The re-alignment merry-go-round seems to be on an extended pause as the Big 12 waits to see what Missouri is going to do and the Big East, in turn waits to see what the Big 12 is going to do. Whatever results- whether it's another raid on the Big East for 2 more teams by the Big 12 (a foolish and strange move, in my opinion) or a massive expansion of the Big East and a more geographically oriented one by the Big 12, everything seems to be in a holding pattern.
Personally, I'm a big fan of geographic footprints. It makes more sense to me-- TCU going to the Big East, however briefly, was just plain odd to me- and I'm not sure I'm liking this notion of a Big East that could stretch from Boise, Idaho all the way to Storrs, Connecticutt- and apparently both Boise State and the Big East need some convincing that they could work together. So what then should the Big East do? They're looking to get to 12 football schools-- currently they've got:
Louisville
Cincy
West Virginia
Rutgers
UCONN
USF
They've been rumored to have their eyes on the service acadamies and both Navy and Air Force have expressed interest (though I think the latter might be a better fit for the Big 12)- but I think a raid into Conference USA could pay dividends as well:
ECU (also very interested)
UCF (logical choice- rival for USF)
SMU (also wants to get back to the big time)
Houston (natural rival to SMU and gets the Big East back into Texas)
Boise State (WANTS to move BADLY)
Air Force (rounds out a more 'western' division to the Big East)
If the ACC gets greedy again and grabs UCONN and Rutgers in a year or two, then Temple seems to be primed to move up and Villanova might be a little further along and ready for the big time- failing that, there's Navy and even maybe Notre Dame to consider.
If I were the Big East, I'd move now and move fast and secure commitments from Louisville and WVU about staying onside- which could help preclude a raid by the Big 12 and force them to look west to BYU and Utah State.
As always, we'll see what unfolds in the next few weeks. Not that I have a huge affinity with Big East football, really- it's just, you know, interesting...
UPDATED: I posted this a day too early! Turns out the Mountain West and C-USA are taking steps- forming a gargantuan 22 team super-conference with the possibility of a playoff format leading to a championship game. Color me crazy, but that's exciting to me...
The Big East is on the move as well- and it looks like ECU has been left out in the cold, as all-sports invitations have been sent to UCF, Houston, SMU and football only invites for Boise State and Air Force.
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