Report: Big East Going Coast To Coast With Expansion
by Matt Opper on Dec 6, 2011 1:42 PM EST
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In move that has been months in the making the Big East is expected to formally announce plans for expansion tomorrow. This according to Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports, the relevant passage.
Boise State and San Diego State will join the Big East as football-only members, while Houston, SMU and UCF will join as all-sport members.
With the addition of those five schools - minus the departures of West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse - the Big East will have 10 football members.
With those five schools on board, Navy is expected to join as a football-only member - possibly as soon as next week - to boost the football membership to 11 schools.
The Big East hopes to add Air Force as its 12th football school - as a football-only member - but the Falcons still remain undecided.
If the Big East can not get Air Force, Temple would be a likely candidate to become the Big East's 12th member.
The new schools are to start participating in 2013. While the coast to coast nature of the conference and the inclusion of some largest media markets in the country will almost certainly help the cause for the next TV contract. I would expect a contract in the vicinity of the 130 or so million per year offered by ESPN and turned down by the Big East in the Spring. That being said I have a feeling that adding Boise State and Co. won't be enough to secure AQ status going forward.
I am also not a huge fan of the prospects of trips to Idaho and California which are almost certain to be on the docket for UC as one of the western outposts of the current Big East crop.
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Aw c'mon Matt!
Its nice out here in Boise, and nobody has any complaints about San Diego either. As we like to say…“its just a plane ride.” Please stay put in the Big East though. You guys are one classy bunch and its the kind of folks we want to join, and the uniforms rock as well. As for AQ status – if that changes it won’t be because of the level of competition in the Big East. It will be because they scrapped the entire BCS.
Hey nothing aginst Boise or San Diego as places
Just saying that its a much longer drive Boise and San Diego then say, Louisville or Pittsburgh. Regardless welcome to the slightly dysfunctional bi-coastal family
WV might be staying.
Heard they don’t have cash to leave Big East..
Does this even matter?
@CILII_BLOG
We're not staying.
The cash for an immediate withdrawl may not be availiable, but if we’re not out next year, or even the year after, once the 27-month clause is over, Pitt, ‘Cuse and WVU are all out. The actual fee isn’t very big, and we’ve already paid half of it.
By that time, Cincy will probably be getting in the car with Louisville and driving to Big XII territory, as well.
"that place laid the foundation for who I am. A lot of outsiders make fun of it and say negative things about West Virginia. Fuck them" - Jerry West
by MountaineerAirman on Dec 8, 2011 6:13 PM EST up reply actions
Because they can!
Is not a good reason to expand this way. Going caose to coast with a few more ND wannabees is not good. I’d rather the football schools split from the non-football schools, and add more football schools to that.
Just how long will BSU and SDSU want to play football only in the BE? I udnerstand the BCS drawing card, but will other sports in other conferences suffer as a result? I just don’t like this patchwork quilt of a conference.
Ucats Rick
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