Big East Stability Tied to Missouri

The problem is the Big East can't be sure if its current members are staying put until Missouri, the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference figure out what their next steps will be in the ongoing drama of conference realignment.

"The overall landscape is still so very unsettled," Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.

"We're not going to pause until the Missouri situation is settled because it might not be settled for a while."

The Big East's presidents unanimously voted Monday night to increase the league's withdrawal fee from $5 million to $10 million when an expansion plan is executed, Marinatto said.

Marinatto declined to talk about specific schools the Big East wants to add, but did say the Big East has "identified specific teams, and if any one of those teams commits (to joining the league), the exit fee increases."

A person with knowledge of the Big East's plan told The Associated Press that the addition of Navy or Air Force would trigger the increase in the exit fee. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about which schools the league is targeting.

Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said in a phone interview Tuesday the Big East and the academy have been in contact, but he was unaware of the league's most recent move.

"Certainly a reconfigured Big East with stable core members is something the Naval Academy needs to consider," he said.

Air Force spokesman Troy Garnhart said in an email school officials would not comment.

Gladchuk said the two academies communicate, but will make decisions independently.

"I'm not convinced that it needs to be a package deal," Gladchuk said.

The conference's plan to get to 12 members includes Navy, Air Force and Boise State as football-only members and Central Florida, Houston and SMU for all sports, though that has not been made public by the league.

Navy is an independent. AFA and Boise State play in the Mountain West Conference. UCF, Houston and SMU are in Conference USA.

Marinatto said no invitations have gone out and he could not give a timetable for when the Big East hopes to complete its expansion work.

"Stay tuned, we're working diligently," he said. "We're not going to rush ourselves. The sooner the better."

The Big East currently has six football members committed to the conference beyond this season, and eight schools that do not compete in the league in football, including Notre Dame.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse have accepted invitations to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and TCU, previously scheduled to join the Big East in 2012, instead will join the Big 12.

And the Big East is in danger of losing more members. Officials from Boise State, Air Force and Navy have all expressed concerns about that.

"When you go from nine schools to six ... we need to do our due diligence to ask how stable are the remaining six," Gladchuk said.

Marinatto said the current Big East members are operating in "good faith" with one another.

"The exit fee it a sign of stability, but it's not the only thing we're looking at," he said. "Everyone, given the environment that we're all in is looking for one thing: stability."

Including Missouri, which is considering leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, a move that would leave the Big 12 in need of at least one more member.

The Missouri board of curators will meet Thursday and Friday in Kansas City, though it has not announced whether a decision about a conference will be made then.

Big East members West Virginia and Louisville are potential Big 12 replacements for Missouri.

An even worse scenario for the Big East has the Big 12 taking Louisville, West Virginia and Cincinnati from the Big East to get back to 12 members if Missouri leaves.

Marinatto said Big East officials have not discussed the possibility of being whittled down to a point where it would have to give up football.

The league has made protecting its status as an automatic qualifier in the Bowl Championship Series a priority.

"We're designing a plan that would include schools that would help us to do that," Marinatto said.

Adding Boise State, one of the most successful football programs in the country over the last decade, is the linchpin to that plan. Losing AQ status would cost the Big East millions of dollars in revenue and limit its members opportunities to compete for a national championship.

The current BCS contracts lock in the Big East's BCS bid for this season and the next two, Marinatto said. There are no guarantees beyond that for any league, he said.

Neither the MWC and CUSA currently has an automatic BCS bid.

He also reiterated the Big East intends to hold Pitt and Syracuse to the league's 27-month notification rule and keep those schools in the league for the next two years. He said the conference has looked at 14-team models for next season.

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Missouri Moves Closer to Joining S.E.C.

The person said that Missouri’s decision to apply for membership to the SEC was “inevitable and imminent,” although a specific timeframe has yet to be set. Missouri’s Board of Curators will meet on Thursday and Friday at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where the process of withdrawing from the Big 12 and applying to the SEC is expected to begin. While expansion is not listed on the agenda, there is an private session scheduled Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

After Missouri applies, the person said that it expects “no problems” with gathering enough votes among SEC presidents to become a member.

