Big East Expansion: BYU And Air Force Still Considering, TV Deal Could Disappoint

The Big East is nearing a window to renegotiate its television deal, and the conference hopes it will result in a large gain in revenue. However, there's an issue for the conference as the negotiation window inches closer: Realignment has changed the landscape of the conference and college football as a whole. And according to a CBS Sports report, the Big East may take a significant hit as a result.

A year ago, the Big East was offered a deal worth $130 million per year. The conference turned it down. And while some analysts expect a similar deal this time around, CBS Sports' sources aren't so high on the conference's chances of snagging a big deal. In fact, it could be somewhere around half the deal the Big East was offered last year.

A $130 million deal per year (as speculated by Pilson) would be worth $8.66 million each for the 10 full members; $6.5 million each for the four football-only members (Boise State, San Diego State, Navy and TBA); and $2.16 million each for the eight non-football members.

A $60 million deal per year (as speculated by CBSSports.com's sources, slightly better than their low end) would be worth $4 million each for the 10 full members; $3 million each to the four football-only members; and $1 million each to the eight non-football members.

To put these numbers in perspective, consider that Nick Saban will make an average of just about $5.6 million a year over the next eight years. Mack Brown also tops the $5 million a year mark and Bob Stoops is just above $4 million. It's likely that Les Miles will make more than $4 million this coming year, as well.

Sure, these are top-end coaches, but they're also making more than full-member schools of the Big East Conference will, should the next television deal come in around the $60 million a year mark. And with television revenue skyrocketing elsewhere, a low-end deal would put the Big East in an awfully difficult position.

Take the Pac-12, for instance. Its new deal has paid immediate dividends: Multiple schools have been able to move forward with facilities upgrades, while others have hired high-profile coaches in the past few months. Perennial revenue bottom-feeder Washington State was able to hire Mike Leach at a salary of more than $2 million per year, thanks to the new deal that will net schools somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million annually once the Pac-12 Network is up and running.

A poor deal could be crippling for the Big East and, making matters worse, the vultures may also be circling, waiting to pick off schools should realignment kick into high gear again this summer.

For more news and information regarding the Big East, please visit Big East Coast Bias.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets joined the realignment rumor convention last weekend, when Ingram Smith reported they'd be among the ACC teams the Big 12 would consider taking in the event of a Florida St. Seminoles acquisition. AD Dan Radakovich is now denying the Jackets have made contact -- Virginia Tech is of course also again denying they want out of the ACC -- but the most interesting comment of his is likely this one:

Radakovich also told fans that the league is trying to develop a bowl game similar to the one that the Big 12 and SEC announced Friday. That game will match those two leagues' conference champions should they not make the expected four-team playoff. He said there is a great desire for the ACC to match up its conference champion, should it not make the playoff, "and play a quality bowl game."

Radakovich mentioned the Big Ten and SEC as potential partners.

Better late than never for that kind of idea, yes?

The ACC won't be able to get the SEC's or Big Ten's champ, of course, as those teams will be committed to the Rose Bowl and this new Big 12 venture, respectively, in the event that they miss the playoffs. The Big East remains available. Winner gets to play its basketball tournament in Madison Square Garden, maybe?

There's also the option to try and pair of the ACC's winner against another league's runner-up, which sounds like the plan the ACC has in mind.

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The Big East stands at 12 football members, with the Navy Midshipmen set to port in 2015. Along the way, they've tried to add the other two service academies, with Army delivering a flat no and the Air Force Falcons never really giving a final answer that we know of. So, naturally, enter BYU Cougars news out of absolutely nowhere -- BYU's name hasn't been connected to the Big East since November.

Philly.com's Keith Pompey:

Teams will play eight-game league schedules once the conference expands from eight teams to 12 in 2013. The conference is expected to grow to 14 teams in 2015. That's when Navy joins for football only. Brigham Young or Air Force is expected to join Navy, according to multiple sources at the spring meetings.

Air Force would enter with three automatic rivals in Boise State, Navy and San Diego State, but BYU might be the best get the Big East could hope for, perhaps even better in the long term than Boise State. However, the Cougars would have a lot to give up in order to join the league, having just decided to go independent.

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For more on Cougars football, visit BYU blog Vanquish The Foe.

As Big East meetings continue in Florida, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish remain at the center of conference realignment's future. Notre Dame is a Big East member in sports besides football, meaning it has both its own football independence and league membership at stake as the map shifts.

The Irish say they're sticking with the current arrangement, despite contact with Texas keeping the rumors and speculation at maximum.

"Our operating assumption is that we will remain aligned with the Big East," AD Jack Swarbrick said. "I don't want to create the impression that there's some active evaluation of that going on. As I said many times, we're sensitive to the changes and we monitor them closely."

Swarbrick also downplayed his communications with Texas AD DeLoss Dodds.

With the Big 12, ACC and Big Ten all very presumably interested in Notre Dame, that makes four of the top six conferences directly invested in what comes of the Irish. We might start to find out more after the 2014 playoff plan is announced next month, but we'll definitely continue to see developments as 2015, when ND's NBC contract is up, nears.

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For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down, plus SB Nation Indiana.

The Boise St. Broncos, scheduled to join the Big East in 2013, reportedly had second thoughts about leaving the Mountain West while trying to decide what to do with their non-football sports and seeing multiple Big East schools look for a way out. But with the Big West emerging as a possible repository for football-free sports, the decision has been made to proceed, reports Brett McMurphy:

The Broncos had several recent discussions with MWC reps about staying in the Mountain West, sources told CBSSports.com. Boise State officials wanted to finalize its decision this week, because they didn't want to attend the Big East's meetings, which start Sunday, in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla., if they weren't going to join the league.

Great news for the Big East, which could lose the Louisville Cardinals and Connecticut Huskies right away if realignment goes haywire thanks to moves by the Florida St. Seminoles, Notre Dame Fighting Irish or others.

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While the Boise St. Broncos may still join the Big East Conference for football, they may end up sending the rest of their athletics programs in the other direction.

According to Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman, the Big West Conference is willing to consider allowing Boise State to join the conference in 2013-14 for all non-football-related sports.

"We did talk about Boise State specifically and where we have come out on this is that we have agreed to entertain interest in Boise State would be the best way to put it," [Big West Commissioner Dennis] Farrell said. "We're open to at least explore the possibility."

The Big West sent Boise State "a new membership assessment tool that we use to gather information from potential new members," Farrell said.

Boise State would need to make a decision by June 30, at which point the Big West's member schools would vote on whether to make BSU a member. It would require eight votes for the Broncos to make it in.

For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God, plus SB Nation Denver.

While most of the conference realignment talk and maneuvering has focused on football, Boise State's move to the Big East could be impacted by their other sports.

The university is currently searching for a conference to play its non-football sports in. San Diego State, who is set to join Boise State in the Big East as a football-only member, is assisting BSU in their search. It's possible Boise State could forgo the move to the Big East and stay in the Mountain West if they are unable to find a conference for non-football sports. If Boise State did end up staying in the Mountain West, San Diego State's move to the Big East could also be in jeopardy. Via U-T San Diego:

SDSU’s contract with the Big East states that if Boise State does not join the Big East as planned, the league will "discuss in good faith" SDSU’s admission into the league as a football-only member.

"For clarity, neither party shall be obligated hereunder in the event that the conference does not have as a member on (July 1, 2013) at least one football-playing institution that is located west of the Rocky Mountains," the contract states.

The Big West conference, where San Diego State will play its non-football sports, could be an option for Boise State. The WAC could be another option, depending on what happens to the conference after recent departures.

For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State blog OBNUG, plus SB Nation Denver.

The drama surrounding NCAA conference transfers and expansions is never-ending and seems to result in more and more headaches with each passing year. Now a college is suing its current conference to ensure the team will be able to jump to a different conference next year.

Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette initially reported on Friday that the Pittsburgh Panthers would file a lawsuit and intend to sue their current conference, the Big East. Later on Friday, Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports revealed that the nature of the lawsuit is to ensure that Pitt would be able to join the ACC conference by July of 2013.

The ACC extended its invitation to Pitt in September of 2011 and it is clear the Panthers are champing at the bit to get out of the Big East as soon as possible. Pittsburgh has been a member of the Big East since 1982.

For all news and information regarding the Pittsburgh Panthers, please visit Cardiac Hill.

The ACC has a lot on its conference realignment plate right now. Conference realignment plates are basically just lists of cities by population, which school presidents and conference commissioners find to be the most delicious things in the world. The ACC has growing resentment among its football-first fan bases while a neighbor or two to the north is still, presumably, looking to get in.

The Connecticut Huskies more or less openly courted the ACC back when it looked like the Big East was about to explode, but perhaps they're being a little more subtle about it this time.

Connecticut's governor is calling for UConn and the Boston College Eagles to resume their rivalry. As Eagle In Atlanta points out, considering the ACC's nine-game schedule, that could be a clever call for the two to be in the same conference.

The long-standing theory is that the ACC wants to make its league as habitable as possible for Notre Dame, and is waiting to see whether the Irish show interest before taking UConn and somebody else. Rutgers has been the presumed Domer substitute, but now the Louisville Cardinals are also reportedly looking for an invite.

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For more on Huskies football, visit UConn blog The UConn Blog, plus Big East blog Big East Coast Bias.

When college football fans realized the sport is soon to get a playoff, many of us began wondering about whether the Boise St. Broncos would rethink their decision to leave the Mountain West for the automatic-qualifying BCS. But the Broncos would still make more TV money in the Big East, and I think most admins knew AQ status was going away anyway.

But since playoff news came out, Boise State beat writers have repeatedly been asked whether the Broncos are reconsidering the move. The latest development was Boise State asking the Big East for help in finding a new home for its non-football sports, which aren't joining the Big East, can't be left in the Mountain West and have no WAC to turn to.

And now this, from Brett McMurphy:

An industry source told CBSSports.com that Mountain West representatives met with Boise State officials earlier this week to persuade the Broncos to remain in the MWC. Adding to that possibility is that the Broncos still haven't formally notified the Mountain West they are withdrawing from the league.

CBSSports.com asked Boise State for a comment about the MWC meeting and why the school had not formally withdrawn from the Mountain West. "We are actively monitoring the changing landscape in college athletics and remain committed to making the best long-term decisions for Boise State," a spokesman said.

With the Louisville Cardinals and Connecticut Huskies pretty much openly looking for a way out of the Big East, along with ancient basketball-football discord, the Big East might not look as stable as its eventual 13-strong membership might suggest.

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For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State blog OBNUG, plus SB Nation Denver.

Louisville has made no secret of its interest in leaving the Big East and potentially joining the Big 12, and according to reports, those feelings are mutual. Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News reported that the Cardinals are still at the top of the list of potential Big 12 additions should the conference expand beyond its current 10 members. Via @ChuckCarltonDMN:

Regarding Louisville, multiple sources this week indicating Cardinals still atop Big 12 expansion list, for now, if league moves beyond 10.

— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) May 10, 2012

The Cardinals also continue to express interest in making a move to the ACC, where they could fill a slot that may be vacated by Florida State. The Seminoles are again rumored as a potential target for Big 12 expansion, but according to Carlton, the Cardinals may join them.

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For more on Cardinals football, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle, plus Big East blog Big East Coast Bias and SB Nation Indiana.

For months now, reports have had the Louisville Cardinals as the Big 12's next target in the event that the Big 12 indeed makes a move for 12 football schools. The Cards tried to swipe the West Virginia Mountaineers' invite, in fact. Now, with the Florida St. Seminoles and Clemson Tigers emerging as widely hypothesized potential additions to the Big 12, Louisville could be in good shape to get what it reportedly wants: out of the Big East.

Andy Katz reports Louisville is making no secrets of its desire to land in either the ACC or the Big 12, meaning a move by the Big 12 into ACC territory could be an all-but guaranteed win for the Cards. Either they could accompany FSU into the Big 12, or they could help shore up football losses in the ACC. Again, all totally scenarios and war-planning, but this could shape up nicely for UL.

Louisville blog Card Chronicle analyzes:

The fact that Louisville would prefer to get out of the Big East isn't exactly news. The play they made last fall to try and woo the Big 12 spoke pretty loudly. Tom Jurich being completely up front about that desire, however, is news.

For months, Jurich has made statements along the lines of "we're in the Big East and will do whatever we can to strengthen the Big East going forward, but of course we're still going to keep all of our options open." This was essentially a lengthy euphemism for, "if someone asks, we're bouncing."

Now, with U of L ally John Marinatto having been forced out, there's no reason for Louisville to be polite.

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For more on Cardinals football, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle, plus Big East blog Big East Coast Bias and SB Nation Indiana.

With the addition of Temple on Wednesday, the Big East now finds itself in a position to allow Pittsburgh and Syracuse to leave early for the Atlantic Coast Conference. It will come at a price though, likely with an exit fee above and beyond the $5 million specified in the league's bylaws. However, Commissioner John Marinatto is open to letting the two schools out, softening his previous stance on the issue, according to a report on Wednesday.

The news comes from CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy:

College football industry sources told CBSSports.com that "there is no doubt" Pittsburgh and Syracuse will be in the ACC in 2013. It's just a question of what type of additional compensation the Big East would require from each school.

With Temple now in the mix, the Big East could have a logjam on its hands if the two schools remain in the conference for the 2012 season. The Big East also could add another football school -- something Marinatto discussed on Wednesday -- to go along with Temple, again mitigating the loss of Syracuse and Pitt.

Be sure to visit Big East Coast Bias for all your Big East needs.

Temple was officially announced as the newest Big East member on Wednesday during a press conference at MSG. The Big East will pick up Temple's $6 million buyout, as announced earlier, and the Owls will be on their way to their new home with the quickness. Wednesday's press conference was all about the details, including what's next for the Big East and ... Villanova.

Marinatto seems determined to keep the conference moving forward with expansion, even if he prefaced everything by saying the Big East wouldn't explore new members until it lost current members. This will happen soon, leading to a statement that should raise the eyebrows of other birds of a feather.

Marinatto: "Our intention to have 7 (fball) members in each division.Want to get to 14 teams, looking specifically for a Western partner"

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) March 7, 2012

Air Force, be ready.

If you were wondering, there will be lots of butt-kicking. Temple is, apparently, the new sheriff in town.

Temple President says "everybody come on down and watch us kick Villanova's butt"

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) March 7, 2012

Temple President: After saying Temple will kick "Notre Dame's butt.," says "We're going to give the Big East exactly what they deserve"

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) March 7, 2012

The Temple Owls will leave the MAC and Atlantic 10 for the Big East, joining in 2012 in football and in 2013 in other sports. The Big East has set a 5:30 p.m. ET presser to announce the move, but the MAC's gone ahead and done the announcing for them.

In a statement, the spurned football conference best known for making Tuesday nights the finest of the week revealed Temple's $6 million buyout and its new division alignment (which still has a tidy 13 teams, since UMass is coming up from FCS). That's a much larger buyout than the MAC was reportedly going to get from Temple, so maybe everybody's happy here?

The statement:

The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced today in conjunction with Temple University that the two parties have reached an agreement for Temple to leave the Conference immediately. Temple spent five seasons (2007-11) with the Conference.

Statement from MAC Commissioner, Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher regarding Temple:

"Temple University requested to be released from its obligation, as a football-only member of providing two season's prior notice before departing the Mid-American Conference. As a result the Conference and its member institutions engaged in a dialogue with Temple regarding an appropriate resolution. We have come to an agreement that is fair to the parties involved."

"As a result, the Mid-American Conference has adjusted its football divisional alignment. Bowling Green State University will compete in the East Division that will consist of seven member institutions. The West Division will have six members. The eight-game Conference schedule should be released within several weeks."

Additional Information:

-The negotiated exit fee for Temple to leave the Mid-American Conference is $6 million.

-2012 MAC Football Divisional Alignment

East Division: Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State, UMass, Miami, Ohio

West Division: Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan.

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The Big East has scheduled a press conference for noon. It's probably not about Peyton Manning or the New Orleans Saints. It's probably also not about announcing the start of the Big East Tournament. What oh what could it be about? Let's ask the Houston Cougars, soon-to-be Big East members:

Big East adds another school today...final member! Announcement at noon.

— Renu Khator (@UHpres) March 7, 2012

That's either the Miami Marlins or the Temple Owls, and, thanks to CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy, we're pretty sure it's Temple. Owls football will indeed join the Big East for 2012, but McMurphy reports other sports won't join until 2013. There's a bit of a scheduling rush that makes Temple football quite valuable to the league immediately, since the West Virginia Mountaineers left a schedule gap when they left for the Big 12. The same vacancy doesn't exist in basketball, as the Big East will have approximately all of the basketball teams.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly.

We've been reading for almost a year that the Temple Owls are going to return to the Big East in 2012. Even though it looked like realignment had died down for the time being, reports flared up again over the past week that we are still living in Temple-realignmenty times. The MAC side of things appears to think it'll happen any minute now.

And according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, things are indeed in rapid motion:

Multiple sources, Big East presidents began meeting at 8 am, voting on adding #Temple football in 2012 and all other sports in 2013

— Keith Pompey (@pompeysgridlock) March 7, 2012

Temple was a member of the Big East until 2004, when it was booted for its unpopular football program. In the MAC, that program has become slightly more popular, but everything in the MAC is an utter joy to behold, so of course it has.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly.

The Temple Owls will return to the Big East any day now. You know that, I know that, and once school officials started denying it, we all knew it. The MAC side has confirmed Temple's interest, and about the only thing left to do is watch the Owls fly (owl term) back to their old nest.

It should absolutely, definitely happen any day now, a MAC source tells the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey. According to the report, the MAC was working on buyout details over the weekend. Temple is supposed to be joining the Big East in time to replace West Virginia on the 2012 football schedule.

Speaking of buyouts, Temple is expected to owe $2.5 million to the MAC for moving its football program and $2 million to the Atlantic 10 for moving everything else.

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For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly.

Reports surfaced this week that Temple was planning to accept an invitation to join the Big East, with a potential announcement coming as soon as Wednesday. Those plans were put on hold for further discussions among the school's Board of Trustees and on Saturday, the chairman, Patrick J. O'Connor, denied previous reports that an agreement had been reached to move all of Temple's athletics program to the Big East by the 2012-2013 seasons.

Via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer:

"There is no verbal commitment, no written commitment and no oral commitment," Patrick J. O'Connor, chairman of Temple's board of trustees, told csnphilly.com. "We are still evaluating. That is a fact."

The Big East presidents will meet in New York this week during the men's basketball tournament, where Temple is sure to be a subject of discussion. There's still no timetable or projection for when an official announcement will be made.

Steady inhabitants of the bottom of the standings, the Owls were kicked out of the Big East in 2004. The program has since turned around in the MAC and joining the Big East would fill the void created by West Virginia's departure to the Big 12.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly and Big East Coast Bias.

The Temple Owls' Board of Trustees Athletics Committee (proper nouns) was all set to meet Wednesday about their long-presumed return to the Big East, but OH COME ON. The Temple News reports that meeting has been canceled, and instead there will be an executive meeting to talk about contracts.

The report cites Assistant Vice President of University Communications Ray Betzner (proper nouns) as saying there's unlikely to be anything announced Wednesday, meaning it'll be another four years before Temple's in the Big East on a Leap Day.

Temple's last Leap Day in the Big East occurred in 2004, the year it was kicked out of the conference for not giving much of a hoot (owl term) about football. Temple appears to only make major moves in Leap Years. In 2008, it seems they decided to start going to bowl games again pretty soon, and so they did. Thanks for listening.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly and Big East Coast Bias.

The Temple Owls have been telling recruits for almost a year that they're going to soon make a return to the Big East. So now that it's time to go ahead and take the leap, Temple officials are going to have a meeting to talk about whether the school should actually make a return to the Big East. CSNPhilly.com reports:

Temple University's Board of Trustees will meet via conference call Wednesday afternoon to discuss the fate of the school's athletic program and perhaps accept an invitation to become a member of the Big East Conference in all sports.

Temple was a member of the Big East until 2004, when it was shooed away due to its football program. Since then, it has put together a real, live MAC powerhouse. If Temple was to rejoin, it would be for all sports and for the 2012-2013 seasons, which would patch the hole in the Big East's schedule left by the departure of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly and Big East Coast Bias.

The Big 12 does not have 12 teams now, and it will not have 12 teams in the future unless it starts adding to its arsenal. The number 12 at this moment is a reference to the invisible 12th planet in our solar system, I think. The Louisville Cardinals and BYU Cougars remain the presumed top candidates for those two spots, with fresh rumors regarding the status of the boys from Provo.

BYU's Rivals site reports the Cougars are "aggressively pursuing" membership in the Big 12, which follows previous reports that BYU's particular stances on certain media issues would prevent such a partnership. According to Deep Shades of Blue, both BYU and Louisville could be added in time for 2013. BYU would join in all sports, according to the report.

BYU is currently independent in football, and Louisville remains one of the Big East's football crown jewels for the time being.

For more on Cougars football, visit BYU blog Vanquish The Foe.

For more on Cardinals football, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle, plus Big East blog Big East Coast Bias and SB Nation Indiana.

Despite considering the move from a financial and timing perspective, Boise State has decided not to leave the Mountain West Conference a year early and join the Big East in 2012, the school announced Wednesday afternoon.

Boise State President Dr. Bob Kustra released a statement announcing the school's plan.

"While we have had several discussions with the Big East and the WAC in moving our sports into those two leagues a year earlier than previously stated, the University feels there were too many obstacles to overcome to make the move at this time. While there certainly would have been advantages in making the move a year early, it became clear that it would not be fiscally responsible, as all of the expenses associated with early entry into the two conferences would not be covered."

According to Brett McMurphy, an early move would have cost the school between $7M-$9M in penalties to the Mountain West and $1.5M to the WAC, where all of Boise's non-football sports are played currently.

The official announcement coincides with the news that the Temple Owls are close to joining the Big East as a full member in 2012. If the Owls do come aboard, an early move doesn't make sense for the Broncos at all.

For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State blog OBNUG, plus SB Nation Denver and Big East Coast Bias.

The Temple Owls have been talking up a return to the Big East for almost a year now, and according to multiple reports, they might just about be set to make it in. CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reports Temple is likely to replace the West Virginia Mountaineers in all sports in 2012. The 2012-2013 athletic year begins in just a few months, and we're really cutting it close this time around.

It would also eliminate the need for the Boise St. Broncos to hurry up and make a move without having a good place to stow their non-football teams. Boise had been looking at a return to the WAC with their other sports, but the WAC might not exist beyond any particular day of the week.

