Big 12

WVU SUES BIG EAST; LEAGUE MOVES FORWARD

Marinatto given go-ahead to invite schools

By Raphielle Johnson

The never-ending saga that is the long-term stability of the Big East Conference moved a little closer to a solution on Tuesday as the 13 presidents gave commissioner John Marinatto the go-ahead to invite new members. The goal of the Big East is to get to 12 football members, with a couple of those institutions being “football-only” members. Three are expected to be full members of the conference, and there have been plenty of rumors in recent weeks about which schools are in line for the spots. Following the meeting at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott, Commissioner Marinatto issued the following statement:

“We had a very productive meeting and were able to discuss the great progress we have made in the last few weeks regarding conference realignment.

“Our Presidents voted unanimously to extend invitations to specific institutions, including both football-only and all-sport members to join the BIG EAST Conference. I will be speaking to representatives of those schools shortly and look forward to announcing with them their acceptance into the BIG EAST. The addition of these members will extend our reach, bring us to exciting new markets, strengthen our status within the BCS, and lay the foundation for possible further expansion, all while maintaining the high quality and standards our Conference is known for.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto (Photo Credit: William Perlman/Newark Star-Ledger)

“In light of the lawsuit filed by West Virginia yesterday, the Presidents also discussed and confirmed our continuing commitment to enforce the Conference’s 27-month notification period for schools choosing to leave. The Conference believes these claims to be wholly without merit and will explore all its legal options to protect its interests and to ensure that West Virginia lives up to its obligations.”

Obviously the other key aspect of his statement was the portion on the league’s response to West Virginia filing a lawsuit on Monday, with the hope being that they’ll be allowed to leave the conference for the Big 12 following this academic year as opposed to being subject to the 27-month notification period as written in the conference’s bylaws. The suit can be read here (.PDF file), and a very good explanation of the lawsuit and it’s validity was given by Brian Ewart of VUHoops.com.

The question now likely isn’t when the Mountaineers get to leave but rather how much this will cost them. Whether or not any of the parties involved want this to go to trial is debatable, especially if the Big 12 were to find themselves dragged into the litigation, but this doesn’t look to be a situation that will be solved immediately. It’s also relevant to both Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who cast their lot with the ACC, and could have an idea of what a possible settlement could look like should they attempt to take that route.

ACC commissioner John Swofford stated at the league’s basketball media day in Charlotte that the league is ready for the two schools whenever they can join, be it in 2012 or the expected 2014. But unlike the Big 12 their TV deals are in good shape with their current membership. Since the Big 12 signed their deals with a 10-member league in mind, dropping below that number (should Missouri actually move to the SEC) would cut the value of their contracts (the Big 12 was able to get ESPN and FOX to agree to paying as if the conference were still a 12-member league following the departures of Colorado and Nebraska).

These are definitely interesting times for the Big East, who will more than likely announce new members within the next week or so.

WEST VIRGINIA HEADED TO THE BIG 12…BUT WHEN?

Mountaineers to become league’s 10th member

By Raphielle Johnson

It was announced this morning that West Virginia University will leave the Big East and join the Big 12 Conference in a move that surprised no one in spite of Louisville’s efforts to become the league’s 10th member. But in comparing the statements from the Big East and Big 12 there seems to be a question of when WVU will become a member of the Big 12. The statement from the Big 12 reads as follows:

“The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors have voted unanimously to accept West Virginia University as a full conference member effective July 1, 2012. The Mountaineers will begin competing in the Big 12 beginning with the 2012-13 athletic season.

Beginning with the 2012-13 season it is expected that the Big 12 Conference will be comprised of 10 Universities – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12’s footprint will encompass five states with over 36 million people. More than 4,100 student-athletes from across the United States and around the World compete annually in the 23 sports sponsored by the Conference.”

