Conference USA

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.

JAMAL MERRITT UPDATES RECRUITMENT

Maryland athlete open in his recruitment, but speaks highly of Rutgers and looks to visit WVU next week

by JOHN TALTY

When a football player gets labeled an athlete it almost always is because of that player’s versatility.

That theory holds particularly true for Sherwood (Md.) 6-foot, 170-pound athlete Jamal Merritt.

Merritt has experience at wide receiver, cornerback and safety for his team and is subsequently being recruited at each position by different schools. He expects to get a better idea of what position he wants to play in college during his senior season, but right now is content to play whatever necessary.

“Right now I’ll just play wherever the coach wants me to play but as the season goes on that’s when I’ll get a better feel for what I want to play,” Merritt said. “That will be one of the main things that will help me choose what school I want.”

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2011 NJ TE JACK TABB TALKS RECRUITING, CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT & MORE

by JOHN TALTY

2011 Red Bank Catholic (NJ) tight end Jack Tabb has been following the story of conference realignment fairly intently and finds the whole story very intriguing.

“I think it’s all pretty interesting,” Tabb said. “I heard Rutgers might be going to the Big 10 and I think it could be a good fit for them.”

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end has proven himself as one of the top tight ends on the East Coast and has already reeled in 18 offers from some top-notch programs.

But none might be bigger than the offer from SEC powerhouse Florida.

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