The Big East Conference will “aggressively pursue [expansion] discussions,” but Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino says Memphis is not ready to join the league.
“Memphis, it’s a shame because their football program is so down right now,” Pitino told SNY.tv last week in an exclusive interview at Hudson Catholic High School. “I don’t know why it’s down, but it is down and that’s what probably’s taking away from it.”
The Memphis football team is 1-3, 0-1 in Conference USA after Saturday’s 38-31 loss to Middle Tennessee.
Memphis has made no secret of its desire to join a BCS conference. Tigers AD R.C. Johnson told SNY.tv last year, “I don’t want to lie to you. In the ideal world, the SEC would call and we’d go tomorrow.”
Johnson did not respond last week to a message seeking an interview.
Meantime, the presidents and chancellors of the 14 remaining Big East members and TCU have authorized commissioner John Marinatto to “aggressively pursue discussions’’ with certain schools interested in joining the conference.
The league released a statement after yesterday’s meeting at Georgetown University. The meeting had been scheduled before Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced last month they will leave the Big East to join the ACC.
The original purpose of the meeting was to discuss the conference’s upcoming television rights negotiations, but the defections forced expansion onto the agenda. Navy, an independent, and Air Force, of the Mountain West Conference, are among the Big East’s top targets for football expansion.
Temple, booted from the Big East after the 2004 season, also could be invited back to the league, something that Pitino actively supports.
East Carolina announced it has applied for membership in the Big East, and Houston and Central Florida of Conference USA are also options.
Marinatto said that the league’s presidents discussed making leaving the conference tougher, without mentioning specifics such as raising exit fees.
Connecticut’s governor has already confirmed that UConn is interested in joining Pitt and Syracuse in the ACC, something that Pitino told SNY.tv was the “dumbest thing” he’s ever heard.
(The AP contributed)
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