Obviously the plans of the conference and West Virginia are to have the school join the conference beginning with the next academic year, with Texas A&M and Missouri (who still hasn’t announced their expected move) going to the SEC. Missouri and the Big 12 are expected to settle on financial terms, which would pave the way for the Tigers to move while also shielding the SEC from possible legal action. But there’s also the matter of the Big East’s 27-month notice, which is what Pittsburgh and Syracuse are being held to before they leave for the ACC. Commissioner John Marinatto released the following statement:

“This move by West Virginia does not come as a surprise. League officials, members of our conference and the candidate schools to whom we have been talking were aware of this possibility. We have taken West Virginia’s possible departure into account as we have moved forward with our own realignment plans. West Virginia is fully aware that the Big East Conference is committed to enforcing the 27-month notification period for members who choose to leave the conference. We are confident that in the coming weeks we will complete our own realignment program, adding a number of high-quality members to remain among the top conferences in both football and basketball.”

Everything has its price so there could be some talks involving the Big 12, Big East and West Virginia in the coming weeks with regards to a settlement that would free WVU to make the change for next season. In turn, the door likely opens for Pitt and Syracuse to negotiate their departures and ACC commissioner John Swofford has stated that they’ll be ready for the new members as soon as next season (but were willing to wait until 2014 if it came to that).

The Big East presidents will meet with Commissioner Marinatto in Philadelphia on Tuesday, where they’re expected to give him the go-ahead to invite new members. Once the membership is finalized then the talk of settlements can begin, but don’t expect the conference to budge on the 27 months until after that happens.

TELECONFERENCE ADDRESSES SOME ISSUES

Withdrawal fees conditionally doubled for football members

By Raphielle Johnson

Big East Conference commissioner John Marinatto held a teleconference this afternoon in hopes of answering some questions on the path the conference was headed. With the news last night that Missouri could well be on their way to applying to join the SEC, some wondered if that would speed up the Big East’s expansion timeline. According to Marinatto that won’t have an effect on how the Big East goes about identifying and inviting prospective members.

Big East commissioner John Marinatto hopes to hold the league together (Photo Credit: William Perlman/Newark Star-Ledger)

“Stay tuned (on time frame),” said Marinatto. “We’re not rushing ourselves to meet anyone’s deadline. The sooner, the better.”

One thing that the conference members did agree to in their conference on Monday night was the conditional raising of the league’s exit fee for football members from $5 million to $10 million (the basketball members will remain at $5 million). That fee increase will be triggered by the acceptance of an invitation to join the Big East by one institution (according to Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com this would stand for either Navy or Air Force; fee remains the same in the case that another school is the first to join), as opposed to when the league gets to its established goal of 12 football-playing members (the number is at six with Pittsburgh and Syracuse heading to the ACC and TCU going to the Big 12).

“This development is a significant step forward, as well as a positive demonstration and acknowledgement of the continued benefits of being in the BIG EAST Conference,” said Marinatto. “It sends a message to those institutions we are talking to about joining us. In addition, our members have given us their support to move towards a 12-team football model. Each of our member schools is behind this effort, and we are confident we can achieve it. We hope to have an announcement soon concerning new members.”

As for possible candidates Marinatto could not go into specifics or identify the schools that the Big East has had discussions with, but he did state that he was pleased with the candidates. Marinatto also stated that no invites have been handed out, which contradicts the Houston Chronicle’s report late Monday that the University of Houston received an invitation to join the conference.

“When the dust settles, we will emerge stronger than ever,” said Marinatto. “It’s our commitment to meet the standards to meet our BCS qualifications.”

The question of whether or not the new exit fee figure was considered to be “low” when compared to that of other conferences, Marinatto said, “I don’t think there’s a magic number to prevent schools from leaving a league.” In regards to whether or not the low fee was an issue, Marinatto also stated that the figure wasn’t an issue for the schools that he’s had discussions with.

The conference will communicate with the leaders of conferences in which prospective members currently reside, and Marinatto added that “I don’t think anyone will be blindsided or feel bushwhacked when the process is complete.”