The Big East would have 13 eventual football members if Temple joined on and nobody left, but this does raise speculation that the Louisville Cardinals could be headed to the Big 12.

The Big East will have 11 football teams in 2013, assuming nothing else goes completely sideways and the Louisville Cardinals don't leave for the Big 12. This much we know. The Navy Midshipmen are also scheduled to port in 2015, bringing the league to a tidy 12. Boise State could join early, Syracuse could try and leave early, and various other adjustments could occur, but 12 teams seems to be on pace.

And then Pete Thamel reports the Temple Owls could return to the Big East in all sports, which would put the conference in line for 13 football schools. Which means it would pretty much need 14, unless if Louisville leaves. This will never end!

It also confirms chatter from last summer by a number of recruits that Temple was promising a conference call-up.

The Owls have been invited to join the internet-dubbed Mount USA conglomerate as well. Temple was a former member of the Big East until 2004, when it was booted due to poor football attendance. Since toiling in the MAC, Temple's put together two of its all-time four bowl trips and a pair of nine-win seasons. Also, everyone in Philadelphia is madly in love with college football all of a sudden < --- this is a lie.

For more on Temple football, visit SB Nation Philly. Also, head over to Big East Coast Bias.

Speculation over whether or not the Pittsburgh Panthers would jump from the Big East to the ACC this season can all but stop now that Pitt AD Steve Pederson uttered an emphatic "no" when asked the question by Jerry DiPaola of TribLive.com.

The word was "NO" — maybe the most emphatic "NO" I have heard in my life (and, believe me, I have heard it more often than I care to remember).

Pederson did not explain his answer, because there was no need. It was in response to my question about Pitt possibly considering paying more than the required $5 million Big East exit fee to flee to the ACC.

That would close the door on both Pitt and the Syracuse Orange jumping ship in 2012, and it might put a serious damper on the schools leaving before the 27-month period required by Big East bylaws. Both schools' athletic directors are now on record as saying they would not pay the kind of money that West Virginia paid for an early release to their new home, the Big 12.

The big question for Pitt and Syracuse now is: Who will they play to fill those two open spots on their 2012 football schedules?

For more on Pittsburgh football, visit Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, plus SB Nation Pittsburgh.

The Boise St. Broncos are scheduled to join the Big East in 2013, but haven't ruled out joining in 2012. The Broncos have reportedly been in touch with the WAC about stowing their non-football sports there for 2012 if need be, and the conference reportedly has been pressuring BSU to join early to offset the loss of the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Sounds like we know what the Big East could do to convince Boise State to join ahead of schedule:

"Before we make any move, we need to make sure we cover all our expenses," [athletic director Mark] Coyle said. "If a transition takes place now, there are expenses we need to cover before we make a move."

It would cost Boise State between $7.5 million and $9 million to leave the Mountain West this fall. The Broncos could owe the Western Athletic Conference - where their other spots programs are headed - additional money as well for joining that league a year early.

Could we end up seeing, in a roundabout fashion, the Big 12's reported payment for West Virginia end up going to the Mountain West?

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For more on Broncos football, visit Boise State blog OBNUG, plus SB Nation Denver and Big East Coast Bias.

The West Virginia Mountaineers have made it out of the Big East in time for 2012, but the Pittsburgh Panthers and Syracuse Orange won't be able to do the same. They're staying put, and thus avoiding having to pay a $20 million buyout like WVU's. But even the Big East isn't sold on making them stick around until the bylaw'd 2014 season.

Commissioner John Marinatto said the Big East "might be open to a discussion" on letting the two head to the ACC a year early. That's a change both from what the parties originally agreed to and from what Marinatto had recommended when the news broke and since.

Why the shift? The Big East will add quite a few teams next year, and it could be simpler to make a clean break. Out with the old! Keeping two programs around for one more year while importing [/counts on fingers] almost a half-dozen, with another one or two on the way later, could make for some brow-furrowing scheduling dilemmas. That's what I think, at least.

For more on Cuse football, visit Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, plus SB Nation New York. For more on Pittsburgh football, visit Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, plus SB Nation Pittsburgh.

The West Virginia Mountaineers have finally broken up with the Big East, though according to the Big East's statement, it's not exactly clear who's dumping whom. We'd thought WVU was the one leaving the Big East for another, but the Big East says it's "terminating" West Virginia's membership. All this on Valentine's Day, you guys.

All lawsuits and so forth were dismissed. Thank the good Lord we never have to hear about these particular lawsuits again.

This means the Big 12, Big East, and ACC can go on ahead and release their football schedules for 2012 now. The Big 12 is expected to release its within the hour, as it's been more or less ready to go for about two weeks now.

West Virginia will settle with the Big East for an undisclosed amount, which has been reported at $20 million. It's also been reported the Big 12 will pay half of that, and most of the rest will come from money the Big East owed WVU anyway.

For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

By multiple accounts, Valentine's Day is the day for the West Virginia Mountaineers to finally flee the clutches of the Big East for the Big 12. The spurned conference will announce soon that WVU has left and will compete in the Big 12 in 2012-2013, CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reports. He also reports the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers won't leave early for the ACC.

Regarding that $20 million buyout West Virginia owes the Big East for splitting early, the MetroNews reports $2.5 million has already been paid, along with an interesting structure for the next $10 million:

WVU, however, will get half of that payment from the Big 12, sources say. $5 million will be a direct gift while the remaining $5 million will be returned to the Big 12 in future years by WVU taking a smaller payout from the league.

The remaining $7.5 million could be composed of money that the Big East owed West Virginia anyway, meaning the 'Eers could get out of the deal without having to pay much of anything. See what a little lawyerin' and a little patience can get you?

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For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

Of the $20 million that the West Virginia Mountaineers have been required to pay the Big East in order to leave the conference in 2012, the Big 12 is kicking in half via a $10M loan, according to Austin American-Statesman sports columnist Kirk Bohls.

West Virginia will reportedly repay $5M annually in $1M payments over the next five years while the other $5M will be forgiven.

Earlier, CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy reported that the initial report of a $11M/$9M split between the school and the conference was untrue and this seems to back that.

However they worked it out, it's money well spent for the Big 12. They can now go about their business, issue a schedule with the Mountaineers on it and move forward with their new partner.

Meanwhile, the Big East is now scrambling to fill the spot left vacant by West Virginia before Syracuse and Pitt get itchy.

For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

West Virginia and the Big East have reached a conditional settlement that will allow the Mountaineers to join the Big 12 in 2012, according to a report by Mike Casazza. The settlement would reportedly net the Big East $20 million, with West Virginia and the Big 12 each paying a portion of the large sum.

Casazza and Jared Hunt broke it all down in a story for the Charleston Daily Mail.

On Thursday, a source close to the negotiations said the additional $9 million would come in the form of contributions from other Big 12 member schools.

In that proposed scenario, WVU's $11 million payment would cover three things: The Big East's $5 million exit fee, Boise State's $5 million buyout fee, and $1 million to match what each Big 12 school is paying.

The settlement matches up with the numerous reports that have trickled out throughout the week. However, West Virginia's ability to leave for the Big 12 would not be contingent on Boise State immediately joining the Big East for the 2012 season. It's unclear if the Broncos will be able to make their move right away, though the Big East is reportedly considering having Syracuse and Rutgers play twice, if Boise State cannot replace West Virginia right away.

The West Virginia Mountaineers' efforts to flee the Big East could finally result in success, according to the Charleston Daily Mail, which says a settlement between the school and the conference has been agreed to. However, Mitch Vingle reports to the contrary.

As further evidence, Texas Tech Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt says the long-delayed Big 12 football schedule will be released Friday. If so, it will have been delayed at least 11 days by WVU's wrangling with its former conference.

But the Big East could still avoid having Rutgers and Syracuse play each other or some other desperate slapdash. The Boise St. Broncos, whose president Bob Kustra has previously denied they could join the Big East in time for the 2012 season, may actually be able to fill the gap.

CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reports Boise State has been in touch with the WAC about possibly stowing its non-football sports there if it needs to make a break for the Big East ahead of schedule. Broncos beat writer Brian Murphy concurs.

Either way, it sounds like one thing will finally be out of the way this week.

For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

While it's been reported the West Virginia Mountaineers will pay something like $20 million to escape the Big East in time for the 2012 football season, it's not quite official yet. Thursdsay, the Rhode Island judge hearing the lawsuit by the Big East against WVU (not the West Virginia judge hearing the lawsuit by WVU against the Big East, you see) issued the following statement:

"The result of the Big East/WVU conference with Judge (Michael) Silverstein this morning is that the matter is continued to an unspecified date for another status conference."

"The Rhode Island case continues on a path toward trial, though Judge Silverstein is certainly open to news of a settlement if that happens in the interim. The judge did not disclose anything more specific than that regarding his discussions with the attorneys this morning."

The Big 12's public release of its football schedule is waiting on the WVU situation, with the ACC also waiting thanks to a Mountaineers game against Florida State also in the balance. The Big East obviously has to wait as well, meaning a third of the nation's current BCS conferences are held up by the Morgantown dispute.

For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

From the sounds of it, West Virginia is basically out the door and headed to the Big 12 for the 2012 football season. This is no surprising, but it does leave the Big East in a bit of a pickle -- likely part of the reason the conference was so dead-set on keeping the 'Eers around, though there's more to the story. And if the Big East can't find a quick replacement for West Virginia, hilarity may ensue.

The solution involves Syracuse and Rutgers and something rather rare, if not unprecedented.

If Big East can't find replacement for WVU this fall, Star-Ledger reports Syracuse & Rutgers could play each other twice

— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyCBS) February 9, 2012

I have no idea if this has happened before, but nothing immediately comes to mind. Remember, we're not talking about a regular season and postseason matchup; this is two teams playing each other twice during the regular season. It's kind of like college basketball, but not.

For more on the Mountaineers fight to leave the Big East, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

With each new update, it looks more and more likely that the West Virginia Mountaineers will play football in the Big 12 and not the Big East in 2012.

Mike Casazza of the Daily Mail is reporting that West Virginia is the midst of a negotiation to pay a "cash value" settlement of $11 million to complete its exit from the Big East.

Earlier in the day, CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy reported that West Virginia was close to a $20M buyout with the Big East, though that may include financial considerations beyond an actual buyout payment.

Casazza says the arrangement may be announced as early as Thursday, the same day the school and Big East are supposed to have a conference with Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein regarding their mutual legal action.

The addition of a new Big East member to replace West Virginia in 2012 is mentioned as a possible condition of the deal as well. Otherwise, the conference is left with seven football members in 2012, all of whom will have to scramble to replace WVU on their schedule.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit The Smoking Musket. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

According to CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy, who is rarely ever wrong about these things, West Virginia and the Big East have finally sat down to talk about a buyout in the range of $20M, ending their legal battles and allowed the Mountaineers to leave for the Big 12 in 2012.

West Virginia and the Big East Conference are nearing agreement on a settlement worth at least $20 million that would resolve all issues between both parties, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com.

The Mountaineers will join the Big 12 for the 2012-13 school year. However, in a bizarre twist, sources told CBSSports.com that West Virginia officials have contacted future Big East members to see if one could join in 2012 instead of 2013.

The move would cause a massive problem for the Big East in the short-term. It would leave the current conference schools with only six league games as well as the last-minute need to replace West Virginia with what would likely be a game against a lesser opponent (read: lost TV exposure).

Not to mention that it sets a precedent for the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, who both would love to leave for the ACC before the 2014 season that they're currently scheduled for.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

Wednesday, the Big East officially announced the addition of the Memphis Tigers, who'll FedEx all their athletics endeavors over from Conference USA in 2013. The move won't mean a full 12 teams for a football title game until 2015, when Navy joins, and that's only if Louisville doesn't leave before then. So there could be a sub-Memphis team still waiting for a Big East invite. This is sad for the Big East, but pretty great for Memphis. So yay Memphis!

Reaction collected by Big East Coat Bias shows this is viewed as a decent basketball move for the Big East, but a disastrous football decision. The conference didn't have very many options left (ECU will just be over there bringing in 50,000 per game in football attendance; don't mind them), though.

Here's the entire press release from the conference:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The BIG EAST Conference has formally announced the addition of the University of Memphis, an institution with a national profile that has achieved impressive athletic success, as a full conference member. The Tigers will begin competing in the BIG EAST in the 2013-14 academic year.

The BIG EAST Conference Board of Directors, by a unanimous vote of its Presidents, extended the invitation for membership to Memphis.

The addition of Memphis brings the BIG EAST's football membership to 12 schools. Ultimately, the BIG EAST will have 17 full members. In December, the BIG EAST announced the additions of the University of Central Florida, University of Houston and Southern Methodist University as full members and Boise State University and San Diego State University as football members. In January, the Naval Academy was added as a football member.

The addition of Memphis, along with the five schools announced in December and Navy, will boost the BIG EAST's television reach to more than 31 million homes, which is nearly 28 percent of all U.S. television households. Thirteen conference members will be located among the top 30 television markets and 17 will be in the top 50.

The BIG EAST already had the largest media footprint in college athletics and the addition of Memphis makes that footprint even larger.

"Over the past decade, the University of Memphis has demonstrated an unwavering commitment of competing at the highest level in college sports," said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. "The University has positioned itself for long-term success by upgrading facilities and investing wisely in various areas of the athletic department including coaching and administration. We are confident that the addition of this outstanding athletics program located in a top 50 media market and in the heart of the nation's largest conference footprint will further propel the BIG EAST and the University of Memphis to even greater levels of success in the future."

"It is with great pleasure that we officially welcome the University of Memphis to the BIG EAST Conference," stated Judy Genshaft, University of South Florida President and Chair of the BIG EAST Board of Directors. "Our Board was very impressed with the University, its ongoing commitment to academic and athletic excellence, as well as its strong community support. We are excited about renewing old relationships, starting new ones and look forward to working together with President Raines and her team in the future."

The University of Memphis, founded in 1912, is one of Tennessee's three comprehensive doctoral-extensive institutions of higher learning. The University has 26 Chairs of Excellence, more than any other Tennessee university, and five state-approved Centers of Excellence. The school offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 55 majors.

"This is an historical day for the University of Memphis," said Dr. Shirley C. Raines, University of Memphis President. "On behalf of the faculty, staff, alumni, fans, students and especially, our student-athletes, we are thrilled to accept the invitation from the BIG EAST Conference to become a member in all sports in 2013. We are grateful to President Judy Genshaft and the entire BIG EAST Conference Board for their unanimous vote for the University of Memphis and Tiger athletics."

"This is an exciting day for Tiger athletics," said Memphis Athletics Director R.C. Johnson. "Many years ago we set as a departmental goal the task of being the best that we could be in every athletic endeavor. With today's invitation to join many of our friends in such a prestigious conference means we have achieved one of our top missions."

Memphis sponsors 19 sports, 10 men's and nine women's. The men's basketball team has enjoyed national success for decades. The Tigers, who play in the FedExForum, have made 23 appearances in the NCAA Championship, have reached the NCAA Final Four three times and played in the 2008 national championship game. They have compiled a 32-23 NCAA record in the men's tournament. The Tigers football team has earned bowl invitations in five of the last nine years. Justin Fuente is the football program's new head coach.

In the last eight years, Memphis teams have won 17 conference championships in men's basketball, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's golf and men's track and field. The men's basketball program has captured five regular-season conference titles and five tournament championships. The women's soccer program has won five straight league crowns and made five straight NCAA appearances from 2007-11.

Memphis student-athletes have earned significant academic success. The U of M had a school-record 217 student-athletes achieve a 3.0 GPA or better in the 2011 fall semester, including 27 student-athletes who posted a 4.0 GPA. For the second straight semester, Memphis student-athletes, as a whole, tallied a mark of 3.0 or higher. In 2010-11, seven teams achieved their highest semester GPAs during the 2010-11 academic year.

In 2015, the BIG EAST football membership will consist of Boise State, UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Navy, Rutgers, San Diego State, SMU and USF.

In 2015, the BIG EAST basketball membership will include UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Houston, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, SMU, USF and Villanova.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

Though the vast majority of the NCAA's conference realignment madness has passed, there are still a few conferences making big moves. The Big East, which will soon include as many as 46 teams from eight different countries, is about to add its newest member. Though this addition will not help them in their bid to join the United Nations, they might get a little stronger in basketball.

According to an AP Report, Memphis will announce their move to the conference shortly. Athletic Director R.C. Johnson said the school is holding a press conference regarding the school's athletic affiliation on Wednesday.

In all seriousness, Memphis is east of the Mississippi River and has both a strong basketball program and a football program that was respectable not too long ago. If they're trying to stay alive in the new-look NCAA, it's not a bad move. This move was speculated about earlier today, and it now appears closer to being a reality. The Big East is desperately trying to survive after having some of its marquee members poached, and though they haven't pulled off any massive coups, they're doing a decent job of keeping themselves afloat.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

The Pittsburgh Panthers are in active, internal discussions to leave the Big East Conference in 2012 if the West Virginia Mountaineers are able to leave the conference first, according to the Post-Gazette.

I am now becoming more and more convinced in the conversations I've had in the past two days that Pitt will be in the ACC in 2012 and here is why - the school has had enough with the way the Big East has mangled this all and frankly is waiting on West Virginia.

If - or more accurately - when, West Virginia finally declares they are leaving for the 2012 season officially and the Big 12 schedule is announced with WVU on it, Pitt is going to follow them out the door and dare the Big East to stop them.

The report also mentions that Pitt AD Steve Pederson has become extremely optimistic about Pitt and the Syracuse Orange joining the ACC by next athletic season.

The report also mentions that even if they stay and West Virginia leaves, Pitt and Syracuse could sue the Big East over breach of contract since both schools will lose what would have been a marquee television game and the revenue that goes with it.

However ugly you think this situation is, remember, it can always get uglier.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

Sounds like Rick Pitino's about to get his wish. The Louisville Cardinals coach, who's lobbied for the Memphis Tigers to be included in the new worldwide Big East, is surely pleased to see CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reporting the Tigers are expected to join in all sports in two years. This follows up on earlier buzz about such a move.

Bringing on Memphis football won't excite anybody, as it may be the most downtrodden program in the FBS ranks, but Tigers basketball could help restore a portion of the Big East's traditional hoops-first image.

Once the Navy Midshipmen join in 2015, the league could be up to a hearty 12 football members, allowing it to play conference championship games. This would also seem to indicate the Air Force Falcons remained unconvinced for this go-round, unless the Big East is thinking a heart 14 football members spanning the globe. However, Louisville still seem like a good bet to leave for the Big 12, and Pitino would have a new conference to try and drag Memphis into. It never ends!

The good news: Memphis is at least east of the Mississippi, even if only by a little bitty bit.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

The West Virginia Mountaineers recently notified the Florida St. Seminoles that they will be backing out of their scheduled game in 2012, indicating to many that WVU is expecting to move to the Big 12 this season, hence the need to drop one non-conference game.

FSU doesn't much care about that, they're more concerned about the potential money they could be losing over the cancelled series, which would have included a 2012 game in Tallahassee and a 2013 game in Morgantown. WVU will have to pay a $500,000 buyout, per the contract, but that doesn't cover lost ticket sales, travel costs and changes in TV revenue.

So, they're considering suing WVU over it.

"We have the buyout, there's that, and then there will be whatever liquidated damages," Spetman said. "If we aren't able to find another team, that's what we're going to have to look at.

"You're talking about a lot of money."

To which the Big East was heard telling FSU, "Wait in line."

For more on the West Virginia Mountaineers visit SB Nation's West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Florida State Seminoles, visit SB Nation's Seminoles blog Tomahawk Nation. For more college football, visit SB Nation's college football news hub.

The Florida State Seminoles were set to host the West Virginia Mountaineers in Tallahassee on Sept. 8 but West Virginia has pulled out of the game, according to a report by Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports.

If you're looking for more evidence West Virginia is likely headed to the Big 12 this fall, the Mountaineers canceled their Sept. 8 game at Florida State, sources told CBSSports.com.

West Virginia originally had its 2012 schedule formatted for eight conference games as a Big East member - that's before TCU's decision to join the Big 12. But if the Mountaineers join the Big 12 this fall, they will have nine conference games and had to drop one contest.

As McMurphy explains, the canceling of this game looks like the Mountaineers are gearing up to join the Big 12 in the 2012 NCAA season. West Virginia will have to pay Florida State $500,000 for pulling out of the game less than 12 months before kickoff, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman released the following statement about the game:

We were informed in writing late Friday afternoon of West Virginia University's intention to cancel its 2012 football game with Florida State University scheduled for September 8 in Tallahassee. We are disappointed for our coaches, players and fans that this game will not take place as originally scheduled. We now face the challenge of completing our 2012 schedule just seven months before the start of the season. We will work quickly and diligently to fill the hole on our schedule and will communicate with our season ticket holders and fans as the process moves forward.

Florida State will now be scrambling to fill the early home game, but McMurphy notes that the best replacements might be future ACC members Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

For more on the West Virginia Mountaineers visit SB Nation's West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Florida State Seminoles, visit SB Nation's Seminoles blog Tomahawk Nation. For more college football, visit SB Nation's college football news hub.

The Boise St. Broncos, along with various small programs in big markets around the country, are scheduled to join the Big East for football in 2013. And the Air Force Falcons have long been considering signing on along with the newly joined Navy Midshipmen. Jon Wilner reports the Big East would like to speed those things along, now that the Big 12 has put the West Virginia Mountaineers on its yet-to-be-released 2012 football schedule.

@wilnerhotline Source: Boise State under pressure from Big East to join in '12 to offset WVU departure. AF likely to join Navy in BE; question is when.

Lawsuits probably abound, but at least it looks like one conference will enter 2012 with a stable arrangement. We'll trust that the Big East, which has been quite upset with exits made by its members, is experiencing a fierce bout of angst and guilt about looking to take away perhaps the Mountain West's best two football programs.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to our college conference realignment section.

While the public still waits to see a 2012 Big 12 football schedule, the conference has released a ten-team schedule to its TV partners, Fox Sports and ABC/ESPN, which includes the West Virginia Mountaineers and TCU Horned Frogs.

The schedule has been passed along per contract requirements with their television partners, says the Star-Telegram. According to a statement by Bob Burda, the Big 12 associate commissioner/communications, the schedule will be released publicly "in the near future."

The public release of the schedule stems from WVU's current legal battle with the Big East Conference, which has refused to allow the school to leave before the 27-month waiting period agreed to in league bylaws. A Rhode Island judge ordered West Virginia and the Big East into nonbinding mediation to resolve their competing lawsuits and an update is expected by Feb. 9.

