The Big East presidents - sans Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia - met today in Philadelphia, and the ultimate result is that the league plans to invite Houston, SMU and Central Florida for all sports, and Boise State, Navy and Air Force for football.
Initial reports have SMU ready to accept on Friday, and Boise State deferring comment. The other two all-sport invitees are also expected to accept their invitations relatively quickly.
Not great news for Big East basketball and meh news for Big East football. Awesome. I think we all drastically underestimated the power of #BringChickenToTheBucket.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto also addressed the issue of West Virginia's lawsuit against the league.
"In light of the lawsuit filed by West Virginia yesterday, the Presidents also discussed and confirmed our continuing commitment to enforce the Conference’s 27-month notification period for schools choosing to leave," Marinatto said in a statement. "The Conference believes these claims to be wholly without merit and will explore all its legal options to protect its interests and to ensure that West Virginia lives up to its obligations."
Whatever.