Part of West Virginia’s exit agreement with the Big East states WVU “will use its reasonable best efforts to help Big East members schedule additional football games for the 2012-13 season.”
If the following report comes to fruition, WVU will be absolved of those duties.
Following up on months of speculation, the Temple-to-Big East rumors have heated up, and the results could provide immediate relief for a conference up to its eyeballs in scheduling issues. Pete Thamel of the New York Times reports that the Big East could add Temple as an all-sports member “as early as the next school year” to offset the loss of WVU to the Big 12, and that “a resolution is expected this month.”
Thamel goes on to say “Within the next month, Temple will also have to inform the new conference formed by the merger of the Mountain West and Conference USA of its intentions. Temple has been asked to join that league.”
The Owls were reportedly shocked when the Big East announced earlier this month that Memphis would be the newest member of the conference.
“Temple thought it would receive the Big East’s invitation and was stunned the Big East invited Memphis,” said a report by CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
Temple was booted from the Big East in 2004 after years of bottom-feeder status, but the Owls have turned it around since the Al Golden era (see what we did there?) and could play helper immediately for Big East schools scrambling to finalize their 2012 schedule.
The rumor for the past month or so has been that Boise State could make a jump to the Big East early, but that’s been uncertain at best.
If the Temple addition becomes official, that would bring the total number of Big East programs to 13 in football and 18 in basketball. There’s been some continued rumors that Louisville could still find its way to the Big 12 at some point in the future.