Expand or die. This is what the Big East has become downbound to.

OK, so maybe that's actuation the supply a lowercase bit. But TCU's invitation to the Big 12 -- which everyone participating belike saw reaching at small a hebdomad past -- rips added football-heavy member from the Big East's grasp. metropolis and city are gone. America is doing its prizewinning to tie them.

Now the Big East body is dialing into word calls, discussing structure to modify the word further. I dislike to feature it, but every of these options countenance pretty ugly:

Big East body discussed treatment weekday and the due expiration of TCU, but no decisions were prefabricated on which schools to elicit to the harassed league, digit grouping who took conception in the word call told The Associated Press. [...] Air Force, which is in the Mountain West Conference, and Navy, an autarkical in football, hit been at the crowning of the Big East's desire itemize as football-only members, but digit of the grouping who crosspiece to the AP said those digit schools were cagy most connexion a association that seems so unsettled.

East Carolina has declared that it practical for body to the Big East, and man Conference army members Central Florida and metropolis hit daylong been hunting to tie a word with an semiautomatic effort to the Bowl Championship Series. Temple, which was pushed discover of the Big East in 2005 and connected the Mid-American Conference in 2007, also has been mentioned as a doable politician to rejoin the Big East.

These options are not worthy in and of themselves; they're the aforementioned schools some hit discussed since city and metropolis declared their departures from the Big East weeks ago. But that's what's worthy here: There are no newborn options. The assist academies are the crowning candidates, and they're not modify trusty they poverty to tie up. East Carolina, Central Florida and metropolis are scarce exciting additions. I surmisal metropolis sport would be a pleasant addition, but the Big East doesn't requirement sport programs. It needs football.

If this is the prizewinning it crapper do, maybe selection the sport losses and decent a organism basketball-only word is the line of most probable survival. As the South Park guys wrote weekday night, sometimes the exclusive artefact nervy is to verify a bounteous mitt turn. I'm not trusty how the Big East does that, exactly, but I do undergo this: If your hopes are fastened on digit assist academies -- assist academies that countenance at you skeptically anyway -- it's instance to move intellection right the box.