Brett McMurphy is taking his new gig at CBSSports.com and ratcheting things up a notch. He recently polled every Big East coach (including TCU's head coach) over some questions regarding the possibility of Villanova joining the conference, as well as expansion in general. Eight of them chose to answer anonymously and their thoughts on the matter tell an interesting story.
On the question of whether or not they want to see Villanova become the 10th member of Big East Football, the answers were split rather evenly. 2.5 for, 2.5 against and 3 abstaining. In other words, it's not really exciting them, nor it is the worst thing in the world. The split vote apparently comes from a coach who would be for Nova if they played in a real stadium, but against them if they decided to stick with PPL Park.
On whether or not the Big East should bring on an additional two schools if Villanova does join, the answers might surprise you. 5 coaches say send this conference to 12 teams instead of settling at 10. Hard to say where Doug Marrone stands on the issue.
What if Villanova ends up not joining the Big East? What then? Stay at 9 or expand to 10. The votes veers towards expansion regardless of school by a 5-to-3 vote. Brett says, "three said it didn't matter what school was added, while UCF and Army each received one vote." We know Doug Marrone loves Army and wants to play Army every year. If I had to guess, I'd say that was his vote. But then again, I'm sure the last thing DOC Gross wants is another Big East school in the state of NY.
A couple folks did step forward with their opinions. TCU's Gary Patterson said he prefers a 10-team league to a 12-team one for scheduling purposes. Meanwhile Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti wants to see 12 teams.
Big East athletic directors, football coaches and basketball coaches meet for three days in Florida starting today. Who knows what will come out of it. What we do know is that there's going to be some very heated discussion about the future of this conference.
H/T: Brett McMurphy