For more college football, visit SB Nation's college football news hub.

Not only has conference realignment driven away the Big East's best football program, its exciting addition and two respectable all-around schools, now it's also reportedly discouraging football coaches from sticking around. Greg Schiano left the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in part because of the conference's unsteadiness, according to Joe Schad:

@schadjoe Schiano was intrigued by NFL challenge but also concerned about perceived uncertainty of the future direction the Big East

Schiano should soon be announced as the next Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach. He leaves Syracuse Orange coach Doug Marrone, who's entering his fourth year, as the longest-tenured Big East coach -- but guess what? Cuse is leaving the Big East soon, too.

Boise St. Broncos coach Chris Petersen will soon take over dean status, assuming he's still around when the Big East goes national. (And if he leaves, it's time to hit the fire alarms and just start running into stuff.)

For more on the Scarlet Knights, visit Rutgers blog On the Banks, Big East Coast Bias and SB Nation New York. For more on Tampa Bay, head to Buccaneers blog Bucs Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

The Navy Midshipmen have officially charted course for the Big East, with a Tuesday afternoon announcement proclaiming their 2015 docking, but only for football. Whether they can help persuade the Air Force Falcons to lend air support remains to be seen. One thing they have accomplished, however, is blockading current conference members from escaping without paying a $10 million exit fee.

As foretold long ago by commissioner John Marinatto, the admittance of either Navy or Air Force would double the conference's current exit fee. Not sure who else is left that's actually a target for another conference -- Louisville or Boise State for the Big 12, perhaps -- but there's really little difference between a $5 million penalty and a $10 million one, when you really get down to the money at stake in conference realignment.

Still, the Mids have given up well over a century of football independence to join the same conference as DePaul basketball. Games against San Diego State should come with ready-made story lines, thanks to San Diego's naval presence, but other than that ...

For more Navy football, visit SB Nation DC. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias.

The Navy Midshipmen and Big East will announce the joining of their respective fleets at a 3 p.m. ET Tuesday media teleconference, giving the conference 11 members from the year 2015 onward. Navy's joining in football only, making them unlike much of the Big East's non-football membership.

To recap, the Big East is losing Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC plus West Virginia to the Big 12, but gaining Boise State, UCF, Houston, SMU, and San Diego State beginning in 2013. Air Force was also weighing whether to join when last we'd heard, while Army has already declined.

Navy has been independent in football for longer than any other school. The year 2015 will mark the first time they ever play in a conference, and it'll probably be some game across the entire world against SMU or some such. While they have clear cultural ties with SDSU's community, this is all a little gross.

For more Navy football, visit SB Nation DC. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias.

The Navy Midshipmen are expected to announce at some point Tuesday they'll be joining the Big East in 2015 for football only, expanding that conference to 11 members. That will end the nation's longest streak of football independence -- Navy's been independent longer than Notre Dame's been playing football, in fact.

Why wait until 2015? Based on comments made by Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk earlier in the process to CBS Sports, working through established, long-term television deals was likely one critical factor:

In 2013, the Big East is adding Boise State and San Diego State as football-only members and UCF, Houston and SMU as all sports members, but Gladchuk previously said it was unlikely Navy could solve a myriad of its scheduling problems and television contracts in that short of time. Navy has games scheduled through 2017 and television contracts with CBS College Sports and CBS Sports (Navy-Army game) through 2018, Gladchuk said.

Navy football will join the Boise St. Broncos, Houston Cougars and others in creating a new, national Big East, though it remains to be seen whether they'll be joined by service academy brethren Air Force. Army has already said it's not interested in doing the whole joining-a-conference thing again.

For more Navy football, visit SB Nation DC. For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias.

It seems the Big East will become just a little bit bigger, and doesn't have to go all the way to San Diego to do it this time. According to a report from ESPN's Joe Schad, the Navy Midshipmen will join the Big East as football-only members in 2015. Once a football doormat, the Mids made nine consecutive appearances in bowl games last decade, a streak that ended just this past season.

Navy will join a motley crew of sorts in the Big East. After losing Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC in the first wave of realignment, West Virginia defected to the Big 12 and TCU, which was slated to join the Big East next football season, changed its mind and became another Texas team in the Big 12. Schad sums it up nicely:

Big East Football, circa 2015: where "meh" happens.

Update: Numerous outlets have confirmed Schad's report, including CBS Sports and the Associated Press.

For updates on Big East football, basketball and expansion, visit Big East Coast Bias.

The Big East is no longer the bite-sized replica of its bigger BCS automatic qualifier brethren going forward, thanks to an expansion of five new teams, including Boise State, that was finalized last week. That newfound size and stability has Navy intrigued, and the Midshipmen are looking to join the Big East as football-only members at some point in the future, CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy writes.

Navy's fears about the Big East's future prospects have been assuaged, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk claims: "Our No. 1 question was stability and as of last Wednesday, guess what? There's stability in the Big East." But the Midshipmen have obstacles of their own to deal with, such as the reconfiguration of their slates of football schedules and the development of an exit strategy for their television contracts, both of which will endure as issues until 2018.

Navy would likely play eight conference games in the Big East while retaining its rivalry match-ups with Army, Air Force, and Notre Dame, leaving the Middies with just one game to independently schedule each year.

For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias.

While the Boise St. Broncos football team will now compete in the Big East Conference, most of their remaining sports will continue to participate in the WAC, according to the school.

Most of Boise State’s other athletic teams, including men’s and women’s basketball, will compete in the Western Athletic Conference, also effective July 1, 2013.

Boise State was a full member of the WAC between 2001 and 2011 before leaving to join the Mountain West this past year. They'll remain there for one more season.

Western Athletic Conference membership for 2013 is expected to include Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State, plus newcomers Denver, Seattle, Texas State, UT-Arlington and UT-San Antonio.

Keep up with the latest news and notes on the conference expansion whirlwind, with SB Nation's comprehensive conference realignment coverage. And for more fan perspective on the Broncos, head to our blog One Bronco Nation Under God.

The Big East Conference made it official Wednesday during a conference call when they officially introduced the the Houston Cougars, Boise St. Broncos, San Diego St. Aztecs, Central Florida Knights and SMU Mustangs as new members of the conference.

Houston, UCF and SMU will join as full members while Boise State and San Diego State will join as football-only members.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto lauded the invitations, saying the conference now has the "single largest media footprint spanning from coast to coast in football. The Big East will truly be the first national football conference."

Marinatto reiterated as much in official statements.

"Over the last 32 years, the BIG EAST Conference has constantly evolved along with landscape of college athletics," said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. "The inclusion of these five great universities, which bring a unique blend of premier academics, top markets, strong athletics brands and outstanding competitive quality, marks the beginning of a new chapter in that evolution. We are proud to welcome these schools to the BIG EAST family."

Marinatto also confirmed that the Big East will be split into two divisions, an East and a West. The two top teams in each division are expected to play one another in a championship game. No specific timetable and timframe have been given.

Also, regardless of the move, Syracuse, West Virginia and Pittsburgh are still going to be held to the 27-month waiting period as part of the Big East bylaws before leaving for their respective new homes.

"The bylaws are the bylaws are the bylaws."

Marinatto said the goal is to eventually settle on 12 football-playing conference members.

Keep up with the latest news and notes on the conference expansion whirlwind, with SB Nation's comprehensive conference realignment coverage. And for more fan perspective on the Big East, head to our blog Big East Coast Bias.

Big East expansion rumors have been a hot topic, along with conference expansion in general, for quite a while. The conference plans to make its expansion official on Wednesday night, however, during a media teleconference at 5 p.m. Eastern time "to address conference membership."

The school didn't release any further details on its website other than a link to listen to the press conference live, but its widely expected that the Boise State Broncos, Houston Cougars, San Diego State Aztecs, Central Florida Knights and SMU Mustangs will all officially be announced as official members of the Big East during the conference call.

It's unclear exactly where the eastern portion of the conference's name comes into play when adding San Diego State into the mix, but that was likely due to Boise State requesting that a travel partner join the conference with the Broncos. San Diego State was the second option, but made the move when the BYU Cougars turned the conference down due to a disagreement with the television rights.

Keep up with the latest news and notes on the conference expansion whirlwind, with SB Nation's comprehensive conference realignment coverage. And for more fan perspective on the Big East, head to our blog Big East Coast Bias.

Forget BYU, the wheels of Big East Expansion are turning with Boise State expected to lead a major conference realignment in 2013, according to a report from CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy. On Wednesday, the Big East will add the Broncos along with Houston, San Diego State, Central Florida and Southern Methodist University.

As McMurphy has previously reported, Boise St. was reluctant to join the Big East without a west coast partner. It looks like the Aztecs will step up to fill that role. As SB Nation's college football editor Jason Kirk pointed out, this "in a way, would complete the insane redistricting of a conference with the word 'East' in its title perfectly."

Of course, this is all about money. The Big East is a basketball conference but the ability to split the conference in half and host a football championship game would bring in dollars that could help prevent a Big East diaspora if and when the college football landscape goes into full-on nuclear super-conference mode.

Keep up with the latest news and notes on the conference expansion whirlwind, with SB Nation's comprehensive conference realignment coverage. And for more fan perspective on the Big East, head to our blog Big East Coast Bias.

The BYU Cougars were expected to join the Big East Conference as recently as last week. Now, Brett McMurphy is reporting that it is "unlikely" BYU will still join due to a disagreement over television rights.

Unless BYU decides to relinquish its television rights for its home football games, the Cougars likely will not join the Big East, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com.

"I doubt BYU will happen," a college football industry source told CBSSports.com. "They are being extremely unreasonable all of a sudden. This is one reason why they did not get into the Big 12. Their general counsel (lawyers) is a piece of work."

It is unheard of for a school to retain ownership of their home television rights when joining another conference and no schools in any of the BCS AQ conferences currently do so. BYU is in its first year as an independent after leaving the Mountain West and signed an eight-year deal with ESPN last year. That deal would have to be reworked.

According to McMurphy, all of the Big East's expansion plans are on hold until this matter is settled, one way or another. Boise State will not join the conference unless they have a Western partner. Air Force has been said to be considering remaining where they are and Navy is waiting to see how things unfold.

San Diego State is rumored to be a possibility as well. Which, in a way, would complete the insane redistricting of a conference with the word "East" in its title perfectly.

For more on the Cougars, visit BYU blog Vanquish the Foe. For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias. For more on the conference expansion whirlwind, check out our conference realigment coverage.

Remember when San Diego State started blowing its conch shell in hopes of drawing the Big 12's attention? That never amounted to much, but SDSU might have managed to land the Big East's eye. Dick Harmon, Deseret News (Salt Lake City) columnist, says the Aztecs will be next in line if the BYU Cougars can't fit into the Big East's plans.

And, yeah, BYU-to-the-Big East is in trouble, according to reports. The Salt Lake Tribune's Jay Drew has reported BYU wants its TV network to retain rights to rebroadcast Cougars games, plus air one game per season that ESPN doesn't run. The Big East is reportedly hesitant, much like the Big 12 reportedly was.

Drew also named San Diego State as a potential fallback plan. It's like the Big East enjoyed your jokes about TCU being "East" so much that they're just going to keep making you tell it all over again.

For more on the Cougars, visit BYU blog Vanquish the Foe. For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias. For more on the conference expansion whirlwind, check out our conference realigment coverage.

BYU is likely to join the Big East Conference as a football-only member as soon as this week, according to a report by the Salt City Tribune.

The Cougars currently play football independently a season after leaving the Mountain West Conference.

If true, it means the Big East is on the verge of acquiring the two best available football programs in the Mountain Time Zone. The Boise St. Broncos have made it clear they intend to join the conference, though they were adamant about the Big East also bringing on other Western programs and creating a Western division.

Among the programs also assumed to be close to receiving invitations from the Big East (or already having received them) are Air Force, Navy, Houston, SMU and UCF.

Speaking of the Western Division, early ideas had the Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats being aligned with the West, something neither school reportedly wants.

According to some, the Big East would then place UCF in the West but ensure that they play local rival USF every season in order to appease the "traditional" Big East schools. That would make the East Division into: Connecticut, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, and Navy while the West division would be BYU, Houston, SMU, UCF, Boise State and Air Force.

For more on the Cougars, visit BYU blog Vanquish the Foe. For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias. For more on the conference expansion whirlwind, check out our conference realigment coverage.

While the news that BYU has joined the Big East expansion fray has people thinking about the Big East "West," one school long under consideration is starting to have second thoughts.

The Air Force Academy is apparently starting to think that staying in the Mountain West might be the smarter move than joining the Big East.

Although moving the football program to the Big East is an appealing option, sources with knowledge of academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould’s thought process, who did not want their names used because Gould has not spoken publicly about realignment in weeks, said Gould might be leaning toward staying in the Mountain West.

As you might expect from one of the service academies, the Falcons are doing their due diligence and recon work before jumping in to a conference that is about to lose three traditional members and is embarking on a national expansion with a murky future.

At the end of the day, it sounds like the AFA will wait and see how things break out with some of the other possible members, like BYU, Houston and SMU. If the Big East can assure the Falcons that there is a future in the conference, especially a financially-lucrative one, then they'll a lot more likely to pull the trigger.

For more on the Mountain West Conference , visit Mountain West Connection. For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias. For more on the conference expansion whirlwind, check out our conference realigment coverage.

There is a "push" for BYU to join the new-look Big East, according to BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The coach also told reporters at a Monday press availability session that there are "conversations in place" for the Cougars to renounce their football independence and flee for the ever-expanding BCS automatic-qualifier conference.

BYU would be the "western partner" that fellow Big East aspirant Boise State is seeking, and could certainly follow the Broncos' footsteps by aligning itself with the Big East as a football-only school.

BYU would theoretically be the Big East's 12th team, and fill out a "Big East West" division that would include Boise State, Air Force, Houston, SMU, and either Louisville or Cincinnati. The Cougars would also come with a decent television market — Salt Lake City — and a sizable national following of Mormons, given the school's prominence and connection to the Mormon faith.

For more on the Cougars, visit BYU blog Vanquish the Foe. For more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias. For more on the conference expansion whirlwind, check out our conference realigment coverage.

The outward reason that the Big East doesn't want the West Virginia Mountaineers (or the Syracuse Orange or Pittsburgh Panthers) to leave before the contracted 27-month waiting period is because they don't want to be stuck with a five-team football conference come 2012.

The much-more obvious reason that hasn't been talked about enough is the financial one. Namely, the clause in the conference's TV contract with ESPN that states the network can renegotiate reduction of rights fees.

In other words, if West Virginia walks after this year like they say they want to, the remaining Big East schools could see their TV money shrink before the current deal is even up. It would also send a serious damper into the 2014 renegotiation, which the Big East must already be dreading.

Meanwhile, just when you thought this whole situation couldn't get any more ridiculous, Dennis Dodd alerted everyone to the fact that the person who drafted the Big East's withdrawal provisions is the former West Virginia president and general counsel chief.

So, yes, West Virginia is suing to prove that the withdrawal bylaws that West Virginia wrote are unfair.

For more, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The West Virginia Mountaineers are suing the Big East, which is pretty fun. Sports are fun. Now the Big East has announced it's suing WVU in return, which is also pretty fun, like sports:

@McMurphyCBS Big East filed suit against West Virginia in Superior Court in Rhode Island, seeking WVU to comply w/Big East bylaws    

At issue: West Virginia contends it should be able to leave the Big East for the Big 12 before the agreed-upon 27-month waiting period. The Eers feel the Big East just isn't fit anymore -- despite its pending acquisitions of Boise State and other noteworthies -- and that the conference's disrepair should excuse their haste.

The Big East, of course, wants West Virginia to stick around and enjoy this northeastern family atmosphere for just a couple more years. Who could turn that down?

For more, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Boise St. Broncos seem imminently close to joining the Big East Conference after Thursday's 7-1 State Board vote in favor of accepting an invitation.

However, Boise State President Bob Kustra made it clear that he has certain expectations of the Big East and its potential other new partners upon Boise joining.

Kustra said it was important that the Boise State have a "Western partner" in the new-look Big East, which is planning to split into two six-team divisions. The league is planning to invite Boise State, Air Force and Navy for football only and add Central Florida, Houston and SMU in all sports.

Kustra said under the current plan Boise State would be in a Western Division with Air Force, Houston, SMU, Louisville and Cincinnati.

And so, yes, until the Big East saves us all and names them the Gavitt/Tranghese divisions, we're looking at the formation of the Big East West division and the Big East East division.

For some wierd reason, Kustra also decided to throw it out there that some Western schools outside of the understood possibilities (Air Force, Houston, SMU) might be in the mix as well. He did not mention them by name but the Idaho Statesman's Brian Murphy included the following sentence that made my head explode:

San Diego State has indicated it would have some interest in joining a Western Division of the Big East.

Good lord...

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Idaho State Board of Education voted 7-1 on Thursday to give Boise State President Bob Kustra the authority to leave the Mountain West and accept an invitation to the Big East as a football-only member. They also gave him permission to find a new conference affiliation for the school's other sports.

Kustra told the board he expects the school to become a Big East member by next week:

"We are certainly working on this day-by-day and I would think that by next week we should have a resolution."

The lone dissenting vote came from Bill Goesling, who hails from Moscow, ID. Moscow is the home of the University of Idaho and Goesling is an Idaho grad and former professor there.

In fact, Goesling attempted to delay the decision before the board voted but his motion did not carry.

Idaho's attempt to Vandal-ize the Boise vote failed.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Boise St. Broncos moved one step closer to joining the Big East Conference by announcing that they have requested permission from the State Board to change conference affiliation for its intercollegiate athletics teams.

The official announcement from President Bob Kustra notes the significant increases in financial returns that await Boise by joining the Big East:

If the expansion plans of the Big East proceed as reported, there will be 12 football playing schools in the Big East. Under the current Big East media agreements (which will lapse and come due for renegotiation in 2012), the payouts to the football playing schools would be approximately $3,700,000 annually. However, the Big East Conference is the only member of the BCS automatic qualifying conferences that has its media rights package coming due for renewal in 2012. The Big East expects that bidding its media rights on the open market in the fall of 2012 will result in a significant increase in the conference media revenue.

He also notes the BCS standing of the conference, a huge reason why Boise would make the move from non-AQ conference The Mountain West.

According to the latter, the conference change would be expected to occur in July 1, 2013 and thanks to the one-year's notice, Boise would avoid paying the $5,000,000 exit penalty to the Mountain West Conference.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Please oh please oh please let the SMU Mustangs announce they're joining the Big East at the same time Boise State, UCF, Navy, Air Force, Houston and Mystery School X do. It would be just fine with everybody in the world if they could all go ahead and get it over with at the same time, especially with the LSU-Alabama game of the year coming just a day later.

According to one report, SMU will announce Friday, and we can only hope the other five or six-ish will do the same:

@JHopkins247 Source confirms #SMU is expected to announce Friday their acceptance of formal Big East invite. #CFB

Weeks-old reports have pegged Boise State and the service academies as football-only members, with the others joining for all sports. The Associated Press added a report to that list on Tuesday.

For more on the Big East, visit Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto closed out a series of conference meetings with an address to media on Tuesday. Key among his comments: the Big East will expand to 12 teams as planned, and invites should begin going out within the next week. No surprises there. Oh, and West Virginia's lawsuit is no good.

He declined to name any of the schools getting invites, but it was reported by Mark Viera that non-football schools are included in the mix. That part would definitely be news, as the list of expected additions (Boise State, UCF, Navy, Air Force, SMU, Houston and maybe Temple) doesn't include any schools that don't play football.

However:

@McMurphyCBS Reports of Big East extending "non-football memberships" inaccurate. They will offer invites to schools for football-only & all-sports    

So there goes that idea. Here's an entirely speculative look at just what that kind of thing could look like if it were to actually happen, though.

For more on the Big East, visit Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Hey, what's the worst thing in the world? Conference realignment during football season? Yes! Now, what's the next worst thing in the world? Lawsuits, maybe? Good thing nobody's thought to combine them in a really long tiOH NOOO:

@McMurphyCBS West Virginia to file suit against Big East so it may join Big 12 next year, according to document obtained by @CBSSports

At issue: the West Virginia Mountaineers want to leave the Big East for the 2012 season, while the Big East wants to hold WVU to that 27-month waiting period. The battle lines were instantly and publicly drawn right here, though there's also a report that the Mountaineers are willing to pay more than four times the Big East's $5 million exit fee in order to realign. 

So ... yeah. Just when conference realignment looked to be settling down for a while, it looks like we're guaranteed another saga. Really just wish the Big East would realize we're talking about West Virginia, a state that once successfully seceded from a seceded state. They're pretty good at disassociating with stuff.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket and Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

When asked how the West Virginia Mountaineers were going to become a Big 12 school by July 2012 when the Big East requires teams to give 27-month notice, the school president told reporters, "Our team and their team are in discussions about how we make that happen."

That's news to the Big East, who says they are not in any kind of negotiation for an early departure and don't plan to start one anytime soon.

Big East puzzled by WVU's notion that they're negotiating an exit. They haven't talked about it. Don't plan to, either.

Big East won't be bought out by WVU because its a bad precedent for Pitt/Syr. Confident in their legal standing.

Not only is West Virginia using the July 2012 date but the Big 12 Conference is as well, which means either both parties have a trick up their sleeve or we're about to see the first big legal battle of conference realignment commence.

Expect Syracuse and Pitt to keep a close eye on how this develops.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Pete Thamel followed the West Virginia University press conference Friday where AD Oliver Luck and the school's president made it clear that they are not only leaving the Big East for the Big 12, but they have no intention of sticking around for 27 months before doing so.

Luck said it twice: "We’re excited and look forward to July 1 2012 and joining the Big 12 conference."

WVU President on BE buyout: "Our team and their team are in discussions about how we make that happen."

WVU President said that they wired $2.5 million to the Big East in Providence today.

If and when West Virginia figures out how to leave the Big East early (which will likely just be a matter of money), expect Syracuse and Pitt to try and make the same move as they desperately want out of the conference as soon as possible.

The difference between WVU's situation and SU/Pitt's situation is that the Big 12 will need West Virginia to make sure they keep ten teams in the conference, assuming Missouri leaves.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Might we actually be nearing the end of Conference Realignment 2011? The Big 12 says it's set at 10 teams, the SEC will soon have its 14th ... if the Big East can get to 12 schools despite losing West Virginia, that's it for now, right? Right?

