Seemingly staggered by the loss of West Virginia to the Big 12, the Big East Conference is poised to ward off demise one last time by extending invitations to six schools by Tuesday, The Post has learned.
According to a Post source, the Big East held a secretive meeting on Sunday in Washington, at which officials at five of the members hoping for invitations met with several current members to openly discuss all issues.
The parties agreed to invite Air Force, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Navy and SMU to join the Big East for the 2013 season. Air Force, Boise State and Navy would join in football only. Central Florida, Houston and SMU would join as all-sports members.
Air Force was the only potential new member that did not attend but was kept apprised of all aspects of the meeting. One source joked, “They couldn’t get a plane.”
West Virginia — which, as reported in yesterday’s Post, will join the Big 12 in 2013 — and Louisville, which is also being eyed by the Big 12, did not attend. It is believed representatives of the other Big East FBS members — Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers and South Florida — were at the Washington meeting.
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti did not return several calls and a text message. Rutgers released a statement yesterday afternoon.
“The landscape in collegiate athletics continues to be a very fluid situation and we continue to be involved in discussions,” Pernetti said. “We remain extremely confident that the result, once the movement concludes, will be very positive for Rutgers University.”
As reported in yesterday’s Post, the Big East has a regularly scheduled meeting of presidents and athletic directors Tuesday in Philadelphia.
The addition of the six new members would give the Big East 11 football-playing members, leaving the 12th spot open. A source said that once Air Force and Navy are in, the league will try hard to lure Army.
Army has opted to remain independent, where it has better control over its scheduling. But the appeal, both from an exposure and financial standpoint, and of being in the same conference with Air Force and Navy, might be too great for Army to turn down.
If Army opts to remain an independent, Temple remains a viable option. There are some basketball coaches strongly in favor of Temple because it would add another quality hoops program and lessen the loss of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, and TCU and West Virginia to the Big 12.
The presidents of the schools that don’t play FBS football, such as Georgetown, Seton Hall and St. John’s, were contacted yesterday by the league. The league requires 75 percent of its members vote in favor of adding a member, but that is not expected to be a problem.
Several calls and text messages to Big East commissioner John Marinatto were not returned. League spokesman John Paquette did not immediately return a call.
The news is welcome for the five FBS schools that have seen their league almost gutted beyond salvation. Now, however, they could finally find security.
The billion-dollar question is: Will the league retain its Automatic Qualifier (AQ) status or lose it to the Conference USA-Mountain West alliance? Several sources said the Big East would remain more attractive because it doesn’t have any bottom-feeder schools such as New Mexico.
A source said the Big East was looking to hold a news conference in New York sometime next week to announce its new configuration. The Garden has been mentioned as a possible location.