No conferences have contacted the Big East about discussions with their members since the Big 12 inquired about TCU, and there is a chance that the football conference could consist of 14 teams in 2013. Marinatto stated that Pitt and Syracuse will be held to the 27-month notice even if the Big East has its 12-member configuration, and he would like for a possible football championship game to be played in New York City in hopes of having success similar to the basketball tournament.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BIG EAST?

Pac-12 news gives league a reprieve

By Raphielle Johnson

In the immediate aftermath of the Atlantic Coast Conference expanding to 14 teams by grabbing Pittsburgh and Syracuse things looked dire for the Big East. A charter member (Syracuse) and a member who had been a part of the league for nearly 30 years were both moving on to a situation that both find to be more stable. The result was a football conference that, already suffering from perception problems nationally, was short on the number required to be a recognized FBS conference (eight teams). The seven remaining football-playing members met on Tuesday night in New York City and while the message coming out of the meeting was one of unity, is that really the case?

Embattled Big East commissioner John Marinatto hopes to hold the league together (Photo Credit: William Perlman/Newark Star-Ledger)

“The fact that all of our schools, on less than 24 hours notice, made this meeting shows they’re committed to moving forward together,” said commissioner John Marinatto. Also of note is that Marinatto will hold Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month notice portion of the Big East bylaws on leaving the conference. According to the rules each school will also have to pay $5 million.

What also came out of that meeting was Marinatto stating that all seven schools pledged their allegiance to the Big East, committing to moving forward and aggressively seeking out new members. But that may not be completely true, as officials from the University of Connecticut said that both UConn and Rutgers did not make such a pledge. Those two schools, according to many reports over the last few days, have been on the phone with the ACC and will keep their options open. Obviously the hope would be to going the caravan to the ACC, and remaining in a reconfigured Big East seems to be a last resort for both.

That’s where the Pac-12’s decision to remain a 12-team league instead of moving to 16 (adding Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech) comes into play. With the Pac-12 presidents deciding that they would not allow commissioner Larry Scott to go ahead and invite the Sooners and Longhorns (the other two would tag along to avoid political issues in each state), the “need” to move to 16 is delayed. That also rules out a proposed merger between the remaining Big East and Big 12 schools, a union made out of necessity more than anything. With Oklahoma not moving (cynics wonder if the Pac-12 watched the Big 12 circus and decided they wanted no part of it) the meeting that was supposed to take place in Chicago was scrapped.

To figure out what happens with the Big East also means figuring out what the nine (Texas A&M joins the SEC after this school year) remaining Big 12 members can do. And there’s an awful lot of work to do, with egos bruised and many upset about the path that has led to three schools moving on. Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel voiced his displeasure with the events of the last two years in the Big 12, and the fact that a lot of concerns regarding revenue sharing (there’s also the matter of the Longhorn Network) still haven’t been addressed has Oklahoma stating the commissioner Dan Beebe needs to be replaced. Obviously the Big 12 will look to add schools at some point in the near future, but how many schools they get and the caliber of those institutions will depend on the leadership in the conference.

So where does this leave the Big East? With the statement that all remaining football schools are unified in committing to the league coming under question it’s best to simply say that schools are evaluating their options. UConn’s made no secret about what they’d like to do, but the most recent strike against a possible move to the ACC may have come on Wednesday night. ACC commissioner John Swofford stated on “The Tony Barnhart Show” that he doesn’t see 16-team super-conferences as being “inevitable”. And with recent events it’s tough to see the ACC taking a step in that direction…unless there’s a sudden change of heart at Notre Dame about placing their football in a conference (no chance of this right now). Connecticut and Rutgers may be on a possible list, but there’s no need for the ACC to make such a move right now.

