The Big East looks to expand on the gridiron
Like many of the other major collegiate conferences, the Big East might just be in the market to expand as well. After a meeting between the conference’s presidents on Tuesday, the Big East stated that it had a major interest in opening its doors to two
more schools strictly in terms of football, increasing the sport’s in-conference members from eight to 10.
Although he would not go into the specifics of a potential expansion, Big East commissioner John Marinatto touched on the fact that bringing more teams into the mix is one of the conference’s main goals.
“Today, our Board of Directors affirmed a set of key strategic initiatives, including expansion, designed to enhance membership stability and maximize our value,” Marinatto said in a statement.
According to a number of sources within the conference, Texas Christian (currently a member of the Mountain West Conference) and Central Florida (of Conference-USA) are the primary targets of Big East growth. Villanova, who currently plays under the Football
Championship Subdivision’s (FCS) Colonial Athletic Association, is apparently also in the mix.
Because the Big East is already home to 16 basketball teams, the conference is looking to offer the invitations on a football-only basis, so as not to overcrowd the league’s current alignment. Thus, the question becomes which schools have the most to gain from
joining the conference in such a manner.
Texas Christian, who has been playing well on the gridiron over the past decade, could accept the bid in an attempt to gain more national notoriety through their conference affiliation. However, the Horned Frogs would likely only be able to join the Big East
in football, as the Mountain West would not support the move for every sport. Likewise, the issue for Central Florida arises at the expense of potential competition with their long-time rival and current Big East participant, South Florida.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Villanova, who has been a member of Big East basketball since 1980, is heavily leaning toward accepting the conference’s invitation to play football, though Vince Nicastro assures that they are in no rush.
“Our football evaluation is ongoing,” Villanova's Athletic Director told The Associated Press. “We are moving forward as quickly as we can, but not at the expense of being absolutely thorough. We still don’t have a specific decision date, but it is likely to
be resolved some time during this academic year.”
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