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Thursday, February 9th, 2012
The Big East Conference continues to undergo transformation as Memphis will be joining the conference next season. The Tigers won’t get much attention in football but they will get some action in basketball betting.
Memphis will be joining the Big East in all sports beginning next season. "It certainly is an historic day for us," University of Memphis president Shirley Raines said. Memphis wanted to join the Big East in 2005 but they were denied while their main rival Louisville was accepted. Now the Tigers get into the conference they wanted and the Big East also is pleased. Big East commissioner John Marinatto said that a lot of things were factored into brining Memphis into the conference. "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, he said.
The Big East is going to be losing West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse so they needed another team to complete what they hope will be a 12-team football conference. Boise State and San Diego State are joining for football next year while Houston, SMU and Central Florida will be joining in all sports. Navy will also be in the conference but not until 2015. The Big East has 11 teams set for next season in football but that number could still change as teams like Louisville Connecticut and Rutgers could be looking to leave the conference. The conference is in flux at the moment as West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh may be forced to stay for another season. West Virginia is suing so they can play in the Big 12 next season. It could be that the Big East has anywhere from 11 to 14 football teams next season and as many as 20 in basketball.
The move of Memphis to the Big East is really all about basketball though as Memphis is a perennial Top 25 basketball betting team and a huge rival of Louisville. "With the addition of Memphis, I think we just solidified our position as being the best conference in the country in men's basketball," Marinatto said.
