Big East media day: Top 5 storylines

The Big East held their annual media day Tuesday in Newport, R.I.

By Evan Hilbert

Aug 1, 2012 at 10:49 am ET • 1 min read

1. Louisville is the team to beat

After narrowly missing out on a Big East championship a season ago, Louisville returns slightly older and more experienced. The Cardinals remain, still, very young, which actually shows just how much Charlie Strong has done in his three years as head coach. Louisville will graduate just nine seniors this year, meaning it will probably come back much stronger next season.

2. Ray Graham: Superman?

Graham tore his ACL late last season, and, at the time, he was the second most prolific rusher in the country. He joked Tuesday that he think he is Superman, but knows he's not. Yes, he's probably not Superman, but he should be a dominant back in the Big East, and maybe even one of the nation's best.

3. No respect for Syracuse

It's becoming something of a theme that Syracuse be picked at or near the bottom of the preseason conference rankings. The Orange were chosen seventh this season, just ahead of Temple, and players and coaches were not surprised. Still, they have a few offensive weapons, but they could be in trouble if LT Justin Pugh misses significant time with an upper body injury.

4. Mr. Commissioner?

Former commissioner John Marinatto left his post in the spring, and now the conference is scrambling to find his replacement. There are five candidates as of now set to replace interim commissioner Joe Bailey in September. No favorite has been named yet.

5. Who's in, who's out?

As Bailey said Tuesday, "change is the new rule" in the Big East. Scheduled to join the conference next summer are Boise State, Southern Methodist, Memphis, Houston, Central Florida, and San Diego State, which will join Temple -- which rejoined this season -- Louisville, Connecticut, Rutgers, South Florida and Cincinnati. The conference will then extend to 14 teams with the addition of Navy and a yet-to-be-determined team in 2015. This is all assuming that Louisville, which has been rumored to have eyes for the Big 12, stays put.