The Big East is prepared to take the steps necessary to quickly move on from the loss of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC by inviting six programs to join the conference, The Post has learned.
After what was described as two days of acrimonious conference calls in which the Big East’s non-FBS members seriously considered the option of splitting from their football brethren, all the schools are on the same chapter, if not the same page, sources said.
The first order of business is for the Big East to agree to raise the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million for the FBS members. The exit fee for non-FBS members, such as St. John’s and Seton Hall, would remain at $5 million. There could, however, be some shortening of the 27-month exit window, the source said.
“I do think that everybody in the Big East does understand that college athletics now is about the strength of the conference and its connection between football and basketball,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said last night at the Jimmy V Basketball Classic New York Dinner Auction gala at Chelsea Piers.
“It’s not, ‘What kind of basketball conference are you? What kind of football conference are you?’ It’s that connection and the Big East does it in a unique way.”
Once the exit fee is increased, which would send a message of commitment and solidarity, the league will invite Air Force, Navy and Boise State, followed by Central Florida, possibly as soon as this weekend.
The last two spots, as the league seeks to get to 12 FBS members, is up for grabs among three programs — Houston, SMU and Temple.
Sources told The Post that Villanova expressed strong objection to sharing the Philadelphia market with Temple. Philadelphia, however, is home to Comcast, which logically favors more Philadelphia-based institutions. It’s possible the Owls could receive a football-only invitation.
If the Temple issue can’t be resolved, the league will move on Houston and SMU. Some factions in the conference don’t favor inviting both Texas schools, although with Boise State and Air Force aboard, it would make sense to have other programs west of the Mississippi.
As reported in yesterday’s Post, the No. 1 priority for the league is to protect its Automatic Qualifier (AQ) status in the BCS. That means the champion of the league is guaranteed a slot in one of the lucrative BCS bowl games, something Boise State doesn’t enjoy in the Mountain West Conference.
“‘If the rest of my career if I’m coaching in the Big East, I’ll be perfectly happy,” Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said last night. “I love the schools that we compete against. I love the fact that we have the best basketball league in the country. So I’m not getting up every morning and wishing that things would change.”