While the interim Big 12 commissioner, Chuck Neinas, said last week that he expected Missouri to play in the league in 2012, it is possible that they could start play in the SEC as early as next year.

Missouri would become the SEC’s 14th member; the league added Texas A&M in September. The SEC would certainly prefer 14 members, as scheduling is a much simpler process with two seven-team divisions.

It is expected that the SEC presidents will tie the same caveat over legal entanglements to Missouri’s application that they did for Texas A&M. The SEC has made it clear that they want no part of any legal problems, which held up Texas A&M’s admission for more than a month.

Missouri has emerged as an unlikely linchpin in expansion, considering it has never won a Big 12 title in football. But the futures of the Big 12, SEC and Big East were all tied to Missouri’s decision, as the school has been deciding which way to go for nearly a month.

This news dampens some optimism for the Big East, which appeared to be gaining momentum toward reviving its football fortunes. The exits of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and T.C.U. have the league struggling for survival, and both Louisville and West Virginia are considered strong candidates, along with Brigham Young, for Big 12 expansion.

The Big East has made it clear that it would like to add Boise State, Air Force and Navy in football and Central Florida, Southern Methodist and Houston in all sports. The potential problem for the Big East is that it needs stability to remain attractive to potential new members.

Neinas said recently that if Missouri left the Big 12 would would settle at either 10 or 12 teams. The Big 12 Chairman Burns Hargis, the president of Oklahoma State, said on Saturday that he would prefer a 12-team league, but also acknowledged that his preference may not matter. The loss of Missouri would leave the Big 12 at nine schools, meaning a likely expansion of one or three schools, which will prompt more uncertainty and shuffling on the collegiate landscape.

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Insight Bowl: Iowa (7-5) vs. Missouri (10-2)

The Big Ten bowl season finally kicks off Tuesday night in the desert, as Iowa faces Missouri for the first time in a century.

Here's a quick preview of the Insight Bowl matchup:

WHO TO WATCH: Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn. The senior didn't have the dominant season many expected when he passed up a likely first-round selection in the NFL draft to return to school. But Clayborn certainly has the ability to step up in the spotlight. He proved it in the 2010 Orange Bowl, recording nine tackles and two sacks against Georgia Tech en route to winning game MVP honors. Iowa is short-handed on offense and needs a huge game from Clayborn and a veteran defensive line. Clayborn's ability to pressure Missouri senior quarterback Blaine Gabbert will play a major role in deciding the game.

WHAT TO WATCH: Iowa's short-handed offense. The Hawkeyes will play without record-setting receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and leading rusher Adam Robinson, both of whom are suspended. Given Iowa's end-of-season slide in production, the personnel losses could be especially damaging. This is a huge moment for senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi. He has improved in every statistical category, but his late-game mojo seems to have disappeared. If Stanzi can regain his magic and receive good protection against Missouri's talented defensive ends, he could do some damage.

WHY TO WATCH: The Hawkeyes' response from a rough patch both on and off the field will be fascinating. Iowa dropped its final three regular-season games and then endured the DJK mess and the suspension of Robinson. How will the Hawkeyes respond? They need their seniors on both sides of the ball to display strong leadership, particularly late in the game after blowing fourth-quarter leads in four of five regular-season losses. As disappointing as the season has been, Iowa still can win a third consecutive bowl game for the first time in team history.

PREDICTION: Iowa 21, Missouri 20. Bowl games have brought out the best in Iowa the past two seasons, and despite all the turmoil, I think the Hawkeyes' seniors will put together a good performance. The defensive line harasses Gabbert and forces several miscues, and Stanzi makes enough plays in the passing game to keep Iowa close. After so many close losses, Iowa finds a way to win a nailbiter.

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