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This Would Be Amazing If It Were 1944

East Carolina. Memphis. Army. Navy. Notre Dame. We've heard'm all...they've all been rumored to join Big East football at some point and they've all ceased to actually happen. But on the eve of Big East Media Day, it just wouldn't be right if those rumors didn't suddenly get red hot again. Which arbitrarily-picked somewhat-Eastern school is up this time?

Many times Army and Navy have been part of the expansion discussion (for some reason) and many times those rumors have been shot down. Usually, it's a question of one or the other. But this time, courtesy of the NY Post, we're talking package deal...

The Post has learned that the Big East has explored deals with Army and Navy in football. The concept is for each of the service academies to play four Big East opponents each season on a rotating basis.

For example, in a given year, Army would play Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville and Pittsburgh. Navy would face Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia.

Um...weird. So basically, the Big East gets to expand without expanding, as I assume Army and Navy's Big East wins will not qualify them for ownership of the conference title. And the other Big East teams get to pretend that their wins over Army and Navy (or in Syracuse's case, losses to Army and Navy) count in the Big East standings.

I mean, since we're never gonna get Notre Dame and we apparently have no interest in adding another school that will require a basketball membership as well (Memphis), I guess it kinda makes sense...sorta. Apparently, Army and Navy are like two obnoxious twin brothers who refuse to be separated when you're picking sides.

Still, it's an awkward move, especially for a conference just starting to regain it's foothold on big boy status. Couple a move like this with a down season for the conference and we could be right back where we started this time next year.

Couple questions...

1. Would Army vs. Navy count as a Big East game then? Would only make sense.

2. If they were eligible, would they take Big East bowl slots? Probably...which makes our Quest for Toronto that much more daunting.

Of course, leave it to the Post to sully the validity of it's entire scoop by forgetting exactly which teams are already in the Big East to begin with...
A ninth member, even limited partners such as Army and Navy (both have a significant TV following) would give league members eight league games. That would allow the flexibility of four non-conference games so teams could pursue non-conference rivals such as Pittsburgh and Penn State.
Man, we sure do schedule Pittsburgh a lot...in all our sports.

Oh and just in case you were wondering how well those "New York's College Team" taxi ads were doing, the Post went directly to Rutgers for their comments on the deal and not Syracuse. Well then...

I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this (or a denial thereof) tomorrow.