According to the Dallas Morning News, the SMU Mustangs could make their way into the Big East next week. That comes after realignment meetings involving, in one way or another, Boise State, Air Force, UCF and Houston over the past few days. Add in Navy, which is all but assured to join (the Big East agreed to raise its exit fees only in the event of Air Force or Navy joining), and there's 11. Really hoping the conference just votes on everybody at once instead of doing the entire stupid song-and-dance for all seven new schools.

Candidates for spot No. 12 are believed to be only Temple and Army, though Army's previously declined the invitation, according to reports at the time. Still, we might be almost done with this round, y'all.

And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Feel like we just said all this earlier in the week, but here we go again: the West Virginia Mountaineers will join the Big 12, CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reported Friday morning. This is an entirely different report than the last round, which saw McMurphy, Pete Thamel and local WVU beat writers report the move as a done deal before politicians got involved and the Big 12 decided to take a few days and think about it.

(That's on the Big 12, not on lovely West Virginia or any of these fine reporters.)

McMurphy reports the conference won't also bring on the Louisville Cardinals at this point and will remain at 10 teams. It's been reported the Texas Longhorns would prefer to remain at 10, while others in the conference like the idea of being able to hold a conference championship game.

It's hard to imagine McMurphy reporting this as done after the Big 12 already changed its mind once, but let's still presume it's not a 100 percent done deal just yet. 

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Cardinals, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

The University of Houston Board of Regents has granted unanimous approval to President Renu Khator to make conference realignment decisions on behalf of the university.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Khator was given the ability to negotiate a contract for athletic conference affiliation and provide notice of contract cancellation as necessary.

The Big East has reportedly reached out to Houston about joining its conference as one of six schools they would like to include in a new-look conference. Houston may or may not still want to make that move depending on how the Big East looks once West Virginia or Louisville (or both) decide to leave for the Big 12.

University of Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades told reporters, "We'll wait and see" in regards to the next step for his program. 

Houston is a current and charter member of Conference USA.

Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

As reported earlier, Big East commissioner John Marinatto met with Boise St. officials on Thursday to discuss the possibility of the Broncos joining the Rhode Island-based conference as a football member.

"We had an informative meeting today with officials from the Big East Conference. Commissioner John Marinatto made a presentation regarding possible ideas for conference expansion and what role Boise State could potentially play in those plans. We appreciate the outreach on the part of the Big East Conference and will continue our due diligence in this matter.

Boise State also said they would continue to take their time in evaluating their future conference affiliation. Most likely, they're going to wait and see what happens with West Virginia and Louisville and their attempts to head to the Big 12. If they leave the Big East, the need for Boise to head East for a new conference seems less worthwhile.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The show must go on, no matter how many schools the Big East loses and how many senators decide to get involved in conference realignment. The Big East still has to get up to 12 football schools despite West Virginia and Louisville scrambling to break for the Big 12.

The list we've been working with for about a month now -- Air Force, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Navy, and SMU -- appears to still be on board. According to the Associated Press, the Big East will meet with the Boise St. Broncos on Thursday.

That's after reportedly meeting with SMU on Sunday, Air Force on Wednesday and having some other sort of meeting with Boise over the weekend. UCF is also scheduled to meet with itself Friday night, as Houston is doing Thursday.

Got the schedule all printed out? Sounds like this portion could wrap up soon. The Big East would then need to talk itself into Temple and talk Army into the Big East, and it would be at 12.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Turns out, the way to ensure a school gets its way in conference realignment is to just muddy up the situation a bit. After Wednesday's cat fight between Louisville and West Virginia -- two schools, one invitation, a whole lot of arguing -- the Big 12 may now bring both schools on. By the end of the day, lawmakers were involved, congressional investigations were threatened and now, perhaps, we have some kind of resolution.

The report comes from Chuck Carlton and makes me want to hug something.

Because of the messy, awkward situation, two sources say Big 12 might consider Louisville and WVU together as a compromise.

A compromise in realignment! This can't be real. It just can't.

Whether or not this happens remains to be seen. The Big 12 is hoping to end its expansion quest when it reaches 10 schools, but inviting both West Virginia and Louisville would put the conference at 11 -- or, one away from an accurate name.

Missouri is, once again, the key here. Whenever the Tigers opt to leave for the SEC, the Big 12 will have two open spots. Thus, the two invitations and, perhaps, the compromise.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Cardinals, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto was in Colorado Springs on Wednesday to meet with Air Force. Marinatto was reportedly pitching the benefits of joining the Big East to Air Force as he looks to save the football portion of his conference. As the world of college realignment turns, the Big East is in a perilous position, and may continue to lose football members as it continues to play out.

The report comes from Frank Schwab, the Air Force beat writer for The Gazzette.

Air Force confirms Big East commissioner John Marinatto and associate commish John Carparelli were in Colorado Springs to meet w/ AF leaders. It was an informational meeting, little less than two hours, on why the Big East is a good fit for AFA. Gould, Mueh and Calhoun participated

Wednesday was a day of "Where in the world is Marinatto," with rumors about his location popping up throughout the day. At one point, Marinatto was reportedly in Boise, visiting Boise State, though nothing has been confirmed.

It's unclear whether Marinatto's attempts to save his conference will be successful, especially if Louisville and/or West Virginia are given invitations to the Big 12.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin will be holding a press conference at 6 p.m. to discuss the hold up of West Virginia's potential move to the Big 12 and the rumors that politicians and other high-ranking people are reaching out to the Big 12 on behalf of Louisville.

"If these outrageous reports have any merit – and especially if a United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then I believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I will fight to get the truth," Senator Manchin said. "West Virginians and the American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether politics is interfering with our college sports."

West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller also issued a statement.

"The Big 12 picked WVU on the strength of its program -- period. Now the media reports that political games may upend that. That's just flat wrong. I am doing and will do whatever it takes to get us back to the merits."

I'd say this could get ugly, but, we past ugly a long time ago.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Cardinals, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

After it was reported on Tuesday that the West Virginia Mountaineers' move to the Big 12 Conference was a done deal, the school now finds itself in "a holding pattern", Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports.

Thamel reports that the Louisville Cardinals have made an 11th hour push, which has been aided by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, to join the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday night.

"I think it's 50-50 right now between West Virginia and Louisville," Thamel's source says.  

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman reports that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Tech Red Raiders both prefer to invite Louisville to the conference over West Virginia, who called off a scheduled press conference for this afternoon where they were presumably expected to announce the school's intent to join the Big 12.

For more on the Mountaineers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. For more on the Cardinals, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Having lost Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC and future member TCU to the Big 12, and with current member West Virginia seemingly almost entirely out the door to the Big 12, the Big East is, as logic would dictate, casting about for new teams to bolster its dwindling membership rolls. Could SMU be one of those teams? Big East officials met with SMU on Sunday, according to the Dallas Morning News, and the Mustangs might be a part of the Big East's plan to restock with six or more teams.

The Big East has already reached out to a group of teams including Boise State, Houston, Central Florida, Navy, and Air Force. Of those, Boise State is the obvious prize, but it's the group of five teams that would give the conference the bulk and reach to negotiate for more millions (and perhaps billions) in an upcoming TV contract. And SMU's connection to the lucrative, football-mad Dallas market is no doubt appealing.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias, and stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

According to a press release by West Virginia University, there will not be a press conference tomorrow to announce the Mountaineers will be joining the Big 12. In an official release, the school stated the following:

"Contrary to media reports, there is no press conference scheduled for Wed. concerning West Virginia University's athletic conference affiliation. There are no further comments at this time."

This directly contradicts a report by Mitch Vingle stating that WVU to the Big 12 was a done deal and would be announced on Wednesday. Much of this was predicated on the thought that the Missouri Tigers would be announcing their leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, which in turn would send WVU to the Big 12 as rumored. According to the university however, that doesn't seem to be the case. 

For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Boise State President Bob Kustra met with Big East officials in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, the school told the Idaho Statesman.

However, before you get too excited, Boise just wants you to know it wasn't a "date-date."

"It was informational in nature and Boise State continues to consider and evaluate its options," university spokesman Frank Zang said.

Boise is No. 1 on the short-list of football schools the Big East would like to replenish its coffers with. Of course, the Big East also looked a lot more appealing on Sunday, before news broke that West Virginia had one foot out the door.

Without West Virginia, the conference is now in serious danger of remaining a BCS conference, even if it adds Boise State and other schools. Without a BCS affiliation, there's little reason for Boise to make the move.

Like everyone else, the Broncos are likely sitting back and watching how things unfold with Missouri and West Virginia. Once those dominoes fall, they'll know what their next move should be.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

With the news that West Virginia has one foot out the door of the Big East, the rest of the conference's football schools are forced to buckle down and get ready for their next move. Based on the statements and comments made by many of them, that move is going to be whatever is it the best interest of their school and not the Big East Conference.

Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti

"The landscape in collegiate athletics continues to be a very fluid situation and we continue to be involved in discussions. We remain extremely confident that the result once the movement concludes will be very positive for Rutgers University.

"While there is going to be a period of time between now and then that will cause our constituents and fans a certain level of anxiety, given the unique assets we possess, including our strong and growing academic profile, our AAU status and the location and high level of interest surrounding Rutgers in the nation’s largest television market, we feel confident in the end result for Rutgers."

UConn President Susan Herbst:

"No conference relies on a single member or even a few so I wish West Virginia well. They are a fine opponent and a fine institution, and they need to do what is best for their programs. The Big East is working on excellent expansion plans that will make us very strong, and will also make any future departures unproblematic.

"I am not concerned about any particular schools leaving since our masterplans are bold, and will carry us effectively into the competitive long-term of college athletics. We are working in a careful, considered way, and all will be well."

Cincinnati President Greg Williams:

"Obviously, it’s a changing landscape and we have to be as prepared as we can to be fully cognizant of that and figure out what’s best for the Big East and the University of Cincinnati."

"We feel that the Big East is the best spot for us right now and we’re paying close attention to what’s happening round the country. We’ll figure out what’s best for the University of Cincinnati."

Cincinnati AD Whit Babcock:

"And right now, I don't know that the Big East has either [trust and stability]. But there's a chance to pull it together with the addition of teams, and once we see what the Big 12 does, hopefully things will settle down and the Big East can build back. But that trust and stability right now is wavering, and we've got to get that back."

"I think it all has to play out. Schools certainly should be loyal to the conference, but I also know that (the school president's) job is to do what's in the best interests of the University of Cincinnati, so you really have a dual role there.

Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Just as quickly as rumors of a Big East/Mountain West/Conference USA Mega-Merger surfaced, the Big East has squashed them.

"We are not part of any meeting with those two conferences,'' Big East spokesman John Paquette told the Daily News, in no uncertain terms.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal had reported the commissioners of the Big East, Mountain West and Conference USA would be meeting on Wednesday to discuss a football arrangement of "28 to 32 teams." Guess not.

The MWC and CUSA have already entered into an arrangement which combines their football programs.

The idea seemed a little less crazy than before on Tuesday due to the news that West Virginia was days away from leaving the conference for the Big 12. Still, for a conference that's already considering adding Boise St., Air Force and SMU, a 32-team mega-conference might have been a bit much to swallow.

The good news? Dreams of The SUNBEAST live on!

Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Do you remember that report in the Boston Globe from the weekend on the Big East possibly merging with the newly merged Mountain West and Conference USA? Everybody hooted it down from all directions, but it looks to be an item we may actually need to contend with, especially with West Virginia reportedly leaving very soon.

Even if it still seems unlikely, the Big East will meet with its food chain fellows on the matter, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That's two papers in the footprint of two conferences reporting it's actually being discussed. Now all we need is one from Conference USA's turf, which is everywhere. So, just one more.

Both cite a 28- or 32-team league with four divisions. The division relevant to the LVRJ's interests:

According to a document obtained by the Review-Journal, UNLV could be in a division that also includes Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, San Diego State, UNR and Utah State, with San Jose State a possibility if the conference includes 32 teams rather than 28.    

Previously reported alignment plans have called for the Big East teams to stay together in one division while the others just get slotted geographically somehow. Of course, the entire morass is likely to lose a couple more schools to the powers before all is said and done, but YEAH somewhere in there I talked myself into this maybe actually happening.

Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Well now. Just hours after reports emerged that the West Virginia Mountaineers will bolt from the Big East for the Big 12, here's beat writer Mitch Vingle reporting a Wednesday press conference to announce WVU as the Big 12's 10th member:

Also, if the timelines are correct, that means the Missouri Tigers should announce they'll leave the Big 12 either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, since their presence was WVU's primary impediment. Right?

Not all schools take this as slowly as Mizzou does, at least. The Big 12 also grabbed TCU out of nowhere, and Syracuse and Pittsburgh both left for the ACC before anybody knew they were gone, almost literally.

The Big East will be down to five football schools upon WVU's exit.

For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Here's the second report of the day that the West Virginia Mountaineers will soon leave the Big East for the Big 12, and the second to note the Missouri Tigers holdup is the primary impediment. CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy reports WVU will get an invitation once Mizzou is cleared out, with his tweet on the matter adding a 24-to-48-hour window for that invite.

Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports West Virginia has already applied and been accepted, meaning the formal invite would come after Mizzou leaves.

The Mountaineers will have to pay a $5 million exit fee if they leave the Big East, or a $10 million fee if they leave once the Navy Midshipmen or Air Force Falcons join, according to an agreement the Big East reached just a couple weeks ago. Hence the hurry.

Once again, all eyes turn to Missouri, where chancellor Brady Deaton appears to just be waiting on legal whatnot to be straightened out before announcing the Tigers will pull out of the Big 12.

For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Big 12 expansion rumors have long pegged either the West Virginia Mountaineers or Louisville Cardinals as the likeliest program to catch a lifeboat away from the flailing Big East. Just picture a boat sinking while flailing. Why does it have arms! The Big East is like that.

While a report broke Tuesday in the New York Post that WVU will get the call-up, 'Eers fans remain cautious -- not to mention wishing the SEC had pounced first. But, of course, just about anything is better than the Big East.

We turned to WVUIE97 of the excellent West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket for insight from the Mountain State:

If this report that WVU is headed to the Big XII is true, it would be a welcome relief to WVU fans and administrators. The Big East is viewed by most as an unsavable sinking ship with little to no stability. The fans just want out and into a better situation. The Big XII may not be the most stable conference out there (they are at least addressing concerns), but it is a far-and-away better option than remaining in the Big East. Travel would be an issue for fans and even more so for the non-revenue sports, but the added benefits vastly outweigh the negatives.

As far as the marquee sports of football and basketball, WVU would be able to compete, and fans are already looking forward to a more attractive home football schedule and better bowl options. The SEC was and still is the first choice by many fans on our site and most others I know, but it seems that numbers of television sets mean more than a solid program/athletic department on the rise, and that's a shame.    

For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Whenever the Missouri Tigers get around to actually leaving the Big 12, the West Virginia Mountaineers will be next up, according to the New York Post's Lenn Robbins. WVU, along with the Louisville Cardinals and BYU Cougars, has long been an object of the Big 12's reported desire (reported desires!).

Robbins also notes the Big 12 could expand to as many as 16 teams, which sounds more believable than the 10-team vision the conference has been attempting to sell.

Mighty damaging blow for the Big East, which would lose a better football program and fan base than Syracuse or Pitt and be down to -- gulp -- Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville, USF and Rutgers in football.

The conference's reported plans to pick up the Boise St. Broncos, Navy Midshipmen, Air Force Falcons, SMU Mustangs, Houston Cougars and Central Florida Knights would not only fall short of the 12 they're after, meaning they'd need to reconsider the Temple Owls or try harder to recruit the Army Black Knights, I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to remain a BCS conference.

For more on the 'Eers, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

The University of Houston reportedly received an invitation from the Big East earlier this week. Thursday, they're expected to take the final step towards making the move there.

The UH Board of Regents has called a special meeting for Thursday in regard to the school's athletic conference affiliation. Amongst the items on the agenda is a request for approval to "delegate authority to the Chancellor to negotiate and execute a contract for athletic conference affiliation and to negotiate and provide notice of contract cancellation as necessary."

In other words, give the Houston Chancellor the ability to move the school from Conference USA to the Big East...or any other BCS Conference that might be interested.

Houston is a charter member of Conference USA. If they decide to leave for the Big East, they'll join former CUSA schools Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati there. SMU, Boise State, Navy, Air Force and UCF are among the other schools expected to be invited and/or join them in the Big East as well.

Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto said Tuesday that once the league expanded to 12-teams, it would be interested in holding a conference championship game in New York.

The dust hasn't even settled on that announcement and Yankee Stadium has already said it would like to be the host for that game.

Yankees President Randy Levine said in an e-mail that the team would be "very" interested in hosting it at the three-year-old stadium in the Bronx.

Yankees Stadium has already gotten the ball rolling on hosting football games. It hosted Amry and Notre Dame in front of 54,000 last season, hosted the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl featuring Big East member Syracuse, and will host a game between Big East member Rutgers and Army on Nov. 12.

The game isn't official by any means yet. The league still needs to invite more members and those potential members need to say yes. Until then, you're left to dream of a NYC showdown between South Florida and Cincinnati in December.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Based on the Big East's new exit fees stipulation -- the $5 million increase kicks in once a new school joins -- it would appear that a couple schools have reason to hope the Air Force Falcons and Navy Midshipmen take their time in joining. Air Force, for one, looks to be playing along:

Really wish every athletic director and college president around the country felt that way right now. Time to point out, as we do once per week, that there's still a college football season going on right now.

Air Force and Navy have long been expected to join the Big East. It could happen any day now. Seems everyone is waiting to see what the Missouri Tigers do next before making moves.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto wisely took a moment out of basketball media day to discuss conference realignment. If he hadn't, the topic might have ended up taking attention from the league's most prized sport. A few of the key details from his message:

The Big East hopes to expand to 12 in football, but will happily feature 14 for the duration of Syracuse's and Pitt's remaining stay. He has no plans to let the ACC have its new acquisitions before the end of that 27-month waiting period.

With 12 football schools, the Big East could have a conference title game. Marinatto proposes New York City. (Hearing that, the ACC likewise proposed New York City. They didn't, but don't put it past them.)

The new Big East exit fee, from $5 million to $10 million, takes effect once a new school joins. Little pressure on West Virginia and Louisville to make a decision soon, perhaps? Not that an extra few mil is going to keep a school in the Big East by any means.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Big East has reached out to both the SMU Mustangs and Houston Cougars, according to CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy. This comes a day after McMurphy also reported the conference was hiking its exit fees partially in order to assure the Navy Midshipmen and Air Force Falcons of a stable landing spot.

So that's four of the six presumed new Big East members. The Boise St. Broncos and Central Florida Knights have both been previously reported as on the docket as well. Adding all six would bring the Big East to an even 12 football schools. For now.

Of course, everything hinges right now on whether the Missouri Tigers bolt for the SEC, which appears likely. Bill Connelly's latest conference realignment breakdown is a good look at what happens next, but let's just say it's not pretty for the Big East. None of this really is.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Big East voted on an exit fee increase that is aimed at making the conference a more attractive and stable destination for potential football schools.

The Big East is reportedly prepared to increase it's exit fee to $10 million if Navy and Air Force join the conference as football-only members. On Monday night, Big East presidents and chancellors voted unanimously in favor of the increase, according to CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy.

The hike in exit fee represents an increased financial committment from the leagues remaining members: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida and West Virginia. That's purpose of the $5 million increase -- to help convince Navy and Air Force that the remaining Big East member schools are committed to the conference. The services academies are reportedly interested in joining the conference as football-only schools, but want to be sure they are moving into a stable situation.

With the recent shifts in the college football landscape ongoing and dramatic, that is a reasonable concern. Via McMurphy:

Less than an hour before the Big East’s presidents and chancellors held their teleconference Monday night with Commissioner John Marinatto, the New York Times reported Missouri’s departure from the Big 12 was "inevitable and imminent."

That development would have a significant impact on the league, specifically Big East members Louisville and West Virginia, who sources have told CBSSports.com are prime candidates to receive a Big 12 invitation if Missouri left. However, all of the Big East’s 14 members still voted unanimously for the increased exit fee.

Amid reports that Big East schools are voting today to increase the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million, conference commissioner John Marinatto has notified the media that he intends to discuss the conference's realignment efforts Tuesday. From CBS Sports' Eye on College Football blog:

The Big East conference invited media members to join Commissioner John Marinatto on a conference call Tuesday afternoon, the league announced on Monday. The release from the conference office stated the purpose of the call would be to discuss current information on Big East realignment. The call suggests Marinatto has an update regarding their efforts to replace Syracuse and Pittsburgh while pursuing a 12-team model for football.

It's not yet known what Marinatto will announce, but at the very least it seems likely he'll share the results of Monday's reported vote. The conference needs 11 of its 14 member schools to approve the exit fee increase. Check back tomorrow for the latest from the call. 

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Big East wagons continue to circle around Boise St., Navy, Air Force, SMU, Houston and UCF. But first things first, they need to do something to ensure these possible new members, as well as concerned current members, that it's going to be costly for any school that wants to leave the conference in the future.

And so, the Big East Presidents are expected to vote on raising the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million Monday night.

According to the West Virginia Gazette, West Virginia University is expected to vote yes on the measure. That might be surprising, given the fact that the Mountaineers are considered one of the schools most likely to leave the Big East if an opportunity to join the SEC or Big 12 arises.

Rumor has it that Louisville will abstain from the vote. The Cardinals are also hotly-debated as a candidate to leave the conference for the Big 12.

It is believed that if the vote carries, then the conference will be on more stable ground to rebuild and expand.

In order to pass, the proposal must garner votes from 11 of the 14 member schools. Syracuse and Pitt are not taking part in the vote as they will be leaving the conference for the ACC. Both of those schools are locked in to paying the $5 million exit fee.

Of course, raising the fee might still not be enough to convince every possible new member to join. $10 million is a lot of money, but if it's still hardly a deterrent to a school like West Virginia if the SEC decides to invite them.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

Boise St. Broncos president Bob Kustra is right to be excited about his school's standing in the world of athletics. From blue field weirdos to BCS outcasts to the conference realignment item du jour -- quite a trajectory. Here, Kustra denies already having an invite to the Big East, says he's not currently in talks with the Big 12 and notes the Mountain West's lackluster media deal.

Kustra here, from the Idaho Statesman:

"The one thing I can tell you about all these conversations I've had this week is that Boise State is the team of the hour, the team of the day, the team of the week. We are the ones that people are really interested in when it comes to how these conferences are going to align and that's really exciting," Kustra said on KBOI before the game, one of many interviews he did Saturday.

The first rule of conference realignment news: when denials reach the point at which school presidents start downplaying things, there's definitely something there.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned to SB Nation's conference realignment news section.

