Keeping Up with the Joneses

NJ.com- Tom Luicci of the Newark Star-Ledger conjectures about possible Big East football expansion. He proposes the additions of Navy and UCF for football only and discusses scenarios in which the Big Ten and SEC raid the Big East.  Luicci's article is purely hypothetical and fails to mention the number one motivator for Big East expansion or SEC/Big Ten raiding-money.  None of the financial implications or ramifications of either scenario are discussed and lieu of that his article is based upon "competitive balance"

The Big East certainly needs to expand and it needs to expand South.  If and/or when WVU reverts to its historical norm (mediocrity) and if, more likely when, Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly leaves for a bigger job the Big East's automatic BCS berth could be threatened.  And without the automatic berth the Big East will crumble.  At the very least the conference needs to expand to include Navy and UCF and gain a foothold in the fertile Maryland/D.C. and Central Florida television markets.  The best case scenario, however, would be a four team expansion, perhaps including Memphis and Southern Miss in addition to Navy and UCF.  A four team expansion would bring the Big East to twelve teams (hooray for my Catholic high school education, hooray for basic math!)  and a lucrative conference championship game could be created.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette- WVU's first two days of spring practice have left All Big East thoroughbred/QB Pat White's shoulder sore.  Newly hired OC Jeff Mullen has installed an offense that will emphasize the pass more than WVU teams of the past.  Bill Stewart has been quoted as describing the offense as having 60-40 pass-run ratio.

Cincinnati Enquirer- The Bearcats continue to emulate SEC teams.  Terril Byrd has been charged with several misdemeanors stemming from a recent marijauna-related arrest.