CFB Roundup: Memphis joins Big East, two conferences may merge
Welcome to the Big East, Memphis.
The Tigers officially accepted an invitation to join the Big
"It certainly is an historic day for us," University of Memphis president Shirley Raines said on a teleconference with Big East commissioner John Marinatto and Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson.
This move is mostly about basketball, where the Tigers have made 23 NCAA tournament appearances, including the national title game in 1973 and 2008. They've also reached the Final Four in 1985 and lost in three other regional finals.
In addition to Memphis, the Big East will be adding Central Florida, Houston, SMU, Navy, San Diego State and Boise State in the coming years, while
The Tigers have been searching for a new home since losing out to Louisville when the Big East expanded in 2005. Leaving Conference USA for the 2013-14 season will cost Memphis $500,000 plus its share of television rights revenue, which is about $6.13 million, a league spokeswoman told ESPN.com.
Marinatto called Memphis a "perfect fit."
"There were a number of contributing factors for our membership in making the decision to invite Memphis, including among other reasons its geography in the heart of our future membership makeup, its Central time zone presence, its top-50 media market, as well as its outstanding corporate and community support, quality athletic facilities and the overall brand and competitiveness of its athletic programs," he said.
---The board of directors for Conference USA are scheduled to meet this week to consider a
possible merger with the Mountain West Conference, according to an ESPN.com report.
Such a partnership had been considered even before Conference USA member Memphis'
decision to join the Big East, the report said, citing a source.
Conference USA has also lost Houston, SMU and Central Florida in the past year. All have accepted invitations to join the Big East in 2013-14, leaving the conference with eight members: Southern Miss, Tulsa, Marshall, Rice, UAB, Tulane, East Carolina and UTEP.
In what appears to be constant rotation, the Mountain West will add Nevada and Fresno State from the Western Athletic Conference for all sports and Hawaii in football, while losing San Diego State, Boise State and TCU in varying degrees.
A merger could create a conference with its current 2013-14 membership of 15 in all sports and 16 in football.
Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky told ESPN.com on Wednesday that he's not expecting to lose any more schools to the Big East.
"Based upon my conversations with commissioner Marinatto, the Big East has now completed its future membership plan. If this is true, it is very helpful as we can now move forward with our plans in a more stable national environment," he said. "We hope that the other
conferences appreciate the value of stability in intercollegiate athletics and higher
education."
---The Big Ten is reconsidering its position on a four-team playoff to crown a national college football champion.
After being one of the lead dissenters, the conference's athletic directors are open to exploring a Final Four of college football.
"Four is better than two," Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis said.
The plus-one format, two semifinals and the title game, was proposed by Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference commissioners in 2008. The idea was nixed by the heads of the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big East, Big 12 and influential independent Notre Dame.
The 11 Bowl Championship Series conferences have met to discuss possible changes to the system as early as 2014. NCAA President Mark Emmert said he supports a four-team playoff format. However, Emmert is opposed to a 16-team playoff.
The Big Ten is concerned about how any change may alter its association with the Rose Bowl and Pac-12, and the distribution of money made from the playoff.
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