to expand the football league to 10 teams and the highly-successful Big East basketball conference to 17 teams."

"A two-tier plan of attack has been implemented with one area focusing on schools that would join the conference in football only which has included conversations with Navy, Air Force and Temple."

Stallion wrote:They could add Houston. Again the ideal would be a Southern Division with TCU, UH, SMU, Southern Miss, UCF and USF and whoever is left in the East

Or UNT to [deleted] off JT

Oh yeah, and this:

"With the loss of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the Big East basketball has shrunk from 16 to 14 teams. Adding TCU will make it 15, and adding SMU and UCF will raise the level to 17, with the proviso that it could cap out at 18.

Although adding TCU, SMU and UCF diminishes the power of the basketball league which put a record 11 teams in the NCAA tournament last year, sources among the schools involved say they could live with 17 and would also accept 18 schools if Temple, which has been as force in the Atlantic 10 for several years, came in as a full member."

Sorry, just got back from happy hour.

This sounds interesting, but will the Big East retain AQ status with these new members? It could be a less-stable C-USA in the long run...

My sense is that TCU wants certainity now and the Big East is preparing to require remaining members (less Syracuse and Pittsburgh, plus the Frogs) to long term, penalty heavy agreements.

The question is:

If they want 10 members, the article suggests SMU, UCF and Navy FB or Temple.

If 12, then add Air Force FB, Houston and/or ECU.

Which Big East Football schools are insisting on remaining in the Big East for BB? I've heard West Virginia definitely wants to split from the BB schools. The survival of especially USF and Cinncinati in the BCS are probably in jeopardy if they don't. Why couldn't the Football schools petition the NCAA to retain the BCS designation while separating from the BB schools into a successor conference

A preview of a Big East showdown in 2 weeks???

So why is SMU considered a candidate above Houston? Is it really the the whole travel partner to TCU thing? Or perhaps TCU is leveraging for us? Or are we really that impressive in our potential in the coming years? Or none of the above?

Academics and privat school defn scores points on east coast ESP with basketball schools

Comet wrote:So why is SMU considered a candidate above Houston?

Perhaps Houston's continuing inability to finance its stadium has given the Big East cause to question its financial commitment.