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Tuesday, July 01, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Big East's search for new teams, new markets and a new direction officially began yesterday, shortly after Miami announced its decision to leave the league and join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

	Miami President Donna Shalala smiles during a news conference to announce the school has accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Behind Shalala is athletic director Paul Dee. (David Adame, Associated Press) Related article ... a word from our columnist Ron Cook: No one comes away clean in ACC/Big East war Online Chart: ACC Expansion

The Big East, which is left with only six football members after losing both Miami and Virginia Tech over the past few days, must find at least two more football members by the 2005 season or lose its Division I-A status according to an NCAA rule.

"All of our energy and focus at this time needs to be on building a stronger Big East," said University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

The fallout could be devastating to Pitt and the other five football schools because of the conference's status as a big-time college football conference. The conference members now earn millions of dollars annually from television contracts and from college football's Bowl Championship Series.

All of that could be lost if the Big East does not find a way to recover its football status after the loss of the two teams, both of whom have played for recent national championships.

The revenue from basketball, where the Big East is best known, is nowhere near the revenue from football.

Because the struggle with the ACC dragged on so long, the Big East does not have much time to add schools to the league.

"We need to begin this process [today]," said Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel. "We need to get together put together a strategy to secure our future and we must do it with a sense of urgency."

Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said he has spoken with Atlantic 10 Commissioner Linda Bruno and Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky, two minor conferences where the Big East may go to find new teams. Although the clock is ticking, Tranghese said, it is very important to find new members who are a good fit academically and athletically.

"I can guarantee we will not go about expansion the way the ACC did. I've given my word they won't get blind-sided," Tranghese said. "We want to do things the right way."

Some reports have named Louisville, which is a member of Conference USA, as the first team to receive an offer, but Tranghese said those reports have been fueled by Louisville and not the Big East. Other Conference USA schools reportedly on the Big East's wish list are Cincinnati and Memphis.

South Florida and Central Florida have also been reported as candidates, mostly because the conference is losing its only Florida presence in Miami. However, Tranghese said that the conference has learned a tough lesson with Miami -- and to a lesser extent Virginia Tech -- about the importance of geography and that it will seek to solidify its base in the Northeast first.

Temple, which was kicked out of the Big East football conference because its program was a perpetual loser both on the field and financially, could be invited to stay in the league, but officials indicated that was probably a longshot. Connecticut, which was set to join the football league to begin the 2005 season, likely will be asked to begin conference play in 2004.

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's chief of staff, William Leighty, jokingly installs new license plates on the governor's vehicle at the State Capitol in Richmond, Va. The plates read VT-ACC, referring to Virginia Tech's decision to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. (Michaele White, Virginia Governors Office, via AP)

One solution to shoring up the conference's long-term stability could involve Notre Dame, which is a member of the Big East in all sports but football. Notre Dame, an independent, has resisted joining a football conference in the past but there have been some reports that it may be interested in joining a conference on at least a part-time basis with certain restrictions.

"We've been in constant contact with Notre Dame throughout this process and we certainly do hope they might be at least a part of the answer," Nordenberg said.

Navy is also a possible candidate, particularly because of its relationship with Notre Dame. The two schools have a traditional rivalry and by inviting Navy, the Big East could make itself more attractive to Notre Dame.

The conference's automatic Bowl Championship Series berth -- it's one of six leagues with automatic bids --is safe until after the 2005 season, when the current BCS contract expires. That gives the conference three seasons to prove it is worthy of retaining the berth for the next contract, putting pressure on teams like Pitt to win enough to be ranked among the nation's elite.

The Big East also has television contracts in both football and basketball with ABC/ESPN and with CBS for basketball to try and protect. Both contracts run until 2007 and while the strength of the basketball conference will remain intact, the football conference has certainly taken a hit.

The potential loss of television money and a BCS berth, which carries with it about $13 million, are two reasons Nordenberg and WVU President David Hardesty said that the conference will press forward with its lawsuit against the ACC. The lawsuit was filed in a Connecticut State Superior Court on June 6 seeking "hundreds of millions of dollars" from the ACC and Miami.

However, Syracuse and Boston College both said that the time, money and energy being spent on the lawsuit would be better used on the immediate issues facing the conference.