Post by elp525 on Sept 22, 2011 3:55:15 GMT -5
Thursday, September 22, 2011
By Jenn Menendez
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Big East Conference has an expansion plan to add BCS-caliber schools to the league, West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck said in a statement issued Wednesday after a meeting of members Tuesday night in New York.
"President [James] Clements and I represented West Virginia University at last night's Big East meeting in New York. The group concluded the meeting with a strategy to recruit top level BCS-caliber institutions that match the league's strong athletic and academic histories and traditions," said Luck in the statement.
What exactly that strategy is has not been shared.
Among the schools that could be considered is East Carolina University, which announced late Wednesday it officially had applied for membership in the Big East. ECU is a member of Conference USA which, unlike the Big East, does not have an automatic Bowl Championship Series bid.
A source told The Associated Press the Big East is targeting Navy and Air Force.
Other schools among the speculation: Temple and I-AA Villanova.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto was not available for comment.
The future of West Virginia athletics has been the subject of wide speculation since Pitt and Syracuse suddenly left the Big East this past weekend for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that West Virginia had been rejected by the ACC and Southeastern Conference, but the university has not publicly confirmed or denied that.
"As I stated before, WVU is an excellent flagship, land-grant University, with national-caliber athletic and academic programs," Luck said in the statement.
"We are, and will remain, a national player in college athletics."
By Jenn Menendez
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Big East Conference has an expansion plan to add BCS-caliber schools to the league, West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck said in a statement issued Wednesday after a meeting of members Tuesday night in New York.
"President [James] Clements and I represented West Virginia University at last night's Big East meeting in New York. The group concluded the meeting with a strategy to recruit top level BCS-caliber institutions that match the league's strong athletic and academic histories and traditions," said Luck in the statement.
What exactly that strategy is has not been shared.
Among the schools that could be considered is East Carolina University, which announced late Wednesday it officially had applied for membership in the Big East. ECU is a member of Conference USA which, unlike the Big East, does not have an automatic Bowl Championship Series bid.
A source told The Associated Press the Big East is targeting Navy and Air Force.
Other schools among the speculation: Temple and I-AA Villanova.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto was not available for comment.
The future of West Virginia athletics has been the subject of wide speculation since Pitt and Syracuse suddenly left the Big East this past weekend for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that West Virginia had been rejected by the ACC and Southeastern Conference, but the university has not publicly confirmed or denied that.
"As I stated before, WVU is an excellent flagship, land-grant University, with national-caliber athletic and academic programs," Luck said in the statement.
"We are, and will remain, a national player in college athletics."
