It's been a quiet few days on the conference realignment front, but both Big 12 and Big East expansion might be ready to kick back into high gear. The biggest news of last night came from San Francisco Bay Area journalist Jon Wilner, who tweeted that sources were telling him that the Big 12 was ready to up its pursuit of Louisville, while both Navy and Air Force had standing offers to join the Big East conference.
That came on the back of some interesting comments from University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft claiming that USF was not block UCF's attempts to join the Big East, but rather the conference was only interested in schools that resided in states that weren't currently populated by a current Big East member.
The above, and more in this morning's news roundup.
Big East Not Considering Schools Within Current Big East States | Big East Coast Bias
Big East not considering expansion into states where they already have teams.
NBA stars give Philadelphia fans one night of basketball: A fan's take | Yahoo! Sports
The NBA lockout is still going on but Philadelphia residents got their taste of basketball stars on September 25. An exhibition game featuring many local and NBA stars was held at the Palestra. As a Philadelphia resident, I was happy to see a team of homegrown stars beat a team that included Carmelo Anthony(notes), LeBron James(notes), and Chris Paul(notes). Nearly 9,000 fans filled the arena to get what might be the only taste of NBA action in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.
Realignment speculation, other notes | Xavier Sports
"If what’s left of the Big East became a basketball-driven league, it would still be a very attractive conference. Imagine if the league were Villanova, St. John’s, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and possibly Notre Dame, then add Xavier, Butler, Saint Louis, Dayton, Creighton and maybe Saint Joseph’s."
Villanova in 11th After Two Rounds | Official Athletic Site of the Villanova Wildcats
Villanova sits in 11th place at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic which is being played in South Bend, Indiana at the 7,023-yard, par-70 Warren Golf Course. The Wildcats shot a 305 (+25) for the first round in the morning, but they were much better in afternoon play with a 291 (+11) which gives them a two-round total of 596 (+36). Villanova is just seven shots out of seventh place in the 12-team field.
Villanova Students Hold a Day of Service | Radnor, PA Patch
More than 4,000 Villanova University students, faculty, staff and alumni volunteered at 175 service sites throughout Greater Philadelphia on Saturday for the University's St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service.
Pitino: Admit Temple To The Big East "Immediately" | SB Nation Philly
Louisville coach Rick Pitino threw his support behind admitting Temple to the Big East as the conference scrambles to replace the departing Syracuse, Pitt and likely West Virginia. Pitino claims that there are factions within the conference that were threatened by how powerful basketball had gotten and that has been part of the impetus for the departures. He also lays out a few solutions for the Big East, one of which is to admit Temple in basketball and football.
Colbert Finishes in Top-15 at Gridiron Classic | Official Athletic Site of the Villanova Wildcats
Senior Brian Colbert (Cary, Ill.) and junior Michael Kania (Haverford, Pa.) each finished with strong third rounds at the Football Gridiron Classic in South Bend, Ind. today to put themselves inside the top-20 individually. The Gridiron Classic was hosted at the par-70, 7,023-yard Warren Course. The team came on strong in the third round after struggling in the first round to place 9th out of 12 teams with a 305-291-293--889 (+49) for the 54-hole event. The team's 293 was the third best score of the final round.
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