The Associated Press is reporting that it is a done deal (finally) and the Big East will invite the Boise St. Broncos, Air Force Falcons, Navy Midshipmen and Central Florida Knights and it will happen this weekend.

We know that Navy, Air Force and Boise were all hesitant to jump into the Big East's arms given the volatility facing its future. So what's expected to change their minds?

The increased exit fee, which is being doubled from $5 million to $10 million. It's a way for the Big East to make it a little bit harder for current members to jump ship. Or at least make them think twice.

Then again, do you honestly believe West Virginia will have a problem ponying up $10 million if the SEC invites them? Or that UConn will turn down the ACC because they have to pay that? No way. It's more of a window dressing than anything.

Big East commissioner reportedly wanted the fee to be raised to $17-$20 million, which might sound insane, but would have been an actual deterrent. There's just no way the current football schools were going for it.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Multiple outlets have reported that the Big East is ready to invite the Boise St. Broncos, but it wasn't until CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy said an invite could be coming as soon as next week that it felt like an actual thing. According to McMurphy, the Central Florida Knights, Navy Midshipmen and Air Force Falcons would also be included in that first batch of invites, matching an earlier New York Post report.

McMurphy's new detail: the Temple Owls would be excluded at the expense of the SMU Mustangs and Houston Cougars. Which would mean Villanova would get its way and remain the only Big East school in Philly.

Basically, the news here is that McMurphy is reporting Boise State could soon get an invite to the Big East. His record on Big East realignment means this is probably happening for real.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Big East is just about ready to expand, and is looking at a list of six to seven teams as potential conference realignment options. According to the New York Post's Lenn Robbins, that process might actually start coming to life following a Friday vote to raise Big East exit fees.

The first four schools to get invites in the reported scenario: the Boise St. Broncos, Central Florida Knights, Navy Midshipmen and Air Force Falcons. Robbins also has the Temple Owls, SMU Mustangs and Houston Cougars as the three teams left to scrap for two spots.

Two spots assuming the Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers stick around, of course.

Interesting that Temple, which has been telling football recruits for months now that it's assured of a Big East return, appears on the second list. Villanova has reportedly objected to bringing back another Philadelphia school. We'll see shortly whether the Big East is actually ready to start dealing.

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

No, the Missouri Tigers aren't joining the Big East. They're still pondering whether to join the SEC, while the Big East is still pondering anything and everything related to sports and non-sports. However, both Mizzou and the Big East are reportedly not quite ready to make any major realignment moves. And that's what this update is about.

According to the Kansas City Star's Mike DeArmond, Mizzou media gets the sense that little will come on the Missouri-to-SEC-or-Big 12 front until next Friday at the earliest. There's a curators' meeting scheduled for that day, though it's not necessarily focused on conference realignment.

The Big East is set to vote on increasing exit fees Friday according to the Sporting News, a critical step in the expansion process. The Navy Midshipmen, for one, would reportedly prefer to see a solidified league first. It's also worth noting the Louisville Cardinals could reportedly sit out the vote. They're the No. 1 Big 12 expansion candidate at the moment, according to the New York Times' Pete Thamel and others.

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias and Mizzou blog Rock M Nation. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

Of the many, many, many schools that the Big East is considering to expand with, none is a bigger fish than Boise State, at least in football terms. If all this expansion business is about football, and the name of the game is to be in the a BCS conference, you'd think both sides would be jumping at one another.

Well, not so much.

A college football official, who spoke Thursday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the Big East's plans, says some Big East presidents are resisting adding Boise State and the school itself has reservations about joining a conference in flux.

It was one thing to add TCU (or at least try), it's another thing altogether to invite a team from Idaho to join a conference with the word East in its title. So you better believe everyone wants to be sure about this.

Of course, if Boise joins and then the Big East loses its AQ status, then that would have defeated the entire point. With reports out there saying that the Big East will definitely keep its status, will definitely lose its status and definitely won't know anything about its status for years...it's all a little confusing.

Stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

The Big East's problems aren't limited to seeing its teams poached away by other conferences. Remaining members are having a real pickle trying to figure out how to shape this mess back into something worthwhile. Apparently somebody thought at one point that a basketball conference and a football conference could be mashed into one big thing without any repercussions. Weird!

The latest, from the Star-Ledger's Tom Liucci, concerns further bickering and squabbling and hem-hawing and MY GOSH I can't believe Syracuse and Pitt wanted to leave this conference. A few of Liucci's morsels:

Rutgers is starting to sound sort of like UConn, as far as fence-straddlin' goes. Nobody can agree on Boise State. Villanova, of all schools, is throwing its weight around and trying to exclude Temple. "DePaul's vote counts as much as West Virginia's." The last note is not news, but it still makes the eyes bulge.

Even more bewildering: Liucci reports that the conference's basketball schools were pushing for a 15-year commitment from each member, including the football schools.

I ... a 15-year commitment.

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

The Big East was supposed to have invited about 47 schools to join its conference by now. Instead, the league seems to be in a holding pattern as its members can't come to any kind of agreement on how to proceed.

According to the Boston Globe, the rift between the basketball schools and the football schools continues to be the major battleline.

The basketball factions were adamant about not adding anyone, while the football faction argued that if the Big East is going to survive as a BCS conference, whose champion gained automatic entry to a BCS bowl it is imperative for Boise State, with its high national ranking was a necessity for survival.

Central Florida and Temple are reportedly waiting by the phone for their official invites, but it sound like that invitation won't be coming anytime soon.

Perhaps the Big East schools are waiting to see what Missouri does. Depending on whether or not they head to the SEC, West Virginia or Louisville could be lured away, leaving the gaping hole in Big East football's future even deeper. Adding all the Boise States and SMUs in the world isn't going to help you much then.

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

In what may be seen as a last-ditch effort to salvage its longterm viability as a BCS conference, the Big East's chancellors and presidents decided against dramatically raising the exit fee at the league's Oct. 2 meeting, according to documents obtained by CBSSports.com. The proposal would have made leaving the conference considerably more expensive, raising the fee to an estimated $17 million to $20 million. The exit fee for the league is currently $5 million with 27 months of notice.

By deciding against the increased fee, many university leaders seem to be keeping the door open for their own departure from the league that has lost Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Shortly after the meeting, the league also learned that TCU would be joining the Big 12 instead of the Big East.

In an email to the university leaders, obtained by CBSSports.com, Big East commissioner John Marinatto made this pitch:

"The most important issue for us to focus on, however, is the future of the Conference and specifically how we can stabilize our situation in order to convey a level of comfort and security to any potential new members and provide them some assurances about their future with us."

For more on the travails of the Big East, be sure to check out Big East Coast Bias.

Conference realignment is still going on and conferences like the Big East are still trying to add teams while at the same time being concerned with being poached. Some of the teams the Big East was looking to add were the three service academies; Air Force, Navy, and Army.

Unfortunately for the Big East, it does not seem like the Army Black Knights are an option to join. Army's athletic director, Boo Corrigan, indicated to the Washington Post that they are content with their independent status.

"Clearly we're following everything right now, but we are very comfortable where we are as an independent, and we are comfortable with the Patriot League," Corrigan said in a telephone interview. "We have great respect for the Big East and John Marinatto. But as we look at things today, we are comfortable where we are."

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

It wouldn't be a day in America without an entirely new crop of reports on which schools the Big East is just about set to invite. CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy, who knows the Big East's plans better than the Big East itself (not really joking) reports a Central Florida Knights invitation could be coming soon, though there's no specific timetable.

Also, the New York Daily News' Lenn Robbins reports the conference is "poised" to invite the Temple Owls and Boise St. Broncos. Those three additions, if they all happened, would result in a nine-team league, only three shy of a football conference title game. Getting there!

(It's crucial to note Boise State media remains quite skeptical.)

It's also time to whittle down that list of potential Big East expansion candidates by one school. The Army Black Knights have politely declined, according to McMurphy:

A league source also told CBSSports.com that Army is no longer being considered as a candidate by the Big East. "They've been honest with us and that they're not interested because of the challenges they had previously in Conference USA," the source said.

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

The Big East is juuust about ready to rebuild itself after losing the TCU Horned Frogs, Syracuse Orange, and Pittsburgh Panthers. In fact, they're looking to do it up even bigger this time and go for 12 football schools, which would mean a conference title game. It would also mean adding six new schools. 

Here's the latest.*

At least one or two schools out of the Navy Midshipmen, Air Force Falcons and Temple Owls are believed to be among the first batch of additions. The Army Black Knights could also join, but only for football.

That would leave two to four spots. The rest of the same-ish list of candidates has been altered slightly depending on the reporter for a while now, but we want THE LATEST. Tom Liucci of the Star-Ledger reports it could come down to the Boise St. Broncos, Houston Cougars, Central Florida Knights and SMU Mustangs. Liucci also mentions the East Carolina Pirates and Villanova Wildcats (already a non-football member) as lesser lights.

However, both Rich Elliott of the Greenwich Time and Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News report UCF is up first.

All of that's pretty consistent with what we've known, other than the Houston thing. The Big East might really be committed to hanging around Texas despite losing TCU.

Boise State has issued a statement on the reports. In Boise State's case, that seems less like a sign there's serious fire and more like an affirmation that Boise State is very polite. Really think they can do better than the Big East if they stick it out. 

* For the quick version and something you should read anyway because it's great, here's Big East Coast Bias' breakdown of the candidates.

For more, keep checking Big East Coast Bias. And stay tuned here for more conference realignment news.

To the shock and surprise of...no one, The TCU Horned Frogs officially joined the Big 12 Conference as it's tenth school on Monday. TCU will begin competing in the conference next season.

"The Big 12 Presidents and Chancellors are pleased to welcome TCU to the Big 12," noted Burns Hargis, Chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors and president of Oklahoma State University.  "The addition of TCU gives us a prestigious institution with great academics, strong financial support, outstanding athletic tradition, and a perfect geographic fit.  We have been working tirelessly to build an even stronger Conference and think this is an extremely positive step."

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte, who reportedly got teary-eyed while making the announcement, mentioned that the school will take care of the $5M exit fee for joining the Big East for a couple of months through athletic department revenue.

In terms of football schedule, TCU expects to just slide into the schedule that Texas A&M is vacating when they join the SEC.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

The Big East has finally gotten around to deciding on expansion. The votes are in, and ... they'll expand! This is great news, considering they were just a Big 12 poaching or two away from completely vanishing as a football conference. Better late than never.

As has long been the buzz, the Navy Midshipmen and Air Force Falcons are expected to be two prime candidates, according to USA Today's Kelly Whiteside, along with perhaps the Army Black Knights. But only football for Army.

Also according to Whiteside, the Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers are likely to stick around instead of leaving for the Big 12. That could mean the Big 12 would turn its focus to the BYU Cougars and maybe even the Boise St. Broncos. It's not an October conference realignment story if it doesn't involve Boise State somehow. 

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

Update: "Major announcement" at 7 pm ET Monday.

The TCU Horned Frogs are going to join the Big 12 next year. They won't join the Big East, and they won't return to the Mountain West. We know all these things. Now we just need to know these things, if you know what I'm saying.

TCU's board of trustees is expected to meet early this week, with an official proclamation of the Horned Frogs' move coming shortly after, as Stefan Stevenson of the Star-Telegram reports:

One source in TCU's athletic department said the meeting could happen Monday morning, leaving the possibility that an announcement could come as soon as Monday afternoon. But another suggested a 5 p.m. meeting could likely set up a Tuesday announcement.

Both TCU and the Big 12 have already announced that an invitation has been made, which means a solid agreement is in place. There's not even any haggling left to do here, as TCU has already agreed to the conference's six-year media deal. This is a mere formality. Expect an announcement of an announcement soon.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

Sunday, a quote from Boston College Eagles AD Gene DeFilippo that the ACC had added Syracuse and Pittsburgh because ESPN "is the one who told us what to do" raised much squalor and dismay, as it darn well should've.

It seems DeFilippo just isn't very careful when he talks -- Exhibit B -- but it's hard to say whether he let a cat out of a bag or accidentally referred to a general situation by giving it the same name as a large, powerful media entity. An entity you could totally see telling a conference like the ACC what to do.

Both the ACC and ESPN are denying the former. From a report by the New York Times' Pete Thamel:

"We've got a great partnership and a great working relationship with ESPN," an A.C.C. spokesperson said. "But they have never and will never dictate to us, especially in regards to expansion."

An ESPN spokesman also denied DeFilippo's claims, adding, "The driving force on realignment lies with the conferences and universities."

There's room for parsing. Dictating is different than advising, which still could've happened. Providing a piece of a decision isn't the same thing as being the driving force. Conspiracy theorists, this one somehow hasn't been definitively squashed yet, as nutty as the whole thing sounds.

Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

The Boise St. Broncos in the Big East. Few things sound crazier than that. The geography problem is glaring, but so is the sense that Boise State can hold out for better or remain in the Mountain West and hope it can build itself into something legit.

Despite a report that the Broncos are being considered as a football-only member, Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports there are long odds against it happening and no formal discussions have taken place. Still, Thamel says some Big East athletic directors are embracing the idea.

Plus there's a contingency plan being talked about in the event that Boise State football does take its show on the road, even if it's only being talked about by someone besides Boise State and the Big East. WAC commissioner Karl Benson told the Idaho Statesman's Brian Murphy that he'd be willing to take on Boise State's non-football schools in the event that they need a home, as his conference is also talking about doing with the Air Force Falcons.

Keeping non-revenue sports close to home helps cut travel costs. Boise State traveling to play football in New England should pay for itself. Volleyball and gymnastics won't.

Not sure why the Mountain West wouldn't want Boise's other sports, though. Kind of assume the MWC would keep them around, right?

For more, visit Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

The Big East has been on life support of late, what with TCU deciding to defect from the conference before ever joining it and Pittsburgh and Syracuse fleeing for the ACC. But the Boston Globe reports that the Big East is looking at adding Boise State as a football-only member, along with four other schools, in an effort to stabilize the conference.

Reportedly, the Big East is looking at a plan that would include inviting Boise State, Navy, and Air Force to the conference as football-only members and inviting Temple and Central Florida to the conference in all sports. Of those five teams, Boise State is by far the biggest prize in football; the Broncos would instantly become the Big East's presumptive favorite, as they have two BCS bowl wins — as many triumphs as any current Big East team has BCS bowl appearances.

Adding Boise State would also massively extend the Big East's footprint. The conference, which would seem to have a misnomer as its title, would stretch from the I-4 Corridor in Florida, home to both current member South Florida and potential member Central Florida, to Colorado (Air Force) and Idaho (Boise State).

For more on Boise State, head to SB Nation's One Bronco Nation Under God; for more on the Big East, head to Big East Coast Bias.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a basketball league, and with the recent ACC expansion that has never been more clear. 

Across college athletics, the push for conference expansion has been driven by football and the gigantic television contracts that TV networks hand out to the nation's BCS conferences. But the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse -- perennial contenders in basketball with mediocre football programs -- proves the conference is also interested in re-establishing itself as the nation's best basketball conference.

No one denies that the addition of these school's will help the league expand its appeal in the northeast. But the Boston Globe's Mark Blaudschun reports that while football money was the main reason for the move, it was also about basketball.

According to sources in the Big East and ACC, the idea is to reestablish the ACC as the preeminent conference in college basketball and was a predatory strike at the Big East, which, while struggling to improve its BCS rankings in football, had established itself as the runaway leader in basketball.

This makes even more sense when you consider that the ACC reportedly wanted to add Syracuse and Connecticut, but Boston College blocked UConn's bid. UConn, coming off a national championship, would have given the ACC an even bigger basketball profile.

Of course, like everything else, it's all about the money. And  BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo said this move was about football money:

"We always keep our television partners close to us. You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV -- ESPN -- is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.’’

But even so, the ACC has aligned itself as an elite basketball conference by adding two top teams from its closest competition.

The Big East could finally be making a move, though nothing is official yet. A piece by the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla quotes Air Force Falcons athletic director Hans Mueh as favoring a future in which Air Force, along with Army and Navy, could join the Big East together:

"Our interest is high in the Big East. That's fair to say," Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh told me Saturday.

"This stuff is moving fast."

Air Force has been linked to the Big East for a while now, reportedly being mentioned as a finalist last week. They've been supposedly about to join for even longer than that. Considering fellow service academy Navy now lacks confidence in the Big East, perhaps the Falcons felt the same way.

Having lost the TCU Horned Frogs, the Big East's westernmost school by far would be Air Force. At the moment, its nearest football school is the Louisville Cardinals, but even they are rumored to be a hot Big 12 target. The closest Big East schools of any capacity would be Marquette and DePaul, which sit on the Great Lakes. 

For more on the parties involved, visit Mountain West Connection and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

Big East president met Friday morning to discuss the future of their conference. It had been presumed they would talk about potential invites to shore up after defections by TCU, Syracuse and Pitt, but stopping the bleeding appears to be the more urgent issue.

The Star-Ledger's Brendan Prunty reports conference presidents ... did this:

According to one person familiar with the topics discussed on the call, the talk was not about expansion, but raising the exit fee to leave the Big East.

That's kind of insane, if true. No school is going to be talked into sticking around because of the threat of an exit fee. Is the Big East trying to follow the Big 12's sudden model for stability (get half your schools turned down by the Pac-12 and agree to six years of everlasting harmony)? The Big East can either try to hang around as a football conference and invite pretty much whoever wants in, or it can go all basketball, all the time. Charging Louisville an extra FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to leave won't change anything. 

Pack a gushing wound full of dollar bills and see if it seals up. I mean, it probably would, because paper is very absorbant. 

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

After the conference realignment losses of the TCU Horned Frogs, Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, the Big East will soon be down to only six Division I-A football schools. With the ACC and Big 12 both reportedly interested in one or more of those remaining six, the Big East's football side could completely vanish.

The conference might be forced to become a basketball-only league again. Should they get proactive about it, or should they keep trying to shore up by bringing on ECU, UCF and Temple in an attempt to also convince newly hesitant Navy to join?

Pete Thamel of the New York Times reported Big East presidents met Friday morning to discuss expansion and realignment, and that decisions on invitations could be made very soon. Thamel also lists mid-major basketball powers Butler, Dayton, Richmond and Xavier as likely considerations.

From SB Nation Pittsburgh, here's a look at what a refocused, all-hoops Big East could look like.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

The Big East is still hemorrhaging football schools -- TCU, which wasn't actually a member quite yet, was the latest -- and the future looks bleak for the remaining members. At present, the Big East is looking to fill the gaps left by the departure of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and TCU, but nobody's quite ready to jump into the unstable mess.

Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk discussed the state of the Big East and the Midshipmen's possible interest in conference membership following TCU's decision to join the Big 12 on Thursday. His response amounted to standing by as the Big East sinks while telling officials to grab a bucket.

"As I said from the beginning, our position remains comfortable as an independent," Gladchuk said. "We’ve had discussions with the Big East about possible membership. There is no timetable or sense of urgency on our part. We asked the Big East to stabilize. Obviously this is a step back for them."
[...[
“As it stands today, the issue is not ours. The issue is theirs. They’ve got to figure out how to right the ship,” Gladchuk said.

Gladchuk sure didn't sound like a man about to jump onto the sinking ship. Instead, his statement reads more like, "fix it, then we'll think about it."

Stay tuned for more conference realignment news as it becomes available.

With conference realignment still a fluid situation, the attention has turned to Notre Dame, and the most coveted football program in the land. The Fighting Irish have maintained their football independence forever, spurning conferences and cashing in on a lucrative television deal throughout the program's history. But without a home for its non-revenue sports, Notre Dame may have a decision to make, and could join a conference as a full member.

Brett McMurphy explains the Fighting Irish's options  if the Big East collapses.

If the Big East no longer exists, Notre Dame will have two options: Join the Big 12/Big Ten/ACC/SEC as a full member or stay independent in football and join one of those conferences with its non-football sports.

It will depend on how bad Notre Dame cherishes its football independence, because I’m sure one of those four conferences would prefer Notre Dame as a non-football member (and the guarantee of Notre Dame being on those future football schedules) to having Notre Dame in another league.

Again, it's still unknown whether the Big East will be able to weather the conference realignment storm and stay intact, albeit weakened. And even if the Big East does fall apart, it's difficult to envision Notre Dame dropping its independence to suddenly become a full member, especially if the option to join a conference as a partial member is on the table.

But then again, stranger things have happened in conference realignment.

For more, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

We have various lists of candidates for the next spot aboard the good ship Big 12, which is perfectly stable and watertight and will remain so forever. Most of those lists begin with the BYU Cougars, but the New York Times' Pete Thamel reports the Louisville Cardinals may be first in line if the Missouri Tigers leave for the SEC.

And it wouldn't be a conference realignment story if the Notre Dame Fighting Irish weren't mentioned. According to Chip Brown, whose name has now appeared 25 times in this StoryStream so far, the Texas Longhorns are again trying to court the Irish, but only for non-football sports.  

Notre Dame values its sacred football independence, because its football independence has a lot of value $$$$$$$$$$$$$$, but depositing its other sports somewhere safe (or at least safer than the Big East) could be a good idea.

For more, visit Louisville blog Card Chronicle and Notre Dame blog One Foot Down. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

Soon, the TCU Horned Frogs will announce they'll join the Big 12 in 2012. Now one is left wondering which teams the conference will add to get back up to a full 12. At the moment, they're set to have 10, but the Missouri Tigers could leave at any moment. If you think the league be content to forego a football championship game, you're nuts, so let's assume a two- or three-pack is still in waiting.

Consulting the same list of schools that's been reported by one or another outlet for the past couple months, here are the remaining candidate rumors: the BYU Cougars, Boise St. Broncos, Cincinnati Bearcats, Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers. And various smaller Texas schools and Tulane (lol). 

Smaller Texas schools are right out, you'd have to assume, and let's not pick on Tulane. Here's a pair of reports that have made their way out this week: Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com cites BYU, Louisville and Cincy and Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World lists BYU, West Virginia and Tulane (COME ON). For what it's worth, the Oklahoman's Travis Haney mentions BYU, Louisville and West Virginia, but doesn't appear to be framing that as a report.

Lotta BYU, friends.

Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

See anything interesting in the Big 12's announcement that it will expand by adding the TCU Horned Frogs? First, congratulations to TCU, which competed and boardroom'd its way from the WAC in 1997 and into its region's power football conference alongside the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners.

But on to the release:

Acting upon a unanimous recommendation of its expansion subcommittee, the Big 12 Conference Board of Directors has authorized negotiations with Texas Christian University to become the Conference's 10th member, and instructed interim commissioner Chuck Neinas to immediately begin discussions with TCU. 

