The latest from Tom Luicci of the New Jersey Star-Ledger indicates that following Tuesday's meeting in New York City, Memphis, Houston and East Carolina have been dismissed as potential candidates for the Big East expansion.
A person familiar with Tuesday's meeting said the league presidents dismissed the idea of adding Conference-USA schools Memphis, Houston and East Carolina.
Also interesting, it appears that Navy and Air Force as still the clear-cut frontrunners to be added to the conference, with Army an option as well to complete the service academy trifecta. However, only Navy and Air Force are on-board with coming in as football-members only, while Army is more hesitant, seeking an all-sports invite.
Here's where it gets interesting again for Villanova (remember, the Big East needs 5 programs for football (possibly more if UConn gets the other foot out the door and Rutgers and TCU bolt as well).
The college officials said the Big East would explore the possibility of adding Villanova or Temple to the football inventory -- but not both. If Villanova continues its fence-sitting about jumping to the FBS level, they said, Temple is a strong all-sports option.
I'm hesitant to really believe that because there is no way Villanova is allowing Temple into the conference as an all-sports member. Absolutely no way. Either the source is misinformed or he's just making things up. Right now, I just can't imagine a scenario where Temple and Villanova can co-exist in a conference. The Philadelphia market is what 'Nova has going for it right now - sharing that with Temple would be a horrible mistake.
Either way, it's nice to see at least one person suggesting that Villanova is still a viable option for Big East football.
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