Marinatto talks Big East expansion

Posted Oct 18, 2011 by Adam Adkins

Updated Oct 18, 2011 at 03:30 PM

Big East commissioner John Marinatto held a conference call Monday afternoon to address the league’s current expansion efforts, and while he declined to get into specifics regarding which schools the league may be targeting he did vow “when the dust settles, we will emerge stronger than ever.”

In a sign that Marinatto believes shows commitment among the current league members and allows the Big East to move toward stability, he announced presidents from member institutions on Monday voted unanimously to double the exit fee for football members from $5 million to $10 million based on the execution of an expansion plan, which includes moving to a 12-team model. The exit fee will increase if one of the identified schools the league is targeting agrees to join.

Various reports have indicated Boise State, Air Force, Navy, Central Florida, SMU and Houston are among the schools the Big East is targeting, though Marinatto said no official invitations for members have been extended. While he declined to discuss any specific schools, Marinatto said the league’s commitment is to maintain its BCS AQ status and the expansion plan targets schools that would allow them to do so, and said he’s “very happy with the quality of schools that have expressed interest” in joining the league.

Marinatto added there is no timeframe for the Big East’s expansion to be completed.

“Stay tuned. We’re working diligently,” he said. “I can tell you this: we’re not going to rush ourselves to meet anyone’s deadline. We have a lot to offer and we’re going to get this done right. Having said all that, once this landscape is resolved the better it is for all of us, so the sooner the better.”

The Big East has lost three member schools in the past month. Both Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced they were leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, while TCU, which had accepted an invitation to join in 2012, reneged on a commitment to join the Big 12.

“We didn’t start this conference realignment situation, and I also think there’s a right way to expand when necessary, and that’s the situation we’re in. I think we’ve proven ourselves as a BCS member and we try to look to improve ourselves in a very deliberate and selective way at this point in time,” said Marinatto, who added the Big East will take an open approach when dealing with potential new members and their existing conferences. “I don’t think anyone will be blindsided or feel bushwhacked when this is complete.”

Marinatto’s conference call comes on the heels of reports that Missouri could be headed from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, a move could trigger another round of conference realignment. Should the Tigers change conferences, the Big 12 reportedly has interest in several Big East schools – West Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati – and that could leave the Big East in another tough spot.

“I recognize fully that the realignment pitch is very unsettled right now. We’re prepared to play to our strengths and we’re prepared to respond to any challenges we face on the membership side,” said Marinatto, who added he won’t wait on a decision from Missouri before going ahead with the Big East’s expansion plan. “As I just mentioned, we’re one of six BCS AQ conferences, so there are any number of schools in the country who would love to join our conference and would fit well. We’ve taken these kinds of hits before and we’ve proven to be pretty creative and resilient.”

—-Marinatto added he won’t allow Syracuse and Pittsburgh to leave early for the Atlantic Coast Conference and will hold both schools to the required 27-month exit terms per Big East bylaws.

—-Marinatto said if the Big East is able to move to 12 football teams, which would allow for a conference championship game, he could see the game being held in New York City.

—-Marinatto said the league’s basketball members, including Notre Dame, endorse the 12-model for football.