The action of the Board was without dissent. On the advice of legal counsel, The University of Missouri did not participate in the vote.    

It was unanimous, meaning the Baylor Bears had no problem taking TCU away from the Big East after complaining loud and long about other conferences removing Texas A&M from the Big 12. You'll also note the Missouri Tigers didn't participate, as they're currently teetering between the Big 12 and the SEC.

Likewise, here's TCU chancellor Victor Boschini:

These discussions with the Big 12 have huge implications for TCU. It will allow us to return to old rivalries, something our fans and others have been advocating for many years. As always, we must consider what's best for TCU and our student-athletes in this ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics. We look forward to continuing these discussions with the Big 12.    

It's not official official yet, but there's no way the Big 12 and TCU would announce it if it's not a done deal.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and Big East Coast Bias. 

So this was probably at least one of the Big 12's big Thursday announcements, right? It would be pretty great if the conference actually had two very important things to announce that were nowhere near as big as picking up the TCU Horned Frogs from the Big East.

The New York Times' Pete Thamel reports the Big East was notified Thursday morning of TCU's intent to leave for the Big 12. Thamel also reports that TCU has scheduled a board meeting and will likely make the announcement soon.

The Horned Frogs will have to pay a $5 million exit fee in order to nix their relocation to the Big East, but they won't be subject to the same 27-month waiting period that struck Syracuse and Pitt upon the announcement of their ACC jaunt. This is because TCU was never actually a Big East team. That's pretty sad.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and Big East Coast Bias. 

After losing three (and maybe four) teams to other conferences over the past two years, the Big 12 is finally making moves of its own. According to CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy, who's been rock solid on all matters relating to Big East realignment, the TCU Horned Frogs have been invited to join the Big 12 and are expected to accept. The Austin-American Stateman's Kirk Bohls says the deal should be finalized "over the next few days."

TCU had planned to join the Big East in 2012, but continued shakiness in that conference made a move closer to home the safer pick. The Big 12 needs stability, too, so such a move would be a win-win all round.

The Big 12 likely won't be done after this move, since they still must await the fate of the Missouri Tigers. In a way, bringing on TCU could even help steer Mizzou back toward their current home conference and away from the SEC, since it doesn't sound like the Tigers are quite as smitten with the southeast as many had thought.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and Big East Coast Bias. 

TCU Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson has not had an especially punch-pulling week. After having an existential moment following Saturday's loss, Patterson has now made note that the SMU Mustangs are on their own in the great conference realignment shuffle of 2011:

SMU got a lot of help from us over the last three or four years. They are not going to get any help about a game or a conference; they are going to get no help from Gary Patterson. Don't ask me about anything. We've bent over backwards to help them because that's what I believe in.    

SMU was reportedly raised as a potential Big East buddy for TCU. It would make sense to have more than one school in the Metroplex (or even in the same, like, region of the country) so that they could develop a really intense rivalry. Or it's already too intense. I don't know.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias and TCU blog Frogs O' War.

Pretty happy to have made it an entire college football weekend without any conference realignment fuss. Tactfully done, athletic directors and other leakers of information!

The news of the moment: Big East presidents met Sunday and granted commissioner John Marinatto the power to expand the conference. Andy Katz has a list of the schools being discussed, which includes three new additions:

The source said a number of schools were discussed, including Navy, Army, Air Force, Temple, Central Florida and a new name in SMU.

The Temple Owls are expected to join in all sports, while the service academies are likely to join in football only. The Navy Midshipmen and Air Force Falcons have been mentioned repeatedly, while the Army Black Knights are a new addition. If Navy must give up over a century of independence, doing so in order to join a conference with both of its fellow Commander-in-Chief's Trophy schools would be the only move worth the sacrifice.

The SMU Mustangs would give the TCU Horned Frogs a local rival, while the Central Florida Knights would do the same for the South Florida Bulls. Kind of a weird conference identity if all six of those are added, which would give the conference 12 teams and the chance to play a title game. Assuming they don't lose anybody else to the ACC or Big 12, of course.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias.

The current state of Big 12 realignment works like this: there are about seven schools that get mentioned in every other rumor, four at a time. In the event that the Missouri Tigers leave for the SEC, some combination of Boise State, BYU Cincinnati, Louisville, TCU, West Virginia and some Texas school are said to be the leading candidates to help rebuild the Big 12. Shuffle them up and deal.

Thursday evening's configuration:

The TCU Horned Frogs have popped in and out of rumors ever since the Big East lost two schools to the ACC. The popular assumption, based on reports, is that the Oklahoma Sooners and others want them in, while the Texas Longhorns don't, but might be running out of options.

Either way, they're definitely the most frequently mentioned addition of the moment.

For more, visit TCU blog Frogs O' War and the rest of our many college football blogs.

If the Missouri Tigers decide to leave the Big 12, the conference could look to the east for expansion targets, according to Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News. Should the Big 12 move back to 12 teams, Carlton reports that the four candidates are the TCU Horned Frogs, the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Louisville Cardinals and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Horned Frogs and the Mountaineers have both been involved in numerous expansion rumors recently, but the Bearcats are a new one added to the mix. What exactly Cincinnati brings is not quite apparent yet, but then this is just one possible scenario.

However, interim commissioner Chuck Neinas has said that the Big 12 has yet to decide on how many teams it wants to add. The league could look at the BYU Cougars as part of a smaller expansion program. But if the original report of four teams being added holds true, the Big 12 will make the decision to expand eastward.

For more on the revolving door rumors of conference realignment, stick with this StoryStream.

UConn President Susan Herbst told the AP that the presidents from every Big East school will be gathering this weekend to discuss the future of the conference.

"We have to talk about the future and how to go forward as a strong Big East," she wrote.

Last week, Big East commissioner John Marinatto emerged from a meeting with the Big East football schools claiming unity. He then watched as almost every one of them spent the next couple days publicly announcing that they are keeping their options open, some even openly courting other conferences.

Throw in the fact that the conference needs to figure out whether or not to expand and what to do with Syracuse and Pitt, both of whom are currently obligated to spend the next 27 months in purgatory, and there is a lot to talk about.

For more, stop by UConn blog The UConn blog, Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Big East blog Big East Coast Bias.

Just when you think college conference realignment has settled down for a spell, Jon Wilner of the Mercury News goes and reports that the Big 12 is thinking about adding the Boise St. Broncos, BYU Cougars, Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers in the event that the Missouri Tigers leave for the SEC. Moving along, there ... no, wait.

That's a whole lot of information to just drop off in one space. Mizzou to the SEC still seems quite possible, even with the SEC's refrain about being happy with a lucky 13 teams. Louisville, WVU and BYU have been rumored Big 12 targets, with the Cougars reportedly the league's most coveted prize and the interest appearing to be mutual.

But Boise State and West Virginia in the same conference? If you need to lie down, that's fine. It's a report of a plan that's being considered in case a potential event occurs, which is sufficiently far away from actually happening that we may have time to prepare ourselves.

The last round of Big 12 expansion reports had the TCU Horned Frogs in the running as well, with Oklahoma reportedly favoring them and Texas reportedly getting over ... not favoring them. According to Wilner, that's not the case.

Check out the SB Nation communities for each of these schools: Boise State blog One Bronco Nation Under God, Louisville blog Card Chronicle, West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket and BYU blog Vanquish The Foe.

The Big East's next batch of moves might look a little bit different than some had thought. According to the St. Petersburg Times' Greg Auman, USF president Judy Genshaft said the conference "is not looking at any schools in [the] same state[s] as current league members."  

If that just means football schools, that would rule out the Central Florida Knights. If that means any league members, that would mean no Temple Owls as well, since the Villanova Wildcats will be FBS-ready ... at some point. (Unless we're being REALLY specific and counting Pitt as a current member, which ... technically.) Genshaft didn't specify.

In a fuller report, Auman cites Genshaft as denying her school has blocked UCF from the Big East -- as had been alleged -- and insisting she hasn't "done anything to hurt anybody."

Other schools reportedly being pursued by the Big East include Navy and Air Force. Temple was booted from the Big East after 2004 but has been talking up its return for a while, and UCF was the long-assumed next Big East team until conference realignment went totally haywire. East Carolina also used to be mentioned in that mix. Those were the days.

For more, visit Big East Coast Bias, plus USF blog Voodoo Five and Villanova blog The Nova Blog.

The popular assumption regarding SEC realignment: there's a bloc of schools that will watch each other's backs to keep from adding teams to the SEC that reside in current SEC states. "The Gentleman's Agreement," it's been dubbed.

The thinking is that the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats will agree to keep out the Florida St. Seminoles, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals.

There's never been any real evidence of such an agreement, but you might want to file this one away in your Gentleman's Agreement Evidence Cabinet for future reference, if you're into conspiracy theories: Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart told Kentucky Sports Radio that the Wildcats "would not rule out a veto" of Louisville.

Louisville has scarcely been reported as a potential SEC invite, trailing at least the Missouri Tigers, West Virginia Mountaineers and Virginia Tech Hokies on the list of most-buzzed candidates. It's interesting not because KENTUCKY SHOOTS DOWN LOUISVILLE (note that Barnhart didn't say they would veto, only that they would not rule out a veto) but because at least one SEC school is publicly mindful of what it would mean to admit its in-state rival.

For more, visit Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue and Louisville blog Card Chronicle.

As if it was wasn't already abundantly clear that the Connecticut Huskies want out of the Big East and would like to join the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers in the ACC, Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy made sure to douse the bridge connecting them to the Big East in kerosene one more time today.

Governor confirms UConn interested in moving to ACC if conference goes to 16 teams, says barring that "you fall back to the Big East."

The Big East is officially UConn's safety conference.

Malloy also discussed the fact that, whatever happens next in conference realignment, it's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

"I think there was expectancy built up initially that this was quickly going to be resolved," he said. "That's clearly not the case. The ACC has the first decision to make and that's whether they're going to stay at 14 teams or stay at 16. I know that there's one team, one school that they would like to get into the ACC that would guarantee them going to 16 teams and that's been speculated to be Notre Dame. I suspect that that's true. I don't know how likely that is to happen or not happen. Although, I tend to think it's not terribly likely."

As for whether or not it's in the best interest of UConn to be openly speculating on the ACC's decision-making process while also throwing the Big East under the bus...that remains to be seen.

For more, visit UConn blog The UConn blog, which is perhaps our most accurately named blog.

For some reason, the ACC wanted to keep secret the 12 school representatives who made up its conference expansion committee. The Daily Press' David Teel has done something about that, revealing the 12 committee members.

University of Miami president Donna Shalala's name appears on the list, as do three other presidents. Four faculty representatives are named, three of them scientists (yes, Georgia Tech's rep is an engineering professor). The athletic directors included: Gene DeFilippo of the Boston College Eagles, Randy Spetman of the Florida St. Seminoles, Dick Baddour of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kevin White of the Duke Blue Devils.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but the fact that there's only one truly football-first school represented among the committee's athletic director makeup seems interesting.

The additions of the Syracuse Orange and the Pittsburgh Panthers, the likely Connecticut Huskies welcoming and the potential Rutgers Scarlet Knights acquisition are all basketball-friendly moves. It's been reported that UConn has a number of supporters in the ACC, which would almost certainly mean basketball schools rather than football schools.

Just interesting.

For more, stay tuned to this conference realignment StoryStream.

The Temple Owls have been talking up their eventual return to the Big East for months now. As talk of the prodigal program's realignment grows, Louisville Cardinals coach Rick Pitino has thoughts on this matter and other matters. You will not be surprised by his thoughts:

Admit Temple immediately. They have a highly competitive football program with outstanding basketball tradition. They are a past BIG EAST member and an excellent school academically. And as all my friends say in Philadelphia, they are located in BIG EAST territory.

Offer Air Force, Navy, and Army to join in football only.

Sit down with Villanova and ask them to make a major commitment to football.

All of those schools have been tied to the Big East in one way or another, save Army. Navy and Air Force are supposed to join aaaany minute now, and Nova's onboarding was recently put on hold for now, though the Wildcats have also reportedly made eyes at the ACC. (That won't amount to anything.)

And you might disagree with some of what Pitino has to say about the ACC's additions of the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, but this is not all that far off:

If my information is correct, the ACC, namely certain basketball coaches, did not like the amount of exposure BIG EAST basketball was getting nationally and the amount of tournament teams selected the past couple of seasons. Their feelings were made known at conference meetings. Now true or untrue, you can't tell me that Pitt and Syracuse are making ACC football significantly better. In the last few years, they have laid off more football staff coaches than Bank of America did with its employees last week.   

For more on Big East realignment, check out Big East Coast Bias. 

The Connecticut Huskies and Rutgers Scarlet Knights want to join the ACC, and the Navy Midshipmen might join the ACC. You knew that, but here's a sourced report from the Baltimore Sun on both potential moves that adds detail to both stories. Please meet me in the next paragraph so we can talk about some things.

Nationwide college conference realignment didn't really hit me until reports emerged of Navy football joining a conference. They've been independent for 120 years, likely longer than your school has even had a football program. That's longer than Notre Dame's been independent. Even Army joined a conference for a while. Kinda bums me out to see Navy have to give that up and join a basketball conference. The idea of Navy joining a conference makes me shake my head every time I think about it.

Thanks for listening.

Check back often for conference realignment news, because it pretty much never stops happening.

You do not believe the Big 12; the Big 12 needs more people. The TCU Horned Frogs have been mentioned as one of the more likely Big 12 expansion candidates, but the Texas Longhorns are reportedly going to need to be convinced to let them in.

So that makes this interesting: Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com -- Rivals' Texas site in case you've forgotten -- reports TCU is emerging as a potential Big 12 team No. 10. Brown is sometimes referred to as DeLoss Dodds' unofficial spokesperson, so ... interesting. Other schools mentioned in the report: the West Virginia Mountaineers, Cincinnati Bearcats, Louisville Cardinals and BYU Cougars.

It had been reported that Oklahoma favors TCU, BYU and the Air Force Falcons, but Air Force is reportedly headed to the Big East soon, according to Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.

For more, venture to TCU blog Frogs O' War.

The Big East's announcement that it would enforce its 27-month rule against the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, preventing the schools from leaving until 2014, might not be going over so well with certain member schools. 

The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy reports some of the conference's approximately 11,000 basketball programs may prefer to rid themselves of Pitt and Cuse earlier than 2014. Really don't get why this conference doesn't just split itself according to sport. Nobody else gets it either. Thanks for listening.

The schools doing the exiting tend to agree. Here's Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim -- the fact that he's not all that happy about leaving the Big East makes it even more poignant:

"The Big East needs to move on," he said. "The Big East needs to be worrying about who they're adding and what they're going to do. If they can get a couple of teams, why would they say to those two teams, 'Well, no, you can't come in right now. We're going to hold Syracuse to two more years.' That doesn't make any sense at all.    

For more, stop by Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Big East blog Big East Coast Bias.

The Connecticut Huskies have made no secret of their desire to follow the Syracuse Orange, Pittsburgh Panthers and Boston College Eagles into the ACC. Their lack of secrecy cannot be understated. Like, it's kind of odd. While one scenario had the ACC adding UConn and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to shore up its hold on those college football-rabid Corridor markets, the conference's more likely wish is to add the Huskies along with a bigger fish.

So, yeah, the ACC would add UConn if it could also add the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, NBC Connecticut reports. That's the way the story's looked since the Cuse and Pitt pickups, but now there's a sourced story on the matter. Once the Irish say no, UConn and Rutgers could still be the fallback.

The ACC, along with every other conference except the SEC and probably Pac-12, would like Notre Dame too. Their presumed destination all along has been the Big Ten, if they ever do decide to stop bathing in NBC's money for a while. 

There's at least some local interest among Irish supporters for the ACC, so.

For more, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down and UConn blog The UConn blog, which is perhaps our most accurately named blog.

Big East football could implode from all this conference expansion talk or it could add a few more teams to stay among the living. But according to Louisville Cardinals basketball coach Rick Pitino, the league is going to be just fine in basketball even with the departure of Pitt and Syracuse. But that's not big news. The interesting stuff is that Pitino claims he has been told that both the Air Force Falcons and the Navy Midshipmen will join the Big East as football-only members by the end of the week.

Interestingly, Pitino also says that the league was trying to lure Air Force and Navy before Pitt and Syracuse announced their departures over the weekend. Adding two service academies would certainly add prestige to the conference for being those types of institutions.

Navy's football team has been unaffiliated with a conference for decades, though its other sports play in the Patriot League. Air Force plays in the Mountain West, but would need to see if it can stay in the conference for its other sports. The WAC or the West Coast Conference could be landing spots for the Falcons' other programs if the Mountain West wouldn't keep them following a football departure to the Big East.

Big East Conference commissioner John Marinatto came away from Tuesday's nights meeting between the conference football schools with the impression everyone was committed to the future of the conference.

According to UConn, West Virginia and Rutgers...not so much.

UConn President Susan Herbst released a statement today in regards to the school and it's future and at no point does she even mention the Big East:

"Please know that we will always do what is in the best interests for the University of Connecticut."

Meanwhile, West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck's statement does actually mention the words "Big" and "East," but seems as noncommittal to the conference as UConn's.

"As I stated before, WVU is an excellent flagship, land-grant University, with national-caliber athletic and academic programs. We are, and will remain, a national player in college athletics."

Another source told the AP that Rutgers never actually committed itself to the Big East either.

Someone should probably double-check with John Marinatto that he was in the same meeting all of these schools were in.

For more on the ever-changing Big East landscape, head on over to Big East Coast Bias.

So you woke up this morning to discover the Big 12 is going to have to try to work together, as the Pac-12 is skipping this round of expansion, pretty much because of the Longhorn Network. Good morning! The big stuff is over for now, but the smaller stuff continues. This means we're right back to the Big 12 needing to replace the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Colorado Buffaloes and Texas A&M Aggies.

According to John E. Hoover, one of Oklahoma's recommendations for the new Big 12 was for the conference to pick up the BYU Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs and Air Force Falcons. Hoover adds that nothing has changed there, but there's no telling on whether the [/counts on fingers, gives up] however many other Big 12 schools agree with that list. Rivals' BYU's site reports the newly independent Cougs will likely accept an offer, FWIW.

As for non-expansion matters, OrangeBloods.com's Chip Brown reports the conference's schools notified commissioner Dan Beebe things are gonna be different now, and the New York Times' Pete Thamel makes a convincing case against the Missouri Tigers looking elsewhere.

For more, visit BYU blog Vanquish The Foe and TCU blog Frogs O' War.

Thanks to the Pac-12, the Big 12's schools are stuck with each other for the time being. The Oklahoma Sooners and their likewise disgruntled colleagues are going to have to either come to terms with the Longhorn Network or force the Texas Longhorns to neuter it.

For those of you sick of conference realignment talk, especially during the college football season, here's a piece of good news: the AP's Jim Vertuno reports Texas and Oklahoma will meet soon to come up with a five-year plan for the Big 12. Also, magical coincidence! That's how long the Big 12's current TV deal lasts. Five years doesn't sound like all that long of a time once you put it that way.

Oklahoma president David Boren released a statement partly on Oklahoma's new "positive relationship" with the Pac-12 and on a few suggestions for the Big 12:

We were not surprised by the Pac 12's decision to not expand at this time. Even though we had decided not to apply for membership this year, we have developed a positive relationship with the leadership of the conference and we have kept them informed of the progress we've been making to gain agreement from the Big 12 for changes which will make the conference more stable in the future. Stability has been our first goal and we look forward to achieving that goal through continued membership in the Big 12 Conference.

Besides getting its two brand names to play nice, the Big 12 also has to rebuild after losing Texas A&M. Yes, that's TCU's music. You might have heard they could use a new football home, and the Big 12 might have been humbled just enough to consider them.

For more, visit Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes, Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine and Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation. Oh, and TCU blog Frogs O' War.

After its football schools met Tuesday evening in New York, the Big East issued a statement that essentially says that despite the impending departures of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC, the Big East will go on.

Our membership met this evening and we are committed as a conference to recruit top level BCS caliber institutions with strong athletic and academic histories and traditions. We have been approached by a number of such institutions and will pursue all of our options to make the BIG EAST Conference stronger than it has ever been in both basketball and football.

Ralph D. Russo reports that the Big East teams who are left will try to recruit new members, and that the Big East believes there's no rush to do this, since Pitt and Syracuse are supposed to be committed to the conference until 2014.

The really important thing here, of course, is who the Big East ends up recruiting. If it's schools like Navy and Air Force, as one report recently suggested, then the Big East's already-poor reputation as a football conference can only get worse, and a serious football program like that of West Virginia might really get left out in the cold.

For more on the Big East, check out Big East Coast Bias.

For those that think John Marinatto wasn't doing anything to save the Big East before Syracuse and Pittsburgh bolted for the ACC, think again. Marinatto had a master plan and that master plan apparently included inviting Navy to join the conference. So says CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy...

Before the sudden news broke last weekend that Pittsburgh and Syracuse were leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East was in the final stages of acquiring Navy as a football-only member.

No official invitation was extended by the league, but both parties had extensive discussions about Navy joining the league in football only and it very well could have happened in the next couple of weeks, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com.

Brett also notes that the Big East was targeting Air Force as a potential new member as well. Air Force would have given TCU someone else relatively close.

Meanwhile, East Carolina has officially applied for membership in the Big East once again. This time, they've even got the backing of the North Carolina governor.

"The thing I think a governor can do and do very effectively is let the other governors and other decision makers and these other schools that might have a vote understand what a fabulous school (East Carolina University) is," said Perdue.

The Big East football members are meeting Tuesday evening and perhaps any one of these schools or more will be part of the discussion. Or perhaps, with the departure of SU and Pitt, the conference has moved on to Plan B.

For more on the Big East, check out Big East Coast Bias.

Ouch. According to CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy, who's been the source of conference realignment news for the past week, the West Virginia Mountaineers have been already turned down by both the SEC and the ACC. Ouch.

We'd known WVU had requested a place in the new SEC, but their interest in the ACC is new information. Every Big East team is likely phoning Tobacco Road night and day, so it's not surprising, but the Eers just seemed like a much better fit for the SEC than for the ACC. Which I mean as a compliment to all parties involved.

Surprising news, since most conferences seem to be leaving all their cards on the table. Rejecting West Virginia would leave the SEC with the Missouri Tigers and Virginia Tech Hokies as major options for team No. 14, while solidifying the notion that the ACC will keep adding big northeastern TV markets unless they can break Notre Dame.

For more WVU, visit West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket. Also, stop by SEC blog Team Speed Kills. For more on the Big East, check out Big East Coast Bias. 