West Virginia was rumored to have been turned down by both the ACC and SEC, meaning that they’re likely in the reconfigured Big East. But the prospects for both the Mountaineers and Louisville could change if the Big 12 were to come calling, but the issues noted earlier in this post need to be rectified in order for the conference to make moves. Unfortunately for Cincinnati and USF they find themselves in positions where they have to watch this all unfold, with the hope likely being that the Big East remains a viable football conference by adding new schools. The two names that have come up in the aftermath of Tuesday’s meeting are Navy and Air Force, with both joining the league as football-only members.

Navy (a football independent) plays their other sports in the Patriot League and Air Force is an all-sports member of the Mountain West. And according to Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com Navy could have very well become a member of the Big East by now, but the move of Pitt and Syracuse put that on hold. And East Carolina announced today that they have applied for membership as an all-sports member, so there’s another possibility to look at but it may not be a realistic one for the Pirates. But at this stage the Big East may find itself in the same position it was in back in 2003: looking to Conference USA for replacements.

Related Links

- USF athletic director Doug Woolard sent out an email to USF supporters.

- Cincinnati interim athletic director Bob Arkeilpane remains optimistic that the Big East will be able to navigate the troubled waters. The same can be said for school president Dr. Gregory Williams, who released a statement today.

- In addition to the service academies UCF and Temple have been mentioned as expansion possibilities.

- With College Gameday headed to Morgantown for Saturday’s game against LSU this should be a happy time for West Virginia. But there’s too much worry in the air to completely focus on the Tigers for administrators or fans. WVU athletic director Oliver Luck released a statement on Wednesday as well.

- Could Rutgers have avoided their current situation had they won more games? That’s the argument presented here.

- The gentlemen over at the Big East Coast Bias have done well in keeping track of all of this. Be sure to check them out.

WEEK 3 FRIDAY PREVIEW: HUSKIES HOST IOWA STATE

Huskies look to bounce back

By Raphielle Johnson

Offensively Connecticut (1-1) had a night to forget on Saturday against Vanderbilt, as quarterback Johnny McEntee struggled to establish anything through the air and running back D.J. Shoemate was held out due to an ankle injury. The end result was a 24-21 loss to the Commodores despite touchdowns on both defense and special teams. Things won’t get easier on Friday night (8 PM, ESPN2) either, with Iowa State (2-0) rolling into East Hartford on the heels of their win over in-state rival Iowa.

McEntee completed just 10 of 27 passes for 99 yards, and a critical interception was returned by Vanderbilt for a touchdown that turned the momentum of the game in the fourth quarter. Head coach Paul Pasqualoni stuck with the junior for much of the game to establish a sense of continuity, but the end result may have done nothing more than highlight the uncertainty of the position for the Huskies.

Sio Moore and the Huskies look to rebound (Photo Credit: John Russell, Associated Press)

“I would say more questions than answers,” said Scott McCummings of the position at this stage. “Everything we do on the field is scrutinized by the coaches. Everyone has a bad game. It doesn’t really help the cause right now after this game.”

McCummings is used in a “Wildcat” role by offensive coordinator George DeLeone, and he wasn’t able to get much done on Saturday night either. The redshirt freshman rushed for minus-5 yards on five carries against Vanderbilt, a clear step up in competition following UConn’s win over Fordham to open the season. And Michael Nebrich didn’t get much of a chance to perform either, attempting just two passes (completing one) for five yards in limited duty.

The bigger question for UConn offensively is the health of Shoemate, who was (and still is) expected to be a major cog in the attack but has yet to play this season. Redshirt freshman Lyle McCombs has performed well thus far, rushing for 259 yards and four touchdowns to date. But obviously a tandem would be optimal for Connecticut, especially with the passing game lacking consistent production.

“At the end of the day to have two different styles of backs, which is what we would have, could really present some issues for the defense,” said Pasqualoni earlier this week. “There is no question that you would like to have a fresh guy to put in there.”

McCombs was the lone running back to get carries against the Commodores, with the work for both Deshon Foxx and Jonathan Jean-Louis coming against Fordham. Shoemate will add some power to the position, and if able to go could help wear down the Cyclone defense. Iowa rushed for 158 yards last weekend while Northern Iowa was able to rush for 201 yards in Iowa State’s season-opener.

