Thursday, October 02, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

The Big East will not split into two conferences, remaining instead a mixture of Division I-A football programs and so-called basketball-only schools.

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Arriving at that decision is an important first step in rebuilding the conference, which has been reeling since the defection in June of Miami and Virginia Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

A subcommittee of Big East officials and member school representatives met yesterday in Newark, N.J., and finalized the decision to stay together. The conference can now begin to focus on how many and which schools it will invite, a configuration for its basketball conference (one division or two) and stabilizing or renegotiating its television contracts.

There also is the matter of the conference's Bowl Championship Series berth, which officials are confident is not in jeopardy.

"Our current members have re-committed to each other," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said in an issued statement. "Our primary objective is to develop a model that keeps everyone together, provides stability and best serves the diverse interests of our various constituencies."

Earlier this summer, speculation was that a split was imminent because the conference's basketball-only members -- Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, Seton Hall and St. Johns -- have long been frustrated by having to take a back seat to the football members.

But according to Pitt athletic director Jeff Long, the object has always been to find a way to stay together.

"I've always been consistent in any discussions that the goal was to make the strongest conference possible," Long said. "We believe [staying together] is the best thing for us to become stronger as conference and it benefits everyone involved. Now that we're past this hurdle, we can focus on what is the best way to go about getting it done.

"The first thing is to respond to schools which have contacted us and wanted to join the Big East through their league commissioner. We want this process to be open."

Tranghese said he expects the process to be completed by Dec. 1.

Although no formal announcement has been made, the two football schools likely to be invited are Louisville and Cincinnati. Marquette and DePaul likely will be the basketball-only schools.

That would give the Big East 16 members and eight Division I-A football schools, provided the ACC doesn't pluck Boston College or Notre Dame out from underneath them. The ACC has 11 schools but needs one more to have a football conference championship game. Both schools have been on the wish list.

"Boston College has been with us and has been a party at all the meetings," Long said. "We certainly believe they are in this with us for the long haul, and Notre Dame has been a part of our discussions as well. We have made a commitment to stay together and, as part of that, a higher [conference] exit fee is something we have also discussed as part of this."

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