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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.