Defensive end Jake Lattimer, an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection last year, led the front four last week with six tackles and will pose a challenge for the UConn offensive line. But the strength of head coach Paul Rhoads’ defense is likely at linebacker, with Jake Knott (preseason All-Big 12 selection) and A.J. Klein (Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in 2010) leading the way. Knott leads the Cyclones with 22 tackles through two games, and this unit can run.

“Defensively they are very sound in what they do, their linebackers are very smart,” said Pasqualoni. “They play a lot of press game and they play a lot of one-on-one coverage out there.”

That last sentence would normally be one of interest, but it stands out even more given the fact that the Huskies have struggled at wide receiver for some time now. Of course the uneven nature of the quarterback position doesn’t help matters, but the issue of playmaking ability on the perimeter of the offense has been a concern since Marcus Easley graduated. Players such as Isiah Moore, Kashif Moore and Tebucky Jones Jr. need to step up and help their quarterbacks, beginning with Friday night.

“We had a couple drops on third down that would have really helped the per yard attempt-completion average for us,” said Pasqualoni. “Per completion you are looking for about eight plus yards. We have to do better in that regard, I think if we catch the ball we will be heading in the direction we want to go.”

Defensively UConn will encounter a solid quarterback who’s playing with confidence in junior Steele Jantz, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week. Against Iowa, the Californian threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 42 yards. Running back Shontrelle Johnson rushed for 108 yards on 18 carries last week and he’ll also be a part of the passing game on occasion. The Cyclones will go three-wide in their base formation with receivers Darius Darks and Darius Reynolds leading the way.

Reynolds caught six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns last week and Iowa State will be more than capable of challenging Blidi Wreh-Wilson and company in the air. The key for Connecticut will be their ability to get to Jantz, taking on arguably the biggest offensive line they’ll run into this season. Senior left tackle Kelechi Osemele ranks among the best offensive linemen in the country and will likely be a first round pick in the NFL Draft.

Iowa State has three starters who weigh 315 or more, and with UConn having a lighter defensive line defensive coordinator Don Brown may need to dial up the blitz more. Linebacker Sio Moore has shown an impressive knack for getting into the backfield through two games, and he can do the same on Friday night. And if the Cyclones are to be slowed down offensively Moore will have to.

These two programs have played just once, with UConn winning that meeting all the way back in 2002. Both are different programs than the two that took the field in Ames on that late November day, and Friday is another step in the direction of progress for the winner. Can the Huskies get enough from their passing game to avoid becoming one-dimensional? Can Iowa State move past their emotional rivalry victory and build on the momentum? Those are the critical questions for Friday night.

Pick: Iowa State +4 (27-23)

Record: 12-4 overall; 6-7 ATS

CLASS OF 2011 PENNSYLVANIA TOP 25 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

by CHRIS DOKISH

It’s a down year for talent in the state, both with the number of elite prospects and the overall number of high-major prospects, but there are still some very good players to be recruited.

The glamour positions of quarterback and wide receiver are severely lacking, and there are no elite offensive linemen or linebackers, but there is an excellent running back which is a rarity in the state, three excellent cornerbacks, and a slew of exciting pass rushers.

As always, the final rankings are my own, but only after talking to many high school coaches, college scouts, and independent scouts, such as Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting.

1. Ben Koyack, Oil City HS (Oil City) TE – It’s not often that a tight end is the best player in the state, but there is little doubt that will be the case this year. At 6′5″ and 230 pounds, he has good size with a frame to get even bigger. He also possesses great hands to go along with good speed and athleticism. More of a threat as a receiver but is a willing and good blocker. Most of all, he just knows how to play football. Committed to NOTRE DAME over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Oklahoma, West Virginia, LSU, California, Virginia Tech, USC, and many others. Bottom line – A perfect fit for new coach Brian Kelly and there’s no reason why he can’t be a star at the college level.

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