Big East Expansion: 12 Team Model Preferred By Current Football Schools

On a day in which the Mountain West and Conference-USA announced the merger to a mega conference, the Big East has decided that it prefers the 12-team model rather than a 22-team model. Pete Thamel of the New York Times tweets that the Big East has agreed upon six teams to add to the conference to bring the total to twelve.

Just landed. A lot has changed. Most important is that that possibility of a Boise-Big East marriage has increased greatly. The agreed upon 12-team model preferred by Big East is now: Boise, Air Force, Houston, SMU, Navy and UCF. 

While all of these are solid editions to the Big East, a couple aren't very "east" but it does make the word "big" very literal. Boise State is in Boise, Idaho and Air Force is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The other additions in SMU, Houston, Navy, and UCF all make perfect sense to add as they are smaller football programs on the rise. Adding them to a BCS conference should only help their growth.

For more, check Mountain West Connection and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.