The seven non-FBS, Catholic schools in the Big East Conference met with commissioner Mike Aresco Sunday to express their concerns for the direction of the conference, ESPN.com reported last night.
The meeting was the first among the seven schools — St. John’s, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul, Georgetown, Providence and Villanova — and could ultimately lead to them splitting from the Big East’s football members, sources said.
The seven Catholic schools are concerned about the additions of full members Memphis, Temple Tulane, Central Florida, SMU and Houston and football-only member East Carolina over the next two years to replace departing Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, Rutgers and Notre Dame.
The three remaining football members are UConn, Cincinnati and South Florida. .
The seven schools discussed a number of options but most important wanted to have “lots of dialogue to better understand the best course of action for the future.’’
Another source said no decision was made on what future action to take.
“It’s too early to say on that,’’ said a source.