The question is not whether or not the Big East will expand, because it will. The question is which teams will it expand with?
The conference presidents voted Tuesday to push forward with an expansion plan that would increase the football playing membership in the Big East from eight to 10. The Big East has staved off expansion for years but as other conferences have expanded, the Big East must too or face folding entirely.
The current members of the Big East are in favor of this idea, as scheduling conflicts have been a topic of debate for the past couple of years. While commissioner Jon Marinatto failed to make a move this past summer as the Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big 12 changed dramatically, he’s obviously not going to sit on his hands for very long.
But who will join the conference? Villanova is an easy fit, but the conference needs to add a big-time program so that it can push forward with a possible television network. That’s where TCU comes in (or rather, could come in).
With both Utah and BYU leaving the Mountain West next year, TCU could be a perfect candidate to join the Big East. Unfortunately, that would leave Boise State (who is leaving the WAC to join the MWC next year) in the lurch, but the goal for TCU is to position itself to play for a national title. With the current BCS structure in place, that’s a pipe dream for a team like the Horned Frogs, who are annually criticized by voters for playing a weak schedule.
This will certainly be an interesting story to keep an eye on moving forward but either way, the Big East is as we know it will be no longer very soon.