As the Big East stands to lose two of its best football-playing schools to the ACC, along with perhaps two more to the ACC, one to the Big Ten and one to the SEC, you'd be forgiven for assuming a somber tone out of the northeast. But this Pete Thamel piece on the conference paints a different picture:

"We have a track record of coming out stronger than we did before," [Big East commissioner John] Marinatto said, referring the A.C.C.'s raid of three Big East teams in 2003. "We may even hold the opening round of our basketball tournament in Greensboro," a frequent site of the A.C.C. tournament, he said in jest.

That's in addition to forcing the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers to remain in the conference through the 2013-14 season.

Elsewhere in Corridor pride, former Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese says at least his conference "kicked [the ACC's] butt in basketball the last 10 years" and Connecticut Huskies coach Jim Calhoun says he just wants his program to land in the nation's top basketball conference, whichever conference that may be. Look at Calhoun's comments and you can see one of the ways UConn is selling itself to the ACC:

"We sit near Fairfield county, where many of our fans are from, a bedroom community for New York City," he said. "I don't know of any other school, with the exception of St. John's, Seton Hall that has that much influence in that city, the media capital of the world."    

For more on the Big East, check out Big East Coast Bias.

The Charleston Gazette's Mitch Vingle reports the West Virginia Mountaineers have "indeed turned to the Southeastern Conference," and are now waiting to hear back. Essentially, they haven't been told, "No," they've been told, "Hang on."

When you look at it, this lines up with what was reported within the past few days. Colin Dunlap reported the Eers had applied to the SEC, which it appears they have. Andy Staples reported the SEC would prefer to wait and take the Missouri Tigers once the Big 12 falls apart -- that could happen pretty soon, as both the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns have taken significant steps towards the Pac-12.

Even if the SEC does pick up Mizzou, that wouldn't rule out West Virginia. While Mike Slive insists he's cool with remaining at 13 teams, nobody really wants to remain at 13 teams. If 16 is the magic number, that would leave plenty of room for WVU.

For more on the story, vist West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

In response to the announcements that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns have both granted their presidents the right to explore conference realignment options outside of the Big 12, conference president Dan Beebe has released an official statement.

"The actions taken today by the governing boards of the universities of Oklahoma and Texas was anticipated. It is my opinion that the case for the Big 12 Conference continues to be as strong today for all of our current members as it was last year, especially considering the welfare of those to whom we owe the greatest responsibility-the student-athletes. We continue to apply all effort and resources toward assuring our members that maintaining the Big 12 is in the best interest for their institutions."

Beebe's not kidding about the Big 12 anticipating this move. The latest rumor is that the remaining members of the conference will meet up with the remaining members of the Big East and form some kind of merged hybrid.

The person, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about what is going on behind the scenes, said Monday there has been dialogue between athletic directors and high-level officials in the conference offices.

If Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State leave, that leaves Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State to scramble for the next best thing. As of this moment, the Big East still has seven football members, though that number could change depending on West Virginia, TCU and other defections.

For more on these schools, check out Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation, Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine, Oklahoma State blog Cowboys Ride For Free and Texas Tech blog Double T Nation. And Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes.

Is the ACC more popular right now than it's ever been? Kinda seems like it, with the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers finding safe harbor in the conference realignment storm and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights among the many programs looking to reserve a spot, along with the Connecticut Huskies.

Let's add the Villanova Wildcats to that list, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel that confirms news first reported by VUHoops and The Nova Blog. To say Nova is a longshot here ... well, let's not be mean to Villanova, which currently fields a Division I-AA football program that was turned down by the Big East earlier this year.

Nova's best chance would be if the ACC decides to start adding non-football members in an attempt to coerce the Notre Dame Fighting Irish into joining. Or, as Boston College blog BC Interruption hypothesizes, the ACC could add Nova and a school like Georgetown to lock down northeastern hoops and finish off the Big East (I'm not happy about it, but that's what's happening) without clogging up the football schedule any more than it already is because Wake Forest and Duke are on it.  

For more on the Wildcats, head to Villanova blog The Nova Blog. It has a pretty clear name.

Those three entities in the title are listed in descending order of importance in this matter, of course.

As the Big East has already lost two of its football-playing schools and could lose three more if the Big Ten and ACC help themselves, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have found themselves with a tenuous home for their Olympic sports.

While the Irish remain a football independent, it would be hard to imagine them choosing to leave their basketball in a dilapidated conference with few other nationally branded institutions and no shot at a top media deal -- not to mention one that could soon be upstaged in its own home. Either way, Notre Dame remains the most-prized item on the market for the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and ACC.

So when Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick comments on conference realignment, it's important:

I don't understand it. How do you vote as a collegiate president on something that has the potential to provide some benefit for your institution and the conference you're affiliated with but has a very negative consequence for a host of other members of the academy, as presidents like to call it?    

Also, "a congressman from a state with a university that could be harmed by realignment" is making noise about using the federal government to force other schools to play sports with a school his constituents happen to favor. And NCAA president Mark Emmert wants everybody to settle down.

For more, head to Notre Dame blog One Foot Down.

The West Virginia Mountaineers may indeed want to join the SEC, as was reported earlier, but according to a tweet by Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples, the Missouri Tigers are a more likely bet to actually get in. It's interesting to note that the only reports claiming WVU will make it in are coming out of Mountaineers markets, while no SEC outlets have reported the same from the other side of the alleged bargain.

While Mizzou would be a little bit out of the SEC's way geographically, it would boost the conference's academic profile while adding two large TV markets that aren't entirely opposed to college sports (cough, the silly idea of Syracuse football delivering the New York City market, cough). The Tigers offer solid football and decent ... other sports. And, hey, instant buddy rival for Texas A&M.

The Big Ten has been a frequently cited potential landing spot for Mizzou -- if either the SEC or the Big Ten can offer the Tigers a home, they'll happily take what they can get.

For more Mizzou, head to Missouri Tigers blog Rock M Nation.

Yep, it's come to this point. After Pittsburgh and Syracuse officially jumped ship to the Atlantic Coast Conference, other Big East teams are looking for some way - any way - out of their current situation. Poor, poor TCU. The latest team to attempt to jump ship is Rutgers, who have contacted the ACC and Big Ten.

Not to disrespect Rutgers fans or the university as an academic institution, but the only reason either of these conferences would want Rutgers is if they were truly desperate for a 16th team or something along those lines. Currently, no one is desperate for a 16th team.

The Big East, which had 16 teams as of yesterday (plus TCU), now appears to be dying a very quick death. Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti had this to say.

"I think given our assets and our location, the New York TV market, our AAU status and strong academic standing, and most of all - given all the nonsense that's gone on out there - running a clean program (with) integrity. We have great assets and we will continue to be a player nationally during this time as the landscape continues to shift."

Yes, Rutgers has the college football-crazy New York TV market. Who will be exceptionally crazy for Big Ten and/or ACC football. Because there is an average team in New Jersey who may be playing in one of those two conferences. Okay then!

For more on Rutgers, check out On the Banks.

According to a sourced report by Colin Dunlap, the West Virginia Mountaineers have already "sent paperwork" to the SEC. Dunlap was the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Pittsburgh Pirates beat writer whom you may remember as the guy Bill Stewart tried to sic on Dana Holgorsen. He now works for CBS' Pittsburgh affiliate.

If the report is true, that could mean WVU is in. Nobody sends paperwork in this situation unless they're sure the paperwork will achieve its desired result. If the report is true, of course.

Some have speculated the ACC's decision to quickly pick up the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers was accelerated by an impending move by WVU to the SEC. Since the SEC grabbing the Eers would destabilize the Big East, the ACC may have seen no reason to wait and give the Big Ten a chance to sample any Big East teams for itself. Some have speculated.

When SEC expansion noise was last a thing, WVU, the Missouri Tigers and the Virginia Tech Hokies were the most commonly mentioned teams, with the Louisville Cardinals, Florida St. Seminoles and others also earning quieter murmurings.

For more, visit West Virginia Mountaineers blog The Smoking Musket and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

The exit of the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, along with the potential West Virginia Mountaineers evacuation to the SEC, has left Big East football-playing schools like the Connecticut Huskies, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Louisville Cardinals in deep trouble. Let's not talk about the TCU Horned Frogs, as their situation is just too depressing.

UConn, for one, has stepped up its talks with the ACC, according to Andy Katz and Joe Schad:

According to the source, [UConn president Susan] Herbst was having conversations recently [with the ACC] but in light of Pittsburgh's and Syracuse's defections from the Big East, the talks have accelerated in the last 48 hours.    

One semi-popular theory: the ACC expanded to 14 teams instead of going straight for 16 teams in order to make it clear to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that there's still a stable home waiting for them. The ACC, Big East and Big 12 have loomed as potential non-Big Ten destinations for the Irish, should they ever deign to join a conference, but two of those are on the verge of losing power status.

If Notre Dame doesn't sign up, UConn and Rutgers seem like the most likely to be ACC teams No. 15 and 16, based on John Swofford's current plan of entering northeast media markets that care about basketball.

For more, stop by UConn blog The UConn Blog. That's the name of our UConn blog!

ACC commissioner John Swofford held a Sunday morning teleconference to announce the addition of the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers. It was a pretty standard teleconference, with a lot of boring stuff happening. But along the way, he dropped a pair of bombs.

When asked about the Texas Longhorns and the rumored mutual interest between the two, Swofford complimented the school but said he couldn't comment. Later, he called the ACC's revenue sharing arrangement "sacred," which would seem to rule out the onboarding of Texas and its Longhorn Network if true.

Then, Swofford admitted the ACC's basketball tournament could move to Madison Square Garden on a rotational basis. Which, whoa! Moving the conference's most prized event out of North Carolina would be a dramatic shift and signal that it thinks of itself as the east coast's conference, not just the other southeastern conference. Can't imagine Tobacco Road is very happy about hearing that, though.

For more on all this, check out Texas blog Burnt Orange Nation, Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Pitt blog Cardiac Hill.

The ACC made a move Sunday that will alter its geography, divisions, scheduling and culture. Well, the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers aren't all that great at football, so the culture will mostly stay the same. When the SEC added Texas A&M, we heard cautious approval from the conference's coaches and ADs. The ACC, however, is pretty pumped.

Here's North Carolina Tar Heels athletic director Dick Baddour on the move:

It's obvious that the world is turning upside down and we want the ACC to be in a position where we are strong. It's absolutely the right thing to do.

Duke Blue Devils basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was perhaps the most complimentary:

I'm proud of the leadership of our conference to be ahead of things. We're in a period of change. Whether everyone agrees with it or doesn't agree with it -- change is happening. It's not a revolution, it's evolution. These things are happening.    

In that same ESPN.com story, N.C. State Wolfpack chancellor Randy Woodson is quoted as expressing his approval:

The great thing is that the conference is strong and committed to a unanimous commitment to staying together. And to the extent that this is kind of a dramatic shift in conferences, we're trying to be proactive and stay strong.

As for fans, Big East supporters are freaking out, but fans of football-first ACC schools are largely unimpressed.

For more, head to Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, which will soon be ACC blogs.

Well, that came out of nowhere. The Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers were announced in a Sunday morning release as the ACC's 13th and 14th teams. Pretty amazing, considering that before Saturday there were barely even rumors of these schools getting the call-up.

There's no reason to assume the ACC is done, as it could still lose Virginia Tech to the SEC, somehow convince Texas to join or wait and see if there are any other suitable Big East leftovers once that conference collapses. The Big East's bylaws place Pitt and Cuse into the ACC in 2014, but the Big East isn't really in a position to enforce much of anything, so presume 2012.

The rationale for the additions, from commissioner John Swofford:

"The ACC has enjoyed a rich tradition by balancing academics and athletics and the addition of Pitt and Syracuse further strengthens the ACC culture in this regard," said commissioner John Swofford. "Pittsburgh and Syracuse also serve to enhance the ACC’s reach into the states of New York and Pennsylvania and geographically bridges our footprint between Maryland and Massachusetts. With the addition of Pitt and Syracuse, the ACC will cover virtually the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States."

For more, head to Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Pitt blog Cardiac Hill, which will soon big ACC blogs.

Under the cover of college football Saturday, the ACC reportedly approved Syracuse and Pitt as its newest members. Rumors of the Orangemen and Panthers' possible exodus from the Big East emerged on Saturday morning, and now it's looking likely that the ACC announces the two as new members on Sunday.

The report comes from Kelly Whiteside of the USA Today and includes the timing of a possible announcement, which may come sooner rather than later.

The presidents of the Atlantic Coast Conference voted Saturday morning to accept Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the league, according to an official in the ACC. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the move.

The ACC has scheduled a news media teleconference Sunday at 9:30 a.m., ET ostensibly to discuss the expansion, but no details were given.

So as everyone was watching Texas A&M's attempts to join the SEC and Oklahoma's rumored flirtation with the Pac-12, the ACC was busy swooping in and pillaging the Big East. Expansion is an absolutely ruthless game, and no conference is safe.

So what's next? Nobody has a clue. The Big East is down to seven football schools -- including TCU, who is set to join a conference that may resemble a barren wasteland -- and may be dead before the end of the month. The Big 12 is still clinging to life and may still lose members. And right now, it looks like the entire college landscape may be changing in front of our eyes.

We'll be back on realignment when more becomes available because it's clearly the most important thing going right now. Not like there's actual, on-field action going on or anything.

For more on the story, head to Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Pitt blog Cardiac Hill.

For some reason*, ACC news stories are never reported on until they're pretty much over with. While Texas and Oklahoma and Texas A&M have been the subject of realignment reports for literally years now, we only found out about Syracuse and Pitt joining the ACC once they'd pretty much already done it.

Gary Parrish reports ACC presidents could vote in the two new schools on Sunday. Remember, conferences don't vote on things unless they already know the subject of the vote will pass. 

Meanwhile, attentions turn to the Big East, which always upsets everybody's attention. Parrish's colleague Brett McMurphy, who's led the way on this story all day long, reports the Big East has contacted every Big 12 school except for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State -- another sign those two are headed to the Pac-12.

Kansas, Missouri, Baylor and Iowa State were reported last year and earlier this month as being in some sort of talks with the Big East, so that's at least three instances of contact between the conference and some of those schools. Baylor and Iowa State are the most likely to need to settle for the Big East.

* You know the reason.

For more on the story, head to Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Pitt blog Cardiac Hill.

One interesting subplot of the ACC raiding the Big East for the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers, which will also likely mean the West Virginia Mountaineers (and others, including non-football member Notre Dame) must look elsewhere, is what happens to the TCU Horned Frogs. They're not even in the conference yet, and they already have to worry about their future just as much as the rest of the Big East's schools (and the Big East itself*) do.

Joe Schad quoted TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte as saying, "There are earthquakes going on all around us. And we don't know when they'll settle." That's not a reference to rumblings caused by construction and demolition at TCU's stadium, which seems to occur every few days.

* And now for the amazing stuff: Big East commissioner John Marinatto has no idea what's going on and might find out the same time you do:

Marinatto said there is no conference rule to force a member to notify the commissioner it has applied to another conference.

"Out of courtesy, I'm sure they would, but there is no protocol," he said.

Reading that makes me feel pretty sad for the Big East.

For more, check TCU blog Frogs O' War and Big East Coast Bias.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh have submitted letters of application to join the ACC, according to a report from CBSSports.com. The news confirms Friday's report from the New York Times that the two schools had been in talks with the conference, and sets in motion of what could be another drawn out process of  "will she, won't she" type discussions much like Texas A&M's affair with the SEC.

The CBS report also indicated that 10 other schools had made contact with the ACC, though those schools and their conference affiliations were not revealed by the anonymous high ranking league official. With most of the discussion in recent weeks centered on the Big 12 collapsing into the Pac-12 and SEC, news of the Big East and ACC has gotten lost in the shuffle. Saturday's news indicates that the ACC may have the same inclinations to expand to 14 or 16 teams, in which case the Big East would seem to be a natural source to pick from.

For more breaking expansion news and analysis, check out our extensively updated StoryStream. For more on Syracuse head over to Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. For a Pitt perspective go to Cardiac Hill.

Since the expansionpalooza that wasn't in 2010, there have been two conferences on deathwatch -- the Big 12 and the Big East. We've been keeping tabs on the Big 12 collapse, so let's check in on our other patient.

Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh, two bedrock members of the Big East Conference, are engaged in talks about joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks.

The fact that nobody is even issuing "we're happy in the Big East"-style non-denial denials is as close as you're going to get to confirmation of something like this. And keep in mind that conference realignment is always one step ahead or one step behind the latest reporting, so it's hard to tell how far along this is.

On some levels, this is not a surprise. You might recall that Syracuse was one of the first targets when the ACC raided the Big East in 2003, before Virginia politicians got involved and forced the Cavaliers to lobby heavily for Virginia Tech. (Given the two programs' trajectories in recent years, the Hokies might have been the better choice.) And, as we noted, the Big East has always been vulnerable given its precarious perch in territory that makes some of its schools easy pickings for the ACC and the Big Ten, among others.

One of those others is potentially the SEC. Some West Virginia fans, if not administrators, have been making googly-eyes at the SEC ever since that league started talks with Texas A&M -- on the theory that if the Aggies join the 12-team conference, the best shot at balancing things out is to add a team from the SEC East. And if the ACC is only getting stronger, the pressure on the SEC to look at West Virginia is only going to grow. Which would finish off any hopes the Big East has of surviving, even on the slim odds that it could make a go of it minus Syracuse and Pitt.

The report doesn't specifically mention whether the ACC is or isn't in contact with Texas -- though that would certainly be one reason the league would be reaching out to other schools. And if Texas and the two Big East schools are coming, then there almost has to be a 16th. But that's way down the path of speculation.

What we now reportedly know is bad enough for the Big East. And we're talking about a league that hasn't had much going for it over the last eight years.

For more on the Big East's chances to ward off this raid, check out Big East Coast Bias. For the Syracuse perspective, check out Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, and get a read from Pitt fans on the situation at Cardiac Hill.

Lest you turn your focus to the potential destinations of the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns at the expense of the little guys, Andy Katz unloads a pound of conference expansion nuggets at your doorstep. Among the latest additions to the story: the Big 12 wanted its athletic directors to reach out to the Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers before Oklahoma's wandering eye complicated things.

We'd known about the Big 12's interest in the Arkansas Razorbacks, Pittsburgh Panthers and BYU Cougars, who are all also mentioned by Katz, but I don't think I'd seen WVU or Louisville mentioned in anything other than speculation.

There's also a look into the financial and recruiting difficulties raised by this uncertain period for smaller programs like Iowa State and Missouri:

A source said high-level fundraising at Missouri is on hold for its major $160 million capital campaign. The source said a number of donors -- significant eight-figure donors -- were prepared to present a gift but are holding up that process until they know which conference Missouri will be a member of in for the foreseeable future.

For more, turn to Mizzou blog Rock M Nation, along with our many other fine college football blogs.

Few predicted conference realignment would reach a point at which the Baylor Bears would look like the overlord. From delaying Texas A&M's escape to the SEC -- whether you like the move or not*, that's an association both parties have agreed on -- to planting a story that Baylor isn't alone in trying to hold either A&M or Oklahoma hostage, the Bears are trying every trick in the book to keep the Big 12 together.

Except they're also in talks with the Big East, according to Yahoo! Sports Jason King. Texas forever!

(You'll note nobody's planning to sue Baylor, a school that politicked its way into the conference in the first place at the expense of better football programs.)

Other reports have cited Missouri, Kansas and K-State as Big 12 refugees the Big East would onboard, with Iowa State also in the discussion. But Mizzou could end up in the SEC or Big Ten, and Kansas and K-State could legally be split up. Not sure whether Baylor or the Wildcats would be more valuable, but at least there's no danger of Kansas State suing everybody.

* And plenty of SEC fans really don't like it.

For more, head to Texas A&M blog I Am The 12th Man and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Who are you most worried for in the great conference shift of 2011, if you don't have a house on one of the fault lines? The Big 12's lesser lights and the Big East, right? According to the New York Post's Lenn Robbins, the Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas St. Wildcats and Missouri Tigers could have a landing place in the Big East.

Sure, that's one report from the New York Post, but it does echo the plan that Adam Zagoria reported around this time last year. That report also included the Iowa St. Cyclones, but Robbins writes that the Big East's acquisition of the TCU Horned Frogs has made the Clones the odd school out.

Mizzou is also reportedly one of the final contestants for a spot in the SEC, however. That's a hands-down better place to be. According to this pair of scenarios, Iowa State could find a home yet. But we're like four huge moves ahead of reality at this point.

Adding those three would bring the Big East to 12 football teams and empower it to play a championship game. For most conferences, basketball is a distant concern, but the Big East actually cares about that stuff -- and hey, great, these three can play some hoops.

Its membership would actually start to sort of make sense geographically, with teams in Texas, Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas and Missouri spread across the eastern half of the country. Not that the Big East or any current Big 12 teams are all that concerned about geography right now. I'm just saying it would look nice.

For more, head to Kansas blog Rock Chalk Talk and K-State blog Bring On The Cats, plus Big East blog Big East Coast Bias.

Once Texas A&M and the SEC complete their long-gestating courtship, all attention will turn to the mystery 14th school that will be needed to balance out the divisions in the conference.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, not one to throw around rumors carelessly, says that Big East member West Virginia and Big 12 member Missouri have emerged as the front-runners for that highly-valued spot.

If true, it confirms the "gentleman's agreement" thought to be in place among SEC schools. That understanding is said to ensure that a new SEC member doesn't come from within the same state as a current one, ruling out schools like Florida State and Clemson.

For all the coach-burning jokes, West Virginia would bring with them a fantastic football program and tradition. They'd also bring local character Bob Huggins and a solid basketball program. While not "South South," no one is going to challenge West Virginia's southern street cred anytime soon. Their AD, Oliver Luck, has been outspoken about his school in previous realignment discussions and it's not hard to believe that he would be pushing for such a move.

Meanwhile, everyone knows that Missouri has been a free-agent-in-the-making for over a year now. The Tigers practically threw themselves at the Big Ten in the last go-round. A chance to go to the SEC would be critical for them, since they're likely to get left looking for table scraps otherwise once Oklahoma and Texas depart.

Of course, this is all still just based on a tweet, even if it comes from a respected source. Stay tuned...

Another day, another crazy conference realignment story.

Today's big news comes courtesy of Orangebloods, which claim to have sources telling them that Texas, Syracuse, UConn and Rutgers are going to leave their respective conferences and join the ACC.

