http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-big-east-meetings-0111-20130110,0,5223231.storyBig East Meets Friday On Next StepsBy PAUL DOYLE, pdoyle@courant.comThe Hartford Courant
10:59 a.m. EST, January 10, 2013
Present and future members of the Big East Conference will meet Friday Dallas as they plan their next steps in realignment.
Commissioner Mike Aresco is assembling representatives from the schools in hopes of forming a consensus on future expansion and scheduling. With Boise State announcing last week that it will not be joining, the league may look for a replacement.
Aresco told The Courant last week there is no definite plan to immediately expand. But media reports indicate the Big East could invite Tulsa to join as a full member. ESPN reported earlier this week that in addition to Tulsa, UMass is a candidate for the Big East.
Representatives from San Diego State are expected to attend the meeting. The school was scheduled to join with Boise State to provide a Western presence as football-only members, but Boise's decision could alter San Diego State's plans.
The school has until the end of the month to make a decision about whether to honor its commitment to the Big East or return to the Mountain West. Aresco said last week he hopes San Diego State joins, but the school's presence does not necessarily necessitate the addition of another Western school.
The conference is also adding Houston, SMU, Memphis, Central Florida, Tulane and East Carolina, along with Navy in football only in 2015. UConn, Cincinnati, South Florida and Temple remain, while Louisville and Rutgers are expected to stay until at least the end of the 2013-14 academic year.
So members must work on football scheduling and dividing the schools into two divisions for the long-term.
Meanwhile, the seven non-FBS schools that are leaving the Big East have started the process of negotiating a television/media deal. ESPN and SI.com report representatives from the schools met with Fox Wednesday in New York as the seek a deal for their basketball conference. The seven schools (St. John's, Seton Hall, DePaul, Villanova, Georgetown, Providence College and Marquette) are expected to add three or five new members when it forms its new conference.
ESPN reports Fox — which is planning an all-sports network — -"reaffirmed" a $500 million rights fee over 12 years, provided the conference stands at 12 members. That schools would double their TV revenue from the current Big East deal.
The seven schools have hired a New York law firm to represent them as they negotiate an exit from the current Big East. The schools, which are also expected to name a commissioner, could wind up with the "Big East" name, so Aresco's conference would need a new name.
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