Big "East" Update

It's been awhile since we've updated the Big East situation and I guess this is the perfect time for one. As reported by many, the Big East has or will very shortly extend invitations to 6 schools. 3 of them will be for all sports (SMU, Houston, UCF), while the other 3 will be solely for football (Boise State, Navy, Air Force). Some say the official announcement of Big East admission could come as soon as Friday. This is certainly huge news for a conference that has lost some of its top members (Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia), but it doesn't mark the end of changes. It makes no sense for any of these 6 schools to reject the invitation, as they are all looking to get into a BCS Conference. If these reports are true, I fully expect all six to accept and join the Big East.

So with all the confusion going on, I'd like to show you the projected Big East Football and Basketball members, assuming the six schools accept.

Football (11) : Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, USF, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, SMU, Boise State, Navy, Air Force

Basketball (16) : Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, USF, Cincinnati, Villanova, St. Johns, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Depaul, Notre Dame, Marquette, Providence, UCF, Houston, SMU

This obviously would not be the end of expansion/changes, because the Big East would never stop at 11 teams for football. The 16 in basketball is normal, but it could move up to 18.

So the Big East has a few options to make this work:

a. Simply add Villanova as a football member and make a 12 team league.

b. Add Temple to the Big East as just a football school.

c. Add Temple as a full member and look for a "basketball only" school to bring the league to 18.

d. Add Temple and another school as full members, as well as Villanova as a football member to bring the league to 14 and 18 respectively.

e. Add a football only school.

There are so many different scenarios and as a supporter to of the Villanova to Big East Football movement, I am all for option a. I think the most realistic option is c however, because Temple would bring a lot of strength to the conference as both a basketball and football school.

Stay tuned to The Point After, as the Big East looks to move further out West.