Several sources said the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big East and Pac-12 are reaching out to schools in the Big 12 in anticipation that the league is about to come apart like an Alka Seltzer tablet in boiling water.

One source close to the situation said the ACC, which is trying to fend off a potential raid by the Southeastern Conference (Virginia Tech continues to be mentioned by sources as an SEC target), would possibly look to add Texas, Syracuse, Connecticut and Rutgers to grow to 16.

ACC commissioner was asked about the report and he, like you, has no idea where it came from.

"I need to read more to see what we’re doing," Swofford said laughing. "That’s news to me."

"I think we see a lot of things that are written, blogged and speculated about right now," Swofford said. "We’re not a point at doing anything from a conference standpoint other than a lot of discussion, analysis and seeing what the landscape may hold moving forward. That’s way beyond any type of discussion we’ve had."

Oh this is going to get so much messier. Buckle up.

For more on college football and conference realignment in general, bookmark our College Football hub.

As Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC realignment and expansion rumors swirl, the New York Times Pete Thamel attempts to make sense of it all in his most recent report on the matter. As he puts it, regardless of what everyone else wants to do, it all comes down to Texas. As usual.

Thamel tweeted the gist of his article in a series of tweets.

Nothing happens with the Pac-12 and UT-OU until A&M to the SEC becomes official. (Tue or Wed).

Oklahoma reached out to the Pac-12 more than two weeks ago. This wasn't sudden.

Larry Scott did NOT go zip around Big 12 country and meet with schools while in Dallas area for ORE-LSU.

Texas State Senator Judith Zaffirini told me: "I don’t see that happening at all at this point" in regards to legislative involvement.

The Big East has reached out to multiple Big 12 universities and offered a soft landing in case Big 12 folds.

For Texas to go, they'd need to "fold" TT to their network to fit Pac-12 model. This is feasible, as ESPN and Pac-12 have good rapport.

The Pac-12 presidents haven't discussed UT-OU-TT-OSU. There's a chance -- and I don't know how much of one -- they may have no interest.

The word is that the Pac-12 will not accept the Oklahoma schools with Texas. And since Texas would likely come with Texas Tech, we might be on the verge of the Pac-16.

Or maybe not.

For more on college football and conference realignment in general, bookmark our College Football hub. For more on the Pac-12, head over to Pacific Takes.

With Texas A&M to the SEC an all-but done deal, it's time to start talking about which team the SEC might invite to maintain their conference's even number of members. It's totally not, because it's GAME WEEK PEOPLE, but let's do it anyway!

Monday, CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd listed Virginia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina and Missouri as the most likely candidates for that last spot. Here are a few quick notes on each, in no particular order:

Maryland: The Maryland Terrapins are the newest addition to the speculation list. They'd provide the SEC the D.C. and Baltimore TV markets, but I'd be surprised to see the conference sell a team that far north to its Yankee-suspicious fan base. Unless you assure them they'd get to try again to sack the White House this time around. Oh shut up, I'm from Atlanta.

Virginia Tech: Tech AD Jim Weaver has already said his school would decline a SEC invite, which you should take to mean absolutely nothing. The Hokies fit just about everything the SEC is looking for -- they're a solid football school that delivers at least one new TV market, they'd open up those eastern Virginia recruiting grounds and they're a national football brand. There are now murmurings that the Hokies would change their tune if invited, which, duh.

Missouri: Mizzou has likewise denied interest, but they too field a recently strong football program that could pick off portions of both the St. Louis and Kansas City markets. Like VPI, they'd butt the SEC right up against the Big Ten's turf while still remaining technically southern, which would draw widely mixed reviews from everybody down here.

Louisville: Loovul has (SURPRISE!) also downplayed their SEC desires, but come on. You guys play in a basketball arena named after fried chicken. Adding the upstart football program, and one of the nation's few noticeably profitable basketball programs (note we've made it this far without even mentioning non-football sports?), might make up for putting off the Kentucky Wildcats, who've supposedly held some sort of gentlemen's agreement with Georgia, Florida and South Carolina not to admit any schools from current SEC states.

I really don't get what the SEC would gain by adding the Cards.

North Carolina: I lied when I said these weren't in any particular order. North Carolina, you're a SEC school whether the world yet realizes it or not. You're lumped in with Duke due to college basketball's best rivalry, but let's be honest. Duke's football team isn't being torn apart for rampant cheating, now are they? Thus, some part of you cares about football more than any of us would like to admit.

The Heels fit the SEC profile better than most realize, but I don't think Mike Slive would kneecap his associate John Swofford by taking away the ACC's most important team. (FSU and Virginia Tech are more important for football, but UNC is the state school of the ACC's heartland, the cog in multiple rivalries central to the conference and, if the talent Butch Davis brought in is any example, a sleeping football giant.) 

Virginia Tech and Missouri look like the best bets at this point, not that you'd be well-advised to wager on any of this. Hey look, football games to bet on!

For consistent updates of this story and all SEC news, follow Team Speed Kills and check with SB Nation Atlanta. For updates on the Texas A&M side, visit I Am The 12th Man.

The college football world has been so focused on the Villanova Wildcats joining the Big East Conference for football when maybe we should have been talking about the Temple Owls all along.

The Temple Owls are certainly talking about it. Seems like every player who commits to play for the Owls these days is doing so under the pretense that Temple will be returning to the Big East very soon.

First, there's LB Michael Kalaman:

"I am really excited about being coached under new head coach Steve Addazio, as well as the other coaches he brought along," Kalaman said of the former Florida offensive coordinator. "Temple will hopefully be moving back to the Big East by the time I get there in 2012. I believe they are on the verge of excellent things with their football program."

Then there's TE Jameson McShea:

"I'm more of a receiver, but I have the body to block. They told me they're going to use two tight ends and Coach Addazio, from his history at Florida, I know he'll be passing the ball a lot. The program is probably going to be in the Big East and I know he's gonna get the job done there."

And then there's TE Tanner Kearns:

"I got to meet their coach and like him. I know they play in Eagle Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) and plan on moving to the Big East soon."

And finally, DB Tavon Young:

"Tavon has committed to Temple," said Mr. Young. "First and foremost is the academics and they pass with flying colors. He has always loved the staff that came up from Florida. He likes the defensive scheme. It is close to home and he will be a part of the Big East in 2012."

Alright, what in the name of Bill Cosby is going on here? Temple is predictably denying that they've told recruits any of this and the Big East will remain mum until the time is right.

I wouldn't put too much stock in this, but, I mean, four different recruits are talking about this like it's common knowledge. So either Steve Addazio is a stone-cold liar or...maybe, just maybe there's something to it.

Temple DOES bring something to the table that Villanova doesn't...a giant stadium. They're also doing quite well and don't resemble the Big East bottom-feeder they were in the 90's and early 00's.

So what does Villanova make of all this? They don't seem too surprised, especially considering they're telling their recruits the exact same thing Temple is.

Stacey Bedell, a 2012 tailback, told Scout.com after giving Nova his verbal commitment, that he chose the school because, "[t]he coaching staff was great with me while I was down there, they’re going into the Big East next year which is exciting and it’s a great academic school."

In other words, chances are this is more of a recruiting tactic than anything solid. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on as the Big East moves closer and closer to its decision on expansion...for now.

Since Temple is still a member of the MAC, keep an eye on the MAC blog Hustle Belt for updates. For updates on the Big East Conference, visit Big East Coast Bias.

The early reports out of Villanova on Monday had merit, as it happens, and Tuesday's planned vote on whether or not the program will join the Big East has been put on indefinite hold thanks to existent member concerns about Nova's lack of a high-capacity stadium. SB Nation's Nova Blog has an email from university president Fr. Peter Donohue that reads, in part:

Without a clear and formal invitation from the Big East, we cannot proceed. We are now working with the Big East to provide whatever additional information and details we can. It is our hope that in the near future we will proceed with the Board of Trustees vote as planned.

Needless to say, after all this hurry-up-and-now-wait, our Nova community ain't happy -- with anybody, really.

[A]pparently, the the communication not only amongst the conference members, but between Villanova and the Big East was so astoundingly horrible that at the 11th hour it was discovered that Villanova's plan wasn't up to the expectations of the conference members. On the surface, the Big East looks to have screwed the pooch pretty bad on this one - but we're not letting ourselves off the hook either.

Over in the peanut gallery, the NCAA's compliance blogger, John Infante, has a cheeky renaming suggestion for when they get this stadium thing worked out, and meanwhile, UCF's all, "Oooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!"

Stay tuned to this StoryStream, The Nova Blog, and SB Nation Philly for more news on possible Big East expansion in 2011.

A look around the SBNation college blog network reveals varying opinions on Monday’s news that TCU will join the Big East Conference in 2012.

BCS Evolution says the move all but kills the MWC’s bid for a BCS invitation:

Losing TCU kills any life support that bid had. Because the move happens in the 2012-2013 season, TCU will still count for the MWC in the numbers. Those numbers will come up short of a guaranteed automatic qualification, but should leave then eligible to petition for an automatic qualification. The loss of TCU the following year critically wounds the MWC’s case. Normally I would publish those numbers after an expansion, but the next scheduled release is due early next week (after the final BCS standigns are released).

I expect the MWC to extend an invite to at least three of Idaho, Utah State, San Jose State, and New Mexico State in the very near future. Hawaii has flirted with independence, but the issue may be forced upon them if the MWC insists that they add too much travel cost with too little value added.

Mountain West Connection says the financial considerations of the deal were just too much for TCU to shy away from:

In 2012 TCU will earn roughly 4-5 times the amount of television revenue than it could in the MWC and possibly much more than that when the contract is renegotiated for 2013. This money will be quite a boon for TCU’s athletic development as TCU is a private university that does not receive public funding like a University of Texas does, so the extra athletic revenue will help to further improve the athletic department and facilities.

The extra money is nice but it will be even better to be back on ESPN again and get some heavy east coast exposure. ESPN is great not only because of the amount of eyes on the games but also the amount of love and publicity ESPN will throw your way as they shamelessly promote those games. Boise State got a good taste of that love this year and conversely TCU felt the cold shoulder that you get when you’re not an ESPN product, which was especially evident last night on the BCS Countdown Show.

The UConn Blog is wondering how the heck a 17-team basketball conference is going to work:

The frank truth is that a 17-team basketball league is probably unworkable. The Big East may find some crazy-ass way to do it, but I’d bet that this either starts the break-up of the conference (especially if the Big East looks to expand further, which wouldn’t shock me) or marks the beginning of the end for some schools. Let’s just say that if I was the athletic director at DePaul, I wouldn’t let John Marinatto take me on any fishing trips to Lake Tahoe.

Card Chronicle sees nothing but upside for all parties involved:

It’s an understatement to say that is the best case scenario as far as the first step in expanding the league goes. TCU still has an outside shot at winning the national championship this season, and if recent years are any indication, the program figures to remain in solid shape by the time the move happens. In short, the league gets its respectable eight-game conference schedule and does so by adding a perennial top 25 program and emerging player on the national scene.

Anonymous Eagle wonders how the arrival of a Texas school will impact recruiting and scheduling for the other Big East squads:

First and foremost, it may have an impact on recruiting. Buzz’s contacts in Texas have funneled a steady stream of talent up north. Will TCU stem that flow? I tend to think not. In fact, it should only increase MU’s exposure in the area and will guarantee recruits at least two trips back to their home state.

What remains to be seen is how this will impact Big East conference scheduling and the Big East tournament. The path of least resistance for scheduling is to keep the 18 game conference season and drop one of the three mirror games. They league may also consider a single round robin 16 game league schedule. Either way, TCU limits Marquette’s opportunities to play the conference heavies. I can’t even venture a guess on how the conference tournament will work. Will the bottom feeder team stay home?

Cardiac Hill doesn’t see what all the fuss is over the travel concerns:

So there’s also one other issue that is irking some – the distance. How will TCU and the league cope with the distance? Well, to be honest, I think we’re going to see a lot more of this. The Big Ten and Nebraska kind of kicked things off as Lincoln isn’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away from schools like Penn State. The more time goes on, the more we’re going to see schools and conferences simply learn to deal with this. Flights cost money, but is a flight to Fort Worth from Syracuse really all that much more than one to Louisville? I can’t imagine so.

Voodoo Five is surprised the basketball-only schools accepted the deal:

I’m surprised that the basketball schools caved in and let TCU in as an all-sports member, but it is the best thing for the conference as a whole. TCU raises the profile of the football side of things, and their Olympic sports are quite good, with their baseball and women’s basketball teams consistently ranked in the Top 25. Maybe most importantly, TCU’s BCS rankings will be attributed to the Big East when reevaluation starts in a few years.

Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician is happy to see TCU join up but concerned about the timing of the announcement:

I’m all for the Horned Frogs joining up for quite a few reasons. That said, I think the timing is awful for two specific reasons:

1. All it’s going to do it remind everyone how much better TCU is than every other team in the Big East and how bad Big East football has been this year.

2. Let the “can TCU have the Big East’s automatic bid this year?” jokes begin.

TCU's gone and held their official press conference confirming the report that the Horned Frogs are, in fact jumping ship from the Mountain West to the Big East for the 2012 athletics season. If you'd like to view the Q&A in its entirety, the full video is available on the university website. For the impatient, we've got pertinent tidbits from the official announcement:

• The trustees' decision to jump from mids to majors was unanimous.

• The official exit date for the Horned Frogs is July 1, 2012.

• Fun media numbers highlighting the business side of the decision:

In adding TCU and the nation's fifth-largest television market, the Big East Conference further strengthens its footprint on the national television scene. Big East markets already contained almost one-fourth of all television households in the United States. Big East institutions currently reside in nine of the nation's top-35 media markets.

• Of course, joining a conference they'll win every year from here to eternity AND get a guaranteed BCS bid has to be nice, too. Make room in the trophy case, facilities personnel:

"The Board of Trustees, along with TCU's administration, thoroughly examined the invitation and came to the conclusion that joining the Big East is the right move to make at this time," said Luther King, chair of TCU's Board of Trustees. "This University has a lot of momentum and joining the Big East will accelerate that momentum."

And though the geography of a trip to, say, Storrs is comparable to the distance between TCU and would-be conference-mate Boise State, if TCU's basketball program is het up about having to motor all the way over to the East Coast so many times per year, they have only one of their own to blame:

Pitt men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon and a TCU alumnus, confirmed that he did initiate contact between his alma mater and the Big East. Dixon was with Del Conte for a homecoming weekend against Baylor Sept. 18. Dixon and Del Conte spoke about how the Big East was going to need another football member. Dixon tested TCU's interest and then let Marinatto know of the Horned Frogs' desire to look at membership. Once TCU's football team rose in the BCS standings and the Big East struggled, the matter became a need for both parties.

The TCU Horned Frogs will join the Big East conference as a full-time member in the 2012-2013 season, according to AOL FanHouse. The move means TCU, which is currently in the Mountain West, isn't waiting around for an automatic BCS bid, since as a member of the Big East they can immediately move into yearly BCS contention in a conference whose football members have been less than impressive in recent history. 

The move signals a few things as far as TCU's thinking regarding its football program, the team that is the unquestioned centerpiece of its athletic program.

First, it means TCU isn't going to wait on the BCS to give it a spot as a "non-AQ" school, its current status since as a member of the Mountain West they compete with Boise State and other non-BCS schools for the one reserved slot in the bowl rotation each year. It also means they're shoring up the revenues of the school's program for the long-term. Most importantly from a media perspective, it means they're tired of playing on The Mountain, the disastrous and little-viewed television network the Mountain West broadcasts many of their games on, and want to improve their national profile by playing nationally televised ESPN games on a regular basis. Going from 38 million subscribers on The Mountain to the national span of ESPN is certainly worth the move all by itself.

It also means TCU will be playing basketball in a 17 team Big East conference in the winter's favorite indoor sport. Revenue-wise that's certainly a boost for the Horned Frogs, but it's also introducing themselves to a punishing conference schedule in hoops. Though the consideration of basketball is certainly a secondary one for TCU--this is a football move, and a football move through and through--it is still worth mentioning for the fun of envisioning Syracuse's basketball team playing TCU twice a year. (Forecast: PAIN.)

At this point, pretty much all we know of the Big East conference expansion plan is that the conference does, in fact, intend to expand its ranks to include ten member football football schools. (If it can.) Following initial reports that the conference had spoken to TCU and Villanova about joining up, TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte first denied he'd been contacted about jumping ship from the Mountain West, and is now shooting down rumors they'd split up the school's programs, saying he wouldn't want to send Horned Frogs football to compete in a separate conference.

"We’re an athletic department," he said in a telephone interview with Sporting News. "Whatever endeavor we do, you’re united as one. That’s who we are. That’s how we always compete. We compete as one unit."

But, just to complicate matters, he's of course leaving options on the table (and invoking Bette Midler?):

"My sole job is to provide the wind beneath the wings for our teams to compete for championships, whatever that may be," he said. "I will always look at the things we need."

As for a move to the Big East, Del Conte said the reports remain premature, and that TCU’s football program is comfortable for now as a Mountain West Conference member.

For now. With TCU undefeated and gunning for a slot in the national title game, the view from a Horned Frog's blood-rimmed eyes must seem rosy indeed. If they win out and get slighted by Oregon or Auburn, however, it wouldn't be hard to imagine some longing gazes being cast towards a conference where TCU could immediately wreck shop and be guaranteed a BCS berth.

Or, this could all still be a coy smokescreen to get Nova to realize it's loved the Big East all along. Mon dieu, the suspense! Tune in this winter, when actual football ends and we'll be forced to talk about this kind of thing all the time.

TCU has been the main suspected team that the Big East wants to add in an attempt to shore up their football conference, which has zero teams in the current top 25. TCU Athletic Director Chris Del Conte told the Dallas Morning News that no one from the Big East has contacted him about the possibility of TCU joining the Big East.

Central Florida also has denied any contact with the Big East concerning them leaving Conference USA:

"There has been no contact between UCF and the BIG EAST Conference. We continue to be a proud member of Conference USA."

This seems to be only a matter of time, because the Big East said they want to go to 10 teams, and have already contacted Villanova about moving up from FCS to FBS.

We have official word at last that the Big East will, in fact, pursue expansion to ten football members. More importantly, we've gleaned via the conference's official website that the conference uses ALL CAPS when referring to itself in print:

The BIG EAST Conference submitted the results of its extensive self-analysis and evaluation of the college athletics environment today at its annual Conference Board of Directors meeting.  Based on those results, the BIG EAST presidents agreed that the interests of each of the conference’s 16 member institutions would be served by increasing the number of Bowl Subdivision football-playing members to 10.

SB Nation's Syracuse community takes issue with the characterization of the statement as an outset of exploration if the conference has already spoken to TCU and Villanova, at least, and faces up to the geographical blind eye-turning that's about to ensue:

Big East fans are going to have to set aside their whole "east" thing from now on. This is about building a network and the only way the conference is going to become a viable network is by being as national as possible. Combine Dallas and Houston with NYC, Philly, DC, Tampa, Chicago and Pittsburgh and the Big East now has the kind of access the Big Ten Network dreams of.

Despite overtures having been made to two schools that we know of, no official candidates have been announced.

Every time you think the conference realignment carousel has stopped spinning, someone goes and gives it another push.

This time it's the Big East, if the New York Post's Lenn Robbins is to be believe. Robbins is reporting that two sources close to the league say the conference is actively pursuing TCU as a member

"We are in a situation that requires us to evaluate and analyze all our options including expansion and television," said a source close to the league who requested anonymity. "There are a dozen or so schools that we’re looking at."

One source stressed that there have been no meetings among Big East presidents or ADs to discuss membership. But that source also said expansion has altered the way conferences think. The fact that TCU hardly matches the Big East footprint is a tertiary concern."

While it seems like a big stretch for a conference with the word East in the title to invite a school from Texas, the fact remains that the conference needs a ninth member to solidfy its football side and they could do a lot worse than the Horned Frogs. TCU has been one of the best teams in the nation over the last five season and is currently ranked in the top five of all major polls.

However, that leads to the next question..what else does TCU bring to the table? They don't offer many other top tier athletics programs. Their basketball team will be a bottom-feeder in a conference that's already too bloated. Throw in the geographic and tradition differences and it makes you wonder if the Big East has traded in any long-term strategy for a short-term solution.

Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician floats out another possibility as well. That this is all just a smokescreen to force Villanova into moving up to FBS for football. While not the big splash of taking on a TCU, the Wildcats would make a lot more traditional and geographic sense. If the conference got a school like TCU to join for football, they wouldn't need Villanova's program anymore. Expect to hear movement on that end in the next few days.

When the Big Ten was potentially stealing schools like Pitt and Rutgers from the Big East a few months back, Big East consultant Paul Tagliabue bristled at the idea that Northeastern audiences would be interested in watching Rutgers take on Minnesota. You have to wonder then, why they'd be that much more interested in watching TCU and Rutgers square off.  Especially in basketball.

That said, the conference clearly has to act quick in order to solidify itself and its future. An addition like TCU would be a fantastic short-term solution. The long-terms effects remain to be seen.

Keep an eye on Mountain West Connection for any TCU-related updates.

In retrospect, this maybe should have serve as an early warning sign that Big East types were nearing the brink, but they seemed to have moved swiftly to acceptance -- SBN's Syracuse blog says the Big East will cease to be by 2013:

The only time someone broached the topic with Big East Commissioner John Marinatto, he quite literally said that he "doesn't want to talk about this."  Well that's too bad, John, cause everyone else does.  This isn't conjecture, it's actually happening.  Very soon.  And by not doing something, anything, you've already shown your hand.  The Big East is ripe for the plucking and it's not going to put up much of a fight to stop you.

You need a simple reason to why Marinatto will do nothing?  Here you go.  He's a Providence guy.  Nothing wrong with being a Providence guy...except in this instance.  This is a football and "big picture" discussion.  Providence is on the wrong side of that discussion.  They're part of the small school, regional, traditional side of the Big East.  The side that remembers when this was just all about basketball and nothing else.  The side that cares so much about the history of the conference that it will do everything it can to maintain that.  The side that only likes to think about the Big East in terms of how it was in the 80's.

SBN's Boston College blog also swings for the fences, in highly entertaining fashion, asking why the Big Ten doesn't just attempt to absorb the entire Big East:

A Big Ten-Big East football mega-conference could never work, you say. But allow me to respond. You see, a 14 or 16-team Big Ten mega-conference is hardly a conference at all. It's only a conference in the sense that the AFC or the NFC are considered conferences. It's a loose affiliation of programs, where programs have unbalanced regular season schedules, and the top teams from each division within a conference play in a set postseason playoff.